As well as his activities in the venture capital sector, Mr Fox also founded tech2mkt, a technology commercialisation firm that has helped launch several Australian companies in the United States.

Where does your interest in clean energy stem from?

My first job was managing a team of electricians, plumbers, carpenters and engineers. They taught me – a young civil engineer – the practicalities of remote power distribution. During the deregulation of the Australian electricity industry I was a utility consultant (and spent some time in coal mines), but it was all about economic efficiency. Then, ten years ago, I arrived in Silicon Valley and fell in love with the start-up culture of the Valley and combined it with my knowledge of the energy industry.

What can Australian clean energy entrepreneurs do to commercialise their products and services?

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In Australia we have plenty of smart people and good ideas, but a relatively small domestic market and limited venture capital. So, most energy entrepreneurs will have to go offshore to access markets and capital. We should encourage that. They will come back to Australia richer (in experience if not money).

To improve conditions in Australia we need to:

1. Increase institutional seed stage capital 2. Build support networks for entrepreneurs.

What has been the greatest achievement of the clean energy sector in the past five years in Australia and America?

Assuming the clean energy is truly clean, then achievement can be measured in financial return. Presently though, it is too early to see that. So, the big achievement is that clean energy is now on the radar of institutional investors. In the United States, our fund and industry has benefited from contributions from pension funds (such as the California Public Employees' Retirement System that invests in environment initiatives). I would like to see more Australian superannuation funds making allocations to early stage funds.

Where do you see the clean energy sector going in the short- and long-term in Australia and America?

The increasing need for clean energy is a long-term trend. There will be ups and downs associated with economic and political cycles. There may be more bubbles as we have seen with photovoltaic technology and biofuels, although those bubbles were partly driven by a lack of energy market experience amongst investors. The quality of ideas, entrepreneurs and investors will continue to improve. The investment market will mature as bigger and later stage deals occur and initial public offerings are made. Smart investors play the long-term trends.

What are some of the clean energy policy measures you would like to see implemented in Australia and America?

Set a price for carbon. Remove subsidies and protectionism for fossil fuels, and Australian policy makers should help get new technologies onto the world stage.

A technology that Californian Clean Energy Angel Fund recently invested in was...

A low cost waste heat recovery system, designed by Alphabet Energy.

One piece of advice I would give to new entrants to the clean energy industry is...

Team up with people who understand the conventional energy industry. There is a complex interplay between economics, policy, regulation and technology. The learning curve can be steep.