EQT Foundation has committed €500,000 ($577,000) in funding to Elemental Impact to accelerate the development of a new financing approach aimed at bringing first-of-a-kind (FOAK) climate infrastructure projects to commercial reality. The initiative is designed to address a persistent funding gap that prevents many promising climate technologies from scaling beyond early development stages.
The grant will enable Elemental Impact to expand its catalytic financing model, which focuses on bridging the so-called “missing middle” in climate investment. This gap exists between early-stage venture capital and traditional project finance, where many infrastructure projects struggle to secure the relatively modest but high-risk capital needed to move forward. Typically, FOAK projects require between $2 million and $5 million for early-stage activities such as permitting, engineering, and site preparation – funding that often falls outside the appetite of conventional investors.
