18 leading investors, representing funds of more than €1 billion, innovative companies and universities from Spain and Portugal join forces to boost the cleantech economy and connect policy, innovation and investment with one voice.
In 2022, €676 million will be invested in cleantech in Iberia, a six-fold increase compared to the previous five years. With a target of 81% renewable energy in Europe, Spain would contribute 20% of all projects worldwide.
November 16, Lisbon. Zubi Group, the group of impact companies founded and chaired by Iker Marcaide, has joined a select group of investors, innovative companies and universities in a grand alliance driven by Cleantech for Iberia and Breakthrough Energy – the Bill Gates-backed organization to help decarbonize the planet – to make the Iberian Peninsula a European leader in clean technologies.
Cleantech for Iberia presented this Wednesday in Lisbon during Web Summit, the largest European technology event, its coalition of leaders in clean technologies. Among its 18 members are leading investors, innovators and universities in Spain and Portugal, all key players in the ecosystem, with a combined fund of more than one billion euros.
In the words of Iker Marcaide, founder and CEO of Zubi Group: “We are excited to join forces with key players in the ecosystem such as Cleantech for Iberia and Breakthrough Energy, Bill Gates’ initiative to decarbonize the planet. With the incorporation of Zubi Group we join the efforts of all our impact companies to make Iberia the epicenter of cleantech in Europe, and achieve our purpose of solving social and environmental challenges to build a better future“.
Along with Zubi Group and the two main drivers of the alliance, investors such as Seaya, Net Zero Ventures, Klima, Adara, Axon, Inclimo, A&G, Kira Ventures and BBVA; FertigHy, Malta, H2 Green Steel, Plastic Energy, Build to Zero, Rega Energy as innovative companies, as well as the universities IE University and Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
The initiative connects the worlds of policy, investment and innovation with the mission of boosting the clean technology economy in Iberia. Europe is facing a crisis in several areas, with energy at its core. To address challenges such as war, inflation and supply chain disruption in an era of geopolitical turbulence, major global economies are engaged in a full-speed race to implement cleantech innovation.
This launch marks the hatching of the cleantech movement in Iberia, accelerating the implementation of the most ambitious climate and industrial solutions, forging an ecosystem that brings together capital, technology and policy to enable net zero emissions industrial leadership in Iberia.
“For the first time, Iberia’s cleantech community has come together to speak with one voice. It marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in establishing the Iberian peninsula as Europe’s next clean industrial hub,” stresses Cleantech for Iberia Director Bianca Dragomir.
Investing in clean technologies
The momentum behind the cleantech scene in Iberia has grown rapidly in recent years. According to Cleantech for Iberia’s investment data, €676 million will be invested in cleantech on the Iberian Peninsula in 2022, a six-fold increase compared to the previous five years.
On the other hand, according to ‘Cleantech for Iberia’, the comparative advantages of investment in clean technologies in the Iberian Peninsula are the use of clean, cheap and abundant energy; the establishment of ambitious goals such as reaching 81% of renewable energy in Spain by 2030 and 80% in Portugal by 2026; skilled labor; and energy storage, hydrogen; and a solid industrial base. In turn, growth in the green hydrogen industry is foreseen, where Spain would contribute 20% of the projects worldwide, according to the initiative.
This coalition calls for industrial policies to close the time gap between ambitious targets and ecosystem needs, accelerate reindustrialization through policies that address the entire value chain and project development costs, and finally, connect the Iberian Peninsula globally by coordinating long-term infrastructure planning. With abundant sources of clean energy such as wind and sun, an emerging green hydrogen economy and a strong existing industrial base, Spain and Portugal possess many potential competitive advantages in frontier sectors such as green steel, green fertilizers and long-term energy storage.
About Zubi Group
Zubi is a group of impact companies with a mission: solving social and environmental challenges to build a better future. To achieve this, it uses entrepreneurship and investment as instruments to solve these challenges, while generating economic profitability. The group is structured in four business areas, focusing on entrepreneurship, the development of sustainable urban environments, investment and education. Its founder and president is serial entrepreneur Iker Marcaide, who also founded Flywire, the first Spanish company to go public on the Nasdaq.
