These investors want to fund climate solutions—fast

The climate crisis is one of the world’s premier problems: As the planet continues to rise in temperature, the threat of catastrophic heat waves, devastating flooding, drought, crop failures, and species extinction continues to rise.

The tech sector is poised to combat the crisis, and investors like New York-based MUUS Climate Partners are dedicated to investing in early-stage companies that are “on the cusp of commercialization,” working toward lowering emissions or making the grid more efficient, according to Ben Wolkon, partner at MUUS Climate Partners (MCP).

“What we’re interested in is investing in companies that are using technology to make climate solutions scale faster,” he told Tech Brew. “When I say climate solutions, I mean things that are replacing fossil fuels, and industrial processes that emit CO2 emissions, and agricultural processes that emit CO2 emissions, things that replace that with zero emissions.”

Wolkon said MCP’s 32 portfolio companies are spread across the energy sector and it manages over $100 million disbursed between two funds, the most recent of which was a $50 million fund closed in March.

MCP’s companies include BrightNight, which builds dispatchable renewable energy using solar panels for energy grids and other commercial and industrial partners; Monarch, which makes electric tractors; N-Drip, which focuses on micro-irrigation; and Utilidata, which helps manage power grids through the use of AI.

With temperatures estimated to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels in the 2030s, Wolkon said MCP is looking for companies that have already signed or are close to signing their first customers, have strong founders, and have a plan to scale up.

“We do really roll up our sleeves and go in deep into diligence, not just in the product and the market, but in really trying to come to our own viewpoint around the financial projections, because that gives us a sense of the company’s ability to scale,” Wolkon said.

“We have massively scalable, sustainable technologies. So we want to make sure that this is a company that’s positioned for that [in terms of] scaling. Then on the other side of the house, we’re also making sure that as it scales, the company is really reducing emissions.”

Update, June 5, 2023: This story was updated to reflect a correct title for Ben Wolkon. In addition, a change was made to a quotation, and the description of BrightNight's product was changed to "dispatchable."