Impactto’s Post

Happy Monday!   Let's dive into last week's climatetech activity (03/06 - 07/06) - Check out i3connect.com for more details on our research at Cleantech Group.   Ecosystem Highlights & News:   The energy ministries of Romania and Moldova and Techcelerator.Co, have launched a new accelerator dedicated to South-Eastern Europe startups, SEE Cleantech Accelerator.   Shell Startup Engine UK announced 12 smart energy startups selected for the 2024 cohort. Huge congratulations to AEON Energy, Carbon Neutral Fuels, RheEnergise, Atmosfuture Limited, Bluemethane, Mormaír, VOLTQUANT, ZOEX Power and others.   Suma Capital announced the first close of SC Net Zero Ventures at €125M, with a fund target of €150M for startups developing critical decarbonisation technologies.   The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) awarded $150,000 grants to six early-stage energy projects through its Seed Fund Program, for solutions ranging from lithium-ion batteries, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to decarbonising chemical production.   Deals:   🌿 Agriculture & Food Prolific Machines, Inc. (US), a cell bio-manufacturing platform for cultivated meat, secured $55M in Series B funding for its commercialization plans. The round was led by Fonterra's Ki Tua Fund alongside participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, SOSV, Mayfield Fund and others.   ⚡ Energy & Power Solar energy startup Samara (ES) secured €9M in a Series A funding round co-led by Move Energy and Green Generation Fund. Participating investors included Ring Capital, Athletico Ventures, Seaya, and Pelion Green Future Fund.   ⚗ Materials & Chemicals Nova Carbon (FR), a startup recycling carbon fibre waste into high-quality carbon composites, raised €1.4M to transition from its laboratory to pre-industrial phase. Investors included AFI Ventures, Kima Ventures, UI Investissement and others.   🌍 Resources & Environmental Management Climate-risk analytics platform, Mitiga Solutions (ES) bagged an €8M extension to its Series A round led by Elaia, alongside Kibo Ventures, Creas and others. The funding will be used for its European expansion.   🚢 Transport & Logistics Gireve (FR), an electric mobility startup, secured €20M from Partech's Impact Fund to pursue its European expansion and develop new charging services.   ♻ Waste & Recycling Field Materials (US), an AI materials procurement platform, closed an $8.5M Seed round from Blumberg Capital, Zacua Ventures, Zelda Ventures, and others.   #startups #cleantech #netzero #carbonmanagement #climatetech #greeneconomy #electricmobility #Investments #climateecosystem #carbonfibre #recycledmaterials Image Source: Advanced Materials Congress, Carbon Materials & Technology

Inc42 has compiled a list of 56 cleantech startups, which have come up with out-of-the-box solutions to contribute to India’s clean energy goals The Indian cleantech startups have come up with new ideas to power existing clean energy technology and are doing their bit to save the environment in their own ways https://lnkd.in/gDT34iRb

💡 INVESTMENT NEWS! Our member 2C Ventures leads the €1 million investment round of TheStorage. 🔎 Tampere, Finland based climate tech startup TheStorage has secured €1 million in funding from 2C Ventures and Superhero Capital to address one of the largest challenges in green transition – decarbonizing industrial heat. 💬 “Currently, majority of industrial heat is produced via burning fossil fuels. Our solution empowers industries to transition to fossil-free processes” said Timo Siukkola, Co-Founder & CEO of TheStorage. “Not only will the technology allow industries to reduce their carbon footprint, it will also lead to direct cost savings as the companies utilise renewable energy when it is cheap. The larger the energy storage capacity, the greater the cost-saving benefits.” 💬 Hendrik Reimand, partner at the venture capital fund 2C Ventures, believes that the technology could play a critical role in addressing one of the largest challenges in green transition. “The production of industrial heat is an often overlooked vertical that accounts for an outsized share of global emissions. The technology developed by TheStorage has the potential to be the missing piece of the puzzle in utilizing renewable energy for decarbonizing the industry while also leading to actual cost savings for the customers.” 💬 Jussi Pyörre, partner at Superhero Capital shared their excitement about the investment: "From the moment we first saw the core fundamentals of TheStorage’s technology, we knew this was a game-changing innovation. For the massive storage capacities required to decarbonize industrial heat and power systems, TheStorage offers an unmatched cost-efficiency that sets it apart from any other solution we’ve seen. We are thrilled to support this team as they scale their breakthrough technology."

Cambridge has given birth to another promising CleanTech startup with Molyon raising $4.6 million to create a new future for sustainable batteries and target an $85 billion-plus global opportunity. It is the first spin-out from Founders at the University of Cambridge to raise external funding. Molyon has raised its maiden funding in a round co-led by IQ Capital and Plural. The money will kickstart manufacturing at a pilot facility in Cambridge through expansion of the core team including battery engineers, material scientists and operations staff. The team is currently vetting suitable sites. The company has emerged from 15 years of material science research in the Chhowalla Group at the University of Cambridge. Co-founders Dr Ismail Sami (CEO) and Dr Zhuangnan Li (CTO) met whilst studying under co-founder Professor Manish Chhowalla (Chief Scientific Officer), where they discovered and developed the high-performance cathode technology. A fourth co-founder, Dr Sai Shivareddy (co-founder and CEO of fast-charging battery tech startup Nyobolt) is a commercial adviser to the company. Molyon is specialising in high-energy-density lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with improved performance, more earth-abundant materials and resilient supply chains. It says its nextgen batteries will double the energy density of current lithium-ion versions. Founded earlier this year, Molyon has developed a cathode technology based on metallic molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) that allows sulfur to remain stable and provide high energy density over hundreds of cycles – revolutionising the Li-S battery field. Since patenting the discovery, the team has demonstrated practical batteries with energy densities of 500 Wh per kg – approximately twice that of the typical Li-ion battery, showcasing the potential for Li-S batteries at such an early development stage. CEO, Dr Ismail Sami said: “The promise of lithium-sulfur batteries has been envisaged for decades but until now it has not been possible to realise this potential because of the inherent chemistry challenges of working with sulfur. By utilising MoS2 we have achieved a groundbreaking milestone in battery technology innovation and are on track to bring this new battery chemistry to the market, creating batteries that will end range anxiety.” Max Bautin, General Partner at IQ Capital,added: “Molyon have made a groundbreaking discovery in materials science to bring a step-change in battery energy density and unlock a massive market. “We’ve been so impressed with the passion and experience of the Molyon team, as well as the maturity level at which they have already demonstrated the potential of their technology. We’re delighted to be supporting Molyon at this exciting point in their venture as they scale to their first pilot facility and beyond.” Full article – https://lnkd.in/ebTi4HD7

Happy Monday!   Let's dive into last week's climatetech activity (16/09 - 22/09) - Check out i3connect.com for details on our research at Cleantech Group.   Ecosystem Highlights & News:   Big congratulations to Breakthrough Energy Fellows for Cohort 4, with innovators including HyperHeat, MacroCycle Technologies, Mars Materials and more! - Also calling to early-stage startups for Cohort 5, now open for applications.   The Roux Institute at Northeastern University launched ClimateTech Incubator, with a cohort of 12 breakthrough startups including Amply Energy, Inc., SeaDeep, and others. This addition is set to have a big impact on Maine's innovation ecosystem (more on this soon!)   Holcim and Sublime Systems are partnering to advance Sublime's first commercial manufacturing facility & co-develop future facilities to scale-up the technology for market deployment. Cerulean Ventures closed Fund I at $10M, targeting highly-scalable pre-seed software solutions for climate-tech challenges. Pangaea Ventures closed its $85M Impact Fund for clean hardtech solutions including advanced materials, critical metals, and more. Deals:   🌿 Agriculture & Food Ocean Rainforest (DK), a seaweed harvesting startup secured a €2.5M investment from Triodos Food Transition Europe to scale production.   ⚡ Energy & Power Hydrogen electrolyzer startup, Hgen (US) announced $5M in Seed funding led by Seven Seven Six 7️⃣7️⃣6️⃣ to accelerate commercial deployment of its alkaline electrolyzer technology converting water & electricity into hydrogen.   ⚗ Materials & Chemicals On the back of a $45M debt round to build out its first-of-a-kind SAF plant, the carbon transformation startup Twelve (US) announced one of the largest funding round for e-fuels to date with a further $600M in funding composed of $400M in project equity led by TPG Rise Climate and $200M in Series C funding.   🌍 Resources & Environmental Management New startup on the block, Kairos Carbon (UK), is turning organic wet waste into high quality carbon removal, with a target credit price of <$50 /tCO2t. The Deep Science Ventures spinout was awarded £100,000 grant by Innovate UK back in April, and have announced their pre-seed round by Zero Carbon Capital last week.   🚢 Transport & Logistics Lightyear (NL), developing solar rooftops for EV charging systems, has announced €10M in funding from undisclosed investors to scale production.   ♻ Waste & Recycling Cambridge spinout, Evoralis (UK), developing enzymes for plastic recycling has secured £2.5M in Seed funding co-led by LIFTT and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures.   Lithium-ion battery recycling startup, Ascend Elements announced $125M award from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the $65M & 100,000-square foot battery recycling plant announced last year in partnership with SK ecoplant.   #startups #cleantech #netzero #batteryrecycling #climatetech #Investments #climateecosystem #carbonremoval #recycledmaterials Image Source: Hgen

Happy Tuesday!   Let's dive into last week's climatetech activity (27/05 - 31/05) - Check out i3connect.com for more details on our research at Cleantech Group.   Ecosystem Highlights & News:   2C Ventures launched a €50M fund for early-stage cleantech startups across the Baltic and Nordic Regions. The sector interest includes innovation across waste reduction, water management, renewable energy.   Imperial College London is bringing future climate innovators the new 'Cleantech Innovation MSc', a 12-month course including a residency project with startups from Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation (The Greenhouse Accelerator).   Duke Energy Corporation, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and steel producer Nucor Corporation are collaborating on Accelerating Clean Energy (ACE) tariffs for utilities, to drop the cost of investing in clean energy technologies like new nuclear and long-duration energy storage.   The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced semifinalists for its Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize - Big congratulations to CarbonCapture Inc., Heirloom, 280 Earth, Alkali Earth, Ebb Carbon and many more. Full list: https://lnkd.in/eT-q5cEt Deals:   🌿 Agriculture & Food iyris (UAE), an environmental agtech startup with solutions including combined desalination and indoor hydroponics growing system, raised $16M in a Series A round led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund, alongside Global Ventures and others.   ⚡ Energy & Power Cloover (SE), a subscription platform for renewable energy services, secured $114M in seed funding to further its financing services and software. The round was led by Lowercarbon Capital, alongside 9900 and QED Investors.   ⚗ Materials & Chemicals Verkor (FR), a low-carbon lithium-ion batteries producer, secured $1.4B in debt financing from Aviva, Lloyds Banking Group, Siemens, and MUFG among others, to set up its first gigafactory located in Dunkirk.   🌍 Resources & Environmental Management Doconomy (SE), a financial tools startup for climatetech, raised $36M in Series B funding from CommerzVentures, Motive Ventures, Tenity and others.   🚢 Transport & Logistics shipzero (GE), an emission-tracking platform to decarbonize the shipping industry, closed its €8M Series A round by ETF Partners, Rethink Ventures, zu na mi, and Raspberry Ventures.   ♻ Waste & Recycling Vizcab (FR), a SaaS platform tracking the carbon impact of construction projects, has raised €4.5M in additional Series A funding, bringing the round total to €9M. The round was led by KOMPAS VC, with contributing investors including Global Brain Corporation and Brick and Mortar Ventures.     #startups #cleantech #netzero #carbonmanagement #climatetech #greeneconomy #battery #Investments #climateecosystem #recyclinginnovation Image Credit: Imperial College London, Cleantech Innovation MSc

This week we launched the second edition of Oliver Wyman’s Clean Energy Startups Radar. Last year’s findings revealed that global VC funding for clean energy startups skyrocketed – with a sixfold increase from $1.9 billion in 2019 to $12.3 billion in 2022. However, this year’s findings show a global decline in VC investment for clean energy startups for the first time since 2015. Some insights from this year’s radar: 👉 Clean Energy Rounds Shrink: Global VC investment in clean energy startups experienced its first decline since 2015, dropping 6% in 2023. This downturn, primarily driven by challenging economic conditions, has resulted in smaller funding rounds, with the average investment per round falling by 36%. Along with economic conditions, the lure of AI startups also dampened the fervour for sustainable energy among VC investors – with AI attracting $50 billion last year and soaking up much of the limited capital available. 👉Asia fuels VC Growth: Current VC investment growth is largely driven by Asia Pacific, particularly in China where startups have doubled their funding since 2022, while North American and European funding declined by 21% and 29% respectively. 👉Areas of funding affected: Low-carbon hydrogen and battery storage experienced significant growth, with low-carbon hydrogen technology investments growing more than two-fold from 2022 to 2023. However, investments in long-term, riskier categories such as carbon capture and storage witnessed a significant decrease, likely due to high capital expenditure requirements and longer-term investment horizons. 👉The opportunity: The decline in clean energy startup valuations presents a prime opportunity for established companies to leverage lower valuations to form strategic partnerships - integrating disruptive innovations with their existing operational scale and financial strength. More insight can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ehEit-A4 #OWEnergy #EnergyTransition #Sustainability Dr. Matthias Witzemann Dr. Leopold Zangemeister Joerg Staeglich

In 2023, clean energy's growth story was interrupted for the first time in almost a decade with a decrease in Venture Capital (VC) funding. However, the sector remains much stronger than most startup areas, which were hit harder by the overall VC market's steep decline. Our annual Clean Energy Startup Radar found that the Asia Pacific region, hydrogen, and battery storage attracted overall increases in funding, showing a path forward for the sector. You can learn more in our latest report.

“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹!" 👿🔥 At this year’s Future Tech Fest 2024 in Düsseldorf, we debunk the Energy Transition bullshit-bingo and present to you inspiring speakers and experts, that are committed to one language: 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀! 🙌 📅𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻: 𝟮𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 📌𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 | 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁 Slide through 👈🏻 or read about them in detail below 👇🏻 Hind Seiferth : 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗩𝗖’𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗨𝘀 Hind Seiferth is an energy expert and co-founder of @Unigy with over 20 years of experience in the energy industry. Get insights to her path to founding one of the most promising companies in the industry. Andreas Loeschel : 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗔𝗻 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀? Get answers to some of the most pressing questions on the energy transition from one of Germany's leading economists: What is the right regulatory framework to drive climate protection and innovation? And what do these future developments mean for start-ups - especially when it comes to new data-driven business models? Matthias Vaterrodt : 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 – 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 As project lead of innoTANK Venture Clienting at the TÜV NORD GROUP , Matthias is a specialist on the implementation and scaling of new technologies developed by startups. Together with Christoph Sommer ( NEW Niederrhein Energie und Wasser GmbH ) and Marco Beretta ( GlassDollar ) he will provide a deep dive on how Venture Clienting is driving collaborative efforts between companies and startups to shape it. Dr.-Ing. Mark Windeknecht : 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵” 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 Looking for startup survival strategies? As a former researcher in decentralized energy technology at Technische Universität München, Mark Windeknecht knows about the hardships and challenges of hardware companies too well - But as a founder and investment specialist for the energy sector at World Fund, he is eager to provide you solutions! Ilan Momber ᴾʰᴰ💡🌍 : Energiezone 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 Greenflash For his latest episode of the Energiezone Podcast, Ilan welcomes Johann Böker , who founded one of German’s most popular energy startups - Greenflash - live on stage. You will learn about Greenflashs way from startup to becoming a general contractor in the pv sector and how their b2b customers commit to the energy transition.