Crux

The story of Crux Climate is one of seizing a pivotal moment in the clean energy transition. Founded in 2023 by the dynamic duo Alfred Johnson and Allen Kramer, who had previously built and successfully exited the marketplace software company Mobilize, Crux was born from a shared vision to tackle climate change head-on. Johnson, with his deep experience in both the public and private financial sectors, including a stint as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Treasury Department under Secretary Janet Yellen, recognized a critical bottleneck in the financing of clean energy projects. The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022 was a watershed moment, unlocking hundreds of billions of dollars in transferable tax credits. This created a powerful new mechanism to fund the energy transition, but the market to trade these credits was fragmented, opaque, and inefficient. This is where Johnson and Kramer saw their opportunity to make a real impact.

Leveraging their expertise in building scalable software platforms, they launched Crux to create a centralized, transparent, and efficient marketplace for these transferable tax credits. Their mission was clear: to build the essential financial infrastructure that would accelerate the flow of capital into clean energy and decarbonization projects. What began as a focused solution for tax credit transactions has rapidly evolved. The company's journey has been marked by significant growth, attracting substantial investment from top-tier venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Lowercarbon Capital. This influx of capital has enabled Crux to expand its offerings beyond tax credits to include a debt marketplace, providing a more comprehensive suite of financing solutions for developers and manufacturers at every stage of their project lifecycle. With a world-class team combining expertise from energy, finance, government, and technology, Crux is not just a company; it's a critical enabler of the clean economy, dedicated to powering a more sustainable and resilient energy future for the United States.