Cleantech country landscape
 | | Country | Companies | Market cap
(US$b) | Headcount
(‘000) | | United States | 73 | $27.2 | 61.6 | | China | 55 | $42.1 | 166.5 | | Germany | 42 | $5.8 | 28.2 | | Canada | 41 | $6.1 | 10.5 | | Australia | 28 | $0.1 | 3.1 | | United Kingdom | 24 | $1.1 | 1.5 | | France | 18 | $1.5 | 6.2 | | India | 17 | $1.9 | 14.7 | | Hong Kong | 12 | $4.0 | 5.3 | | Taiwan | 11 | $8.9 | 36.0 | | South Korea | 9 | $2.4 | 1.0 | | Sweden | 7 | $9.7 | 3.5 | | Switzerland | 7 | $2.1 | 6.4 | | Italy | 7 | $1.1 | 4.0 | | Japan | 6 | $1.2 | 5.8 |  |
Bubble volume = cleantech company headcount | |
Note: Includes public companies designated as clean energy A-1 Main Driver (50%-100% of value) by BNEF; market capitalization data as of 9 April 2012.
The global population of public pure-play cleantech companies is experiencing dynamic change.
The global population of public pure-play cleantech companies is experiencing dynamic change.
In this second year of tracking the performance of pure-play public cleantech companies, we observe significant changes in our annual industry benchmark — major drops in valuation and revenues and significant churn from one year to the next in the benchmark constituents.
We define “pure-play” companies as those whose clean energy focus is designated A-1 Main Driver (50%–100% of value) by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
Global public pure-play cleantech companies
| | 2011 | 2012 | Annual |
| Number of companies | 399 | 419 | 5% |
| Median age (years) | 13 | 12 | -8% |
| Total headcount | 496,311 | 457,808 | -10% |
| Median headcount | 203 | 214 | 5% |
| Market capitalization (US$ billions) | $243.2 | $143.5 | -41% |
| Annual revenues (US$ billions) | $152.8 | $148.1 | -3% |
| Net income (US$ billions) | $5.1 | ($6.60) | -229% |
| Debt (US$ billions) | $100.8 | $114.8 | 14% |
Note: includes public companies designated as clean energy A-1 Main Driver (50%–100% of value) by BNEF, excluding listed investment funds and acquisition vehicles; annual change represents the difference between the 2012 benchmark and the 2011 benchmark in aggregate. The populations of 2011 and 2012 differ as a result of the annual reconstitution process (see sidebar below).
Global cleantech landscape
Compared to the previous year, the financial results of our pure-play population paint a sobering picture of the cleantech marketplace. While aggregate revenues fell by just 3% to US$148 billion, net income swung from a positive US$5.1 billion last year to a US$6.6 billion loss. Market capitalization fell 41% to US$143 billion.
Although some of the declines can be attributed to changes resulting from the annual benchmark reconstitution the dramatic drop in net income and market capitalization reflects trends across the industry.
Asia-Pacific
With 152 pure-play public cleantech companies, the Asia-Pacific region continues to host the largest share of the population, with the pool having expanded marginally from 149 companies. As might be expected, the region also has the highest market capitalization and revenue.
Cleantech country landscape
Cleantech segments: solar leads decline but pockets of resiliency remain
The solar segment has seen the greatest alteration since last year. While solar continues to dominate the global public pure-play population in terms of the total number of companies (107), people employed (179,500) and total revenues (US$50.6 billion), other performance measurements highlight the difficult and competitive environment solar companies faced in 2011.
One segment stands out for having both revenue and net income growth: biomass/ waste-to-energy, which saw revenues grow by 78% to US$4.0 billion and net income go from a US$0.8 million loss to a positive US$263 million.
The financial performance of biomass/waste-to-energy companies illustrates the attractive economics in this segment, which is supported by strong corporate and municipal demand as waste-to- energy becomes a key part of integrated waste management strategies.
Global public pure-play cleantech companies
| Segment | Companies | Market cap
(US$b) | Headcount
(‘000) |
| Solar | 107 | 25.2 | 179.5 |
| Wind | 54 | 30.3 | 74.3 |
| Energy efficiency products | 44 | 27.7 | 81.6 |
| Biofuels | 38 | 10.5 | 49.9 |
| Biomass and waste energy | 36 | 4.8 | 9.0 |
| Energy storage | 36 | 4.5 | 18.0 |
| Renewable energy generation | 28 | 23.6 | 24.9 |
| Geothermal | 20 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
| Clean transport | 17 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Hydro | 15 | 4.6 | 1.5 |
| Power and efficiency management services | 15 | 2.0 | 5.3 |
| Other | 9 | 0.9 | 3.9 |
Note: Includes public companies designated as clean energy A-1 Main Driver (50%-100% of value) by BNEF; market capitalization data as of 9 April 2012.
The global population of public pure-play cleantech companies is experiencing dynamic change. We will likely continue to see a cleantech population in flux as:
- Consolidation and restructuring continue among solar and wind equipment manufacturers
- Renewable energy generators adapt to a post-subsidy business environment
- Market momentum shifts even further in favor of emerging markets
- Competition increases across the board
At the same time, the number of pure-play companies is set for continued growth as new are attracted by the market opportunities created by resource scarcity and the low-carbon transformation.
New market leaders across cleantech segments will emerge from this period of transition with the scale, efficiency and competitiveness necessary to drive improved performance across all of our benchmark measurements.
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