Clean Energy Venture Group

Investment decisions are led by the four co-founders—Daniel Goldman, Peter Rothstein, David Miller, and Temple Fennell—who serve as managing partners. Each brings operating experience from prior energy or technology ventures, and the firm operates with a consensus-driven partnership model typical of early-stage venture firms. The team draws on a network of venture partners and EDF Group executives for diligence on hard-science investments.

CEVG manages two parallel fund families: the independently raised CEVG funds and the EDF Energy Transition Funds, launched in partnership with the French electric utility. The EDF vehicles are managed by CEVG's team but structured to align with EDF's strategic interests in grid modernization, distributed energy, and industrial decarbonization. This gives portfolio companies a potential path to commercial-scale deployment through EDF's global operations without CEVG sacrificing its early-stage, thesis-driven investment process.

CEVG concentrates on seed and early-stage venture rounds, with selective participation in growth-stage financings for existing portfolio companies. The firm looks for companies that have moved beyond laboratory-scale proof-of-concept and are ready to demonstrate commercial viability through pilot projects or initial deployments. The EDF partnership allows CEVG to support later-stage capital needs through corporate co-investment when appropriate.

CEVG invests directly into operating companies and does not operate as a fund-of-funds. Its model focuses on board-level engagement and hands-on support for a concentrated portfolio, consistent with seed-stage venture practice. The firm has not marketed a fund-of-funds product or publicly announced LP commitments to external venture funds as part of its core strategy.

CEVG has maintained a consistent focus on hard-science decarbonization and does not invest in software-only climate plays that lack a hardware or physical-infrastructure component. The firm also avoids carbon-offset marketplaces, nature-based credit platforms, and consumer-facing climate apps, distinguishing itself from climate-tech investors with broader mandates that include regenerative agriculture credits or consumer carbon-tracking products.

CEVG regularly co-invests alongside other climate-focused venture firms, corporate venture arms, and family offices, consistent with early-stage venture norms. The firm's EDF relationship does not preclude syndication with other institutional investors, and its portfolio companies have raised capital from a mix of traditional VCs, strategic investors, and impact-oriented LPs.

CEVG's pipeline draws heavily from the Massachusetts innovation ecosystem—including MIT and Harvard spinoffs—as well as Department of Energy national labs, ARPA-E program graduates, and climate accelerators like Greentown Labs. The EDF partnership provides additional sourcing through the utility's global technology scouting network, particularly in European markets where EDF operates generation and grid assets.