HSBC, Google Cloud partner to fuel climate tech growth with new financing solutions

HSBC has teamed up with Google Cloud to drive advancements in climate mitigation and resilience by providing financing and support to companies within the Google Cloud Ready – Sustainability (GCR-Sustainability) program. This collaboration marks a significant effort to accelerate the development and implementation of climate technologies, with HSBC exploring venture debt financing options for GCR-Sustainability validated companies.

The partnership aims to expand the GCR-Sustainability program, adding more partners over the next two years, and to identify financing opportunities for these companies as part of HSBC’s commitment to deploy $1 billion in climate tech finance. This initiative reflects both organizations’ dedication to fostering innovation in technologies critical for global decarbonization efforts.

Natalie Blyth, Global Head of Commercial Banking Sustainability at HSBC, highlighted the urgency of scaling new technologies to support decarbonization globally. “Partnerships and innovative financing solutions are key, especially during a period when investment in climate tech startups has fallen. By combining financing support, cloud technologies, and connectivity to partners across our combined footprints, we will help climate tech vendors accelerate their growth and develop the solutions we urgently need at scale,” Blyth emphasized.

Justin Keeble, Managing Director for Global Sustainability at Google Cloud, underscored the importance of a global ecosystem of technology providers to address climate challenges. “This is why we launched our Google Cloud Ready – Sustainability ecosystem which – one year in – includes leading climate tech companies. Many of these partners need access to finance and we are excited to partner with HSBC to support firms key to climate action,” Keeble stated.

The partnership’s effectiveness is illustrated by HSBC’s venture debt financing package to LevelTen Energy, a GCR-Sustainability-validated company that facilitates clean energy transactions. Ross Trenary, CFO of LevelTen, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, noting HSBC’s global reach and potential for connecting with clients aiming for sustainability goals.

This collaboration builds upon HSBC’s launch of a credit risk advisory tool on Google Cloud and its announcement to deploy $1 billion in financing to early-stage climate tech companies, alongside the launch of HSBC Innovation Banking. This comprehensive approach aims to support a broad range of innovation businesses and their investors in the journey towards a more sustainable future.