European ClimateTech Start-Ups Attract Fresh Capital

Despite a weakening economy, European ClimateTech start-ups have attracted additional fresh capital at the start of the year.

AuthorAuthor

Sandro Stark & Axel Roitzsch
May 02, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Hi Community,

Just like the summer is slowly arriving in Europe - the venture market also keeps warming up again. In the first quarter, venture capitalists invested 13.7 billion USD in ClimateTech companies. This is an increase of five per cent compared to the same period last year. Companies involved in the energy transition once again raised more money than fintechs. With an investment volume of 3.1 billion USD, "climate tech" was the most attractive sector for venture capitalists for the fourth quarter in a row.

This pole position is positive news on the climate investment side. Regarding legislation however, we are currently experiencing a heavy backlash in Europe. Read our take on the concerning developments with the EU nature restoration law below.

Today's Briefing

Vanagon News

We were invited to speak at the inaugural ADAPT YOUR WORLD conference on climate resilience & adaptation, held at the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich.

🛰️ Technological progress brought us into the mess of exceeded planetary boundaries but latest technologies are also powerful tools to create solutions to mitigate biodiversity loss e.g. by boosting science and measuring positive impact of restoration measures and making them more investable. Our Vanagon portfolio company The Landbanking Group, for instance, is documenting nature uplift from regenerative land management practices with earth observation and AI and putting nature on the balance sheet.

🍊 Soil & Biodiversity plays a crucial role in human health. Restoring it can improve the nutritional content of our food, leading to healthier diets. Degraded soils had a devastating effect on micro nutrients in our food. As panelist Yasmine Cathell, founder of Soil Sommelier, pointed out, today we need to eat 8 oranges to get the same amount of Vitamin C that one orange had 70 years ago, which also means consuming much more calories.

🌲 Connecting With Nature has been scientifically proven to have positive effects on hashtag#MentalHealth. Simple experiences such as a walk in the forest can have surprising benefits. Phytoncides molecules emitted by trees have the benefits of lowering cortisol and our heart rate, in addition to acting as an anti-inflammatory and strengthening the immune system.

Fresh From The Portfolio

LBG joint Conference with Temasek and Blackrock

Prof. Dr. Martin Stuchtey, The Landbanking Group

Ecosperity – an annual joint conference by Temasek and Blackrock on the net-zero transition in Singapore just took place last week. The Landbanking Group was invited as keynote speakers for “A business case for nature-positivity” and to present the Landler-Platform. Prioritising nature can be a win-win-win situation for businesses, communities, and the planet.

It is estimated that nature positive policies could generate more than $10 trillion in new annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030. Nature-positivity is hence not just about protecting our natural environment, but it can also present opportunities that can drive business growth for the next decade and beyond along with positive impact on livelihood and biodiversity.

Senken launches All-in-one Academy

Our portfolio company Senken launched Senken Academy, an all-in-one practical guide for sustainability managers and corporate leaders. From the climate state overview to the net zero strategy specifics, Senken explains the actionable steps for your company's sustainable journey. Join the educational program here: https://www.senken.io/academy

Online Event Sustainability meets Mittelstand

Senken organizes the second edition of an exclusive, compact and free online event about the latest insights on sustainability topics such as CSRD reporting, carbon footprinting and more for the German Mittelstand. More information here.

Particula on US Tour

Nadine, Timm and Carsten of our portfolio company Particula just completed an extensive US west coast tour where they met US VCs, rating provider and digital assets managers. Moreover, they met the team of their latest investor Plug and Play to discuss future collaboration opportunities, investments and partnerships.

This week in Climate & Tech

Our take on

The EU nature restoration law is at stake.

⚠️ A law that 6,000 scientists had called the most important of our generation is at stake and it mostly slipped the public attention.

WHAT HAPPENED?

  • End of February, the European Parliament approved the Nature Restoration Law, marking a significant step towards the restoration of Europe's ecosystems.

  • However, since a few weeks ago, this very law is now at stake again. After the law had been fully negotiated, a minority of half a dozen EU member states have suddenly prevented the adoption of legislation designed to reverse decades of ecosystem degradation and to halt biodiversity loss. The law has been taken off the agenda of the Council of the EU for not having the support of the required majority.

WHAT IS THE NATURE RESTORATION LAW? AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The law is a response to worrying findings by scientists and the European Environment Agency:

  • Around 80 percent of the EU’s habitats are in poor ecological condition.

  • As habitats deteriorate, species’ populations are declining. 38 percent of fish populations are in poor condition; bee & butterfly species are threatened with extinction; and farmland bird species have declined by 36 percent since 1990.

  • In order to stop the decline, measures urgently need to be taken, such as restoring rivers to their natural state, reducing pesticide use to protect pollinators, increasing green spaces in cities, rewetting moors and allowing natural forest recovery. And that is exactly what the law aims to achieve:

    • 🖼️ By 2030, 20% of the EU's land and marine areas are to be restored, with a commitment to restoring all ecosystems in need by 2050.

    • 🐸 By 2030, drained peatlands in agricultural ecosystems are to be rewetted, and new measures to protect our forests are to be introduced.

    • 🏡 By 2030, there must be no net loss of urban greenery, with an increase in the share of green spaces and trees.

    • 🐟 Over 25,000 km river barriers are to be removed by 2030.

Nature is our most critical infrastructure. According to the World Economic Forum, more than 50% of our economic output directly depends on nature. However, now we are about to miss a historic chance to restore nature.

WHAT CAN WE DO NOW? For instance,

Who’s raising

Ororatech
🇩🇪 NewSpace thermal-infrared data intelligence company

Problem: Wildfires cause $400bn - $900bn annual costs in the U.S. This is equivalent to 3% - 4% of U.S. GDP

Solution: OroraTech’s thermal intelligence SaaS solution is designed to inform you of the earliest detection and allows you to monitor areas at risk of wildfires. OroraTech's AI based all-in-one service provides advanced analytics sourced from 20+ satellites and first-in-class thermal algorithms that help protect your assets.

Team: The international team of over 90 passionate engineers, software developers, and business experts is guided by a group of skilled leaders whose mission is to use space-derived data to protect our environment..

Traction: $4+m revenue in 2023, expected $9m revenue in 2024, $100m+ sales pipeline

Funding: €30M Series B, scaling up predictive AI capabilities, global market expansion with focus on North America and APAC and expansion of its proprietary sensor network. Looking for impact and deeptech investors to leverage growth and profitability

Thank you for your valuable time, we hope the read was worth it! Any topics missing? Let us know! Anyone you think should also read the Climate Tech Briefing? Please forward!

Have a great week and all the best

Sandro, Susanne and Axel