Cleantech Leaders Roundtable (CTLR) is a private membership organization of technology and climate leaders devoted to transitioning to weather-dependent energy, decarbonizing the U.S. economy, and combatting climate change. ¹

Activities

Cleantech Leaders Roundtable serves as a forum to connect members with left-of-center environmentalist funding opportunities. It also hosts forums where members can discuss issues like climate change and decarbonization. ²

CTLR hosts events in major cities throughout the United States such as Boston, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. ³ Among those events is the Angels Pitch Showcase, where climate-change-focused organizations and businesses compete for funding from angel investors, those who invest large sums in early-stage projects. Finalists for the Angels Pitch Showcase in Boston on June 15, 2023 include Calwave, a business attempting to create energy from ocean waves, and Pressure Corp, a provider of industry tools to help businesses achieve left-of-center environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. ⁴ Applicants for the Angels Pitch Showcase are screened by MBA candidates at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. ⁵

Additionally, CTLR offers the Maria Telkes Fellowship to promote diversity in the climate technology industry. The fellowship is named after Maria Telkes, one of the founders of solar thermal storage systems. ⁶

CTLR also hosts quarterly investor discussions posted online featuring CTLR members and leaders in the climate industry. In April 2023, the CTLR investor discussion featured a representative from the Joyce Foundation, a nonprofit that finances advocacy for gun control, environmental causes, liberal education policy, and opposition to right-of-center election reforms; as well as senior leadership from other environmentalist groups.” ⁷

In 2021, Cleantech Leaders Roundtable gave a grant of $200,000 to Solutions Project, ⁸ a left of center grantmaking organization focused on equity, climate change, and grassroots organizing. ⁹

Controversy

The former president of Cleantech Leaders Roundtable is Jigar Shah. In 2021, he was named the Biden administration’s energy loan czar, running the $400 billion Department of Energy Loan Programs Office. The appointment attracted controversy because CTLR regularly host members-only private receptions with Shah, which have been characterized as selling access. Over two years from 2021 to 2023, Shah was a guest speaker at 10 of CTLR’s private events and receptions. Under Shah, the Energy Loan Programs Office awarded a $3 billion loan to a solar company owned by a member of CTLR’s board of directors. According to press reports, CTLR corporate sponsors have also received government funding from Shah’s office. ¹⁰

Caitlin Sutherland, director of the right-of-center Americans for Public Trust advocacy group, told a media outlet: “It appears as if the Department of Energy has allowed a dark money climate group to be the gatekeepers of taxpayer dollars.” ¹¹

Membership

Membership of the Cleantech Leaders Roundtable is by invitation only and requires annual dues. There are five levels of membership. The first costs $750 a year for representatives from non-governmental organizations or government as well as for ethnic minorities. The second is an introductory membership for new applicants that costs $1,5000 a year for up to two years. Full member level 1 costs $3,000 a year, Full Level 2 costs $5,000 a year, and Full Level 3 for corporate executives costs $7,500 a year. Each membership tier contains distinct benefits, including access to angel invest, access to pitch sessions for those promote climate-related technologies or investments, and the ability to shape the organizational direction of the Roundtable. ¹²

Those wishing to join CTLR must submit a brief application indicated what they hope to gain from participation, why they believe they should be granted membership, and if they are interested in angel investing. ¹³

People

The president of the board of directors of Cleantech Leaders Roundtable is Jacob Susman, the CEO and co-founder of Ambient Fuels. ¹⁴

Related Organization

Cleantech Leaders Roundtable is affiliated with Cleantech Leaders Climate Forum. Together, the organization are referred to as Cleantech Leaders. Cleantech Leaders Climate Forum was designed to convene thought leaders and stakeholders to advance responses to climate change and to promote public education efforts on climate change. Among the policy proposals supported by the forum technology development to achieve “decarbonizing” the U.S. economy. Cleantech Leaders Climate Forum also hosted Deploy 23, an event in Washington, D.C. in September 2023 to promote decarbonization. ¹⁵ Deploy23 invited Jigar Shah’s Department of Energy Loan Programs Office to co-host the conference. ¹⁶

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2. “About” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/#about
3. “Events.” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/events.
4. “Angels.” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/angels.
5. “Wharton MBA Partners.” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/angels.
6. “Mária Telkes Fellowship.” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/maria-telkes-fellowship.
7. “Investor Roundtable.” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/investor-roundtable.
8. Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2021.
9. “Who We Are.” The Solutions Project. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://thesolutionsproject.org/who-we-are/
10. Goodman, Alana.” Biden’s Energy Loan Czar Founded a Trade Association. Now Its Selling Access to Him.” Washington Free Beacon. October 6, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/bidens-energy-loan-czar-founded-a-trade-association-now-its-selling-access-to-him/.
11. Goodman, Alana.” Biden’s Energy Loan Czar Founded a Trade Association. Now Its Selling Access to Him.” Washington Free Beacon. October 6, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/bidens-energy-loan-czar-founded-a-trade-association-now-its-selling-access-to-him/.
12. “Membership.” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/membership.
13. “Cleantech Leaders Roundtable Membership.” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/join.
14. “About” Cleantech Leaders Roundtable. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleaders.org/#about
15. “Deploy 23.” Cleantech Leaders Climate Forum. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://www.cleantechleadersclimateforum.org/deploy23.
16. Goodman, Alana.” Biden’s Energy Loan Czar Founded a Trade Association. Now Its Selling Access to Him.” Washington Free Beacon. October 6, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/bidens-energy-loan-czar-founded-a-trade-association-now-its-selling-access-to-him/.