What is California Clean Energy Fund and what is
its interest in early stage investing?
The California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) is a nonprofit corporation
formed in 2004 to accelerate investment in California’s clean energy
ecosystem. Established as a result of the Pacific Gas &
Electric (PG&E) bankruptcy, CalCEF seeks to promote the growth of
companies developing a wide range of clean energy technologies that will
bring economic and environmental benefits to California. CalCEF
has a number of programs in place to provide financial and intellectual
capital to promising clean energy companies at various stages of the
investment life cycle. Of particular note, CalCEF is currently building
a later-stage evergreen clean energy investment portfolio that combines
thought leadership and investment capital to produce market-based
returns and support California’s world-leading policy objectives.
A core element of CalCEF’s mission is to identify and address gaps in
the clean energy funding cycle. Given the wide and ever increasing
gap in investment funding for seed and start up clean energy companies,
the launch of an angel fund is a natural extension of CalCEF’s approach
to the clean energy market. CalCEF’s domain expertise, its
experience in building a clean energy investment portfolio and its
relationships with investment managers and clean energy stakeholders
position CalCEF to bring critical resources to the Angel Fund.
What is the relationship between the CalCEF
Angel Fund and CalCEF?
The Angel Fund and CalCEF are two separate and distinct
organizations. CalCEF is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation
and the Angel Fund is a for-profit limited partnership. CalCEF is
the founding limited partner of the Angel Fund and will contribute
investment capital and domain expertise to assist the Angel Fund in
sourcing, evaluating, selecting and mentoring portfolio companies.
CalCEF will also have one permanent seat on the Investment Committee and
one additional seat for the first two years of the Fund’s investment
cycle. CalCEF has also lent its brand name and equity to the Angel
Fund.
What is the objective of the CalCEF Clean Energy Angel
Fund?
The primary objective of the Fund is to produce a return on
investment for its limited partners. A second and equally
important objective is to create a successful financing vehicle
providing investment capital to promising seed stage clean energy
companies.
What is the investment focus of the Fund?
The Angel Fund will invest exclusively in the clean energy
industry, utilizing its unique value proposition for access to robust
deal flow, technology analysis and post-investment growth support. The
Angel Fund limited partners understand the unique concerns and
opportunities facing companies in this market from regulatory
requirements to end-user needs.
The stage of investment will be seed or start-up
businesses. The Fund expects to develop a portfolio of 12 – 15
companies. The optimal size of investment will likely range from
$300 – 500,000 to ensure both a diversified portfolio and an appropriate
reserve.
Will the Angel Fund be California focused?
No. The Angel Fund will consider investments throughout the
United States. It is noteworthy, however, that as the largest
clean energy market in the world, California represents a strong
opportunity for the Angel Fund.
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