Climate Tech: Thirty Years of Lessons and What Comes Next

From envirotech to cleantech to climate tech, what have three decades taught us about investing in a more sustainable future Dave Kirkpatrick, co-founder and managing director of SJF Ventures, will trace the sector’s evolution and explore how rising data center demand, grid needs, and shifting policy are shaping its next chapter. Drawing on his experience backing climate companies, Dave will share a national perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing founders and investors today. You’ll leave with a national view of where the opportunities and challenges are today, and a clearer sense of which lessons from earlier cycles still apply. Speaker Dave Kirkpatrick Dave Kirkpatrick is Managing Director and co-founder of SJF Ventures, a positive impact growth equity fund with offices in Durham, New York City, Seattle and San Francisco. SJF was founded in 1999, has 96 portfolio companies and is investing from its sixth fund. SJF assists and invests in mission-driven enterprises with unique innovations which create strong competitive advantages. Dave was also the founding Co-Chair of Impact Capital Managers and serves on the ICM board and co-teaches a climate tech course at Columbia Business School. The SJF portfolio includes Terabase Energy, Nuclearn, Zero Homes, NewEdge Power, Ambient Fuels, ShipMonk, Azra AI, Authorium, Springboard, Graphika, Waycare, Voltaiq, Origin, mPulse Mobile, Iron Sheepdog, TemperPack, Cecelia Health, Novinium, Chartspan, Tive, Solera Health, TransLoc, NEXTpower, Validic, EnTouch, Easy Metrics, Vital Farms, Lium, Respondology, Community Energy, Living Earth, Hyla Mobile, Optoro, Duos, CleanScapes, and groSolar. Location ​​American Underground @ATC 📍 324 Blackwell Street, Bay 9, Durham (map) ​​Questions? Learn more about Raleigh-Durham Climate Week plus get answers to your FAQs here: www.raleighdurhamclimateweek.com ​​Partners Raleigh-Durham Climate Week is made possible by an Impact Partner Grant from the City of Raleigh.