Primo Ventures and LifeGate announce a strategic partnership for innovation in climate change technologies

18 mag 2023 Press Release, Primo Ventures

Milan, May 18, 2023 - Primo Ventures SGR S.p.a., an independent Asset Management Company specializing in technology investments, and LifeGate, a Benefit Company considered the benchmark of sustainability in Italy, announce a strategic partnership for trend analysis and investments in the climate sector.

Meeting the challenge of climate change will require investments in multiple areas, including one that is absolutely central: the development of new technologies. Over the past decade, $3 to $5 trillion has been invested globally each year, but it is estimated that over the next twenty-five years investments to mitigate the effects of climate change will grow exponentially to $100 trillion.

Indeed, every human activity will have to meet increasingly stringent sustainability requirements, as set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations member states, catalyzing the development of new solutions.

Innovation in clean energy technologies must accelerate to achieve the carbon neutrality (Net Zero Emissions) scenario by 2050. While the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 55 percent by 2030 can be achieved with existing technologies, the path to net zero emissions by 2050 relies on technologies that are not yet mature or otherwise commercialized on a large scale. This is particularly true in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize such as heavy industry and long-distance transportation.

"The challenge of climate change will require an unprecedented technological and financial effort in the history of mankind," said Gianluca Dettori, President of Primo Ventures. "We are honored to be able to collaborate with a scientific and focused partner on this problem like LifeGate, which has been analyzing and developing this sector for many years, proposing concrete solutions."

A study by the International Energy Agency shows that about half of the technologies needed to achieve the 2050 goals are still in the startup stage, in the form of prototype in research labs or demonstration plant. It therefore becomes critical to analyze an emerging market that is rapidly revolutionizing our response to climate change. Climate Tech to date accounts for 16 percent of total venture capital investments in Europe, 10 percent in the rest of the world, but projections suggest that this percentage is set to grow significantly over the next decade.

"Globally, in 2022, for every four dollars of venture capital invested, more than one dollar went to climate change technologies. That's about $50 billion, a sum that has grown 24-fold in 10 years and will revolutionize the landscape," explains Simone Molteni, LifeGate's scientific director, "but in no way should this news be read as an invitation to postpone the ecological transition pending new technologies. What is needed today is already available and action must be taken now to reach the first milestone at 2030. Enough time has already been lost."

"Sustainable saving is the last piece of an ethical lifestyle, along with mobility, food, and energy. But perhaps it is the most important building block because it can really change things. People need to be given the choice of where to invest their savings in order to shift the balance of the planet toward a better and more sustainable future," says Enea Roveda, CEO of LifeGate.

The partnership aims to analyze the dynamics of this emerging sector to identify trends, opportunity spaces and possible joint activities that can contribute to the growth of the climate tech sector especially in accelerating the development of enabling technologies to achieve the goal of full sustainability. LifeGate and Primo Ventures also intend to develop models for analyzing, tracking and benchmarking investments from the perspective of ESG criteria and the impact of new technologies on decarbonization.

Primo Ventures
Primo Ventures SGR S.p.A. is an independent asset management company specializing in early stage venture capital in the digital and space sectors. The company, with approximately 200 million assets under management, represents one of the leading players in technology investments on the Italian scene.
www.primo.vc

LifeGate
LifeGate is a Benefit Company, considered the benchmark of sustainability in Italy, and counts on a community of more than 5 million people. Every day LifeGate works with passion and determination to make information, projects and services available by involving an ever-widening network of people, businesses, ngos, and institutions that want to actively engage for a sustainable future.

www.lifegate.it

For more information:
irene.dri@primo.vc
lorenzobrambilla@lifegate.com

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