SAVING NEW ENERGY IN THE EU

Carbon Trust and GE Partner to Pump Up Europe’s Clean Tech Sector
February 24, 2012 (GE Reports)

"In a step to reverse Europe’s falling share of clean energy investment, GE has partnered with British non-profit Carbon Trust to infuse the European clean tech sector with fresh capital. The initial phase of the alliance includes a business incubation fund of $5 million to support new low carbon technologies in infrastructure applications. The initiative is an extension of GE’s ecomagination Challenge – a $200 million global program to find and fund the best ideas in clean technology.

"Some of the impetus to forge the new relationship came from trends revealed in a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report that shows a discouraging 40% drop in Europe’s share of clean energy investment over the past five years, a period during which Asia Oceania almost doubled its share."

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"GE’s Innovation Barometer shows that roughly half of UK businesses see the UK as a challenging environment for innovation. 84% of them also believe that developing partnerships and collaborating with a combination of players – including government, big business, SMEs and individuals – is crucial for their success in innovation.

"In light of those facts, Carbon Trust will work with GE to sift out the most promising early stage companies focusing on clean tech infrastructure in areas such as smart grids, lighting systems, heating and ventilation and building controls. Those fortunate start-ups will receive funding and support from GE and Carbon Trust…"