Catalytic Investing
Prime Coalition channels catalytic capital to companies, projects, and funds that have significant potential to mitigate gigaton-scale greenhouse gas emissions and aren’t attracting mainstream investment. Since 2014, Prime has mobilized $315MM with 247 partners to back 58 companies.
Investment Criteria
Prime provides catalytic capital investments to support climate solutions that demonstrate they have potential for significant impact, are unlikely to receive sufficient or appropriate type of support from conventional sources, and have a business model that best serves the solution's impact goals.
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Impact
We only invest in companies, projects, or funds with potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For Prime’s investment vehicles to-date, this means solutions that could lead to emissions reductions or removal of at least 0.5 GT CO2e cumulatively through 2050. Learn more.
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Additionality
We only invest in companies or projects that are unlikely to raise enough or appropriate kinds of financial support from “conventional” investors — investors providing capital under terms, like amount, rate of return, or expected exit, that are typical of their asset class. Learn more.
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Commercial Potential
We only invest when there’s a strong case that the team will be able to advance a business model that meets the impact goals after our investment. For example, if the company must scale quickly to reach impact goals, then our investment should position it to raise more capital to scale.
Trellis Climate
Trellis Climate is an impact-first catalytic capital program enabling novel climate infrastructure solutions to achieve commercial scale at speed. Committed to accelerating the deployment of first-of-a-kind (FOAK) climate projects, Trellis Climate focuses on opportunities with significant climate impact potential, a clear path to scale, and an acute need for catalytic capital. Trellis Climate addresses both financial and systemic barriers by offering risk-tolerant investment capital and sector transformation nonprofit programming. By leveraging philanthropy to crowd in as much commercial capital as possible, Trellis Climate aims to expedite the scaling of climate technologies to achieve net-zero targets by 2050.
Converts retired coal plants to bioenergy with carbon capture and storage while developing local biomass supply chains
Marine carbon dioxide removal company that is employing a novel electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement process to draw down atmospheric carbon
Nitricity produces an organic nitrate-based fertilizer through an innovative, low-emission process that uses only air, water, clean energy, and waste biomass.
Recognizing that traditional silicon solar cells have reached their performance limits, Tandem PV has developed perovskite-based tandem solar technology, which delivers significantly higher energy output at a lower cost
Azolla Ventures
Prime Coalition and Azolla Ventures, an impact-first investing firm launched by Prime, have announced a $239 million blended fund. The new fund invests in companies that could significantly alter the trajectory of climate change, but are overlooked by traditional capital sources.
Developed a platform for floating offshore wind turbines that could transform the economics of the category
Programing the genetic expression of plants with lights
Equipping ocean vessels with reactors that capture and sequester emissions and offering the potential to significantly reduce global emissions.
Modular carbon capture technology that efficiently removes CO2 from within building HVAC systems.
Using the forest fungal microbiome to improve forestry outcomes and address the climate crisis while enhancing beneficial microbial biodiversity.
High-temperature heat pumps that drive critical industrial processes without burning fossil fuels.
Muon Vision is developing a sustainable way to process critical metals.
Eliminate synthetic nitrogen fertilizer’s estimated 1 billion+ tonnes of CO2e annual contribution to global warming, by providing farmers with a highly effective, natural, cheaper alternative source of nitrogen for crops
Developing lower cost conversion of carbon dioxide into green methanol to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors.
Developing autonomous aircraft for rapid wildfire response
Sustainable mineral processing start-up on a mission to revolutionize the mining industry
Innovative technology that modularizes electric vehicle drivetrains, resulting in faster market entry for more reliable, higher-performing, and lower-cost EVs.
Membrane technology working to reduce the energy needed for materials extraction, by as much as 10 times, while increasing efficiency of extraction.
Developing closed-loop reactions that enable environmentally sound and complete extraction of copper at unprecedented speeds
Veloz Bio is developing fast and low-cost animal-free proteins for the dairy and egg market.
Prime Impact Fund
Prime Impact Fund (PIF) is a $50 million, 100% catalytic capital fund formed in 2018. Prime Coalition governs PIF and works with its investment team, tightly tethering our nonprofit structure and charitable purposes to PIF’s corporate form to ensure and maintain the primacy of mission and impact. PIF’s final initial investment was made in October 2021.
Designing, testing, and building fusion batteries that you can hold in your hand.
Reinventing the electric motor for high torque at low speeds, which could enable bigger wind turbines and ultra-efficient vehicles.
Converts waste biomass into bio-oil that’s injected underground.
Technology to degrade pathogens, toxins, and pests responsible for food waste.
A new air conditioning system delivering high efficiency and low greenhouse gas emissions.
Technology for the production of a silicon wafer at half the cost and half the CO₂ emissions.
Enabling low-cost and environmentally-friendly lithium to power electric vehicles and energy storage.
Synthetic biology platform to domesticate wild-type bacteria.
Developing a low-cost battery technology for long-duration energy storage.
Helping make insects an affordable, sustainable, high-protein ingredient for in the agricultural supply chain.
Developing technology to decarbonize cement-making.
Dynamic windows that can switch from clear to black, delivering energy savings at affordable cost.
Capturing carbon directly from air at low concentrations and cost.
Advancing coastal carbon capture by accelerating the natural weathering process of olivine rock.
Membrane-driven industrial separations, to reduce energy consumption.
Zanskar is using machine learning and imaging tools to enable enhanced geothermal exploration.
Syndicated Investments
From 2014-2018, Prime mobilized $24MM in catalytic capital to support 10 companies with significant gigaton-scale GHG reduction potential. These early direct investments demonstrated that catalytic capital could be deployed effectively to support early-stage climate innovators for the very first time.
No longer active - energy-efficient membranes to reduce the cost and energy of desalination and water treatment.
Reinventing the electric motor for high torque at low speeds, which could enable bigger wind turbines and ultra-efficient vehicles.
ConnectDER products are designed for utilities seeking to monitor and manage residential distributed energy resources (DERs) while improving and standardizing the DER interconnection process.
A new air conditioning system delivering high efficiency and low greenhouse gas emissions.
Enabling low-cost and environmentally-friendly lithium to power electric vehicles and energy storage.
Developing recyclable and moldable composite materials to replace plastics and other single-use materials
Overcoming constraints of traditional pumped hydro to change the economics and deployment of long-duration storage.
A revolutionary, energy-efficient and more cost-effective alternative to traditional vapor compression cooling systems.
Solid-state conversion of heat to electricity through a rectifying antenna – an “antenna for heat;” note more than half of energy generated globally is lost as waste heat.
Using electrochemistry to convert waste carbon dioxide into useful fuels and chemicals.
Wright Electric’s goal is to make all single-aisle flights shorter than 800 miles zero-emissions.