Worldwide venture capital investment in clean energy and electric cars has soared to record levels this year hitting $10bn (£7.7bn) for the first time, although growth in Europe is lagging behind.

Venture capital deals in "cleantech" grew from $6.1bn in 2017 to $10.8bn so far this year, according to analysis of industry data by PitchBook for the Daily Telegraph.

While the value of deals increased, the overall volume of deals has fallen slightly. In the US, cleantech investment was up by 54pc, from $2.4bn to $3.7bn.

This comes despite US President Donald Trump's kickback against green technologies. The Trump administration earlier this year said it would roll back President Barack Obama’s Clean...