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EPA Takes Steps to Help Cleantech Developers Cross the “Valley of Death”

Late last month, the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology submitted a report to the Environmental Protection Agency entitled “EPA and the Venture Capital Community: Building Bridges to Commercialize Technology.”  The report provides recommendations that are aimed at helping the Cleantech investment community develop a relationship with the EPA in order to streamline permitting processes and set regulatory guidelines that encourage the development of new technologies. 

Specifically, the report argues that state and federal governments are not capable of investing enough venture capital to allow developers of emerging energy technologies to cross the “valley of death”, that challenging period between prototype and proof stages and development and revenue stages.  Therefore, the report attempts to identify ways the EPA can modify its approach to attract more private investment in Cleantech.  Some of these recommendations include:

- Recognizing a variety of pollutants as pollutants addressed in Goal 1 of EPA’s Strategic Plan.

- Creating channels of communication between the EPA and the early-stage investment community.

-  Setting up programs to streamline permitting for emerging clean technologies. 

- Collaborating with members of the Cleantech development community to set up monitoring systems that speed up research on the environmental effects of new energy technologies.