Green Crowd – giving sustainability companies a financial boost

After a year of skyrocketing energy prices, 2023 has seen prices begin to stabilise. With the price of natural gas increasing, attention was drawn to renewables which could give more consistent and cheaper energy production in the long-term.

Before, renewables were seen as a way to get out of the energy crisis, but now people were investing in the area for the right reasons said Paul Browne of Green Crowd.

“People were reactive rather than proactive,” he said. “People are [now] focused on the practical and strategy in what they do to become sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint. That’s been their huge refocus.”

The renewables market is beginning to boom and see momentum in the right direction. Businesses adopting renewable products like solar are seeing returns within a four-to-five-year time frame which is a major plus. Add to that the removal of planning permission for roofs and a commercial grant for businesses to adopt solar, and uptake has risen significantly.

Green Crowd is well placed to help with this, acting as a portal for green companies to find the funding they need.

Whereas traditional loans may not help companies wanting to improve their renewable products, Green Crowd provides greater support for start-ups and companies looking to decarbonise or create renewable energy. It makes a point of only supporting those which have a carbon reduction or sustainability ethos.

Companies like Batterybox Technologies, which provides a supply of battery energy storage systems for commercial solar consumers, and Green Tech Distributors Limited, which focuses on the import and distribution of PV solar equipment, are currently raising funding through the platform. All to provide ethical and socially beneficial investments for investors wanting to contribute to a green economy.

In the case of battery storage technology, Browne sees a huge opportunity there for organisations.

“It’s a huge opportunity to put batteries into the business because when the business owners go home at night, the batteries can be filling at night using low cost green energy and the power is available for them to consume when they come in during the day,” he said.

Huge opportunities

“There are huge opportunities here, so what Green Crowd is doing is backing companies like Batterybox Technologies to grow and scale.”

Green Crowd itself is currently eyeing up the potential of being an independent and green non-bank lender, something Browne says there’s huge scope in, with interest from investors and the potential to help companies scale.

EIIS has been of significant help to both it and the companies it helps fund, with Browne saying it addresses a need for seed-funding and for fledging start-ups in the industry. As they develop, they have the foundation to move to the next level which includes dealing with angel investors and venture capital funds.

While very positive about the scheme, Browne does mention his concern over the reduction in tax relief. The drop from 40 per cent relief to 35 per cent might not be big but he fears it may put off some investors and see reduced interest in the scheme overall.

For the future, the organisation is looking at EU crowdfunding licences, and seeking ways to fund companies beyond EIIS. It’s already started the process in scaling up.

“We’re wearing a green sustainable hat and we are seeing quite a few private funds starting to look at investing in that area, in the green space,” he said. “Our target next year is to raise €10 million in fresh equity and see that growth and move on from there.”

“We’re not deliberately moving away from EIIS but it might contract somewhat in that it will not be as attractive as the lower cap. I don’t think we’ll see the same level of interest coming in from investors who may be looking for different homes for their funds.”

All of this feeds into the ultimate goal of Green Crowd becoming a green lender in its own right.

“While it’s a fledgling funder now in the renewable space and it’s fundraising €2 million to €3 million a year for start-up businesses, we want to ramp that up as an alternative funder in the green space,” he concluded.

For more information on the Green Crowd investment opportunities, contact the firm at 01-912 0345 or by email at info@greencrowd.ie