Investor Profile: ETF Partners - Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

ETF Partners, short for The Environmental Technologies Fund, is Europe's original sustainability venture firm. Based in London and founded in 2006, it has survived the cleantech bubble of 2006 to 2013 that ended many of its early rivals, and it now invests from one of Europe's most experienced climate teams. Its conviction is simple: the only practical way to address climate change at scale is through technological innovation.

Thesis: sustainability through innovation

ETF Partners invests in digital businesses that deliver environmental impact while generating strong financial returns. It focuses on what it calls the intelligence layer of modern infrastructure: software that works alongside physical systems, rather than the infrastructure itself. It is cautious about large engineering projects that could take decades to commercialise, citing carbon capture as an example, and instead backs solutions that can scale at pace and show measurable impact within a holding period.

It is an Article 9 fund, and it uses impact-linked carried interest so its rewards depend on portfolio companies reaching impact targets. It assesses each investment through an impact scorecard aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals, financial performance and environmental impact.

Fund size and cheque size

Its fourth fund, ETF Fund 4, closed at €285 million, above its €250 million target. That fund invests tickets of €5 million to €10 million into digital climate businesses at seed, Series A and Series B. Its third fund, ETF3, closed at £167 million. A listings page for its fifth fund, ETF Partners Fund V, gives an expected final size of USD 350 million and describes it as currently fundraising; that figure is a listing expectation, not a closed fund, and is flagged as such.

Its limited partners are increasingly institutional and include the European Investment Fund, British Business Bank, British Patient Capital and the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments.

Notable portfolio

Portfolio companies include zero-waste milk delivery service Modern Milkman, AI energy forecasting company Dexter Energy and satellite startup Open Cosmos. It is also interested in software for hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, concrete and shipping, and in carbon accounting, having backed Swedish carbon accounting startup Normative and UK company Net Purpose.

Recent exits include DeepSea Technologies, a Greek shipping-route optimisation startup sold to Japanese firm Nabtesco, Norwegian climate data startup Greenbird, sold to GE Vernova, and green street lighting startup Telensa, sold to Signify.

Partners

ETF Partners was founded by Patrick Sheehan, Henrik Olsen and Peter Horsburgh. Patrick Sheehan, co-founder and managing partner, previously managed 3i venture capital. Rob Genieser is also a managing partner, and Peter Horsburgh is a founder and venture partner emeritus.

Credits and perks

No startup cloud credits or perks programme was found for ETF Partners. Its support is sector depth: eighteen years of climate investing, an impact measurement discipline, and a network of institutional backers that understand long climate sales cycles.

How to apply for funding

No public application portal for ETF Partners was found in the sources read. Founders should approach the firm through its website at etfpartners.capital, leading with measurable environmental impact, significant existing revenue where possible, and a software-led model that can scale quickly.