Europe’s enterprise capital panorama for sustainability is increasing quickly, with ClimateTech rising as one of many strongest funding areas. In response to an OECD report, international CleanTech funding peaked at round €74 billion in 2021, and by 2025, almost 30% of inexperienced startups secured funding, nearly double the speed of their non-green friends.
Within the European Union, the tendency to shift in direction of climate-neutral insurance policies made the ECB stress the necessity for substantial funding in GreenTech. Therefore, devices like inexperienced bonds and enterprise capital are essential, but nonetheless underutilised, to totally help inexperienced innovation and startup financing.
Towards this backdrop, we spotlight 10 of probably the most energetic enterprise capital companies headquartered in Europe which are main the inexperienced transition, investing in local weather expertise, renewable vitality, round financial system options, and sustainable innovation from seed to progress startups stage.
2150: Headquartered in London, 2150 is a enterprise capital agency that goals to sustainably reshape city environments, backing entrepreneurs who’re driving the local weather transition with applied sciences that create long-term influence.
They make investments from early to late stage in startups addressing the complete city stack. Its portfolio spans options for a way cities are constructed, designed, and powered, in addition to how individuals stay, work, and are cared for. Its portfolio already options startups resembling Mission Zero Technologies, which has raised €25.4 million in Collection A, and NatureMetrics, which is growing a cutting-edge biodiversity monitoring resolution.
4Impact: Primarily based within the Netherlands, this enterprise fund backs “tech4good” startups that ship each societal and environmental influence alongside monetary returns. The agency closed its second fund with €68 million, co-financed by main backers just like the European Funding Fund (EIF) and Make investments‑NL.
The agency’s crew attracts from various backgrounds, together with Goldman Sachs, Mubadala, and Citi, highlighting its experience in sustainability aligned with funding. Their portfolio consists of investments within the Dutch CleanTech startup Deftpower, a supplier of AI-powered electrical car charging options and Solar Monkey, which offers software program for the design and distant monitoring of photo voltaic vitality programs.
AENU: Based in 2022 and headquartered in Berlin, this enterprise capital agency closed in 2024 €170 million to spend money on startups for local weather expertise aimed toward accelerating the round financial system and tackling local weather change by DeepTech. The agency backs startups from seed till sequence A phases, with a deal with areas resembling renewable vitality, vitality storage and sustainable supplies.
AENU’s portfolio already consists of promising startups resembling Entrix, Greenlyte or trawa. All growing options that drive smarter carbon administration, allow CO2 seize with hydrogen as a beneficial byproduct, and enhance and simplify vitality buying and administration.
Climentum Capital: This Danish early-stage VC agency invests in clear vitality startups. It’s headquartered in Copenhagen, Berlin, and Stockholm, with a specific deal with the Nordic area. The agency backs European {hardware} improvements enhanced by DeepTech software program.
Climentum Capital appears for disruptive startups that may maximise the discount of CO2 emissions from industrial powerhouses throughout Europe. They supply capital to startups on the late Seed and Collection A ranges. Amongst their funding portfolio, there’s Rodinia Generation, a vogue startup that has created a producing technique that drastically reduces carbon emissions and water utilization in garment manufacturing. Different highlighted tales are those from Aegir Insights or Jolt Electrodes.
Contrarian Ventures: As an authorized B Company, the agency adopts a hands-on, founders-first strategy throughout Europe and Israel. Its primary focus is on accelerating decarbonisation, addressing the pressing problem of greenhouse gasoline emissions launched day by day. They usually make investments from pre-seed to Collection A and supply a process-driven strategy to help founders, whether or not in operations, enterprise growth, or fundraising.
In 2023, Contrarian Ventures secured €25 million from the European Funding Fund to help European startups advancing climate-neutral insurance policies. A few of their well-known investments have been in startups resembling Beebop.ai, which raised €4.9 million to advance energy grid software program or Altrove, a DeepTech startup growing sustainable alternate options for vital supplies.
Emerald Technology Ventures: Zurich-based, Emerald is without doubt one of the first pure CleanTech VCs in Europe. Its investments are aligned with the UN Sustainable Improvement Targets (SDGs), with a powerful emphasis on decarbonisation, useful resource and vitality effectivity, and waste discount. In August, the agency secured backing to launch its first water-focused fund with companions together with Ecolab and the Goldman Environmental Basis.
Latelly, they’ve invested €14.2 million within the startup Vytal Global that’s driving the shift from single-use packaging by offering companies within the meals, beverage, and occasions sectors with an modern, scalable, and reasonably priced different. Or firstly of the yr, they invested in StormHarvester, a SaaS startup growing an automatic water administration software program platform.
Extantia Capital: With headquarters in Berlin and a crew unfold throughout the UK, Germany, and Israel, Extantia spend money on deep decarbonisation applied sciences, vitality transition, and climate-first options. To take action, they help the subsequent era of mission-driven Gigacorn founders. Because of this they’re in search of startups which are finally able to saving greater than 1Gt of CO2 emissions per yr and are additionally commercially viable with scalable enterprise fashions. Extantia’s primary funding car is Article 9 Fund, which meets the EU’s strictest sustainability requirements beneath the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
In 2024, they closed this fund at €204 million, raised from main institutional buyers, to channel into local weather tech corporations. Certainly one of their notable funding is within the startup Reverion, which is growing reversible carbon-negative energy crops and not too long ago secured €56 million in Collection A funding.
Future Energy Ventures: This multi-stage VC agency with hubs in Germany, Israel and Silicon Valley, is devoted to shaping the way forward for local weather transition. It focuses totally on sustainable investments throughout three themes with clear decarbonisation potential: future vitality, future cities and future applied sciences. In 2024, the enterprise launched a new fund with a quantity of €110 million and a goal measurement of €250 million, joined by E.ON and the European Funding Fund (EIF), aimed toward growing and implementing digital options to drive the vitality transition.
With common preliminary tickets of €1–10 million, the fund targets seed to Collection A investments in Europe, North America and the Center East. Certainly one of its latest investments consists of thermondo, a German warmth pump installer that has raised €50 million, or the Swiss Jua an AI-based Earth simulation.
HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds): Headquartered in Bonn, this enterprise manages over €2 billion, making it Europe’s most energetic early-stage investor. Whereas it invests broadly throughout industrial tech, life sciences, digital, and DeepTech, it has been steadily growing its deal with GreenTech.
HTGF usually invests about €800k at pre-seed and seed, with the flexibility to scale follow-on investments as much as €30 million. This mix of early backing and long-term help positions HTGF as a key participant in financing Europe’s local weather tech startups. Certainly one of their latest investments was at Proxima Fusion, a DeepTech startup aimed toward advancing its stellarator-based fusion energy plant throughout Europe.
Norrsken: It’s a VC deeply centered on investing in ClimateTech aligned with the SDGs. They purpose to construct a world ecosystem that provides entrepreneurs the data, capital and community they should create options to mitigate climate-hazardous penalties.
This yr, Norrsken launched Norrsken Evolve, a €57 million fund aimed toward investing in early-stage startups which might develop an impactful resolution to mitigate local weather change penalties. Moreover, they foster investments in startups “utilizing AI for good’ to resolve challenges in local weather, well being, meals, training, and society. Amongst their portfolio, there are startups such because the German-based 1KOMMA5°, a ClimateTech startup for CO2-neutral vitality, warmth and mobility or Sunsave, a British vitality startup making rooftop photo voltaic extra accessible to individuals.
Pale Blue Dot: Based as Sweden’s first devoted local weather VC, they again early-stage startups combining software program and {hardware} to sort out a few of the most urgent local weather challenges. Its investments span Europe and the USA, guided by three core themes: Optimise, supporting applied sciences that decarbonise current programs resembling vitality infrastructure and meals provide chains; Adapt, funding improvements that construct resilience in opposition to the impacts of local weather change; and Pioneer, enabling breakthrough concepts with the potential to rework industries and create a extra sustainable future.
Pale Blue Dot at the moment manages two funds with €180 million, a €87 million Fund I and a €93 million Fund II, centered on pre-seed and seed-stage ventures. Some examples of their funding portfolio embrace Solarock, a photo voltaic self-consumption startup in France or Cirplus, Europe’s largest B2B procurement platform for recycled plastics.
Planet A: This enterprise is devoted to backing startups tackling a few of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges. What makes Planet A very stand out is its science-based strategy to influence investing. It’s the first European VC to construct an in-house science crew that conducts life cycle assessments of each potential funding.
These scientists even maintain veto energy, making certain that solely corporations with a demonstrable, measurable influence in areas resembling local weather mitigation, useful resource effectivity, waste discount, and biodiversity safety make it into the portfolio. Backed by BMW, KfW Capital, and REWE, Planet A has invested in 14 inexperienced tech startups, together with Makersite and Arsenale Bioyards, a neo-industrial startup remodeling bio-manufacturing.
SET Ventures: The Dutch VC fund focuses on investing in digital applied sciences for a carbon-free vitality system. SET has constructed a powerful portfolio in areas like vitality storage, grid optimisation, and vitality effectivity. Investing from early to late stage, offering not simply capital but additionally trade connections within the vitality sector.
In 2024, they introduced the closing of its Fund IV at €200 million to proceed investing in Europe’s vitality transition startups. Examples of their investments are the Dutch-based Tibo Energy, a developer of a next-generation Power Administration System (EMS) for industrial and industrial vitality websites; Optics11, a DeepTech scale-up that builds superior fibre optic sensing options; and the Spanish Green Eagle Solutions to develop its AI-powered renewable asset automation platform.
Systemiq Capital: Launched in London, they take a programs change strategy to local weather and nature investing, specializing in round financial system, vitality transition, and sustainable meals manufacturing. Systemiq Capital targets early-stage ClimateTech startups throughout Europe and North America. They specialize in a extra technical side of the struggle in opposition to local weather change: electrification, decoding nature and utilized AI.
Amongst their portfolio funding, there are startups resembling Podero, a software program platform designed for utilities to cut back vitality prices, or the British Qflow building tech scaleup working in direction of a brand new manner of approaching building.
World Fund: One of Europe’s main sustainability-focused VCs, backing startups that straight contribute to tackling the local weather disaster. With a deal with the highest-emitting sectors resembling vitality, meals and agriculture, manufacturing, buildings, and transport, the enterprise targets two vital gaps in local weather tech: the transition from lab to market and from pilot to scalable options.
Concentrating on seed to Collection B rounds, World Fund has not too long ago invested in startups resembling UK-based NetZeroNitrogen, which goals to finish reliance on artificial nitrogen fertilisers, and Germany’s Freshflow, an AI-driven platform optimising the contemporary meals provide chain.
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