Energy Impact Partners
Strategic clean energy investor working with leading utilities worldwide to back climate tech companies.
EIP is the utility-industrial complex's favorite VC, and that's exactly why it works. Built around a coalition of large utilities and energy companies that actively collaborate to give portfolio companies direct access to decision-makers across dozens of operators, this isn't your typical Silicon Valley fund. They closed their latest flagship fund at $1.3 billion in October 2025 while others struggled, proving corporate LPs still have appetite for energy tech when there's real customer validation. The downside? This corporate backing can make them slower than pure financial VCs, and their utility partners sometimes become competitive threats to portfolio companies. But if you're building hard infrastructure tech that needs utility pilots to prove market fit, EIP's Rolodex is unmatched.
- —Best for: Hard infrastructure/energy tech needing utility customer validation
- —Watch out for: Slower decision-making due to corporate LP coordination
- —Known for: Unparalleled access to utility decision-makers and pilot opportunities
Energy Impact Partners focuses on the conversion of the energy industry towards a decarbonized, decentralized, digitized and electrified future. The firm's core thesis centers on solving energy transition challenges through technology, combining investments across venture, growth, and credit strategies.
EIP invests primarily in Series A ($19M average), Series B ($33M average), and Series C ($51M average) rounds, with top sectors being Energy Tech (53 investments) and Enterprise Applications (50 investments). The firm covers the full climate capital stack from seed to pre-IPO plus venture debt, deliberately focusing on hard, capital-intensive segments like grid resilience and industrial decarbonization where many generalist VCs avoid hardware complexity.
25-year energy tech investing veteran; former CEO of Digital Power Capital; took ICx Technologies public on Nasdaq (2007). Prior to founding EIP, Kobler served as CEO of Digital Power Capital and led GE Capital's energy technology practice, and earlier worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company.
20+ year energy-focused investor with prior roles at Digital Power Capital and Wexford Capital. Has invested in dozens of venture capital and growth equity transactions and held operational roles at portfolio companies.
25+ years corporate transactional/regulatory attorney; former General Counsel at King Street Capital Management. Worked at King Street for 10 years where he built and managed the legal and compliance team and handled all venture capital investments.
Thought leader in energy innovation and digital strategy who served in various leadership roles at Southern Company, leading strategic initiatives in economic development, public relations, and digital strategy before joining EIP as Vice President in external affairs.
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