Venture Capital and theClean Energy Revolution

Thomas Rankin @rankinthomas

May 16, 2012

• Early-stage venture capital organization• Provider of incubation support• Accelerate commercialization of early-stage

technology companies• Focus on life sciences, IT and clean technology

What is Innovacorp?

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Manage $24M Clean Technology Fund

What is Innovacorp?

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Enabling Early-Stage Companies through Venture Investment and Incubation

• Creates resource efficiencies• Creates economic value for shareholders• Reduces environmental impacts• Provides superior performance at lower cost

What Clean Technology Means to Us

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In Many Cases, It Means Clean Energy

What the Heck is Going On?

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“There’s Too Many of Them”

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World Population | 1950-2050

Source: US Census BureauQuote: Lieutenant Telsij – Return of the Jedi

Give Me More, Give Me More

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World Marketed Energy Consumption | 1990 to 2035

Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Rising Prices for Commodities

8Source: McKinsey

Clean Energy is Here in a Big Way

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Significant Investments

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Global Investment in Clean Energy | 2004 – 2011 ($Billions)

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance

5x since 2004

It Keeps Growing

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World Marketed Energy Use by Fuel Type |1990 to 2035

Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA)

NUCLEAR?WTF?

What’s the Result?

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Clean Energy is Bulking Up

Credit: Charles Atlas

Wind = Big Install Numbers / Low LCOE

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Installed Global Capacity | 2010

Source: World Wind Report 2010

LCOE of 9.7 cents/kWh

Solar – HUGE Cost Reductions

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Cost Reduction | 2011 – 2020

Source: McKinsey

LCOE of 14 cents /kWh

• Humans consume 13 trillion watts of energy• Solar (at 8% efficiency) could produce 18 trillion

watts with minimal impact on land usage• Wind (at 40% efficiency) could produce about 7

trillion watts, under certain constraints

Good News – Wind + Solar Can Do It!

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As a Tag Team, Could Meet Our Energy Needs

That’s Awesome

Add Footer

What’s the Result?

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So Why Are They Losing?

flickr: Photo Jonny

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Welcome to the Desert of the Real

flickr: Pembina Institute

*The Matrix Reference

• Currently cheaper• Reliable• Acts as own form of storage• Easily transportable• Infrastructure is built to suit

Fossil Fuel is a Tough SOB

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And He’s Been Around the Block and Back

Status Quo is Fossil’s Best Friend and He Has a HUGE Expense Account

What are We Bringing to the Fight?

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More Expensive Energy – It’s All About the Benjamins, Baby

Coal = 6-10 cents

NatGas = 4-7 cents

What are We Bringing to the Fight?

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The Lovely, but Unpredictable Wind

Source: CAISO

What are We Bringing to the Fight?

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The Scatological Solar

Source: Apt & Curtright

What are We Bringing to the Fight?

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Expensive Methods of Delivering at Peak Demand and Managing Storage

Need Cheap, Grid-Level Storage

Source: LightSail Energy

What Needs to Be Done?

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Energy Research is Critical

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We Need More Money and More Brains

Source: Bill Gates

More Capital. Period.

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Clean Technology Seed and Venture Capital Investment

Clean Energy Asset Investments

Source: Cleantech Group

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance

• It’s all about PRICE• Natural gas will shape the near term • Energy markets are extremely unpredictable• Demand will continue to rise• Environmental and regulatory considerations

will grow in importance

Leave the Rose-Coloured Glasses Home

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It’s About Ambition, Not Idealism

Focus on Making Big Impact Technologies Cheaper and More Reliable

Where Does VC Play a Role?

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• Identify opportunities in the ecosystem• Work with early-stage technology companies• Give them the fuel [read: CASH] they need to

grow• Help establish projects and develop markets• Build strategic partnerships and accelerate

deployment

Venture Capital Likes Risk

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Addressing Big Market Inefficiencies is What We Love

Competing on Price• Better renewable energy generation• Support low cost tech producers

Reliability and Storage• Smarter grids with consumer empowerment • New, innovative forms of storage

More Efficient Transportation• Advanced biofuels• Electric vehicles and more efficient ICE

Overcoming Fossil’s Inherent Advantage

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Must Realistically Address the Disadvantages and Create Solutions

• Cheaper, more reliable energy generation• Energy storage• Smarter, more efficient buildings• Advanced biofuels

We See Lots of Opportunity

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And Nova Scotia Has a Role to Play

Making Investments in These Spaces

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SABRTech Inc.

FIN

Follow me at @rankinthomas

Also adventuresincleantech.tumblr.com

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