Seeing through the Smog - Clean Energy Business Opportunities in China

The pollution problems that affect China are well-documented and they show little sign of going away. However, heightened public anger at pollution - and a growing political will to deal with the issue - has created opportunities for firms with the expertise to take a share of China's fast-growing clean-technology market.

This recent Reuters article provides some good examples of firms in the US, UK and elsewhere who are taking advantage of the opportunity to supply clean energy services and products to China.

A good indicator of the size and attractiveness of any market opportunity is the value of venture capital investment flowing into a market. Recent data estimates that venture capital investments in China's clean tech sector totaled $920 million in 2013, up 156% compared with $360 million in 2012.

Not every solution will prove to be a winner in China. This article highlights some recent entrepreneurial activity!

Some useful stats from the Reuters article highlight the significance of the pollution issue and the scale of the opportunity for firms that are successful:

• Chinese Govt has pledged to spend almost £300bn tackling pollution
• China's clean-technology market is set to tripe in size to £336bn by 2020
• Venture capital investments in China's clean tech sector totaled $920 million in 2013, up 156% compared with $360 million in 2012
• Pollution is estimated to have cost China the equivalent of 2.5 percent of GDP in 2010

This useful video from The Economist takes a more detailed look at the problem of pollution in China and some of the strategies being used to tackle it.