HSBC and Google Cloud Partner to Finance Climate Tech Solutions
The collaboration aims to provide financing and support to companies offering climate mitigation and resilience solutions.
HSBC and Google Cloud have joined forces in a new partnership that seeks to finance and assist companies focused on climate mitigation and resilience solutions. The collaboration aims to connect HSBC’s specialist climate tech finance team with companies in the Google Cloud Ready – Sustainability (GCR-Sustainability) validation program. By exploring venture debt financing options, the partnership aims to accelerate the development and implementation of sustainable technologies.
1: Bridging the Gap between Technology and Finance
The new partnership between HSBC and Google Cloud aims to bridge the gap between technology providers and financial resources. It will connect HSBC’s climate tech finance team with companies in the GCR-Sustainability program, which showcases solutions available on Google Cloud that can help businesses and governments accelerate their sustainability programs. This includes initiatives such as carbon emission reduction, value chain sustainability improvement, and ESG data processing to identify climate risks.
Justin Keeble, Managing Director for Global Sustainability at Google Cloud, emphasizes the importance of a global ecosystem of technology providers to address the scale of the climate challenge. The partnership aims to provide financing opportunities for climate tech companies that are essential for driving climate action.
2: Scaling Up Climate Technologies
The collaboration between HSBC and Google Cloud targets several key goals. One of these goals is to increase the number of partners in the GCR-Sustainability program over the next two years. By expanding the program, more companies with sustainable solutions can access the financing and support they need to scale up their technologies.
HSBC, which announced last year its commitment to making $1 billion available to support early-stage climate tech companies worldwide, sees partnerships and innovative financing solutions as crucial for scaling up new technologies. Natalie Blyth, Global Head of Commercial Banking Sustainability at HSBC, emphasizes the need for a step change in scaling up new technologies to support global decarbonization. The partnership with Google Cloud aims to provide the necessary financing support, cloud technologies, and connectivity to help climate tech vendors accelerate their growth and develop urgently needed solutions at scale.
3: The First Venture Debt Package
As part of the partnership’s launch, HSBC and Google announced their first venture debt package provided to LevelTen Energy. LevelTen Energy is a provider of renewable transaction infrastructure that connects and supports renewable energy buyers, advisors, and sellers. In addition to its validation in GCR-Sustainability, LevelTen partnered with Google last year to streamline the process of negotiating and executing renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). This collaboration significantly reduced the time required for deal execution, enabling the accelerated deployment of clean energy.
Conclusion:
The partnership between HSBC and Google Cloud represents a significant step towards financing and supporting companies that provide climate mitigation and resilience solutions. By connecting HSBC’s climate tech finance team with companies in the GCR-Sustainability program, the collaboration aims to accelerate the development and implementation of sustainable technologies. With a focus on scaling up climate technologies and providing innovative financing solutions, this partnership has the potential to drive impactful change in the fight against climate change.