October marked a busy month on the ground for NovAzure across the UK, Germany and Asia, connecting with industry leaders, infrastructure developers, and investors shaping the energy transition across our global network.
From Birmingham to Kuala Lumpur, one recurring commercial question stood out: how quickly can clean energy technologies demonstrate genuine commercial viability and bankability? This edition brings together the key market signals, discussions, and perspectives our partners have heard shaping that debate.
Across the Network
At Solar & Storage Live UK at the NEC in Birmingham, Phil, together with Jean-Jacques and Ella, spent two days meeting developers, suppliers and integrators in the storage, solar and cooling sectors. Across multiple conversations, there were some recurring themes, from grid access deciding where projects get built to supply-chain origin now shaping bankability.
Phillip Cholerton, Partner
“The harder questions were commercial: which markets, which model, how to monetise.ˮ
These are precisely the questions NovAzure’s Market, Model, Monetise approach is built to answer, helping storage and energy companies turn technical differentiation into a credible, fundable business.
Woon-Hui attended the first Asian edition of Energy Tech Summit Asia in Kuala Lumpur, meeting founders building energy storage, grid and clean-heat technology alongside the corporates and investors shaping Southeast Asia’s energy transition. Energy for AI and grid and storage infrastructure were the largest finalist groups among more than 400 start-up applications.
“In Asia, the route to market for innovators increasingly runs through utilities, energy majors and industrial partners.ˮ
Woon-Hui Oh, Partner
NovAzure helps clean technology ventures and corporates identify where the value is, define the right business model, and take it to market, turning the energy transition into growth.
Chris’s analysis of Sonnen’s recent insolvency:
“Sonnen did not fail because home batteries are a bad idea. It failed because its cost base, its revenue model and its ownership set-up were built for a market that no longer exists.”
Chris’s 5 takeaways for German energy founders and investors:
Chris Gruen, Managing Director
Build the cost base for the trough, not the boom. Sonnen’s group revenue roughly halved from 2023 to 2024.
Hardware stopped being a moat, and software alone didn’t replace it. Sonnen’s share of German home-storage capacity fell to 3.3% in 2025.
Flexibility only pays where someone pays for it. With around 3% smart-meter coverage and fragmented market rules, German households still have no clear route to market. Commercial and industrial sites are a different story.
Deep pockets slow the reflexes. Measure your runway as if your big shareholder weren’t there.
Plan your ownership transition before it plans you.
Andrew highlighted the new Ember analysis that shows electric cars have saved oil-importing countries around $20 billion in crude imports since the Hormuz energy crisis began. Displacing imported oil does more than just cut emissions; it improves the balance of payments, and the gain grows when the electricity comes from renewables. He asked whether the case should be made more loudly while EV mandates face pushback in the UK and EU.
“The energy transition can make countries more robust, insulating them from volatile oil markets and strengthening their economies.ˮ
Andrew Aldridge, Partner
NovAzure has been at the forefront of the EV and charging market in the UK and Europe, supporting ventures and investors, from battery producers to charging providers, helping to accelerate their commercial growth.
Brown Rudnick’s Cleantech Pitch Event in partnership with NovAzure – 07/10/2026
NovAzure partnered with Brown Rudnick for the 10th annual Clean Technology Pitch Event, and this was our 8th year supporting it. Fourteen companies pitched for four minutes each, from unicorns seeking $100M or more to start-ups closing a seed round.
Partner Perspective
Greenwashing Is About to Get Riskier in Europe
Jean-Jacques Jouanna – Managing Director
New EU rules on environmental claims apply NOW (27 September 2026). Terms such as “greenˮ, “sustainableˮ and “eco-friendly” will need much more rigorous evidence behind them. Enforcement sits largely with national authorities, with fines that can reach 4% of company turnover in some cases.
Jean-Jacques notes that it remains to be seen how quickly and how firmly the rules will be enforced across Europe, and sees good news for businesses delivering energy transition solutions with genuine and measurable environmental impact.
“But the direction is clear: sustainability claims need to be measured, substantiated and defensible.ˮ
Quantified economics and evidenced impact sit at the centre of every business case NovAzure builds with its clients.
Climate Tech Funding Is Not Drying Up; It Is Getting Selective
NovAzure Team market insights
Two sets of data published this year point the same way. BloombergNEF puts renewable energy investment in the first half of 2026 at $327.5bn, flat on the previous six months and 21% below the peak of late 2024. Within that total, projects with co-located storage drew a record $25bn, almost double the second half of 2025. Capital is moving towards assets with more certain revenues.
Venture tells a similar story. Growth-stage climate investment rose by around 78% in 2025 while seed and Series A fell, according to Sightline Climate, and PitchBook has Europe leading on deal value in the first quarter of 2026 at $6.6bn.
“The pattern: bigger cheques, fewer companies, and a higher bar for proof.ˮ
It matches what we hear from our investor network. Our X-ray workshop gives founders a structured look at their story, numbers and evidence before they go to investors.
Sources: BloombergNEF, Sightline Climate, PitchBook.
What’s Next
NovAzure insights into COP31 Antalya
COP31 opens in Antalya on 9 November; however, we do not expect it to produce a landmark deal.
Fossil fuels will stay voluntary and outside the negotiated text, with COP31 President Murat Kurum rejecting a priority focus on fossil fuels, days after Turkish Petroleum signed new exploration deals. At the same time, negotiations, President Chris Bowen says he will keep arguing for a transition away from coal, oil and gas.
COP30 agreed $1.3tn a year by 2035 and at least triple adaptation finance, but with no baseline, amount or payer. The least developed countries are asking for $120bn a year by 2030, and the UK has told the GCF it will deliver only half of its £1.62bn pledge [Climate Home].
With Democrats winning the US midterms, other governments may see the US exit as reversible by 2029, which would weaken the case for restructuring climate finance around a permanent US absence. We will be posting once a week during COP, giving our insights and takeaways from the negotiations.
Discover where our partners will be engaging with innovators, investors, and industry leaders.
HubDay
Hamburg, 5th Nov
Connecting innovators in Hamburg
EarthScale Summit
London, 9th Nov
Connecting University Ventures with funding across Europe
Europe Meets Cambridge and Cleantech Venture Day
Cambridge, 12th Nov
A meetup for climate and impact professionals
Continuing the Conversation
