💰 ClimateHack Vol. 81: The new funds backing climate

PLUS: Germany's Infinite Roots secures $58M to make fungi foods

Hi There,

In 2023, one in every three dollars invested in African startups went to ClimateTech ventures.

As the pace of climate change heats up across the continent, investors are on the look for impactful technologies that truly move the needle.

So this week, we spoke to 16 African ClimateTech investors to hear where they’re investing next and the technologies they’re excited by.

From clean cooking to competitive DAC, here’s what they had to say.

In Today’s Edition;

🍄 Germany's Infinite Roots secured $58M in series B funding to create a new class of foods which are mushroom-based.
🏢 UK's Concrete4Change raised £2.5m for its solution that captures and mineralises CO2 to develop sustainable concrete.
🇩🇪 Vidia Equity raised €415 million to support decarbonisation technology within industrial materials, electrification and the circular economy.

AgriFood x Climate

Image Credits: Infinite Roots

🍄 Germany’s Infinite Roots, formerly known as Mushlabs, secured $58 million Series B funding, marking “the largest investment” in mycelium technologies in Europe to date. It will use the funds to “enter a new era of commercial growth”.

🦗 Dutch insect protein startup Protix, which uses waste from the food industry as feed for insects that then are processed into valuable nutrients such as proteins and lipids, secured investment from the European Investment Bank through a loan agreement with up to €37 million in additional funds to support its international expansion plans.

☕️ Kaffe Bueno, based in Denmark, raised €6.2 million in a Series A funding round led by Borregaard. It upcycles coffee by-products for the personal care and food industries, and will use the funds to expand into new areas such as advanced materials and agriculture.

🌴 New York-based C16 Biosciences received a $3.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to expand its Palmless platform for precision-fermented palm oil alternatives and accelerate its path to regulatory approval.

🐟 Forsea Foods, based in Israel, unveiled the first prototype of its cultivated eel, and has partnered with Tokyo vegan restaurant SAIDO to create two traditional Japanese dishes with the cell-cultured fish.

🧪 Mars, Inc. opened a $42 million, 44,000-square-foot global research and development hub on its Goose Island campus to test recipes focused on using sustainable ingredients.

Carbon x Climate

Image Credits: CEEZER

🔎 AI-powered carbon credit platform CEEZER, which already serves over 50 corporate customers, including Siemens and Zooplus, raised €10.3 million Series A funding to further expand its operations.

🐄 UK retailer Co-op debuted a carbon reduction scheme to financially reward its beef farmers for sustainable farming practices and help to decarbonise its supply chains.

Chemicals x Climate

Image Credits: Bioeutectics

🧪 Bioeutectics raised $2.1M to create more natural, sustainable solvents for use in food and cosmetic and without chemical and petroleums as it looks towards their U.S. expansion.

Construction x Climate

Image Credits: Concrete4Change

🏢 British startup Concrete4Change secured £2.5 million in a funding round led by Zacua Ventures. It captures CO2 from the atmosphere with its carrier material, which is then mixed into fresh concrete as an additive, mineralising the CO2 and producing concrete that is 20% stronger while preventing additional carbon leaks.

Energy x Climate

Image Credits: Instagrid

🔋 Instagrid, based in Germany, secured $95 million Series C funding at a post-money valuation of $400-$500 million. It uses software to improve getting energy out of its enterprise-grade portable batteries, and has already sold 30,000 units of its flagship “One” product to date.

⚡️ Reel raised €5 million in a seed funding round led by Transition to disrupt existing renewable energy certificates, which it asserts overestimate corporate CO2 reduction efforts, with its innovative PPAs which mean that every company's electricity contract helps build a new solar or wind park.

☀️ London-based Metris Energy secured £2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Octopus Ventures and Aenu VC. Its platform, which is the first AI-powered solar energy platform for commercial property owners, helps commercial real estate owners to assess, install, and monetise solar energy within their portfolios.

⚡️ Dutch energy storage company Eddy Grid raised €1.5 million to combat grid congestion. It offers solutions for power shortages, surplus capacity, or solar panel owners, and will use the funds to expand its operations.

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Transport x Climate

Image Credits: Monta

🔌 Danish startup Monta raised €80 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Energize Capital, GreenPoint Partners and Denmark’s state-backed Export and Investment Fund. It currently counts some 600,000 charge points across its network, and will use the funds to support further expansion.

🛻 Former Lordstown Motors founder Steve Burns has launched a new company called LandX Motors, featuring the same electric pickup truck he once claimed would beat Tesla, Ford and GM to market.

Materials x Climate

Image Credit: Sirius

⛏ Netherlands-based Sirius raised €1.2 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round. It will use the funds to ‘transform the metals and mining industry’ with its AI-powered ‘sustainability twin’, and help increase sustainable metal production to meet the needs of the green economy.

🌿 Berlin-based Vyld secured a seven-figure seed funding round backed by a blend of government funds, the EU, and a cohort of angel investors and venture funds. It is pioneering the use of seaweed as a raw material for absorbent products, including Kelpon, the world’s first tampon made from seaweed, and Dyper, a compostable diaper with an algae core. 

Funds x Climate

Image Credits: Innovation Endeavours

🇺🇸 Innovation Endeavours announced the closure of its largest fund to date, securing $630 million in capital commitments to invest in the “intersection of science and technology” in sectors such as climate, intelligent software, engineering health and supply chain.

🇩🇪 Vidia Equity closed its oversubscribed Vidia Climate Fund I with €415 million to support decarbonisation technology within industrial materials, electrification and the circular economy across the DACH and Nordic regions.

🇪🇺 European founder-led investment group Plural announced a new €400 million fund to support early-stage, high-growth tech companies, with a particular focus on AI and climate tech startups.

🇮🇩 AC Ventures, based in Indonesia, closed its fifth fund with $210 million. Its portfolio already includes Indonesian electric vehicle maker MAKA Motors and sustainable farming startup Koltiva, and it will use the funds to support startups that are growing quickly and align with its impact goals.

🇪🇸 Madrid-based Eatable Adventures completed the first closing of its Europe Foodtech Acceleration Fund I SCSp, securing 50% of its €30 million target. It will use the funds to support agrifoodtech startups across the bloc, and its first nine portfolio companies include Italy’s Agree NET, which is developing new solutions and materials to increase the shelf life of fresh food, and Foreverland, a B2B cocoa-free chocolate supplier.

🇬🇧 The UK’s Vectr7 Investment Partners is raising $25 million to invest in European early-stage climate tech startups, with a particular focus on GHG capture or avoidance within real estate, infrastructure, transport and utilities. 

Community x Climate

This week we hosted “sold out” meetups in London and Amsterdam packed full with climate tech founders, investors, operators and everything in-between.

Coming up, ClimateHack meetups are headed to:

Trends x Climate: Lemna

🌿 The What; Duckweed, a member of the family Lemnaceae (aka, Lemna), is the world’s smallest known flowering plant. The family’s 35+ species grow on every continent except Antarctica and can thrive even in poor-quality water like farm runoff. Lemna grows at an incredible rate – doubling its mass every 2-3 days, this accelerated growth makes Lemna an abundant, sustainable resource with many applications – from biofuels to baking to carbon sequestration.

❓ The Why; Aquatic plants can be a great solution for a protein rich low carbon source of food, fuel, materials and more – producing a high yield growing on water and without competing for food. Lemna has proven its value as an exceptionally efficient and scalable sustainable resource, outperforming other options like algae.

📊 The Stats; The building and construction industry are responsible for almost 40% of global emissions. Cement alone accounts for 8% of those emissions, and demand for cement is expected to increase 48% by 2050.

👀 The Who; There are 11 companies globally working on Lemna, including:
- US-based Plantible who have raised $24.6M to date and use Lemna’s natural properties to produce RuBisCo, or Rubi, a protein ingredient substitute that transforms the taste and texture of beloved foods.
- Mexico's microTERRA which raised $3.3M to date to produces its first Lemna-based ingredient, Flora, while also improving water quality.

💡 Learn more; Deep dive into the world of Lemna and the 11 companies working in this space, along with expert insights from Plantible, microTERRA, and ICL Group in our latest climate deep dive.

Memes x Climate

Leave it to Nick for the niche carbon memes..

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Editorial by Arman, Curation by Nicola