The amount of water used in extractive industries (oil, gas and mining) is increasing dramatically, but water itself is a supply-constrained resource. Herein lies an environmental problem and an investment opportunity.

Our second LEIF conference for 2012 will focus on ‘Water Innovation in Extractive Industries’.  In the lead up to this (free) event, which will take place on May 25 at Norton Rose in London, we’ll be blogging  in more detail on this emerging cleantech investment theme - looking at some of the leading and emerging players, recent deal activity and the investment opportunities that are presenting themselves.

This is the final part of a three part blog exploring the emerging environmental investmenrt themes of remanufacturing and recommerce.  Read Part 1 and Part 2.

This is the second part of a three part blog exploring the emerging environmental investmenrt themes of remanufacturing and recommerce.  Read Part 1 here.

This is the first part of a three part blog series exploring the emerging environmental investment themes of remanufacturing and recommerce and the opportunities within them.

Fixing things, cleaning them up and selling them to someone else. Nothing ‘new’ there?  Well, no - and yes.  Remanufacturing and reuse might not be a new frontier or at the forefront of technological advancement, but at a time of economic instability that’s part of the appeal.And there is innovation to be uncovered...

Recommerce is a term to describe the trading of used goods.  The industry is flourishing as cash-strapped consumers and businesses look to make money from items they no longer want and to spend less on the things they do. This high growth sector is producing interesting business models which are going some steps further than the likes of eBay by offering buyers quality-checked used products, which come with warranties and peace of mind.  For sellers, it’s a quicker and simpler way to raise cash than via eBay-style auctions.

Some sectors and businesses have been more resilient than others to the economic crisis.  But has the recession actually been a driver of growth for any?  Apparently so - and they’re fast gaining investor attention, emerging as the ultimate recession-busting cleantech investment.

This is the second part of my blog on produced water (you can read the first part here) which will look at the market – the players and technologies – in some more detail.

The US is way ahead of Europe on demand response.  So much so that while the two big US demand response companies, EnerNOC and Comverge, are being forced to look elsewhere for business as their home market nears saturation point, here in Europe, demand response is only just beginning to get off the ground.

This is the third and final part of my blog on critical metals and cleantech.  This one aims to give an overview of where the opportunities are presenting themselves and those that are leading and innovating in the sector today.  

In the first part of this blog I looked at the metals currently considered critical among sector analysts, and those that UK consultancy Oakdene Hollins has identified as likely to remain or become critical in the next five to 10 years.

Is China and its rare earth supply restrictions actually doing cleantech a favour?

Our ‘Investing in Energy Efficiency’ conference went very well on Friday. We had a good mix of corporates, investors and innovators - both speaking and in the audience.  Thanks to all those who spoke, supported and participated. 

Air source heat pumps (ASHP) and micro-CHP have experienced fragmented growth in Europe but several companies are looking to bring new products to market or significantly ramp up sales in the next two to three years.  Decreasing prices and government incentive schemes mean these two forms of low carbon heating are expected to play a crucial role in helping Europe meet its carbon reduction and renewable energy targets.  Delta Energy & Environment – a speaker at our ‘Investing in energy efficiency’ conference at the London Exchange this Friday (Sep 30) – looks at the key players.

At our LEIF Smart Grid conference last year Mary Turner, CEO of Centrica-backed HEM company Alertme, pledged to “make energy sexy”. Middle-aged suits in the audience – myself included – stirred uncomfortably in our seats. Energy? Sex? I don’t think so. I’m not yet turned-on to switching the lights off, let alone controlling my energy appliances from a smart phone.

LEIF speaks to Rolf Adam, Director of Business Development EMEA, Energy & Smart Grid, Cisco (RA) and Juergen Habichler, Founder and Managing Director of Swiss VC firm Mountain Cleantech (JH).

Energy efficiency is a broad sector: green IT, lighting, building materials, demand response…  The list goes on.  How are investors defining it in terms of the investment opportunity?

The energy efficiency sector has had a healthy injection of venture capital over the past 18 months. In Q2, investment in energy efficiency accounted for almost a quarter of cleantech venture capital commitments (Cleantech Group). 

Asia’s economic growth is outstripping Europe and the US - and Asian cleantech is no exception. Private equity and venture investing in Asian cleantech has significantly lagged North America and Europe but with the region now arguably the fastest growing market for clean energy and clean technology, this looks set to change.

The World Bank estimates that US$180 billion of water infrastructure investment is needed each year until 2030 to meet freshwater demand. Renewed corporate activity, a strong performance from water stocks and an increasing interest in water innovation from cleantech venture capitalists, which have historically favoured the energy and waste sectors, suggests the world is catching on.