Cleantech Group starting Chinese cleantech business park

The Cleantech Group, in partnership with Chinese and North American investors and others, is launching a cleantech business park in China.

At the Cleantech Forum XIII in Frankfurt, Germany this week, the group announced the Xuzhou Cleantech Park in the municipality of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.

The park is to be a joint venture between Cleantech Group, Tsing Capital, Tsinghua Holdings and the municipality of Xuzhou. It is to serve as a center for businesses focusing on the development and deployment of technology across the spectrum of cleantech segments including renewable energy, energy efficiency, water & wastewater purification, resource recycling, clean production, manufacturing, and advanced materials.

"We view the development of Xuzhou Cleantech Park as a major step forward in accelerating the commercialization of clean technologies and in keeping with the substantial increase in venture capital investment in China," said Don Ye, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tsing Capital.

"The enforcement of China's Renewable Energy Law solicited a significant increase in venture capital investment into the energy category in 2006. Coupled with the 11th 5 Year Plan and China's strong interest in cleantech as a means to resolve major environmental issues, we see China becoming a major cleantech powerhouse—both as a customer and an innovator—in the coming years."

The Cleantech Group's Cleantech China initiative, announced last year, is to serve to accelerate market adoption of clean technologies in China in a similar manner to the Cleantech Venture Network's work in North America and Europe. It offers investor members investment services, proprietary market leading research and dealflow tracking, investor forums, advisory services and publications tailored for the China market.

According to group's latest research, investors placed $420 million USD into 26 cleantech deals in China in 2006, representing a 147% increase over 2005. The full analysis on investments in China will be published in the Cleantech China Investment Report, to be issued on June 18, 2007.

"Investments in the cleantech category in 2007 [in China] have already outpaced 2006, with $154 USD million invested in the first quarter of 2007—four times that of the first quarter 2006," said Jerry Li, China Country Director, Cleantech Group.