Cambridge ClimateTech venture builder Carbon13 has expanded into Germany after announcing the first close of a target £26 million fund.
Six EU-based startups are to receive €120,000 each from the first cohort with two programmes planned for 2024. The European fund is set up to invest into a total 19 startups.
“We continue to see the results from combining world-leading talent and ingenuity with a burning passion to combat the climate, now in Berlin in addition to Cambridge,” said CEO and co-founder of Carbon13 Dr Nicky Dee.
“As the commercial drivers in this space become clearer, so does the magic of innovation in the art of what is possible and this is what is luring investors from all across the world.”
Carbon13 ventures are collectively working towards an annual mitigation potential of over 500 million tonnes of CO2e (0.5 gigatonnes). This number is now set to rise further with each additional investment.
The six ventures receiving investment from the Carbon13 fund in Germany are Fungtional.bio, a digital nutrition coach for microbes that accelerates the transition to a circular bioeconomy; VoltVogel, a flexible and scalable EV charging service powered by sustainable batteries; Climalyst, developing low-energy carbon dioxide capture and permanent storage solutions; Point2Hectare, unlocking the full potential of biochar for soil and fertiliser improvement; Hoop Solar, unlocking gigawatts of solar energy on plastic greenhouses; and Mardeca, reducing maritime carbon with de-risked vessel retrofits.
Michael Langguth, chief strategy officer & co-founder of Carbon13, added: “Over the last two years, we have received thousands of applications to our programmes, selected over 500 founders to join and co-founded over 140 startups with them.
“This round of investments takes the total to 64 pre-seed investments in climate tech startups from the Carbon13 funds. This makes us one of the most active investors in the climate tech space.
“As a result, the collective abatement potential of our startups is now over half a gigaton of CO2e, more than 1% of global emissions. Our sights are set on making sure this potential is maximised and expanding it significantly through more programmes, startups and enhancing the acceleration process.
“Germany is now a rapidly developing hotspot for us; some of the most impactful and exciting ventures begin life thanks to our Berlin operation now. As a result, for the first time, we have now invested in ventures from our Germany-based venture builder.
“This current group is made up of incredibly strong personnel with a high level of diversity: all teams have at least one female co-founder and come from 10 different nationalities. A sign of things to come.”
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