Clean-tech investors appear to be shifting their focus from energy efficiency to water technologies, green plastics and software tools to manage the horde of data expected to flow across the smart grid.
Water is the next carbon, says H-P's Judy Glazer
With the economy on the mend, money again has been seeping into green start-ups. But a shift in focus appears to reflect the limits of a still capital-constrained environment.
VCs appear to be betting on companies that can do more with less. The exception is where technologies have the chance to turn a market on its ear – such as plastics made from carbon and materials other than oil.
This is certainly the case for Gerd Goette, managing partner at Siemens Venture Capital, an organization with 40 different funds and investments in 150 companies.
Goette says he is interested in software and services that connect power generators and customers – systems that turn bills into real-time communications and put supply and demand face to face. Some interesting business models might bypass utilities entirely, he said.
One particular need is for software tools to manage the flood of electric cars expected to enter European, U.S. and Chinese markets in coming years. When millions of cars draw power, the demands on the electric grid will multiply.
Software infrastructure also is a focus for Andrew Williamson, a director at Physic Ventures in San Francisco. Corporations need clean-tech tools for metrics and measurement, he says.
Other areas where he is starting to invest are green plastics and water technologies that could offer big returns by muscling bottled water out off the shelves of retail stores.
“Water is going to be the next carbon,” agrees Judy Glazer, director of global, social and environmental responsibility at Hewlett-Packard. That seems to be the consensus of the environmental community, she notes.
Goette says he is intrigued as well with sensing technology that might monitor plants, equipment and the like.
Posted by Mark Boslet 
