Emerging Technologies Conference
Is There a Clean-Tech Bubble?
Experts analyze the debate held at EmTech08.
TR Editors 09/26/2008
- 2 Comments
At Technology Review's 2008 Emerging Technologies Conference, EmTech08, experts debated the idea of a clean-tech bubble. Here is CNET News' Senior Writer Martin LaMonica and author of the blog "Green Tech" analysis of their opinions and the related issues:
Clean-tech bubble talk is a red herring
It's fashionable these days to ponder whether there's an investment bubble in clean tech. But I believe this discussion obscures a bigger problem for the clean-tech crowd: not enough money.A panel of venture capitalists at the Technology Review EmTech 2008 conference on Thursday took the bubble question head on. The response from investors tends to be nuanced: No, there isn't a bubble, but there are some silly company ideas getting funded...read more
GS Early of KCI Investing gives his insight on the panel in his blog "At These Levels":
Is There a Clean-Tech Bubble?
This was the last breakout session of the EmTech 08 Conference and I stuck around for this panel of venture capital guys to see what they were seeing in emerging energy technology companies.On the panel was David Berry, Principal at Flagship Ventures, Robert Day, Principal at @Ventures, and James Kim, Senior Partner at CMEA Ventures...read more
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FreddyG
20 Comments
A $7 Trillion Market
$7Trillion per year. That's the big difference between the clean energy market and other rapid growth phases like the internet bubble. In the internet space, or software or computer hardware, people have been competing aggresively over a potential future total market size of $10 Billion or $100 Billion. $7,000 Billion currently changes hands every year to deliver energy to users around the world. This "bubble" is like no other we've seen in a long time since it's playing in a real market and a huge market. And it's only just begun, with renewable energies having 1% of the market; they can grow at 30% per annum for many years. At this rate, market saturation might begin to occur in the late 2020s. Furthermore, the economics of renewable energy are now competitive with "conventional" energy and continue to improve relentlessly. "Conventional" energy forms dominate because of huge momentum and installed capital bases, but the renewables are shaping up to be fundamentally better mousetraps. This spells fantastic profit opportunities for a game-changing industry.
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