HSBC has unveiled plans to invest £807 million ($1 billion) in financing climate technology start-ups around the world.
The financing is expected to support start-ups to create a range of new solutions, including electric vehicle charging, battery storage, sustainable food and agriculture, and carbon removal technologies.
The move comes after recent data found that after successive rapid year-on-year growth, venture capital funding for climate start-ups plunged by 40% in the first half of 2023, as market conditions in the venture capital space put downward pressure on nascent tech valuations.
While majority global early and growth stage climate tech investment has focused on the USA and Europe, HSBC’s £807 million allocation plans to focus on high potential climate tech companies, wherever they are in the world.
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The bank’s CEO of global commercial banking Barry O’Byrne said: “Access to finance is critical for early-stage climate tech companies to create and scale real-world solutions.
“We are already working with some of the most exciting companies at the forefront of climate tech, from seed to global scale-up,” he added.
“With HSBC’s global reach, in-house climate tech expertise, and newly launched Innovation Banking proposition, we can offer these pioneer companies unrivalled support,” O’Byrne concluded.
The global bank aims to achieve net zero in its operations and supply chain by 2030 and its financing portfolio by 2050.
HSBC has also committed to phase out fossil fuel financing by 2030 in markets in the EU and OECD, and by 2040 in other markets.
