theknowledgebase

Everyone is going crazy these days setting up new companies promising green technology and new renewable energy solutions. People are giddy with excitement at what the future could hold and how it could not only save us money, but keep our money in our own economy. There is much to be fearful of too. Not every venture is profitable, but that’s exactly what they’re pitching; how their technology is going to change the world.

I’m not saying someone won’t do it; but I am saying take a step back before you drop whatever happens to be left of your retirement fund into some green tech startup stock. Dot Com companies were all the rage, they promised businesses that could market to the entire world with little overhead. For most venture’s this did not work out. Some managed to crawl their way through it and eventually became profitable on the other side of the bust. Amazon and Yahoo are the only high profile names I can think of that survived.

It wasn’t all bad though, we learned valuable lessons in a short span. We are going to go through a similar phase with green tech companies. We’ll learn very quickly what will and won’t work, what green business models work and where. So what can we be sure of in green tech investments? I’d say batteries, look for a company that makes a breakthrough in battery technology and you’ll have found yourself a winner. Infrastructure will be the other winner, if you see a company that can build the electrical grid we’re going to need, they’ll be another good bet.

There will be lots of smaller successful ventures, but they won’t be as profitable. Since most renewable technology is suitable for a unique feature of the environment, most green tech will only be applicable in the regions that support that green tech. Only batteries and electrical infrastructure will be the only things we can count on to be widely adopted.