Constanza Levicán: “We need to reduce validation times to position Chile as the regional leader in climate technology”
- Comunicaciones Suncast
- Mar 26
- 4 min read
Suncast’s CEO and Climatech Chile’s President’s statements are the next Innovation Summit 2025’s framework and the PwC’s State of Climate Tech 2024 Global Report presentation.
The next Climatech Innovation Summit 2025 will take place in Santiago on the 10th and 11th of April 2025. The event, supported by CORFO and executed by Climatech Chile, seeks to expose the importance of climate technology and position Chile as a leader in innovation and development of climate solutions in the region.
On the day of the summit’s launch, the most relevant findings from Chile’s chapter in the PwC’s State of Climate Tech 2024 Global Report were presented, highlighting the growth and challenges of the sector in the country.
In this context, we spoke with Constanza Levicán, the CEO of Suncast and president of Climatech Chile Trade Association, about the opportunities and challenges that the industry faces in Chile and how events such as the Climatech Innovation Summit 2025 contribute to the strengthening of climatech’s national ecosystem.
On the impressive growth of investment in climate technology startups in Chile in 2024 compared to the previous period, what does this increase mean to the local ecosystem, and how does Suncast interpret it?
On a worldwide level, we are living in the “winter” of startup investments, and 2024 was not an exception. Concerning climate technologies, the Report indicates that global investments decreased by 30%, but in Chile, they increased by 104%, reaching USD 210 million. Regarding the pandemic, worldwide levels are still below 2019, but in Chile, they are above pre-COVID levels.
We interpret this as entities showing great interest in the benefits of investing in the following technologies:
Increase production and decrease productive process costs in companies.
Anticipate regulation changes and avoid noncompliance risks.
Manage risks related to climate change caused by resource scarcity and extreme meteorological phenomena.
Access to investment funds with sustainable capital and green loans.
Impulse competitive advantage through the development of new or improved technologies to stay at the forefront.
Satisfy stakeholders who increasingly value sustainability expectations.
The PwC’s “State of Climate Tech 2024” report highlights a significant increase in investments directed towards energy startups, how is this phenomenon interpreted, and what consequences will it bring to the Chilean ecosystem?
In Chile, USD 214 million was invested in climate technologies in 2024, which were divided into 7 transactions, meaning that each startup received an average of USD 30 million. From this, the Energy sector received 94% of the investment. This responds to the needs of energy companies to achieve decarbonization goals and develop innovations in storage and green hydrogen so that they reach their competitive advantage and technological forefront.
The report emphasizes that the funds are prioritizing intermediate and advanced-level startups. What opportunities does a company such as Suncast see in this change?
This change in funding strategy reflects a global tendency in companies searching for advanced-level startups because their technologies are already validated, and industrial corporations have the expertise needed to support the scaling of their solutions at a worldwide scale. During my last commercial mission in Spain with IDB and ICX, I noticed that many funds directed 50% of their investments towards early stages and the other 50% to a “follow-on”, in other words, they reinvest in startups that have shown results. This is an opportunity for both Suncast and all the companies associated with Climatech Chile because they are at advanced levels and are the target of current investors. There was an investment record in Chile: 67% of 2024’s funds were given to advanced-level startups.
The "State of Climate Tech 2024” report - identifies important structural obstacles for climate technology startups’ market entry in Chile, how does Suncast perceive such obstacles and what measures are considered necessary to overcome them?
It is important to assist these businesses in achieving this development. Currently, only the highly resilient ones survive, as there are structural barriers that we must tackle to sustain such growth. A cultural barrier regarding innovation is presented in the Report, which causes resistance to change and difficulty in adopting new technologies in the industry. Then come the financial barriers, such as the difficulty in accessing funding, an emerging ecosystem and the high costs of technology development and scaling.
It is important to tackle these barriers so that promising projects survive, as was the case with Energía Valhalla, which did not receive the necessary support, which led to the shutdown of its operations. It is important to reduce validation times, reinforce specialized talent training and improve the connection between startups, big companies and international investment funds. It is the only way to achieve sustainable growth and for Chile to position itself as a regional leader in climate technology.
Finally, looking towards the future, how do you visualize Chile’s role in the climate technology industry?
Chile is a “live” laboratory for the development and scaling of new technologies in this area. Events such as the Climatech Innovation Summit 2025 are essential for exposing already existing innovations in Chile, generating connections that strengthen the ecosystem and providing international examples of adaptation, broadcasting and financing of climate technologies. I am convinced that with coordinated effort from the ecosystem, we Chileans can become leaders in climate innovation in Latin America.

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