PE/VC pullback brings dark clouds over Indian climate-tech companies

Funding fell 61% to $1.3 bn in 2024

Notwithstanding the global focus on emissions reduction and green energy, private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments in Indian climate technology (tech) companies have cooled. Investments fell 61 per cent in calendar year (CY) 2024 to $1.3 billion, down from $3.4 billion the previous year — the lowest since the pandemic-hit year of 2020, according to global research by CB Insights.

 

Since 2021, PE/VC investments in India’s climate tech sector had been rising steadily year after year until 2023, before plunging in 2024. This decline mirrors a global trend, as investor enthusiasm for the sector wanes despite strong government efforts to promote clean energy and achieve near-zero emissions. 

 

The downturn could worsen with the Donald Trump administration’s recent policy shifts, which have reversed several global green energy initiatives. Trump has stalled electric vehicle (EV) adoption by cutting subsidies and blocking a $3 billion fund meant for charging infrastructure. His administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord is expected to slow climate funding further.

 

Globally, climate tech funding fell 40 per cent in CY 2024, dropping to $30.9 billion from $51.5 billion the previous year. EV tech deals took the biggest hit, plunging over 60 per cent, with only 243 deals in CY 2024 compared to 630 in CY 2023.

 

In India, both the number and average size of deals have contracted. The average deal size in CY 2024 was just $12.1 million across 107 rounds — nearly half of CY 2023’s $23.7 million average, which spanned 143 deals.

 

India’s share of global PE/VC investment in climate tech has also diminished, falling to 4.2 per cent in CY 2024 from 6.6 per cent in CY 2023.

 

The largest deal in the fourth quarter of CY 2024 was Sterlite Power’s $85 million raise from PE investors, including Enam Holdings and GEF Capital Partners. The only deal in the EV space was Ultraviolette’s $12 million funding round, backed by investors such as Zoho Corporation and Ojas Consultancy.