BDC Venture to invest USD 96m in energy, cleantech firms

Jun 21, 2013 - Canadian BDC Venture Capital on Thursday unveiled a plan to channel over CAD 100 million (USD 96m/EUR 73m) into the energy and cleantech market in Canada.

Instead of supporting large, capital-consuming renewable energy projects such as wind, solar parks and biofuel plants, the venture capital management firm will seek to invest in "capital-efficient ventures", which can considerably enhance the use of scarce resources. The move is aimed at helping emerging scalable tech firms in Canada to grow globally.

According to Tony Van Bommel, senior managing partner of BDC Venture Capital’s ECT Fund, cleantech innovation in Canada have expanded considerably due to the growing cost of energy and the country's efforts to cut its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The funding will support Canadian ventures in commercialising scalable energy and cleantech technologies that can bring good returns, he added.

The BDC Venture Capital has more than CAD 1 billion under management. Its energy and cleantech technologies (ECT) fund has invested in companies develop energy storage, energy management, water treatment and smart grid technologies.

(CAD 1.0 = USD 0.964/EUR 0.728)

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