The Low Carbon Innovation Partnership

There was some fairly big news for UK cleantech venture capital announced yesterday - a new £250m fund backed by oil money.

The Qatar Investment Authority is bankrolling the new Low Carbon Innovation Partnership with £150m. UK emissions-cutting quango the Carbon Trust is contributing £10m and managing the fund through its CT Investment Partners advisory business. The Carbon Trust will be looking to raise the remainder from private sources - expect commitments from VC houses which don't have their own cleantech resources.

For more detail, see the Carbon Trust release:
The Carbon Trust - set up by the UK Government in 2001 and one of the world’s leading experts on low carbon technologies - has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) on a new Low Carbon Innovation Partnership to set up a new £250m Qatar-UK Clean Technology Investment Fund and to investigate the creation of a Low Carbon Innovation Centre in Qatar.
The Fund will seek to make venture capital investments in clean energy businesses primarily located in the UK. Selected investment opportunities in continental Europe will also be considered. In addition, the Fund will consider investing in the Gulf Region once an investment capability is established in Qatar. The Fund will begin investing with up to £150m committed from the QIA alongside the Carbon Trust’s commitment. It will look for further funding from other investors to bring the maximum amount to £250m.
The Memorandum of Understanding also includes a commitment to carry out a feasibility study to investigate the creation of a Low Carbon Innovation Centre in Qatar. It will aim to share skills and knowledge on the development, commercialisation and deployment of low carbon technology between the UK and Qatar.