The Clean Growth Fund (CGF) has won a capital commitment of £20M from Strathclyde Pension Fund. The investment will bring the total amount raised by the Fund, a venture capital fund investing into promising early-stage UK clean technology ventures, close to two-thirds of its £100M target.
Ian Jamison, investment manager at Strathclyde Pension Fund said: “Our investment in the Clean Growth Fund not only enables us to deliver on the pension fund’s return objectives but is also aligned with our objective of implementing an investment strategy that is consistent with achieving the goal of global net-zero emissions by 2050.”
Established in 2020, CGF has cornerstone funding from BEIS and investment manager CCLA.
James Bevan, Chief Investment Officer for CCLA said: “There is a clear and certain need to invest to secure the arrest and reversal of carbon emission and climate change, and to support strong long term sustainable growth. We are delighted that Strathclyde Pension Fund recognises that the Clean Growth Fund can contribute to these objectives.”
Beverley Gower-Jones, Managing Partner of the Clean Growth Fund said: “Strathclyde Pension Fund’s investment is further institutional validation of our deep sector knowledge to evaluate our strong pipeline of early-stage companies, our ability to ultimately accelerate the development of carbon emission reductions in the areas of power and energy, buildings, transport and waste and to deliver returns to our investors in line with the Fund’s objectives.”
“In order to reach Net Zero, there is an imperative to have fully commercialised and operating clean technology solutions available to UK businesses and consumers, and for export overseas. There is currently a significant gap between the offerings of fledgling companies and the full-scale solutions required. This development gap can only be closed with careful and selective funding of those offering the most promising technologies.”
The Clean Growth Fund has made two investments to date, in smart energy company Piclo (alongside Mott MacDonald) and electric charging and energy storage company Indra (alongside Gulf Oil International).

Further reading
INTERVIEW: Beverley Gower-Jones, managing partner, Clean Growth Fund