🔥 ClimateHack Vol 132: Wildfire Warnings in a Flash

Hi There,

This week we took a closer look at the role of CVCs in ClimateTech, and how they’re becoming a driving force to accelerate scaleups and startups - beyond just the capital.

We caught up with 13 investors who revealed the perks of teaming up with global corporates. And built a list of 70+ CVCs who are actively investing in Climate.

The list includes CVC arms investing in:

• Electrification and Energy: ABB, Aramco, Siemens, Romande Energie

• Decarbonisation and Green Manufacturing: Yanmar, Banpu, BHP

• Mobility and Smart Cities: Yamaha, JLR, Honda, Porsche, Shell

• Agriculture and Food: Givaudan, Rich Products, REWE Group, ICL

• Water Security: Mekorot, De Nora, Orbia, Xylem

In this week’s edition:
🧪 C1 Green Chemicals AG raised €20 million to commercialise its green methanol catalysis technology
💸 2150 closed its Fund II with €200 million to focus on Series A investments in sustainable urban solutions
🔋 Coreshell secured $24 million to develop silicon anodes as a cost-effective, high-performance alternative to graphite in EV batteries

The Digest

👀 Long Read: Dealroom shared its 2025 European Deep Tech Report, offering a comprehensive analysis of Europe's deep tech landscape, highlighting its resilience amidst global economic shifts and its pivotal role in addressing pressing challenges like climate change and cybersecurity.

🚀 Good Read: Don’t miss Fast Company’s 2025 list of the 10 most innovative companies in Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

🔝 11 accounts to follow that can teach sustainability and ESG better than a degree.

🤖 Join the virtual Climate Robotics Summit (May 6-9, 2025) to explore how robotics can accelerate climate action - A free online event to unite climate scientists, roboticists, investors and practitioners.

👋 Meet the local community at a ClimateHack Meetup in Zurich and Amsterdam.

AgriFood x Climate

💰️ GoodSam Foods raised $9 million Series A funding to expand its team, launch new products, and continue direct trade with smallholder and indigenous farmers, bringing high-quality cocoa products from Colombia to the US through its regenerative supply chain.

🛳️ Catchwise secured €1.25 million pre-seed funding to transform the wild fishery industry with AI-driven predictive analytics, helping fishing vessels to reduce their fuel consumption and optimise their operations.

🌱 French startup AuraLIP completed its first funding round to accelerate the development of its fermented hemp seed-based Low Impact Protein, leveraging a sustainable process that enhances texture, umami flavor, and nutritional value for applications like meat alternatives.

🧑‍🌾 British agritech startup Elaniti secured funding to advance its AI- and DNA-powered soil microbiome intelligence tool, designed to help farmers optimise productivity and transition toward sustainable, regenerative agriculture.

💦 Murdoch University received investment from the Grains Research and Development Corporation for two research projects aimed at improving profitability and sustainability for Australian grain growers, including biodegradable smart sprays to enhance water efficiency and cold plasma treatments to boost wheat and canola growth.

🏆 Last chance to apply for the FoodTech World Cup, a global pitch competition to spotlight the brightest startups working in Food for Health. Enter today.

Biodiversity x Climate

🔥 The first satellite of the Google-backed FireSat constellation has successfully reached orbit, aiming to provide near real-time wildfire detection with high-resolution infrared imaging. Take a look inside.​

🏘️ Arizona lawmakers are debating a bill that would shield utilities from wildfire-related lawsuits, potentially shifting financial burdens onto homeowners’ insurers while requiring utilities to submit—but not necessarily follow—fire prevention plans every two years.

🌻 A recent study demonstrates that social media data, particularly from platforms like Instagram, can effectively track urban biodiversity, as evidenced by monitoring the Jersey tiger moth in city environments.

🚓 Interesting: How trees can call the police if they are in danger of being cut down.

🌳 Infographic: The difference between monoculture vs syntropic agroforestry.

Chemicals x Climate

🧪 Berlin-based C1 Green Chemicals AG raised €20 million to commercialise its green methanol catalysis technology, aiming to decarbonise the shipping, aviation, and chemical industries by replacing fossil-based production with a sustainable alternative.

⚗️ Arvia Technology launched Florenox™, an ‘industry-first’ range of electrochemical oxidation reactors designed to destroy PFAS contaminants, addressing the widespread environmental and health risks of these “forever chemicals.”

Construction x Climate

🛠️ Resilco raised €5 million in a Series A funding round to scale its technology that transforms industrial waste into secondary raw materials for construction while permanently storing CO2, reducing landfill use and emissions.

🎧 Good listen: Cutting heavy industry carbon through AI to make heavy manufacturing more sustainable with Leise Sandeman of Pathways.

🍄 Would you live in a house made from mycelium? Step inside.

Energy x Climate

🏡 Palmetto has developed an AI-powered tool that creates digital twins of US homes to assess energy efficiency and electrification potential, and is now opening its API to developers to accelerate home electrification and gain market insights.

☀️ Researchers from Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London have developed a cost-effective, stable method for solar hydrogen production using organic materials, achieving high efficiency and durability in water splitting.

🤝 Nvidia is partnering with EPRI and major utilities to launch the Open Power AI Consortium, using AI-driven solutions to address rising electricity demand from data centers, with open-source models available for industry and academic research.

🌞 Microsoft has signed a deal with AES to add 475 megawatts of solar power across Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri, expanding its renewable portfolio to meet the growing energy demands of its data centers.

Funds x Climate

💸 Climate tech VC 2150 closed its Fund II with €200 million to focus on Series A investments in sustainable urban solutions, with plans to back 20+ startups across North America and Europe.

• Meet their Partner and Co-Founder Jacob Bro when he joins us as a speaker at the HackSummit, May 15-16th.

💰️ Al Gore’s Just Climate raised $175 million from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and CalSTRS to invest in nature-based climate solutions, addressing the underfunded sector of biodiversity and land restoration. The fund will support projects like biological fertilisers, restoration finance platforms, and carbon verification technologies to combat emissions and biodiversity loss.

💷 UK VC firm Elbow Beach has secured £63 million in the first close of its new £80m climate impact fund, aiming to back up to 36 early-stage British startups via the fund over the next four years, with a focus on technology enabling industries to transition to cost-effective low carbon operations.

🎱 Prague-based Soulmates Ventures launched a €50 million fund to support sustainable innovation, with a focus on eight key streams: air, water, energy, mobility, circular economy, food and agriculture, education, and healthcare.

Mobility x Climate

🔋 Batterytech startup PULSETRAIN raised €6.1 million seed funding to advance its "In-Battery" solution, which integrates the BMS, inverter, and charging electronics into a single system for more efficient, AI-driven electromobility.

🛞 Coreshell secured $24 million to develop silicon anodes as a cost-effective, high-performance alternative to China-dominated graphite in EV batteries, aiming to help automakers produce cheaper, longer-range EVs while reducing reliance on Chinese supply chains.

🔌 French EV subscription startup Evera raised €2 million to expand its business-focused electric vehicle leasing service, which includes insurance, maintenance, charging infrastructure, and a digital fleet management platform to help companies transition to sustainable transport.

Irony x Climate

Nothing to see here

Priorities x Climate

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Editorial by Laura, Curation by Nicola