Experts in Airtightness and Technical Solutions
CleanFinTech is a technical firm specializing in airtightness, energy efficiency, Passivhaus consulting, and blower door testing. We combine expertise in advanced technical diagnostics, renewable energy, and R&D to deliver measurable solutions that are applicable on-site and aligned with the most rigorous standards in the building sector.
Technical Mission and Commitment to Energy Efficiency
Our objective is to enhance the comfort, air quality, and energy efficiency of buildings through advanced technical diagnostics, tools such as the blower door test, and an innovative approach to airtightness—validated by real-world data and applied on-site.
Key Experience and Technical Capabilities
Solid track record
Over 30 years in energy, efficient construction, and solutions requiring high technical expertise.
Technical Services
Blower Door tests, infiltration diagnostics, thermography, ultrasonics, and Passivhaus consulting.
Applied R&D
Development of hermetic sealants aimed at improving execution and reducing errors on-site.
Areas of Action
New construction, rehabilitation, residential, industrial, and commercial projects.
Impact and Expected Results in Efficiency and Sealing
Our technical projects are aimed at improving airtightness, reducing infiltration, optimizing comfort, and ensuring regulatory compliance, yielding measurable results through blower door tests and improvements in the n50 indicator.
Request the technical dossier for the R&D project, or speak with our technical team to evaluate your project.
What do we understand by Fintech?
Fintech involves the development of financial services that assist institutions, businesses, and individuals in managing their financial operations and personal lives through software and algorithms, whether on computers or smartphones. Financial technology began with the significant development of back-end software for traditional global banking—specifically, the creation of SWIFT transfers, online account access, and electronic stock trading. However, a shift toward the consumer—driven by increased innovation and automation—has led to the creation of online banking, financial advisory services, new payment methods, wealth management, automated accounting, novel lending and borrowing solutions, crowdfunding platforms, and cryptocurrencies. Financial innovation has also given rise to blockchain technology, decentralized ledger systems, smart metering, and dynamic methods for creating asset-backed securities, green bonds, carbon credits, and environmentally conscious derivatives.
The Size of Clean Technologies and Financial Technologies
Global investment in renewable energy exceeded $200 billion in 2017, with $2.9 trillion invested in sources such as solar and wind since 2004. China, a major global investor in the sector, invested $126.6 billion in 2017. Conversely, the United States continues to reduce its investment in the industry, which fell to $40.5 billion in 2017. The largest investment segment in 2017 was project finance, totaling $216 billion. Institutional investors contributed approximately $10 billion of this figure, allocated across direct investment, project bonds, and investments in specialized infrastructure and private equity funds.
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB), the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the Madrid Stock Exchange (BMAD), and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)—as well as NASDAQ and the OTC markets—along with the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the TSX Venture Exchange, list numerous clean technology and renewable energy companies.
Fintech startups received $17.4 billion in funding in 2016, with 26 fintech unicorns worldwide valued at $83.8 billion. North America is home to the majority of fintech startups, followed closely by Asia. Global fintech funding reached a new record in the first half of 2018, driven by a significant increase in deals in North America. $57.9 billion was invested across 875 deals, and Asia could soon surpass the United States in fintech deals.
Classifying clean technology as an asset
Growing concern over climate change has once again brought renewable energy into the spotlight. Clean energy infrastructure provides long-term contracts and cash flows against maturities. These investments can be linked to inflation, generating calculated yields, stable returns, and dividends. Alternative energy is here to stay, providing stability against commercial sales in wholesale energy markets while offering a logical transition toward a low-carbon economy and carbon-neutral credits.
Holding assets in low-risk, low-volatility jurisdictions—such as Europe, Japan, and North America—creates a stable and predictable asset base. Cost reduction continues to dominate the clean energy market, with a 90% decline in costs in the last decade alone. As oil prices rise from their recent lows, gas and electricity prices are set to climb once again. Traditional energy companies continue to invest heavily in oil, coal, and nuclear energy solutions, offsetting large portions of their carbon emissions simply by purchasing carbon credits. As battery storage improves, smart metering continues to advance, and demand data increases, the clean technology industry appears poised to support investors.
Holders of renewable energy assets include utility companies, insurance firms, pension funds, and asset managers such as BlackRock and Brookfield. The increase in renewable energy targets in Europe boosts earnings potential in the primary market.
Financial Risk-Adjusted Returns
Yields remain attractive—ranging between 6% and 10%—across solar, wind, and biomass energy sectors. When assessing the resource quality of risk assets, project construction audits, as well as resource volume and pricing, constitute the primary risk factors that must be addressed. Each technology necessitates prudent asset management and a thorough understanding of asset-specific risks—ranging from wind resource volatility to fuel pricing and supply issues in the biomass sector. Risk must also be managed by avoiding highly leveraged transactions. Low leverage eliminates a source of earnings volatility, thereby mitigating the impact of tariff reductions such as those experienced in Spain.
Some technologies are still proving their commercial viability; tidal energy is expensive; and business models for battery storage are not yet profitable. It is necessary to achieve critical mass and scale in these emerging technologies to create an industry that supports investors. Will they evolve into infrastructure assets or remain merely investment opportunities? Battery storage represents a turning point for the renewable energy sector, yet the projected pace of price reductions makes it difficult for the business model to cover the amortized cost plus residual value. Once again, risk mitigation efforts are focusing increasingly on optimizing asset management.
Clean technologies offer reliable prospects for profitability—which is highly beneficial for pension funds—while institutional investors feel comfortable with this asset class. Furthermore, investments in ethically oriented companies are bullish and remain attractive as a source of stable, long-term cash flow.
Is clean technology a safe bet for investors?
Yes, they are—after more than 30 years of continuous investment. Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth—released in 2006 (and Gore himself, whom we met in 2008)—focused on climate change and thrust the issue into the global investment spotlight, with a particular focus on the clean technology sector. That same year, venture capital funds invested $1.75 billion in clean technology startups, eclipsing the hundreds of millions invested in previous years. Driven by rising oil and gas prices and favorable U.S. government policies, the market expanded. By 2011, venture capital funds alone had invested more than $25 billion in clean technology startups.
Having undergone a full cycle of policy developments and demonstrated proven technological performance, the value of an asset will depend more on the purchase price, the project’s useful life, and other factors that underpin its Net Asset Value (NAV). The average useful life for hydroelectric power is 40 years, for solar power 30 years, and for onshore wind power 25 years. NAV also depends on the reliability of cash flows and the balance between commercial and contracted revenues. Typically, wind and solar assets derive revenue both from support schemes—based on megawatt-hours generated—and from electricity sales in wholesale markets.
Where clean technology investors must exercise caution is in evaluating new technologies, prototypes, scientific innovation, and the business experience of the individuals or companies creating them. The product might not fit the market or evolve into a profitable business—a crucial factor to consider when analyzing new ideas.
Does Fintech Help?
Yes. The sector requires a more diverse set of actors and innovation models. Early-stage clean technology startups require substantial amounts of seed capital. A large portion of this funding is allocated to research and development to address the technological and market risks associated with the solution. This research and development takes time, does not guarantee success, and may take years to reach the market. Universities are excellent research hubs, and government support for research and universities mitigates risk for investors.
Financial technology also caters to the desires of new generations—who may be more risk-tolerant—and provides patient capital with a long-term objective and social returns derived from clean technologies. This type of financing can be generated through crowdfunding, government grants, philanthropic investments, angel investors, and distributed funding sources.
Financial technology also creates innovative financing models that facilitate funding during the early stages. Distributed solar financing projects in countries such as Pakistan have demonstrated how a household can install solar panels on its roof—even if unable to finance the investment itself—because interconnected homes purchase the energy, and the financing is backed by the collective number of households within that interconnected smart community. More fintech investors focused on clean technologies are needed.
Each investor has their own investment model thesis, with unique objectives and goals. Fintech technologies offer new opportunities to consumers with diverse investment theses who seek to support clean technologies over the long term.
Traditional investors, driven by short-term, above-market returns, may not dedicate the time necessary to incubate clean technologies, nor the waiting period required to achieve long-term success. A dynamic community of investors contributes its own business contacts and technical expertise to support its investors.
Even if current investments in clean technology solutions were to double, fossil fuels would still meet two-thirds of our energy needs by 2030; consequently, there is ample potential for growth. As global energy demand rises, so too does the clean technology sector. Fintech technologies offer the opportunity to diversify funds and provide innovative approaches to targeted support. If we succeed in providing the appropriate capital and necessary support, a 100% clean energy future will be possible.
