Climate Pledge Fund Explained
The Climate Pledge Fund is a division of Amazon, set up to develop and manage investments in the climate technology space, as part of its Climate Pledge initiative. It is a corporate venture capital fund.
History
The Climate Pledge Fund makes investments into early-stage companies focused on decarbonizing or sustainable technologies and services. The fund is part of Amazon's Climate Pledge initiative with climate advocacy group Global Optimism. It was funded with an initial $2 billion in June 2020.
This corporate venture capital fund is distinct from the following sustainability-related organizations affiliated with Amazon:
- the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, which provides philanthropic grants to environmental organizations globally
- the $100 million Right Now Climate Fund, which provides philanthropic contributions to local and regional non-governmental organizations in Europe
- the $1B corporate venture capital fund, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, which will invest in the industrial sector[1]
People
As of December 2021, Matt Peterson, Director, Corporate New Initiatives, and Kara Hurst, Vice President and Head of Sustainability, lead the fund.[2]
Notable Investments
2020 investments
- Redwood Materials - process & technologies for recycling lithium-ion batteries and producing battery materials from recovered elements[3]
- Rivian - electric vehicle automaker[3]
- Turntide Technologies - optimal efficiency motor technologies for building controls (e.g. ventilation, lighting)[3]
- CarbonCure Technologies - Lower carbon concrete manufacturer
- Pachama - carbon offset verification technology[3]
- ZeroAvia - share-haul hydrogen-electric aircraft[4]
2021 investments
- BETA Technologies - Electric vertical aircraft manufacturer[5]
- ION Energy - smart battery management platform for automotive[6]
- CMC Machinery - design and manufacture of custom-sized boxes[7]
- Resilient Power - electric vehicle recharging infrastructure
- Infinium - Ultra low carbon fuels for global transport
- Hippo Harvest - controlled environment agriculture[8]
- Amogy - zero-emissions ammonia-based fuel for heavy-duty transportation, starting with marine shipping
2022 investments
- Ambient Photonics - high power density solar cells for smart home devices and consumer electronics.[9]
Other climate tech investors
External links
Notes and References
- News: Meet the first 5 startups in Amazon's new $1B industrial innovation fund . 17 May 2022 . TechCrunch . 21 April 2022.
- Web site: Update: Amazon announces $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund. 2021-12-21. TechCrunch. en-US.
- Web site: 2020-09-17. Amazon Announces First Recipients of Investments from $2 Billion Climate Pledge Fund. 2021-12-21. www.businesswire.com. en.
- Web site: Osborne. Charlie. Amazon invests in zero carbon footprint aviation startup ZeroAvia. 2021-12-21. ZDNet. en.
- Web site: Black. Thomas. Fidelity, Amazon Back E-Plane Startup in $368 Million Funding. 2021-12-21. BloombergQuint. en.
- Web site: 2021-07-01. ION Energy Raises $3.6 Million with the Participation of Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund. 2021-12-21. www.businesswire.com. en.
- Web site: Amazon taps $2B climate fund to invest in three more startups. 2021-12-21. TechCrunch. en-US.
- Web site: Amazon funds two climate tech firms as a third gains ground. 2021-12-21. Axios. en.
- Web site: 2022-05-10 . Ambient $31 Million Series A led by Amazon Climate Pledge Fund & EIF . 2022-07-30 . Ambient Photonics . en-US.
- Web site: Climate Innovation Fund | Microsoft CSR. www.microsoft.com.
- Web site: We spun out a $60M fund. 5 things you didn't read in the press. September 8, 2021. Elemental Excelerator.
- Web site: Climate Impact Fund . 2022-07-30 . VertueLab.
- Web site: DECARBON8 - US. E8 Cleantech Angels.