Investors Go All-In on Iberia’s Cleantech Boom | Suma Capital

In this episode of NET-0, I speak with Natalia Ruiz Sáez,
Managing Partner at SC Net Zero Ventures.





SC Net Zero Ventures is a Climate Tech growth fund managed by
Suma Capital. The fund recently closed at €210 million and
focuses on backing industrial decarbonization scale-ups across
Europe.





Suma Capital is one of Spain’s leading alternative asset
managers, with around €1.2 billion under management and a strong
focus on sustainable investment.





Through SC Net Zero Ventures, Natalia and her team invest in
companies that can help scale the next generation of clean
industrial technologies.





Iberia is becoming one of the most exciting regions in Europe’s
clean industrial transition. The region combines world-class
renewable resources, competitive electricity prices, strong
engineering talent and growing investor interest.





But turning that potential into scalable, bankable companies and
projects is still the hard part.





We talk about why clean tech investment in Iberia is growing,
what still holds the ecosystem back, and why scaling industrial
technologies is so different from scaling software.





Natalia shares her view on the role of venture capital, public
funding, corporate partners and bankability in bringing new
climate technologies from pilot stage to commercial scale.





We also discuss what investors look for in founding teams, how
Spain compares to markets like Germany and France, and whether
Madrid could become one of Europe’s next major startup hubs.





Subscribe to NET-0:
https://www.youtube.com/@NET-0_Podcast





Learn more:
https://sumacapital.com/en/sc-venture/





Guest Links


Natalia Ruiz Sáez:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalia-ruiz-saez/





Host


Leon Urban:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leon-urban/





Chapters


00:00 Iberia's €30B Clean Tech Gap — Why It's Europe's Biggest
Opportunity





04:55 Why scaling clean tech is so hard





07:28 Inside the €210M Fund Backing Europe's Industrial Scale-Ups





13:14 Red Flags & Green Lights: What Industrial VCs Really
Look For





17:06 The Bankability Problem: Why Great Clean Tech Can't Get
Funded





20:51 Hardware is difficult for traditional venture capital





23:52 Europe's Exit Problem — and the Geopolitical Opportunity





27:47 Investment Strategy, Storage and Hydrogen: Where the


Smart Money Is Going





35:27 Is Madrid becoming Europe’s next startup hub?