💀 ClimateHack Vol 120: Is "Climate Tech" Dead?

Hi There,

Is the term “Climate Tech” dead?

It’s no secret that “Climate Tech” has taken a hit in 2024, in part due to a changes in recent leadership (from US to Germany), closures and struggles at former climate tech darlings (Northvolt, Running Tide, Lilium & more) and a shifting interest in capital allocation from both funds and their LPs (looking at you, AI & Defence).

But maybe it’s less the term Climate Tech but the type of companies that are being built under this label that needs to change.

The last few years had seen a flood of new capital, companies, talent and attention coming towards climate tech. Now as the tide recedes and visitors go elsewhere, we’re back to looking at fundamentals.

As Extantia’s Yair Reem put it in a recent linkedin post, “we don’t think (climate tech) needs rebranding or new labels but we do need a sharper focus on what works—and what doesn’t” going on the highlight the focus on fundamentals, like cost savings and quality gains to the customer.

Now the fun (read: hard) times are here. And as Yair stated “This is a moment to reflect, sharpen the playbook, and focus on what matters: delivering impact by making real returns”.

So, for those of us still active in Climate Tech, lets’s go build.

In this week’s edition ;

📊 Berlin based Frequenz, raised €10M for their AI platform for autonomous energy management.
🧬 Swiss AI-powered protein engineering platform Cradle raised €69.5M to scale its generative AI for protein research.
🔌 Sofia-based EV charging startup Ampeco raised $26M to further expand its platform that currently supports over 160 clients worldwide.

Digest x Climate

Does NYC must have the highest concentration of VCs per square mile in the world? It just might do.

According to Deal Room, New York City is the #2 hub for VC activity globally, trailing only the Bay Area.

But which of those funds are actively investing in ClimateTech?

To answer exactly that, we’ve curated a list of 60 early-to-growth stage NYC investors investing in Climate Tech that you should know.

AgriFood x Climate

🧬 Swiss AI-powered protein engineering platform Cradle raised €69.5 million Series B funding to scale its generative AI technology that accelerates protein research, impacting sectors such as pharmaceuticals, eco-friendly pesticides, and animal-free foods.

👀 Unilever is reportedly preparing to sell The Vegetarian Butcher, the Dutch vegan brand it acquired six years ago, as part of its strategy to streamline its global food portfolio and focus on international megabrands.

🍼 Sydney-based All G Foods has become the first company to gain regulatory approval to sell precision-fermented lactoferrin protein in China, and is targeting a 2025 market launch.

🥛 Israeli startup Imagindairy received regulatory approval to sell its animal-free whey protein in Israel, following its US approval earlier this year, enabling the commercialisation of its beta-lactoglobulin for use in dairy alternatives like milk, cheese, and yoghurt.

🌾 Molecular farming startup ​​Alpine Bio has harvested its first large-scale crop of soybeans containing casein proteins, marking a major milestone.

Biodiversity x Climate

🌳 Naturetech startup Darwin raised €1.5 million to advance its methodology for assessing corporate biodiversity footprints and their alignment with global standards like SBTN and TNFD.

Carbon x Climate

🛰 Irish startup Proveye secured a contract with the European Space Agency, worth nearly €900,000, to enhance its AI-driven platform that integrates satellite and drone imagery for accurate carbon sequestration and biodiversity monitoring in global grasslands.

🚌 Queensland-based Gilmour Space is partnering with Perth-based LatConnect60 to use its ElaraSat satellite bus to monitor methane and carbon emissions from space.

Chemicals x Climate

🧪 Deep Blue Biotech raised $800,000 pre-seed funding from investors including Sustainable Ventures, One Planet Capital, PCSI, and SFC Capital to develop sustainable chemicals from cyanobacteria (pond scum) using synthetic biology and AI.

Construction x Climate

🏗 FPR Energy, a CSIRO spinout, secured $15 million seed funding to commercialise its particle-based Concentrated Solar Thermal technology, which uses ceramic particles to store heat for reducing emissions in heavy industries like steel and cement production.

🧱 Melbourne-based Kapture has developed a process to sequester carbon dioxide in concrete by capturing CO₂ emissions from combustion sources and permanently embedding them into the concrete mix as part of a carbon-embedded byproduct. This byproduct, which replaces a percentage of the existing concrete material, significantly reduces emissions associated with cement production while enhancing the strength and durability of the concrete. 

Energy x Climate

📊 French startup METRON secured €12.5 million in a funding round led by Germany's GET Fund. It will use the funds to expand its energy management and decarbonisation solutions internationally, and strengthen its partnerships with major global players like Danone, Safran, and Fujitsu.

📉 Frequenz, a Berlin-based AI platform for autonomous energy management, raised €10 million to help corporate and industrial clients reduce their energy costs by up to 30% and lower their CO₂ emissions in volatile energy markets.

⚡️ Germany’s etalytics secured €8 million, in a funding round led by Alstin Capital and ebm-papst, to expand its AI-powered energy management solutions, designed to optimise energy use, reduce costs, and minimise environmental impact across industries like data centres, chemicals, and automotive.

🔋 UK-based Molyon, a spinout of the University of Cambridge, raised $4.6 million to advance its lithium-sulfur battery technology, which offers the potential for much better performance, thanks to higher energy density compared to Li-ion cells.

☀️ Volter raised $3.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Transition and Seedcamp. It will use the funds to expand its operating system for rooftop solar products, with plans to grow into energy services like battery integration and virtual power plants.

Funds x Climate

🇦🇺 IP Group Australia secured an additional A$125 million from Hostplus for the IP Group Hostplus Innovation Fund, with which it supports university-originated deep tech startups like green hydrogen pathfinder Hysata and sustainable lithium extractor Electralith.

🇺🇸 Hort Innovation and Artesian launched a $60 million VC fund to support early-stage startups addressing challenges in Australia’s horticulture sector, focusing on robotics, AI, sustainability, affordability, and resilience to enhance productivity and support fruit, vegetable, and nut farmers.

🇳🇱 Dutch plant-based ingredients company GNT launched GNT Ventures, an independent VC firm investing up to €1 million in startups innovating in plant-based colours, with a focus on raw materials, fermentation, processing, food ingredients, and upcycling.

Materials x Climate

🌿 Umaro Foods and Sway received a $1.5 million grant from the US Department of Energy to develop sustainable bioplastics from alginate, a byproduct of seaweed protein production.

📦 Barcelona-based startup B’ZEOS secured undisclosed seed funding to scale its home-compostable seaweed-based packaging, which is compatible with existing production lines and has been validated through pilots with partners like Nestlé.

☀️ Researchers from Cornell and Princeton universities have discovered a method to use sunlight or white LEDs to convert black and coloured polystyrene waste into reusable raw materials, using a specific additive found in black plastics.

Mobility x Climate

🔌 Sofia-based EV charging startup Ampeco raised $26 million, in a Series B funding round led by Revaia, to further expand its platform that currently supports over 160 clients and 120,000 charging stations worldwide.

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Editorial by Arman, Curation by Nicola