Latest from Cleantech

Green innovation: Robert Morrison of Ventive is 'delighted' at the investor support

Shell Springboard winner Ventive closes first investment round with help from Angel Co-fund

Ventive has followed up on being named as a regional winner in the Shell Springboard competition by securing £900,000 of funding from Mercia Fund Management and the Angel Co-fund.

Future innovation: Firms backed are pursuing agendas such as energy efficiency

Government dishes out £21 million to stimulate low carbon entrepreneurial innovation

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has allotted £21 million to a group of entrepreneurs bringing low carbon products to market.

Going green: E-Car Club is currently operating in Milton Keynes and Luton

E-Car Club tops up Crowdcube investment by securing a further £215,000 from angels

Angel investors are supporting the growth aspirations of E-Car Club, a business which calls itself the UK's first entirely electric car club.

Future funds: Cleantech has had to weather a number of different storms

Making money out of cleantech the venture capital way

Getting a healthy return from a cleantech investment has often been hard work – but for David Mott and his Oxford Capital Partners firm, it’s made them award winners.

Existing projects: MHA Lighting has installed goods at Manchester Airport

LED manufacturer MHA Lighting becomes third March deal for Energy & Environmental fund

A business which has previously provided lighting products for Manchester Airport has secured growth capital from The North West Fund for Energy & Environmental.

Preparing to lift the turbine blades for the Resilient Energy Great Dunkilns turbine

Using the power of the community to fund local energy projects

With raising finance for energy projects often being a hard sell for developers, GrowthBusiness meets Abundance Generation to find out how it is revolutionising the process.

Wined and dined: The awards saw 350 people gather to celebrate

Video: UK new energy innovators reflect on award wins

GrowthBusiness talks to companies including Abundance Generation and Ecology Building Society about being recognised at the New Energy & Cleantech Awards 2013.

Sustainable development: An Ecology Building Society project

Trailblazing sustainability pioneer Ecology Building Society ready for retrofit push

In 1980, a Yorkshire solicitor spoke up at a Green Party conference regarding the difficulty in finding a mortgage for a property needing extensive renovation – the result was the Ecology Building Society.

Top gong: James McKenzie picks up his prize alongside award host Oliver Heath

PhotonStar LED's James McKenzie: From bright spark moment to cleantech entrepreneur

James McKenzie was lauded at the New Energy & Cleantech Awards 2013 for his ability to combine technical expertise with sound business acumen, as well as an ability to use the financial markets. GrowthBusiness took some time to find out more.

Industry celebration: The awards recognised outstanding achievements

Photo gallery: New Energy & Cleantech Awards 2013

The London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square was the setting for the sixth New Energy & Cleantech Awards, where the topic on everyone's lips was how the cleantech market was going to evolve.

Future innovation: Human impact will necessitate cleantech development

Innovation, progress and leadership in new energy and cleantech

Alex Blackburne, editor of sustainable investment magazine Blue & Green Tomorrow, looks back at the New Energy & Cleantech Awards and forward to the future of sustainability.

Award winners: There were eleven awards picked up on the night

Video: UK cleantech pioneers talk through award successes

The sixth New Energy and Cleantech Awards saw entrepreneurs, businesses and advisers from across the cleantech market recognise the standout achievements of the past year.

Renewable energy: The Welsh wind farm set up has received a boost

UK Green Investment Bank makes equity play in the wind market

A first direct equity investment in offshore wind has seen the UK Green Investment Bank back Rhyl Flats Wind Farm.

Business builder: James McKenzie was lauded for his work in cleantech

James McKenzie scoops Entrepreneur of the Year at the New Energy & Cleantech Awards

The sixth annual New Energy & Cleantech Awards saw PhotonStar LED CEO James McKenzie pick up Entrepreneur of the Year.

Solar power: The industry was hit hard in the UK by the removal of Feed-in-Tariffs

Customer business model important for mainstreaming cleantech technology, panel says

The task of commercialising and mainstreaming cleantech technology was top of the bill at the inaugural GrowthBusiness New Energy & Cleantech Conference.

Business marriage: EcoLogicLiving was set up by Judy and Islam Pearson

Cleantech firm EcoLogicLiving uses investor base to fund new product

EcoLogicLiving has gone back to the North West Fund for Energy & Environmental to secure the capital it needs to launch a new product.

Cleaning up: CEO Bill Westwater is taking Xeros technology into the home

Xeros drums up £10 million investment for green washing machine development

A business which has developed an environmentally friendly laundry cleaning system has closed an eight-figure investment round led by Invesco Perpetual.

Recycling efforts: Whelan Refining takes waste oil and refines it for lubricant use

Management team of Whelan Refining buys stake back from Bridges Ventures

Bridges Ventures has sold its interest in Whelan Refining and netted itself a 4.7x return on a seven-year investment.

New tech: Acoustic Sensing Technology's Richard Long and Kirill Horoshenkov

Uni spin-out becomes first water deal for The North West Fund for Energy & Environmental

A business founded on technology developed at the University of Bradford has secured backing from the North West Fund for Energy & Environmental.

Market potential: Sustainable Marine Technology operates in the tidal energy sector

Angel network takes part in Sustainable Marine Energy fundraising round

A London Business Angels-led investment deal has seen tidal energy platform company Sustainable Marine Energy charge itself with £150,000.

More from GrowthBusiness

The Entrepreneur

Quality not quantity: David Barker was careful not to get clients from one sector

Diversifying the client base at launch and learning to say ‘No’ 

David Barker reflects on resisting the temptation to say 'Yes' to the first offer when he opened his data centre, and how choosing instead to diversify his client base at launch has enabled 4D Data Centres to maintain rapid growth in a recession.

Growing A Business

Stifling business: Regulation on markets like AIM makes it hard for SMEs

Light touch regulation: Friend or foe? 

Sophia Harrison, director of financial and professional services at Grayling, looks at how a new exchange platform out of Sweden could strike the right chord of regulation for SMEs.

Comment & Analysis

Channeling Instagram for start-up success

That a team of 13 could build a business worth $1 billion should be the inspiration that all entrepreneurs need.

Research

Source of growth: There are 64 UK-listed cash shells holding £237.9 million

The rise of cash shells

New research from GrowthBusiness shows that the number of UK cash shells is climbing. We speak to new entrants to the market and those that have recently closed deals to find out what’s driving shells’ increasing popularity.