Zero Carbon Capital

🚀 Investment announcement! We have invested in Vema Hydrogen to unlock the future of low-cost, clean hydrogen. 💡 #Hydrogen is critical for decarbonising industry, but existing production methods are either too expensive or too resource-intensive. Vema’s Stimulated Geologic Hydrogen (SGH) technology changes the game—producing hydrogen at under $1/kg, without the geographical limitations of regular geologic hydrogen. 🌍 With global hydrogen demand set to grow sixfold by 2050, scalable solutions like Vema’s are essential for the energy transition. Their breakthrough approach ensures predictable, cost-effective production without relying on luck or exploration. 🤝 Zero Carbon is thrilled to back Florian Osselin, Pierre Levin, and the rest of the Vema Hydrogen team alongside Extantia, Propeller, Pace Ventures, and The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment as they bring this pioneering technology to scale. 🔗 Read more about why we invested: https://lnkd.in/eaJCe2a2

Are you a founder/investor/LP looking to understand how to estimate the potential climate impact of a new technology? ICYMI: late last year Project Frame published an update to their #methodology with some useful additions 🌱 The new guidance is way more fleshed out for those new to impact assessment, including more foundational best practices, and linking the type of impact to the stage of investment. 📋 The case studies are excellent 👩💻 There is ongoing discussion around topics like additionality, attribution and realized impact For each investment we make at ZCC we calculate the Emissions Reduction Potential (ERP) of the company's technology, and only invest if it's over 0.5 GtCO2e/year. Our methodology is closely aligned to the recommendations of Project Frame. Our Research Lead Chloe wrote a short article highlighting some key updates. 🔗 Our ZCC overview: https://lnkd.in/eTQEvh65 🔗 The new guidance: Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Impact for Early-Stage Investments https://lnkd.in/eTJxWdHR 🔗 The case studies: https://lnkd.in/g8-2PkkC #impact #climate #ERP #EmissionsReduction

🚀 We're thrilled to announce our investment in Spark e-Fuels!⚡️ ✈️ 💚 Aviation is responsible for 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, and we're committed to finding solutions. Spark e-Fuels is developing a groundbreaking load flexible e-fuel technology that uses intermittent renewable energy, cutting costs and making sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) a truly viable option. 🌎 Their demand-responsive tech not only tackles the aviation challenge but also has applications in the broader chemical sector, another significant GHG emitter. This aligns perfectly with our focus on big solutions that can mitigate at least 500 million tonnes of CO₂ annually at scale. 🏆 We're proud to support Mathias, Julia, Arno, and the entire Spark e-Fuels team as they build their first pilot plant and accelerate commercialisation. Huge congratulations on also securing €300,000 in grants and winning the 2024 UpLink Sustainable Aviation Challenge! 🤝 Excited to be on this journey with Nucleus Capital, IBB Ventures,Chemovator, VOYAGERS.io, 1.5° Ventures, and ex-industry angels from Shell, Lufthansa, bp, Siemens Energy, and McKinsey & Company. 🔗 Let's unlock the future of net-zero aviation together! Our blog: https://lnkd.in/eHd7r-hf Spark's announcement: https://lnkd.in/eHqFMVYd Zero Carbon Capital | Spark e-Fuels #efuels #aviation #SAF #climatetech #sustainability #funding #investing

👷♀️ Real world #decarbonisation from our portfolio company Exergy3 Limited 👏 Last week, Exergy3 Limited's very first next-generation ultra-high-temperature thermal energy storage systems left their workshop for the first time. 💪 This unit is being shipped to Cochran then on to Annandale Distillery where it will help the team there brew their first zero-carbon whisky. Congrats to Markus Rondé, Adam Robinson, David Sigsworth OBE FRSE and the whole team. Read more: https://lnkd.in/etCxsgwX #thermalstorage #decarbonisation #industialheat

📰 Hot off the press! We’re delighted to share that Zero Carbon Capital has been featured in the Climate Change Business Journal! 🎉 The latest edition of Climate Change Business Journal Q4 2024: Climate Change Industry Overview 2024 explores key trends shaping the climate sector, and we’re honoured to be part of the conversation. Our very own Sarah Jones contributed insights on the evolution of climate tech VC, the challenges of scaling deeptech innovations, and the critical role of hard-science startups in decarbonisation. A huge thank you to Laura Carranza and Grant Ferrier for including us in this important industry analysis. We believe that bold, scientific innovation is essential to tackling the hardest decarbonisation challenges, and it’s fantastic to see this recognised. If you’re interested in the future of climate tech investment, be sure to check out the feature to get the scoop on the emerging technologies and high impact sectors that ZCC is excited about! https://lnkd.in/escPWryU #ClimateTech #VentureCapital #Decarbonisation #DeepTech #NetZero #ClimateInnovation

📣 #Fundraising news! 🎉 We're thrilled to announce the completion of an oversubscribed $17M Series A round in ZCC portfolio company IONATE, led by UK deeptech investor AlbionVC and joined by new investors IQT (In-Q-Tel), JGC, Santander InnoVentures and Antares Ventures. Existing investors also participated in the round, including us here at Zero Carbon Capital, IQ Capital and Cycle Group. We first invested in IONATE just over four years ago from the first Zero Carbon Fund. Back then, it was just founders Matthew, Roberto and Luca with an idea to revolutionise grid hardware in a way that could open up wasted capacity in the grid, enable greater penetration of renewable energy generation, and provide the data and controls needed for the self-balancing grid of tomorrow. We have loved seeing the development of the Hybrid Intelligent Transformer (HIT) idea from a computer model to a benchtop prototype to the huge utility-scale demo units going into the field today. 2025 will see IONATE putting multiple utility-scale #pilots into the field, starting with energy giant EDP. They will also be demonstrating applications for private customers from data centres to energy storage assets. We're so proud to have been a part of IONATE's journey so far, and can't wait to see what they achieve next. Read more about why we invested: https://lnkd.in/emDXKYwS Round announcement on IONATE's site: https://lnkd.in/eS4nwm7F Article in Sifted: https://lnkd.in/ed-fw_wH

🧠 #Neurodiversity in #climatetech: a superpower or a challenge? Great minds do not think alike...😶🌫️🙃🫠😬🤯 🧠 Last year ZCC's Pippa got to host a roundtable at The Drop with Robin Allenson to start a conversation around neurodiversity within the climate tech founder and funder community. It's estimated that ADHD and autism are both represented in entrepreneurs at levels approximately 5 times higher than the general population. It's likely that this is true for other forms of neurodiversity too, but quality stats are hard to come by. 🤔 So, with around 30% of entrepreneurs trying to deal with the challenges of ADHD alongside everything else they are doing, why are we not talking about this more? Pippa wrote up some thoughts after the Ripple reflecting on the superpowers and issues of thinking differently, and what are the things she gets asked most often after being more open about having ADHD: 1) I think I might be neurodivergent. How can I tell? 2) I work with people I think might be neurodivergent. How can I best support them? More here: https://lnkd.in/eGFNTE_G If you relate to this subject at a personal level and would be interested in being a part of a neurodiverse climatetech community group, please PM Pippa (contact details on the link).

Congratulations to Level Nine for being selected as a finalist in the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge! We met the team in 2023 and saw that they were solving a huge problem - enabling sustainable, low carbon alternatives to petrochemicals. Their breakthrough nanozyme technology efficiently converts complex biological feedstocks into biochemicals, avoiding the emissions associated with chemicals derived from oil & gas. Emily Sheridan and Seadna Quigley are exceptional founders, devoted to improving the chemicals industry. Level Nine are pioneers in nanozyme development, with the scientific rigour to build something truly transformational. Seadna and Emily - we wish you all the best for the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge Final! https://lnkd.in/gAg_E5tJ

👀 Great news from portfolio company RepAir Carbon Capture. 💨 #DirectAirCapture is a key ingredient to keeping warming below our targets and avoiding the worst impacts of #ClimateChange. 🏭 This project at the #Pelican DAC hub with Shell and Mitsubishi Corporation has the potential to capture huge amounts of CO2 at very low cost. Way to go Amir, Ben, Yehuda and team.

2024 was a productive year for Zero Carbon Capital with a total of 9 investments in: 🔥 Aed Energy (UK, pre-seed) - low-cost thermal storage for flexible grids 🏗️ Cambridge Electric Cement (UK, seed) - recycling cement in electric arc furnaces 🏭 Exergy3 Limited (UK, pre-seed) - decarbonised high-temperature industrial heat 🎇 Kairos Carbon (UK, pre-seed) - capturing CO2 and recovering phosphorus from sludgy waste biomass ✈️ TBA (Germany, pre-seed) - e-fuels for less energy 🌊 Stealth (UK, pre-seed) - next generation tidal power generation 📣 Coming soon - announcements on three more new companies. We think 2025 should be no different! Here are the some of the industries/verticals we are targeting for investment in 2025: ⚡ Clean energy + technologies enabling its wide-scale deployment (grid hardware, LDES) 🏗️ Green steel 🐄 Enteric methane 👩🌾 Agricultural intensification (technologies to facilitate higher crop yields) 🌱 (Bio-)fertilisers ⛏️ Critical raw materials Are you a founder that is developing the next big thing in climate tech, or even better, working one of these problem spaces? Then please reach out to us! #venturecapital #investing #climate #tech #energy #renewables #geothermal #nuclear #LDES #grid #steel #methane #agriculture #fertiliser #rawmaterials #minerals