Billionaire Tom Steyer’s Galvanize to Offer Clean Energy Loans

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Tom Steyer’s clean-energy investment firm is raising money to start a lending operation that will support the green transition.

Galvanize Climate Solutions LLC has already hired staff and expects to start offering loans to mid-sized companies and projects by the first quarter of next year, Steyer said Wednesday in an interview at Bloomberg News headquarters in New York. He declined to say how much capital he’s seeking to raise.

Galvanize, based in San Francisco, has multiple strategic units focused on climate technology. It invests in startups and has a real estate operation seeking to cut the carbon emissions of commercial buildings. The company’s experience with clean energy, Steyer said, will simplify the process for borrowers struggling to line up financing from traditional lenders that don’t understand emerging technologies. 

“Most of the money that is going to go into the energy transition is going to be debt,” Steyer said. “Our point at Galvanize Climate Solutions is to basically have domain expertise.”

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