Have you ever heard of cleantech? 🤔 In 2024 alone, EU cleantech investment reached €23.4 billion across 76 deals—nearly tripling the previous year’s total. A historic first quarter accounted for €16.9 billion of that investment, fueled by mega-deals and increased backing from public financial institutions. Notably, cleantech venture capital (VC) activity spanned 23 of the 27 EU member states, highlighting the growing traction across the continent.
In the same year, €8.8 billion in venture capital was directed towards clean technologies, sparking a wave of sustainable technology innovations that are set to revolutionize various industries, including construction. In this article, we’ll explore how clean technologies are being applied in the building sector and why VC investment is essential to driving the next generation of green infrastructure. Let’s go!
Table of Contents
What is cleantech?
First things first. Before we get into cleantech investment and what it all involves, let’s take a moment to break down what this term really means.
Cleantech (Short for “clean technologies” has grown beyond niche sustainability circles in recent years and is now gaining more traction than ever across mainstream industries. In simple terms, this concept refers to a broad range of technologies and companies focused on improving environmental sustainability. We’re talking about innovations and business models that tackle global challenges like climate change and resource depletion.
The cleantech umbrella covers a wide variety of products (such as solar panels and low-carbon cement), services, and processes across different sectors (energy, construction, transportation, materials, and chemicals, among others), all designed to:
- Provide superior performance or decrease costs
- Greatly reduce (or eliminate) environmental impact
- Maximize the productive and responsible use of natural resources
The role of cleantech in the construction industry
As the construction industry intensifies efforts to reduce carbon emissions and lessen its environmental footprint. Cleantech is emerging as a key driver of sustainable transformation. Startups and leading construction firms are actively investing in and adopting clean technologies that promote eco-friendly building practices.
Cleantech in construction focuses on improving energy efficiency, reducing waste, and lowering emissions across the entire building lifecycle—from design and material selection to construction methods and operational performance. By integrating these solutions, the building industry is not only addressing environmental challenges but also unlocking new opportunities for cost savings and long-term value.
The evolution of venture capital in cleantech
In our recently published Top 50 Contech 2025 Report, the investment experts at Cemex Ventures shared some of the most valuable insights on the trajectory and outlook of cleantech investment throughout 2024. Amid a slowdown in venture capital activity, construction-related clean technology also saw a 15% drop compared to 2023 (2023: US$54B, 2024: US$46B). While this decline reflects ongoing market challenges, it also points to a window of opportunity for the adoption of breakthrough technologies in 2025. The Cleantech sector within the building environment has shown adaptability with a growing influx of investment driven by substantial public subsidies and increasing private sector interest in this field.
Fast forward, let’s dig into the information about the intersection of Contech and Cleantech in Q1 2025 — that is, solutions applicable to Contech which, due to their sustainability angle, CO2 mitigation, etc., can also be considered Cleantech. During this period, the sector reached an invested amount of USD 466.44M across 23 deals — a 93% and 44% increase, respectively, compared to 2024 (USD 241.19M invested across 16 deals).
- Due to the positive start of the year in the investment activity in the Contech ecosystem, Cleantech-related transactions (applied to the built environment) have also experienced a considerable increase, compared to the same quarter last year.
Top Deals Q1 2025: Contech + Cleantech
- Terra CO2 closed US$82M in Series B: Terra CO2, a leading US-based low-carbon building materials company, secured US$82 million in Series B equity commitments from a mix of financial and strategic investors. Read more!
- Ana received US$50M from S2G Investments: Ana, a Henderson, NV-based mobile power and air solutions company, received a $50M investment from S2G Investments. Read more!
- Reneo snapped €600M: Reneo, a Hamburg-based real estate technology and investment platform, has secured a €600 million capital platform. The funding will support the decarbonization of Germany’s residential real estate sector. Read more!
The latest (and most compelling) takeaways on cleantech investment
- The European Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal, unveiled in February 2025, aims to boost the EU’s cleantech and heavy industries with €100 billion in funding over the next 10 years. Read more!
- In 2024, China invested $940 billion in clean energy, approaching the $1.12 trillion spent globally on fossil fuels. Read more!
- Since the Inflation Reduction Act, clean manufacturing has become the fastest-growing area of clean energy investment in the U.S., with quarterly funding jumping from $2.5B in Q3 2022 to $14B in Q1 2025. Read more!
- In 2025, green hydrogen is emerging as a key pillar of India’s cleantech push, driven by the National Green Hydrogen Mission and rising private investment, positioning the country as a future global leader in green hydrogen production. Read more!
- Asia-Pacific is emerging as a cleantech investment hotspot, with the region set to drive 60% of global GDP growth in 2024 and consume half the world’s electricity by 2025.
- The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that at least $150 trillion in global cleantech investment is needed by 2050 to keep warming below the 1.5°C threshold set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Read more!
2025 trends in Cleantech
Energy appetite for AI
The computational power required to support AI’s rapid growth is doubling roughly every 100 days. This surge is driving a sharp rise in the number of data centers being built around the world, along with the energy needed to run them. As a result, AI and data centers are becoming major drivers of global electricity demand.
But it’s not just about how much energy is used, it’s also about when and where it’s needed. Data centers require a constant, stable power supply 24/7, which puts pressure on efforts to reduce emissions. This is sparking a global race to secure data center locations that offer abundant, clean, and reliable energy at scale.
Over the past year, major tech companies have ramped up investment in advanced nuclear technologies, from small modular reactors to fusion. These long-term solutions show promise, but most won’t be ready to deliver energy until the 2030s.
- Google plans to increase capital investments to $75 billion in 2025 as part of its effort to expand AI and cloud capacity.
Transitioning to greener construction
The construction industry is shifting toward a more sustainable approach. Low-carbon construction aims to make building processes less harmful and more aligned with the environmental goals of the Paris Agreement.
Several startups are also embracing cleaner, more sustainable materials—commonly known as green building materials—such as hemp-based concrete, bamboo, precast concrete, mycelium, and recycled plastic, among others.
- The global precast concrete market is expected to keep growing, with projections reaching USD 247.5 billion by 2035.
Continued focus on innovation on clean energy
The clean energy sector has been consistently innovating, and this momentum is expected to accelerate even more in 2025. This trend is evident in the growing investments and increased public funding for energy research and development, aimed at improving technical performance and efficiency, reducing costs, advancing emerging technologies, and inventing the solutions of the future.
Mature technologies like solar photovoltaics and wind turbines have already undergone this transformation over the past decades. Now, emerging technologies such as batteries and carbon management solutions are following their own innovation trajectories—driven by even greater urgency and rapid growth.
- In 2024, global investment in clean energy reached a record $2.1 trillion, representing an 11% increase over the previous year and more than double the levels seen in 2020.
Cemex Ventures and Cleantech: A Strategic Match
Yes, at Cemex Ventures, we’ve totally clicked with cleantech. We’re all in on leading the construction industry’s shift toward a greener, cleaner future. Our team of investment pros is constantly on the lookout for the most disruptive clean technologies that can cut CO2 emissions and boost the circular economy. That’s why our investment portfolio proudly showcases what green construction is all about.
If you’re an entrepreneur with a breakthrough cleantech solution that could shake up the construction world—we’ve got great news for you! Construction Startup Competition (teamed up with industry giants like Caterpillar, Hilti Group, Ferrovial, VINCI Group’s Leonard, Haskell’s Dysruptek, and Zacua Ventures) is open for applications until June 22.
This is your chance to skyrocket your startup into a top-tier ecosystem of investors and major companies!
