GreenTech is one of the biggest growth areas in the innovation and startup space, on a global level. It’s a market area that has the potential to shape and influence our future for the better, and investors and entrepreneurs are actively promoting development in this speech. This report, powered by Net Zero Insights, aims to give an overview of everything that happened in GreenTech across Europe in the past month.
GreenTech refers to the use of tech that has a positive environmental impact at its core. It refers to those companies that are founded for a wider purpose – it could be reducing carbon emissions, tackling pollution, minimizing waste, protecting the world’s ecosystems or anything that contributes to making life on earth more sustainable and less harmful.
From fueling the energy transition and rethinking food supply and consumption, to carbon offsetting and sustainable mobility, GreenTech players are creating a greener, healthier and happier planet. Sustainability investing is a growing trend as well, with more investors recognising the importance of thinking sustainable when backing innovation. We took an overview of sustainability investing this month.
And it comes at a pertinent time. At the end of this month, the UN shared that there is currently no credible pathway to reaching current climate targets in place. The gap between the CO2 cuts that have been pledged internationally, and the cuts that are needed to limit any rise in global temperature to 1.5C, the internationally agreed target, is rising and progress is said to be ‘woefully inadequate’. It paints a bleak picture and emphasizes, even more, the need for innovators to be supported.
According to Net Zero Insights, on a global level, the capital granted to climate tech organizations has reached $59 billion this year. It accounts for 19% of global venture funding in Europe and North America, so there’s still a glimmer of hope for climate tech even during the global economic crisis.
Startups and innovation contributing to the energy transition attracted 43% of the total GreenTech investment in Q3 2022, with transport, circular economy and food tech ventures following close behind. Further, in the Nordics and the UK, it looks like climate tech and GreenTech investment continue to be on an upward trend. In total, according to Net Zero Insights, funding in Europe and North America registered an all-time-high investment in October. After Q2’22 and Q3’22 noticed a decrease in funding, September and October start to see signs of growth with European climate tech startups raising about €5.5 billion across 75 rounds. It’s important to note that one company, H2 Green Steel, alone raised €3.5 billion. Sweden seems to be the country leading the way in GreenTech, attracting 84.4% of European funding.
European startups and innovative thinkers are at the forefront of trying to make Europe more climate-friendly and planet-positive, uniquely positioned to be agile, to think outside of the box, and to dare to challenge the status quo. It’s imperative that, as a community, we continue to support innovation in this space and encourage new ideas to flourish.
Let’s Take a Deeper Look
Green is the new black?
While October exposed the sad reality that there is still lots to do to put the brakes on the escalating climate crisis, we have seen lots of promising developments that we’re excited to see – from both startups and bigger enterprises.
For example, the popular fashion brand Zara decided to join the circular economy movement, opening up a second-hand marketplace. Wider society has been moving towards a more circular outlook, with more and more people understanding the benefits that reusing products have rather than being so wasteful. When major corporations make decisions like this one, it’s clear to see that they recognise this swing towards circularity isn’t going anywhere but up, and it shows that it’s financially beneficial as well as the logical choice on an ethical and eco-conscious level.
Further, competitor Mango quickly followed suit on the green front. Not long after Zara’s announcement, the brand Mango shared new investments in eco-friendly fashion startups – notably in Slovenian startup recovo.co which is a young team selling on textile waste to promote more circularity in retail. And it doesn’t end there when it comes to fashion this month, as micro-mobility operator Bolt unveiled a new sustainable fashion line. The company is turning old e-scooters into jewellery as part of an upcycling campaign. It shows that circularity is relevant across industries and the sky really is the limit on what can be achieved.
If upcycled e-scooters aren’t to your taste, October also saw the launch of a new fashion marketplace, Alterist, aiming to globally connect emerging designers, handmade unique products and purposeful consumers. The aim is to reduce the impact of textile waste on the environment, through the proposal of appealing garments to drive a change in the industry.
New Funds and Accelerators
This month, we also saw new GreenTech funds launched- once again reaffirming how investors are realizing the benefits on all levels of investing in going green:
- Global investment firm Lightrock just announced the close of its oversubscribed inaugural Climate Impact Fund at an incredible €860 million. The Fund will make initial investments in growth-stage companies across Europe and North America that are fueling innovation in solving the world’s greatest generational challenge – the climate crisis.
- Climate tech VC firm Satgana launched a new fund with a targeted close of €30 million to support the next generation of impact entrepreneurs. Already, the fund has invested in 3 planet-positive startups.
- IMPACT investment fund Shift4good announced that it has raised over 100 million euros (S$139 million) in the first close for its venture capital fund dedicated to supporting startups in the sustainable mobility sector.
- One of Europe’s leading early-stage investment funds, XAnge, launches a new European-wide Climate Fellowship to encourage more people to build businesses with a positive impact on climate change. All fellows will receive an equity investment of €100,000 and extensive support for one year. The program is supported by one of the largest pre-seed investors in the world, Techstars, and the global VC firm Energy Impact Partners.
Startups catching our eye
There was a lot of money raised, plenty of deals and movement, and new launches and acquisitions going on this past month. Here are 5 startups that had a September to remember and caught our attention:
- Tallinn-based Sunly loaded €200 million for its renewable energy projects.
- London-based Hoxton Farms raised €22.5 million to grow cultivated fat as an ingredient for the meat alternatives industry.
- Amsterdam-based Fastned picked €75 million for its fast-charging network for electric vehicles to charge with renewable energy from the sun and wind.
- Madrid-based Matrix Renewables landed €200 million for its platform for renewable energy that provides asset management, strategic consulting, and business investing services.
- HumanForest hit the headlines this month. London’s sustainable e-bike operators integrated a new style of bike, became part of Yonder’s member rewards to further access to sustainable travel around London and launched products on its TreeCoin Market on the app.
Hitting the Headlines
At EU-Startups, our aim is to put a spotlight on exciting startups and innovative and inspiring entrepreneurs and thought leaders from across Europe’s startup ecosystem. We think it’s important to shine a light on those making an impact, and firmly believe that highlighting innovation, sharing ideas and promoting bold ideas that aim to make a change in the world is one way to contribute to a more positive society.
This month, we got insights from some very inspiring thinkers:
- We chatted with Arno Held from AM Ventures and learned how collaboration and cooperation can influence lasting change
- We chatted with Suwar Mert, the CEO and Founder of Bower, and learnt about the Swedish startups’ approach to rallying a community around recycling, creating a sociocultural movement
- Clara Chappaz, the Director of La French Tech, shared her thoughts on our podcast on how Europe needs to and has the capability to, take the lead in GreenTech on a global level
- We explored how the aviation industry can take better approaches to carbon, become more transport, and how cut out greenwashing. We got expert knowledge from OnCarbon’s team for this one.
- Tess van Stekelenburg shared her thoughts on how deep tech holds the power to solve the world’s problems
- We learned from the Pure Electric team how crowdfunding is helping create a community base for electric mobility
- We took a deep dive into sustainability investing with Alix Lebec, looking at what it means, how it works and why it’s growing.
Other news catching our attention:
- Barcelona-based food tech leaders of the moment, Heura, raised €20 million in new funding to further fuel their socio-cultural meat-free movement
- Hoxton Farms and their new approach to farming, which is possible in a city and is more sustainable
- German startup Solarize Energy Solutions raised €4.3 million to improve access to solar power
- Impact-led investment and solar-as-a-service provider Ecoligo raised €10 million
- Cleantech startup Gridio is aiming to help people adjust electricity consumption so they can save money during the cost of living crisis
- Swiss startup Jua launched its AI-powered platform that gives the meteorological industry better prediction capabilities
- Irish startup CitySwift raised new funds to fuel more sustainable public transport.
- Berlin-based startup Climatiq raised €6 million to fuel the development and expansion of its climate intelligence platform
- Greentech startup cylib picked up new capital in its mission to revolutionize how lithium-ion batteries are recycled, helping make the future of electric mobility more sustainable and viable in the long run
- As the adoption of electric vehicles takes off, Zunder Mobility raised €100 million to accelerate EV charging points in Southern Europe
- Tallinn-based Cloud Factory raised €2 million to bring about a new approach to fine jewellery, using sustainable 3D printing technology
- Harnessing the power of insect protein, Flyfeed raised €3 million
- Take a look at these 10 startups creating cleaner and greener urban mobility
- Check out the tech trends that are positively influencing the planet
- Find out how the blockchain can be used to benefit the planet
October Milestones
- Mosa Meat, a player in the cultivated meat space that grows beef directly from animal cells, announced the next step in the scale-up of the company’s cultivated beef production facilities. A new industrial production development centre is being developed close to Mosa Meat’s existing pilot facility in Maastricht.
- Mews and Quartz Inn Hotels joined forces to create a more sustainable hotel industry at a time when the industry is under mounting pressure to improve its ecological and environmental footprint.
- New data released by Supercritical, the software platform that helps businesses get to net zero, reveals that over a third (35%) of UK employees are willing to quit their job if their employer takes inadequate action to reduce its carbon footprint. The data, taken from a survey of over 2,000 UK office workers, reveals that climate remains top-of-mind for employees but many do not feel that reflected in their employer’s current pledges, creating real problems for businesses already facing an increasingly tense macroeconomic environment.
- CommerzVentures, Europe’s leading fintech specialist VC and the region’s largest Climate FinTech investor, have published their H1 2022 updated report on the sector, where fintech driving net-zero continued to attract record VC funding over the period.
- New research conducted by the Irish mobility app FREE NOW reveals that more than half (52%) of taxi drivers who are not currently driving an electric vehicle hope to make the switch to an EV in less than two years. One in two (53%) drivers say government grants are the biggest motivating factor to go electric, while 38% view the net savings in driving an EV taxi versus a petrol vehicle as the main reason to switch. When it comes to barriers, one in three drivers feel the biggest obstacle to going electric is the initial cost of the vehicle.
- Mioo, a Swedish biking app that connects bikers with bike servicing (aka BikeBuddies) shared their European growth plans, with France and Germany as key markets.
- UK-based Aeropowder has launched a fresh crowdfunding campaign for their circular economy business, aiming to raise £150k for the international expansion of Pluumo – a unique thermal packaging made from surplus feathers that is designed to replace expanded polystyrene.
- Climate tech and web3 startup Thallo and BioCarbon Registry, announced that they will team up to create the world’s first two-way bridge between a registry and the blockchain. This process aims to reduce the barriers between potential buyers looking for high-quality Verified Carbon Credits (VCC) from nature-based solutions projects.
- Slovakian startup Peelo raised a pre-seed funding round for its sustainable beeswax food packaging – a reusable, washable and zero-waste substitute of single-use plastics which keeps food fresh longer. To take this product from local small-scale production to retail shelves, the team designed and developed a unique technology that automates the production process, speeds it up 10x, and can currently produce over 1/4 of a million units a year.
- Swedish app Bower launched in the UK, the app rewards users with money and couples, or, enables users to donate their rewards to charitable causes whenever they recycle everyday waste items
- The Retford Circular Economy Project was launched in the UK as an initiative to carefully extract pulverized fuel ash (PFA) waste from a former landfill and process it into a sustainable cement alternative
- 9 investors in Norway joined forces to offer capital and support to startups in the marine, maritime and subsea industries. The aim is to accelerate innovation that is enabling sustainable enjoyment and use of our oceans
- Zero Petroleum will supply its revolutionary fossil-free fuel to the world’s first licensed drone cargo airline, Dronamics, for testing with a view to commercial use in its long-range cargo drone. The partnership aims to support the creation of Dronamics’ sustainable same-day delivery service
Funding Rounds
- Belfast-based MOF Technologies landed €5 million for its nanomaterials for a low-carbon world.
- Tallinn-based FlyFeed raises €3 million to tackle the global food crisis.
- Tallinn-based Sunly loaded €200 million for its renewable energy projects.
- Paris-based Rev Mobilities landed €2.5 million to transform the thermal engines of cars into electric engines.
- Berlin-based Climatiq raises €6 million to fuel net zero future.
- Aachen-based cylib loaded €3.6 million for its fresh approach to battery recycling.
- Vastervik-based Inzile raised €996 k to manufacture electric vehicles and specialize in work vehicles with modular solutions.
- Stockholm-based STILRIDE checked €3.6 million to develop sleek electro-mobility devices based on sustainable industrial origami.
- London-based Fussy landed €1.2 million to create plastic-free, compostable deodorants.
- Forres-based Orbex Space secured €46 million to develop small payload reusable rockets.
- Haddington-based Nucleome Therapeutics scored €43 million to decode the dark matter of the human genome to uncover novel ways to treat diseases.
- Bristol-based Pure Electric secured €1.8 million to be a retailer for electric scooters and e-bikes.
- Ipswick-based PBD Biotech bagged €2.7 million to specialize in novel phage-based diagnostics for the veterinary, agriculture and human health sectors.
- London-based Hoxton Farms raised €22.5 million to grow cultivated fat as an ingredient for the meat alternatives industry.
- London-based EcoHedge scored €480 k to empower every company with the tools they need to become a leader in the fight against climate change.
- London-based Cobra Resources loaded €1.5 million to develop resource exploration projects for a sustainable mining operation.
- London-based Get A Drip scores €4.5 million to rollout IV nutrition therapy.
- Cambridge-based Levidian landed €13.7 million to accelerate the world’s transition to net zero and fight against climate change.
- Gosselies-based Univercells raised €44 million for its one-stop-shop for high-density low-cost biomanufacturing “end-to-end” solutions.
- Seinäjoki-based Eevia Health secured €2 million to target important health challenges with bioactive ingredients and products extracted from natural, organic raw materials from the arctic flora.
- Stuttgart-based Makersite picked €18 million for its cloud-based product data management tool that helps companies manage product sustainability, cost, and compliance.
- Berlin-based Ecoligo loaded €10 million to implement solar energy solutions that generate economic and environmental returns.
- Stuttgart-based Solarize raises €4.3 million to solar-ise premises and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
- Amsterdam-based Fastned picked €75 million for its fast-charging network for electric vehicles to charge with renewable energy from the sun and wind.
- Wageningen-based Greencovery raised €500 k to enable leading food companies to produce sustainable ingredients from their production side-streams.
- London-based Sküma picked €300 k to engage in the purification and mineralization of tap water making it a quality functional beverage.
- Paris-based GOURMEY landed €48 million to create sustainable cultivated meat delights for an uncompromising and conscious generation.
- Berlin-based baupal raised €5.8 million to provide one-stop energy audits, procurement, financing & benchmarking for electrifying european homes.
- Berlin-based Maya Climate loaded €100 k to allow investors to support ‘Nature-based solutions’ from an early stage onwards.
- Berlin-based Airmo picked €100 k to use satellite-based sensor technology to track carbon emissions globally.
- Berlin-based Novo raised €100 k to reduce emissions in private real estate.
- Athens-based Plan(e)t Foods picked €400 k to produce a plant-based and carbon negative Ice Cream.
- Rotterdam-based Umincorp landed €5 million for its plastic recycling through a unique patented magnetic density separation technique.
- Uppsala-based Drupps bagged €1.6 million to develop and provide clean and safe drinking water solutions by creating access to the water.
- Goteborg-based ZeroPoint Technologies raised €1.7 million to provide disruptive technology for saving energy and boosting performance.
- Madrid-based Matrix Renewables landed €217 million for its platform for renewable energy that provides asset management, strategic consulting, and business investing services.
- Arcachon-based BlueNav landed €1.3 million to manufacture hybrid and electric engines for the marine industry.
- Paris-based Carbonx secured €900 k to help companies achieve net zero emissions by giving them access to a portfolio of approved carbon capture projects.
- Dublin-based Revolve Renewable Power raised €1.4 million to help develop utility-scale renewable energy generation projects with a focus on wind, solar.
- London-based Hoxton Farms raised €22.5 million to grow cultivated fat as an ingredient for the meat alternatives industry.
- Cambridge-based Levidian landed €13.7 million to accelerate the world’s transition to net zero and fight against climate change.
- Tallinn-based Gridio raised €1 million to help people adjust electricity consumption so they can save money and energy
- Galway-based CitySwift secured €5 million for its data-driven bus scheduling and business intelligence platform.
- Palencia-based Zunder picked €100 million to roll out EV charging stations across Southern Europe.
- Hamburg-based Wunder Mobility bagged €12 million to provide software and hardware for scooter, bike, moped, and car sharing.
- UK-based metaverse events platform Flx raised £1m to accelerate sustainable alternatives to physical events and spaces
Acquisitions
- Avonmouth-based Spherics, a procurement tool for carbon accounting, enabling enterprises and their supply chain partners to reach net-zero emissions, was acquired by Sage Group, a provider of business management software and services.
- Frogner-based Cubic, a constructor of electrical panels, was acquired by Rockwell Automation, who aids other businesses with automation technology strategy.
- Wolverhampton-based Billi UK, a manufacturer of energy efficient filtered water systems, was acquired by Strix Group Plc, a manufacturer of kettle controls for €44 million.
- London-based Emeren, a renewable energy developer was acquired by Renesola, global manufacturer of solar wafers and PV modules.
- London-based Arlington Energy, a flexible and renewable energy platform, was acquired by Masdar Capital, a developer of commercial-scale renewable energy projects.
- Ruggell-based Interfloat, a manufacturing company of solar PV and solar thermal glass, was acquired by Borosil Renewables, a leader for laboratory glassware.
- Espoo-based Unified Chargers, manufacturer of fast and high-power electric vehicle charging stations was acquired by Enersense, a creator of zero-emission energy solutions.
- London-based EVORA Global, a sustainability consultancy and software provider was acquired by Bridges Fund Management, a specialist fund manager dedicated to sustainable and impact investment.
- Nacka-based Pk Produkter, a supplier of products and knowledge for sustainable environmental safety in liquid handling and waste protection was acquired by Ahlsell, a distributor of installation products.
This report is brought to you with support from Net Zero Insights.
Net Zero Insights develops an AI-powered software to access information about 44k+ climate tech startups in Europe and North America. For each organisation, the Net0 Platform provides details such as climate impact, patents, financials, traction, contacts, and much more. Investors, corporations, researchers and policy-makers use our platform to keep track of climate innovation and understand technology and financial trends.
