Without cleantech, there is no green future.

Clean technology (or cleantech) refers to technology companies that aim to improve the environment by developing more sustainable, eco-friendly ways to produce goods and services. It covers a broad range of technology related to recycling, renewable energy, information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, and more.

This crucial sector is tackling today’s biggest environmental challenges, while creating jobs and fostering innovation. 

In this article, we’ll offer insight to help economic and workforce development professionals attract talent and prepare their workforce for the booming green economy.

Overview: 

• Cleantech Market Growth: The global cleantech market size was valued at USD 5.5 trillion in 2023 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4%, reaching a value of USD 7.4 trillion by 2030.

• Economic and Workforce Benefits: Cleantech investment transforms communities into innovation hubs, creating high-quality jobs and attracting global talent and investment.

• Top Cleantech Companies: Innovators like ZeroAvia, H2 Green Steel, and Plan A are breaking ground in various sectors such as aviation, steel production, and carbon accounting.

• Green Job Market Trends: High demand for specialized roles such as Environmental Scientists and Solar Installers underscores the need for targeted training in the green sector.

Cleantech Market Size & Foreign Direct Investment Opportunities

To grasp the pace of this market's growth: in 2005, less than 2% of global FDI was in climate-related activities. By 2018, this grew to 12%. Since 2020, climate FDI has surged, making up 39.4% of global FDI in 2022, nearing $500bn in total investment.

In particular, the global cleantech market size was valued at USD 5.5 trillion in 2023 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4%, reaching a value of USD 7.4 trillion by 2030.

This exponential growth highlights how important climate-focused investments have become in the global economy. 

Why should economic developers seek cleantech foreign direct investment? 

• Cleantech companies are at the forefront of innovation. Attracting forward-thinking companies brings prestige to a community and helps retain and attract new talent to the region.

• Cleantech companies often require skilled labor, which can lead to the creation of high-quality jobs in the community. 

• And, of course, there’s the benefit of protecting the planet :)

The Fastest Growing Cleantech Companies to Watch (and what they’re doing to improve our environment)

So, we know cleantech is in demand. And bringing cleantech companies to a region is a big win.

But the real question is: How do you uncover these elusive and highly sought-after gems? You can start by exploring our curated list of the fastest-growing cleantech companies to watch, below. (This list was sourced from Gazelle, an AI-powered platform that identifies and indexes growing companies across 910+ different sectors to help business attraction teams target their outreach).

1. ZeroAvia, United States  

Aviation is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. That's why ZeroAvia is developing the world’s first zero-emission engines for commercial aviation.

2. H2 Green Steel, Sweden

According to their site, “Cleaning up steel is key to tackling climate change. As one of the world’s dirtiest industries, it is responsible for more than 7% of global CO₂ emissions.” H2 Green Steel accelerates decarbonization of the European steel industry.

3. Plan A, Germany

Plan A is a corporate carbon accounting and decarbonisation software provider that enables companies to to reach their net-zero goals. They help companies measure and cut their carbon footprint. The name is linked to the climate action slogan “There is no ‘Plan B’ for climate action as there is no ‘Planet B’.”

4. Hydrostor, Canada

Hydrostor is a long-duration energy storage solutions provider. Long-duration energy storage ‘weather proofs’ the grid and ensures consumers receive power from renewable sources, even when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. 

5. Syzygy Plasmonics, United States

Syzygy Plasmonics is decarbonizing the chemical industry, responsible for almost 20% of industrial CO2 emissions, by using light instead of combustion to drive chemical reactions. The company is a decarbonization company that builds reactors that use light instead of heat to electrify chemical manufacturing.

6. e-Zinc, Canada

e-Zinc developed a breakthrough electrochemical technology for storing energy in zinc metal. They are focused on creating energy storage for the world’s harshest environments and most critical applications using ubiquitous and recyclable materials.

7. Ekona Power, Canada

Ekona Power is developing a novel methane pyrolysis platform that delivers a clean, low-cost, and scalable solution for industrial hydrogen production. Existing approaches for clean hydrogen production are either expensive or energy-intensive. 

8. Yotta Energy, United States

Although solar storage has risen in popularity, the industry has faced challenges with producing practical batteries for energy storage. Yotta is a leading-edge solar storage solution. They simplify the solar storage process through decentralized, panel-level storage and optimize energy efficiency with intelligent software.

9. Fervo Energy, United States

Fervo Energy is a next-generation geothermal developer generating clean power in new places. Fervo Energy commercializes proprietary technology to own, develop, and operate geothermal assets as the dispatchable foundation for a 100% clean energy future. 

10. Treetoscope, Israel

Treetoscope tackles one of the most crucial challenges farmers face today: water scarcity and irrigation optimization. They are the first and only commercial device that senses the internal water flow of a plant and directly measures its water consumption and real-time irrigation needs.

Green Economy Workforce Trends

Like any industry, cleantech companies depend on a pipeline of skilled workers. And demand for those workers is growing.

In just the first quarter of 2024, there were 43,841 unique job postings from approximately 10,000 employers in the US for core green jobs – those that deal most directly with “green” work (e.g. a carbon reduction engineer).

To help you plan for and meet the rising demand for green talent in you community, we recommend exploring the in-depth data found in Developer. Developer helps economic development and workforce professionals understand their local economy, identify industry strengths, and analyze their workforce. It also includes access to Lightcast Sectors – pre-built filters that you can use to explore demand for emerging, hard-to-define parts of the economy, like “green jobs,” in your own region or industry.

For example, here are a few key green sector trends from Developer. 

Top jobs and skills in the green job market

This list illustrates the breadth of job types within the green sector, requiring a range of education levels and specialized skill sets:

• Research and engineering (e.g. Environmental Scientists and Environment Engineers)

• Installation and maintenance (e.g. Solar Installers & Irrigation Technicians)

• Business operations (e.g. Solar Sales Representatives and Solar Sales Consultants)

Even within a particular role, the range of required skills can be a blend of more common, transferable skills and more specialized skills that are unique to the green economy. For example, the top 10 skills required for Solar Installers include everything from power tool operation and roofing to Solar Energy Systems Installation & Solar Systems.

Top cities and states for green jobs

Where is this job demand concentrated? Here’s a look at the top 10 cities.

Interestingly, Houston, TX, (the energy capital of the world) leads in green job postings, followed by the two biggest cities in the US: New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA.  

In fact, Texas is the only state with three cities in the top 10 (Austin and Dallas, in addition to Houston), illustrating its prominence as a hotspot for green job growth. California is close behind with two cities in the top 10. But several other states from across the nation are represented on the list as well (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia) which indicates that the growth of this sector isn’t limited to just one region.

Dive Deeper into Green Economy Opportunities

The green economy offers communities fresh investment opportunities in growing sectors like cleantech. Attracting these innovative companies can enhance regional prestige, draw and retain skilled labor, and promote eco-friendly development.

With tools like Gazelle and Developer, economic developers and workforce professionals can strategically position their regions to excel in the growing green economy.

And if you liked this article, you should also checkout The Fastest-Growing AI Companies & Workforce Trends.