💶 Vol 173: €15bn Fund of Funds Engine

Hi there,

If you still picture factories as smokestacks and assembly lines, let’s bring you up to speed.

A new generation of “factories” is emerging powered by by biology, waste streams, and entirely new production logics.

Think microbes instead of petrochemicals. Waste as feedstock. Precision fermentation and synbio turning raw materials into programmable platforms.

It’s already happening across Europe’s industrial base, as founders scale technologies designed to decarbonise materials, localise supply chains, these 320 startups are redefining what manufacturing looks like. 

In this week’s edition: 

🧵 Renasens is spinning CO₂ into textiles
🚀 Arbor Energy scores a billion-dollar order
⚡ Entrix raises €43M to tame the grid

The Digest

🤝🏼 A new EU–Australia trade agreement could unlock access to Horizon Europe, a $155 billion research and innovation fund, giving Australian startups and institutions opportunities to collaborate and secure funding across areas like advanced computing, clean tech and health. 

🧊 Interesting: A study of an Alpine glacier ice core has revealed that human-caused pollution dates back to the Roman era, long before industrialisation, highlighting early impacts from activities like metal production and biomass burning.

😎 Dealroom shared its list of the 30 most influential people shaping Europe’s deep tech system right now. Are you on it?

AgriFood x Climate

👩🏻‍💻 Canadian startup Miraterra closed a $16 million seed extension led by At One Ventures with participation from S2G Investments, Sitka Foundation, iSelect and new investor Farm Credit Canada. It is developing advanced soil measurement technology that combines chemical and biological analysis, and will use the funds to further expand its platform.

🇦🇺 Australia’s Cauldron Ferm raised $13.25 million in a Series A2 funding round led by Main Sequence Ventures with participation from Horizons Ventures, SOSV and NGS Super to scale its continuous “hyper-fermentation” platform for producing bio-based ingredients more efficiently.

🐮 Australian agtech Rumin8, which is developing methane-reducing feed additives for cattle, raised $4.3 million from New Zealand’s AgriZeroNZ to advance trials ahead of commercial rollout. 

🐄 Swedish startup Volta Greentech secured €1.7 million in a round led by Axel Johnson to support the market launch and further development of its methane-reducing product Lome, designed to help cut cattle emissions.

Carbon x Climate

🤖 UK-based Zevero, a carbon management platform that uses AI to automate emissions data collection and support ESG decision-making, raised $7 million. The round was led by Spiral Capital with participation from Gazelle Capital and Deep 30, and it will use the funds to support its expansion across Europe and Asia-Pacific.

⭐️ Applications are now open for Frontier’s 2026 Innovation Program, supporting breakthrough carbon removal solutions tackling key scaling and measurement challenges. Find out more and apply here.

Energy x Climate

🔋 German startup Entrix raised €43 million in a funding round led by Junction Growth Investors and Korys, with participation from BNP Paribas, Allianz, AENU, Enpal, Abacon and Arvantis Group, to scale its AI-driven platform that is designed to optimise battery storage, support grid stability and accelerate renewable energy integration across Europe. 

🆕 Lace Lithography raised $40 million in a round led by Atomico with participation from M12 and Vsquared Ventures to develop a novel atom-based chip manufacturing method that could surpass traditional photolithography.

🔥 Switzerland’s SolidWatts, which is developing high-efficiency electric industrial heating using RF technology, secured €1.9 million seed funding from investors including Evercurious VC, Kickfund, and Axel Carbon Capital to advance its platform.

⚡️ US-based Arbor Energy, which is developing rocket-derived modular turbines, secured a multi-billion-dollar order from GridMarket to deploy up to 5GW of power capacity using its 3D-printed Halcyon systems, aiming to deliver faster, flexible and lower-emission electricity for data centres and industrial users.

Funds x Climate

🇮🇹 Italy’s 360 Capital closed €85 million for its Poli360 2 deeptech fund, backed by investors including the European Investment Fund, CDP Venture Capital SGR, and industrial players Brembo, MBDA and Lucchini RS, to invest in early-stage university spinouts across industry automation and sustainability.

🇵🇱 Warsaw-based Montis VC secured €50 million at the first close of its new fund, backed by the European Investment Fund and other institutional investors, to invest in early-stage European startups across energy, industrial tech and AI.

👭🏻 Female-led VC firm VitaminºC reached a first close of its €18 million debut climate fund to invest in early-stage startups across energy, food and agriculture, and carbon removal and adaptation.

🇪🇺 The European Investment Fund launched a €1.5 billion fund of funds to back around 100 growth-stage VC firms, aiming to strengthen Europe’s late-stage funding ecosystem and support the scaling of homegrown tech champions.

Materials x Climate

🇬🇧 UK-based Epoch Biodesign raised €10.3 million from Extantia Capital, Inditex, Lowercarbon Capital, Happiness Capital, Kibo Invest and Day One Ventures to scale its biorecycling technology, which uses AI-designed enzymes to recycle plastic and textile waste.

🧵 Swedish startup Renasens, which is developing CO₂-based textile recycling technology, secured €10 million seed funding in a round led by Extantia with participation from Course Corrected VC and Norrsken Launcher. 

🔪 Allday Goods, based in the UK, raised €883,000 from FIGR Ventures with participation from Anotherway Ventures, Machroes Holdings and angel investors, to turn plastic waste into premium knives and kitchen tools. 

Mobility x Climate

☄️ Spain’s Arkadia Space, a spacetech startup developing green propulsion systems to replace toxic satellite fuels, secured €14.5 million from the European Innovation Council to scale and commercialise its hydrogen peroxide-based technology.

🚑 US-based Harbinger is expanding into emergency services through a partnership with Frazer to build hybrid ambulances and mobile healthcare vehicles on its flexible electric chassis platform.

🚙 Good read: Dale Vince reflects on building the UK’s first electric car and charging network 15 years ago.

Water x Climate

💧 Germany’s blue activity raised €8.5 million seed funding in a round co-led by Wind Capital and Venture Stars, with participation from Angel Invest, to scale its biocide-free cooling water treatment technology, designed to cut costs and reduce chemical use.

💡 Cool: This handheld device is capable of detecting harmful “forever chemicals” (PFAS) in water within minutes.

🐾 Footsteps x Climate

Are the solutions right under our feet?

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Editorial and curation by Nicola