"Culture war": Clean-tech VC exec sizes up landscape under Trump
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Energy Impact Partners
Power industry investments amid rising demand — from AI and beyond — create openings for clean tech startups despite policy headwinds, Energy Impact Partners founder Hans Kobler said.
Why it matters: EIP is a prominent backer of energy and climate tech companies via venture capital and other support, and works with utilities.
The big picture: "Our utility investors are facing massive [capital expenditure] needs," he told Axios in an interview. "Anything that mitigates that is a top priority for us to invest in."
- That includes companies — inside and outside its current portfolio — that can help turn data centers into flexible grid assets, he said.
State of play: Kobler name-checked firms such as Enchanted Rock, which provides onsite power and microgrid solutions, in offering his wider thesis.
- Ways to optimize existing transmission and distribution infrastructure are also good areas, he said.
"Data centers are big, big loads. Anything we can do there with companies like Enchanted Rock is at the top of our priorities, and reducing the cost of power delivery and the capex requirements," he said.
- He also noted widespread support for building nuclear plants.
- One of EIP's portfolio companies is AI startup Atomic Canyon, which helps navigate regulatory processes.
Reality check: The overall environment is a "mixed bag."
- "There's a little bit of a culture war going on against climate, clean tech, anything that is associated with that," he said.
- Inflation Reduction Act rollbacks and tariffs are challenges, though the latter can also help drive new U.S. manufacturing.
"Anything capex-intensive is a little bit of a challenge right now, and it's largely driven by the interest rate," he said. "I think our sector was spoiled for almost 10 years of free money and low interest rates. And that is good for venture capital, it's really good for capital-intensive businesses."
- He hopes that interest rates keep coming down after the Federal Reserve's latest cut.
Catch up quick: EIP, founded in 2015, has grown to a roughly 100-person firm with around $5 billion in assets under management, Kobler said.
- Roughly 80% of investments so far are in North America, with most of the balance in Europe, but the company also has relationships in Asia and the Middle East, he said.
- Its portfolio includes around 80 companies spanning grid tech, batteries, low-carbon industrial materials, nuclear, hydrogen, and lots more.
- It has had around three dozen exits.
What we're watching: Potential IPOs from its portfolio.
- "I think anything that allows us to add more load, cost-effectively, reliably, whether that's flexibility, whether that's speed to power, I think those are topics that the public market should like, because it's just an incredible growth trajectory," he said.
The bottom line: "The administration is all about AI dominance, all about energy dominance," Kobler said.
- "And to be energy dominant, you have to lead in energy innovation at the end of the day."
