Now is the time to invest in long-term climate solutions, Aligned Climate’s Peter Davidson declared via LinkedIn yesterday. The second fund from the New York-based fund manager is twice as large as its $42 million first fund.
Aligned received commitments from the Rockefeller and Ford foundations, which invested alongside pension funds, corporations, endowments and family offices. To return capital to investors more quickly, Aligned is targeting companies with proven solutions in electric mobility and green infrastructure to sustainable land use and renewable energy generation and avoiding startups with long pathways to commercialization.
Aligned’s “approach reduces risk while expanding clean energy access, making proven technologies more impactful for US communities adapting to a changing energy landscape,” said Rockefeller’s Maria Kozloski.
Clean and climate tech
Aligned’s second fund has backed nine companies, including Los Angeles-based ChargerHelp!, a Black women-led company training and hiring local technicians in US cities to repair EV chargers (see Agents of Impact).
Other portfolio companies include BoxPower, a California-based developer of hybrid solar and storage microgrids in rural communities; and Spokane, Wash.-based CarbonQuest, which captures and repurposes carbon emissions from buildings and onsite power generation systems for industrial use. Scaling these companies “requires capital, expertise and market access,” said Davidson.
Impact carry
Aligned has touted the integration of ESG into its investment process. The fund manager will allocate 3% of the new fund’s carried interest to three nonprofits: the Honnold Foundation, to expand access to solar in underserved communities; the Climate and Clean Energy Fund to support climate justice and equity-focused grassroots organizations; and Impact Capital Managers, the New York-based coalition of global private impact fund managers. The new fund brings Aligned total raised through its venture strategy to $145 million.
