It has led funding rounds totalling £10 million, of which £6 million is from its own resources.

Sam Richardson, investment director at E-Synergy, says: ‘Deal flow and investment opportunities remain strong and we look forward to another strong year in 2008.’

Richardson adds that the £30 million fund is seeing a growing number of high-quality propositions.

All eight of its portfolio companies are UK-based developers of energy-efficient materials or processes designed to help protect natural resources.

They specialise in sectors such as refrigeration and air conditioning (Earthcare Products), waste management (Morgan Everett), printed circuit board manufacture (PTL), vehicle emissions monitoring (Lysanda), plastics recycling (AWS) and contaminated land remediation (Envirotreat).

Launched in March last year, the STF backs both early-stage technology companies and more mature businesses seeking development capital. Its founder directors are former CEOs of UK-based technology companies.