NEW PAPER The Electro-State: Scotland and the successor to the petrostate · Download free →
CLEAN-TECH ADVISORY
Making clean technology deployable.
We help founders, project developers and the investors behind them build the commercial case and capital structure that gets proven technology into the market. We are at their side from first raise to exit.
ELECTRO-STATE MONITOR
78%
of the UK clean-tech companies and projects we track need debt, leasing or project finance, not just equity.
58%
are held back by slipping timelines or market and regulatory risk.
47%
have no bankable offtake or clear route to market yet.
76%
of later-stage Scottish entries face delay or regulatory risk, against 53% in the rest of the UK.
103 companies and projects tracked across the UK. Updated 21 Oct 2026. Get the monthly Monitor briefing
The technology usually works, but projects stall at the finance
Engineering gets a project to the starting line. Crossing it takes revenue that lenders can rely on, a capital structure they can back, and investors who can see how the business grows.
That step from engineering to finance is where most clean-tech projects wait, sometimes for years. It is the step we work on.
INSIGHT PAPER NO. 1 · SEPTEMBER 2026 · 25 PAGES, FREE
The Electro-State
Scotland and the successor to the petrostate
Scotland exports clean power the way petrostates export oil, and pays to throw a third of its surplus away. Our first insight paper sets out how to keep more of the value at home.
20.8 TWh exported, 2025
10+ TWh switched off
6 changes, and who can make them
THE PROBLEMS WE WORK ON
Who we help
For project developers and data centre operators
Your project is ready, but the grid isn't
Connection dates now decide which projects get built, and grid reform is reordering the queue.
Read more →For flexible demand and storage developers
Cheap power, if you can use it when it's there
Grids switch off wind they cannot move, Scotland's more than most, and flexible loads and storage can buy that power at low cost.
Read more →For e-fuel, hydrogen and green chemicals developers
From engineering concept to investable project
Most Power-to-X projects stall before investment because offtake, grid, certification or capital structure is missing, not because the technology fails.
Read more →For exporters, their lenders and their buyers
Clean only counts if you can prove it
Carbon border charges in the EU and, from January 2027, the UK put a price on emissions you cannot evidence.
Read more →For infrastructure investors, funds and public lenders
Deals that repeat, not projects built once
Investors want platforms that replicate across sites, but many clean tech companies are still organised as single projects.
Read more →INSIGHTS
From Carbon Disruption
Analysis of carbon markets, clean energy finance and policy. Free, weekly.
Time-to-Power
In Scotland the scarce resource is no longer electricity, it’s a date when you can gain connection to the grid.
Read on Substack
Enabling the Electro-State
Scotland has a policy agenda for its surplus wind. Now it needs investable companies to step up.
Read on Substack
The Cheapest Compliance Money Can Buy
Europe built two flagship instruments to decarbonise shipping. So far they are mostly proving how little they were ever asked to do.
Read on Substack
The Carbon Gap
Europe’s carbon price is climbing even as regulators loosen the market. Britain’s is stuck behind it.
Read on SubstackWHY FIRST CARBON
Most advisers have sat on one side of the table, but we have sat on both
Our leadership has taken three businesses to exit, including a cash sale to Oracle at 11x Series A, advised more than 30 banks and businesses across EMEA on capital markets, and served on boards in the UK, US, Europe and Asia Pacific.
THE NETWORK
The right specialist for each project
We assemble each engagement from our leadership and a network of senior specialists across investment and lending, engineering, maritime, carbon markets, financial modelling, public funding, legal and planning, with one accountable lead from start to finish.
VENTURES
H2C
The Global Attribute Market for Low Carbon Fuels
A wholly owned First Carbon brand, launched in October 2024 in partnership with Lloyd's Register, H2C gives low-carbon fuel producers price discovery and verified provenance for the environmental value of what they produce.
It operates independently under a published market rulebook, with a board chaired by Dr John Wright, former chief executive of Clydesdale and Northern Banks, and advisers from banking, ports and maritime.
Approaching FID or a funding round?
Talk to us before the terms are set.