Clean Energy Ventures
Clean Energy Ventures is a Boston-based climate venture capital firm that backs early-stage startups cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. It is not a water fund, but water keeps surfacing inside its climate thesis: as of 2026 it has backed 4 water companies across 6 deals, from lithium-from-brine extraction to 3D-printed membranes and smart water metering.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Clean Energy Ventures grew out of the Clean Energy Venture Group, an angel network its principals had been running together since 2005. In 2017 David Miller, Daniel Goldman, and Temple Fennell turned that bench into a formal fund with one rule: back companies whose technology can keep gigatons of greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere. Water shows up here as a consequence of chasing carbon, never as a mandate.
Clean Energy Ventures' water bets cluster exactly where energy and water overlap. Lithios pulls lithium straight out of salty brine instead of evaporating it across desert ponds, a process that lives or dies on water chemistry. Aqua Membranes 3D-prints the spacers inside reverse-osmosis membranes to make desalination and reuse cheaper. Cala Systems builds compact heat-pump water heaters, and Copper Labs reads water and energy meters wirelessly. The through-line is water treated as climate infrastructure, not water for its own sake.
Clean Energy Ventures writes first checks at Seed and Series A and closed a $305M second fund in 2024 that it is still deploying. When I sort the water deals in my Leviathan database by climate fund, this is the kind of name that keeps appearing at the edges: a generalist that lands on water only when a water company is also a serious carbon bet. Expect more of its water exposure to arrive through the electrification of heat and the chemistry of batteries than through pipes and treatment plants.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 4 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Clean Energy Ventures invest in?
- Clean Energy Ventures invests in early-stage startups whose technology can sharply cut greenhouse-gas emissions, across energy, industry, buildings, and transport. Water is one thread inside that climate thesis: the firm has backed 4 water companies across 6 deals, in areas like lithium extraction, membranes, and water metering.
- Is Clean Energy Ventures a water fund?
- Clean Energy Ventures is not a dedicated water fund. It is a broad climate venture firm focused on cutting carbon, where water appears only when a water technology is also a strong emissions play. As of 2026 it has made 6 water-related deals, a small share of its overall portfolio.
- Who runs Clean Energy Ventures?
- Clean Energy Ventures was founded in 2017 by David Miller, Daniel Goldman, and Temple Fennell, who had invested together as the Clean Energy Venture Group since 2005. All three serve as managing partners, and Louis Schick is Director of Investments.
- Where is Clean Energy Ventures based?
- Clean Energy Ventures is based in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Founded in 2017, it invests across North America and Europe and closed a $305M second fund in 2024 to back early-stage climate startups, including a handful working on water.
- Is Clean Energy Ventures the same as NJR Clean Energy Ventures?
- No. Clean Energy Ventures is an independent Boston climate venture capital firm founded in 2017. NJR Clean Energy Ventures is the renewable-energy subsidiary of utility New Jersey Resources. They share a name but are unrelated; this profile covers the Boston venture investor.