Clean Growth Fund has banked a second close for its second vehicle, pulling commitments to £81.5M as British local-government pension money flows into seed-stage climate tech.
The close was anchored by a £22.5M commitment from Border to Coast Pensions Partnership’s UK Opportunities Fund. Strathclyde Pension Fund, a backer since the firm’s first fund, added another £10M to take its total in Fund II to £30M. Islington and East Riding pension funds also joined the vehicle.
Fund II is targeting around 25 companies from seed to Series A whose technology can cut carbon emissions, with a place-based strategy spanning Oxford, Cambridge and London as well as emerging hubs. Four investments are already in place, in startups based in Sheffield, Bristol, Cardiff and London working across battery technology, food, heavy industry and buildings.
Founder and managing partner Beverley Gower-Jones said the commitments push the fund beyond the halfway mark toward its £150M goal and signal growing institutional appetite for British climate innovation.
The second close follows Clean Growth’s exit from heat network developer Rendesco, which collected £100M from Pioneer Point Partners in May. UK pension pools face political pressure to back domestic growth assets, and the fund’s pitch ties returns directly to the country’s net-zero transition.
