Turning Venture-Backed Innovation into Bankable Climate Infrastructure
The transition to a low-carbon economy will require not only new technologies, but also the infrastructure and capital needed to scale them. A new white paper by BCG and HSBC highlights the gap between early-stage venture capital and long-term infrastructure investors.
A key challenge lies in the “first-of-a-kind” (FOAK) stage, where climate innovations must demonstrate bankability before accessing large-scale capital. This phase remains difficult to finance, as it sits outside the typical risk-return expectations of both venture and infrastructure investors.
The report explores how blended finance, risk-sharing mechanisms and more structured capital solutions can help bridge this gap and support the transition from innovation to scalable infrastructure.
For capital markets participants, this underscores the need to mobilise long-term capital and develop investment structures that can channel funding from innovation to scale, shaping future deal flow across sustainable infrastructure.