CMEA Ventures is “investigating” the launch of a $500 million fund targeting growth-stage clean tech companies.

The San Francisco venture capital firm, which backs lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems among other clean tech startups, closed its seventh fund in March. But that $400 million fund focuses on information technology and life sciences, in addition to renewable energy.

This new fund would be the firm’s first to exclusively target clean tech opportunities.

“We noticed a white space [in the clean tech industry] beyond venture funding and prior to conventional finance and the need for large amounts of capital to build plants and scale operations,” said Jim Watson, managing director for CMEA Ventures.

But the final decision to open the fund won’t be made until next January, said Watson. In the meantime, the VC firm hired Ali Iz, a 25-year veteran of General Electric and the former general manager of its solar unit, to weigh the pros and cons of launching such a large fund.

The news highlights the increasing size of clean-tech focused funds as enthusiasm for the industry grows among investors, say analysts. But it also is in response to a maturing clean tech landscape, with many startups requiring larger amounts of capital, for example to build commercial plants.

Last week, New York-based Och-Ziff Capital Management Group announced that it had committed $500 million for new greenhouse gas reduction projects to be managed in partnership with Salt Lake City, Utah-based Blue Source.

In May, Menlo Park, California-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers announced the opening of a $500 million fund to focus on clean tech companies entering their growth phase. In April, Menlo Park-based Foundation Capital closed a $750 million fund, $250 million of which is allocated to clean tech companies.