Understanding the journey from cleantech innovation to market deployment is essential for institutional investors, their advisers and trustees seeking to align their portfolios with sustainable growth opportunities. This exclusive, in-person roundtable was designed to demystify the cleantech commercialisation process, breaking down the main stages and addressing the unique challenges faced by innovators and investors alike. Participants will gain insight into how risk can be effectively managed throughout the process, enabling informed decision-making and increased confidence in cleantech investment strategies.
Through dynamic discussions, the event showcased real-world success stories, highlighting lessons learned and best practices that have driven market success. Attendees benefited from a collaborative environment, fostering meaningful connections with peers, industry experts and thought leaders. By the end of the session, participants were equipped with a deeper understanding of cleantech commercialisation and the tools needed to navigate this transformative sector.
This engaging masterclass brought an insightful agenda and valuable networking opportunities, hosted at Pinset Masons, affording the chance to further conversations.
Key topics
Why attend?
Date: Tuesday 18 March 2025
Time: 09:30-13:30 GMT
Location: Pinsent Masons, 30 Crown Place, Earl Street, London, EC2A 4ES
Agenda:
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09:30-10:00 |
Arrival and registration |
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10:00-10:05 |
Welcome (Ian Warner, Pinsent Masons) |
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10:05-10:15 |
Housekeeping and introduction (Laasya Shekaran, Pensions for Purpose) |
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10:15-11:15 |
Adventures in Cleantech commercialisation presentation and Q&A (Chris Tchen) |
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11:15-11:30 |
Comfort break |
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11:30-12:15 |
Live experiences from SME panel (Richard Templar) |
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12:15-13:00 |
Case study learnings (Chris Tchen) |
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13:00-13:30 |
Networking lunch |
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13:30 |
Close |
Who should attend?
Clean Growth Fund was set up in 2020 to invest in UK-based innovations that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions or improve resource efficiency across: power, transport, industry, buildings, waste and water industries.
We look for innovations that will abate significant amounts of CO2-eq per year and will typically make an initial investment between £500k and £3m – predominantly during Seed or Series A stages.
Clean Growth Fund is multiple award winning and led by its Founder and Managing Partner, Beverley Gower-Jones OBE, a recognised thought-leader in early stage cleantech investments and commercialisation. The fund is passionate about creating tomorrow’s climate tech leaders which is spearheaded by our skilled team of investors, engineers and comms experts.Speakers
Beverley Gower-Jones, Managing Partner, Clean Growth Fund
Clean Growth Fund is a £101mn venture capital fund which invests in the UK's most promising early stage cleantech companies with the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Beverley is also the CEO of Carbon Limiting Technologies, an incubation consultancy for early stage cleantech small and medium-sized enterprises.
Beverley is a thought leader in early stage cleantech investments and commercialisation, that specialises in accelerating innovation to market and scaling businesses. Her ambition is to create a better, more sustainable world and she firmly believes this will be achieved by innovation playing a transformative role in the global economy.
Beverley is an independent member of the cross-government Net Zero Innovation Board. In her early career, she was a Founder and Vice President of Shell Technology Ventures. With over 30 years’ experience in the international energy sector, Beverley is a Fellow of the Energy Institute. She holds a BSc in Mining Geology from University College Cardiff.
Dr Sabrina Malpede, Co-founder and Managing Director of ACT Blade Ltd and SMAR Azure Ltd
Dr Sabrina has nearly two decades of experience in the design, development, and commercialisation of innovative solutions first in the yachting and now in the wind energy industry. She has an Honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Federico II (Naples-Italy) and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Glasgow. In 2020 she was awarded by UK Government DIT with the European Tech Woman Award (International Clean Energy) and in 2022, she won the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Public Award and the second prize of the Woman Leadership award.
Christopher Tchen, Co-Founder, Carbon Limiting Technologies
Christopher is Chairman of Carbon Limiting Technologies, a cleantech business that focuses on the commercialisation of new sustainable technologies, and he is also a member of the management committee (non-exec) of the Clean Growth Fund.
In the cleantech world, Christopher works in particular on tackling issues that slow or hamper the rapid development and large-scale deployment of low carbon technologies. These can occur at a company, supply chain or industry level. His work includes commercialisation support, especially company strategy, business model development, and also the development of new supply chain/industry wide mechanisms to fund and support commercialisation.
Christopher has been a strategy consultant for 35 years with experience across a wide range of industries on a global basis including: media, telecoms, leisure, financial services, consumer goods and professional services. Christopher started his career at Bain & Company, was a VP at Gemini Consulting and ran the European business of Strategos. He has been an independent consultant for 19 years.
Christopher studied Chemistry at Oxford University and has an MBA from INSEAD.
Richard Lock, Managing Director, Holiferm
With 20 years of experience, Richard has built his career by challenging the status quo and delivering transformative results. Starting in the lab and working across the globe, he has developed a track record for making things happen.
At previous roles, Richard drove the growth of a £28.5m chemical portfolio, spearheaded the business case for a 36kta betaine plant, and secured supply contracts for thousands of tonnes. Now at Holiferm, he’s proving that sustainability doesn’t have to come at a premium. He successfully established an innovative 1,100ta biosurfactant plant, setting a new benchmark for green technology. Richard thrives on disrupting outdated technologies, driving progress, and showing the world that bold ideas lead to extraordinary results.
Orla Shields, CEO, Kamma
Orla is the CEO and Co-founder of Kamma, a leading climate data technology company transforming how businesses in real estate and financial services navigate compliance, sustainability, and net-zero planning.
With a diverse background in technology, events, and financial services, Orla’s career highlights before Kamma include, managing a £650m infrastructure budget for the London 2012 Olympic Games and working on the recapitalisation of the Irish banking sector. She is passionate about solving complex challenges and helping businesses harness data to build a sustainable future.
Nikolai Tauber, CTO, Sunswap
Nikolai is the Co-founder and CTO of Sunswap, where he has led the engineering development of Endurance, an award-winning battery and solar-powered transport refrigeration system. After four years of intensive development and successful customer trials, Endurance has now entered commercial production. Prior to founding Sunswap, Nikolai developed thermal management systems for electric vehicles at Arrival and led efficiency improvements in transport refrigeration at Dearman. He holds an MSc in Thermo-fluid Dynamics from Aarhus University and brings deep expertise in engineering to Sunswap's mission of decarbonising the cold chain.
Professor Richard Templer, OBE, FRSC, FRSA
Professor Templer has 15 years of experience in supporting and catalysing climate innovation.
He co-founded the Climate-KIC in 2009, which became Europe’s largest public-private partnership on climate innovation. He was the Director of Education and Climate-KIC UK until 2015. He then became the Director of Innovation at the Grantham Institute for Climate and the Environment until his retirement in 2023. At the same time, he was a Commissioner for Sustainable Development for the GLA and raised funds to continue supporting start-ups working on climate innovations. The latter is now Imperial College’s vehicle for climate and sustainability innovation called Undaunted.
He received an OBE for his work on cleantech policy in London and enabling the growth of 150climate innovation start-ups.
Host
Laasya Shekaran, Director, Pensions for Purpose
Laasya is responsible for working with our Community, developing content and knowledge, and driving forward collaborative initiatives across the industry.
Laasya is passionate about approaching pensions and investment with a systems lens, and understanding how these sectors interact with the wider social and environmental systems they exist within.
Laasya is a CFA charterholder with experience working with a range of asset owners as an investment adviser, with a focus on corporate defined benefit pensions. Laasya is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events, and is also an experienced podcast host, currently hosting the Pensions for Purpose podcast. Laasya is an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion and is particularly passionate about anti-racism activism. She has previously won the Women in Pensions and Women in Investment Rising Star awards.
Pensions for Purpose
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