Green Transition Facility: EUR 100 million for ‘green innovations’

• KfW Capital to make targeted investments in climate tech funds under a new venture capital (VC) fund programme
• Improved access to capital for start-ups and innovative tech firms with a focus on the green transition
• Contribution to the sustainable transformation of the economy and the German Government’s startup strategy

Effective immediately, KfW Capital will invest in VC funds that focus on climate tech and related climate-relevant thematic fields (defined on the basis of the EU Taxonomy Regulation 2020/852) under the newly designed ‘Green Transition Facility’ programme. Eligible VC funds must demonstrate a strategy that clearly meets the criteria described above. A total of EUR 100 million is available for the facility. KfW will provide the necessary funds.

‘The energy crisis has made it clear: Innovations in the energy sector are urgently needed in order to find alternative, efficient and well-priced energy solutions and thereby preserve our prosperity and competitiveness in the long term. KfW Group has therefore set itself the task of playing a lead role in advancing the sustainable transformation by also promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. We expect the new “Green Transition Facility” programme to have a push effect on this area’, said Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer of KfW Group and Supervisory Board Chair of KfW Capital.

‘In order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality, we urgently need technological innovations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We therefore must improve access to capital for start-ups and innovative technology firms that are engaged in developing climate tech solutions. Our “Green Transition Facility” strengthens the capital stock of VC funds that specialise in this’, said Dr Jörg Goschin, Co-CEO and Senior Managing Director of KfW Capital. The programme constitutes a new measure under the Future Fund and contributes to the German Government’s start-up strategy, in particular to the ‘innovation and transformation areas’ specified therein (e.g., sustainable mobility, bioeconomy, circular economy, climate, energy and environmental technology).

In recent years, investors have significantly expanded their engagement in the field of climate tech in Germany, even though the market in the US in particular is much larger. Many of the VC funds that specialise in climate tech are known as first-time funds that often have difficulty raising capital. In order to reflect the particular importance of climate tech for the German economy, the main field of action of the German Government’s start-up strategy consists in improving the financing conditions by mobilising public and private-sector capital.

KfW Capital always invests at equal terms and conditions with other private capital providers by providing a maximum of 19.9% of the fund volume, as it does under the other programmes ‘ERP-VC Fund Investments’ and ‘ERP Future Fund Growth Facility’. The volume of the fund must not be less than EUR 50 million.

Note: You can find an analysis of the significance of climate tech at:

Fokus-Nr.-429-Mai-2023-Green-VC.pdf (in German only)

KfW Capital

As a wholly-owned venture capital subsidiary of KfW Group, KfW Capital invests in European venture capital funds with support from the ERP Special Fund and the Future Fund. The aim of KfW Capital is to sustainably bolster the VC fund landscape so as to give innovative technology companies in Germany better access to growth capital. In its investments KfW Capital applies the Sustainability Policy and exclusion list of KfW Capital. The VC fund investor sets great store by the target funds’ observance of ESG criteria. Further information on KfW Capital, the programmes and KfW Capital’s VC fund portfolio is available at:

KfW Capital