PitchBook-2024年四季度清洁能源VC趋势（英）_11页_5mb

Clean Energy VC Trends 2024 Summary

Overview

• 2024 experienced significant uncertainty for the clean energy sector due to political changes in Europe and the US presidential election.
• VC deal value in clean energy was largely flat in 2024, decreasing 4% from $18.4 billion to $17.7 billion. Deal count also declined 6.5% to 914 deals.
• The US and North America dominated VC deal value, accounting for 45.8% of the total, an increase from 32.3% in 2023.
• Asia's share decreased to 26.3%, while Europe's share fell to 25.2%.

Key Trends by Segment

• Grid Infrastructure emerged as the largest segment by deal value ($6.4 billion) in 2024.
• Dispatchable Energy Sources (nuclear, geothermal, hydrogen) saw strong deal activity, including large investments in fusion and geothermal energy.
• Intermittent Renewable Energy Sources (solar, wind) experienced declining deals, with overall sector deal count falling.

Deal and Exit Activity

• The median VC deal size in clean energy remained at $6.1 million, while early-stage deal valuations fell by 34.8% (to $6.5 million).
• VC exit value fell sharply by 86.8% ($1.1 billion), though exit count decreased only marginally from 36 to 33.

Largest Deals in Q4 2024

• Pacific Fusion ($900 million Series A for fusion energy)
• X-energy ($500 million Series C1 for nuclear reactors)
• Fervo Energy ($499 million Series D for geothermal systems)
• Form Energy ($455 million Series F)

Impact of AI on Energy Consumption

• The rise of DeepSeek raised questions about AI's energy needs and the role of clean energy in powering datacenters.
• Efficiency claims by DeepSeek led rival AI companies like OpenAI to criticize its realism.

Clean Fuels and Energy Sources

• Hydrogen and biofuels continue to grow, supported by VC funding and state/national policies.
• Nuclear fission, once technical and economically limited, is gaining momentum due to R&D support, especially post-IRA policy changes.