Eclipse Ventures Launches Framework to Quantify Climate Impact Potential for Technologies Disrupting Physical Industries

• Industry-first framework helps investors assess carbon reduction potential alongside economic ROI for technologies leading the Industrial Evolution
• In partnership with Rho Impact, Eclipse Ventures calculated 11 of its portfolio companies have the combined potential to reduce annual GHG emissions by more than 200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eclipse Ventures, a venture capital firm that helps founders build companies to make physical industries more efficient, resilient, and profitable, today announced the release of the Eclipse Carbon Optimization (ECO) framework. The new tool assesses the environmental and economic value potentials for emerging industrial technologies. ECO helps investors identify the full promise and impact of technologies by quantifying sustainability and carbon reduction potential alongside economic ROI—an industry first.

With physical industries accounting for 75% of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, net-zero goals are contingent upon investments in the decarbonization of these industries. While tools exist to measure past and present environmental efficiency of new technologies, until now, investors have lacked a comparable methodology to quantify a technology's future sustainability and carbon reduction potential. This information is powerful for investors weighing opportunities in carbon-intensive physical industries.

"Quantifying sustainability is mission-critical for investors to better identify the technologies that will reduce the carbon intensity of our physical infrastructure, while also creating tremendous economic value," said Jay Knafel, Partner at Eclipse Ventures. "These are investments that our society desperately needs to reverse climate change, improve economic resiliency and accelerate growth to drive the next massive wave of transformation. In sharing our approach and research, we intend to spark a deeper cross-industry debate among investors, founders and customers about the importance of quantifying future sustainability for technology and measuring its impact on our planet."

The ECO Framework is based on CRANE, an open platform, soon-to-be open source tool developed by Prime Coalition, a leading climate non-profit, to calculate future emissions reduction. In partnership with Rho Impact, a climate advisory firm, Eclipse Ventures applied this methodology to 11 companies in its portfolio to better understand their carbon reduction potential. Together, these 11 companies have the combined potential to reduce annual GHG emissions by approximately 200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MMtCO2)—or ~4% of total U.S. emissions—by 2040. That's the equivalent of removing roughly 44 million internal combustion engine passenger vehicles from the road.

Eclipse Ventures' portfolio companies are increasing efficiency with far lower energy intensity per unit of production. Among these companies are:

• Bright Machines, which automates electronics manufacturing with flexible software-defined automation. By localizing supply chains, improving yield and decreasing waste, Bright Machines reduces per unit carbon intensity by around 50% and has the potential to reduce more than 5 MMtCO2 annually by 2040.
• Arc, which has developed the first purpose-built electric boat designed to house a less than 200kwh battery pack. Arc is replacing a fossil fuel alternative and will reduce the carbon intensity of the recreational boating industry by 85%, resulting in 27 MMtCO2 in emissions reduction by 2040, assuming 9% market penetration.
• Augury, which offers 'machine health,' a physical and digital service that ensures higher uptime, more efficient energy use, and higher yield from machinery. Augury cuts emissions by around 12%, resulting in 3 MMtCO2 reduced annually by 2040.

The full ECO report is available here.

Since 2015, Eclipse Ventures has been investing in innovative industrial technologies that are digitizing physical industries and powering the Industrial Evolution. These technologies are digitally transforming agriculture, industrial manufacturing, supply chain, transportation and energy—industries that together are responsible for three-quarters of the global GDP, yet have suffered from long-term under-investment. As a result, they are decades behind in modernization, an essential step toward decarbonization.

"Our core mission at Eclipse Ventures is to build companies that create new approaches to physical industries in a way that benefits people, economies and the environment," said Lior Susan, Founding Partner at Eclipse Ventures. "With ECO, for the first time ever, we have a tool that quantifies both environment and economic value potentials. ECO provides a clear signal to the market that physical industries are ripe for successful technological transformation."

The publication of the ECO framework comes on the heels of the firm launching Eclipse Venture Equity, a new venture formation program focused on building companies from scratch in order to transform physical industries.

With over $2.6 billion in assets under management, 70-plus portfolio companies, and a team of investors with deep operating expertise in technology, manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, healthcare and consumer products, Eclipse Ventures is one of the leading U.S. venture capital organizations. Its leadership team has the experience necessary to create and scale complex operations – with partners coming from industry giants, such as Flex, Tesla, Apple, Samsara, Virgin Hyperloop and GE. Eclipse Ventures partners with exceptional companies that make physical industries more efficient, resilient, and profitable. For more information, visit www.eclipse.vc.

Rho Impact delivers software and services to accelerate the adoption and implementation of ESG and sustainability programs across the world. With roots dating back to 2012, Rho Impact combines the art and science of impact planning, tracking, and reporting through purpose-built tools such as ESGProgram.io and CRANETool.org along with hands-on advisory services. Rho Impact partners with some of the world's leading impact-focused organizations and contributes to a variety of open access tools, frameworks, and nonprofits. For more information, please visit www.rhoimpact.com

Prime Coalition is a nonprofit organization that works with philanthropists and other mission-driven organizations and individuals to support sustainable, effective, and scalable solutions to climate change. Every Prime program is designed to catalyze, deepen, or accelerate solutions that we believe will massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, visit: https://www.primecoalition.org/

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SOURCE Eclipse Ventures