Articles tagged with "climate-tech"
India’s Varaha bags $20M to scale carbon removal from the Global South
Varaha, an Indian climate tech startup founded in 2022, has secured $20 million in fresh funding as part of a planned $45 million Series B round led by WestBridge Capital, marking the venture firm’s first climate tech investment. The startup has raised about $33 million in equity, alongside $35 million in project financing and grants, to scale carbon removal projects across Asia and Africa. Varaha focuses on delivering verified carbon removal credits at lower costs by leveraging India’s advantages—such as lower operating expenses, extensive agricultural supply chains, and technical talent—targeting corporate demand for emissions reductions driven by sectors like data centers and AI workloads. Varaha develops carbon removal through four main pathways: regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, biochar, and enhanced rock weathering, working primarily with smallholder farmers and industrial partners in emerging markets. It has generated over 2 million tons of CO2 removal across 14 projects and issued around 150,000 carbon removal credits through international registries like
energycarbon-removalclimate-techregenerative-agriculturebiocharemissions-reductionsustainabilityWorld’s first carbon-storing bridge locks away 146 pounds of CO2
Heijmans and climate tech company Paebbl have unveiled the world’s first pedestrian bridge constructed using CO2-neutral concrete, located in the Netherlands. The 7-meter-long bridge employs a concrete mix that replaces conventional materials with carbon-storing and recycled alternatives, including Paebbl’s CO2-mineralizing material, biochar, and recycled aggregates. This innovative mix contains no primary sand or gravel and consists of 75 percent circular raw materials. Despite the unconventional composition, the concrete met all structural strength requirements and permanently sequesters nearly 66 kg (146 pounds) of CO2 in the bridge deck, achieving full CO2 neutrality. The concrete mix replaces 30 percent of the original cement with Paebbl’s carbon-storing material, resulting in an embodied carbon reduction of almost 30 percent compared to low-carbon reference concrete. Given that cement production accounts for about 8 percent of global carbon emissions, this reduction is significant. Paebbl’s technology accelerates natural mineralization processes to
energymaterialscarbon-capturesustainable-constructionconcrete-innovationclimate-techcarbon-neutral-concreteSuperorganism raises $25M to back biodiversity startups
Superorganism, a venture capital firm focused on biodiversity startups, has closed its first fund with $25.9 million in capital commitments from investors including the Cisco Foundation, AMB Holdings, Builders Vision, and individuals like Jeff Jordan of Andreessen Horowitz. The firm targets early-stage companies working in three main areas: technologies that slow or reverse extinction, ventures at the intersection of climate and biodiversity, and tools that enhance conservation efforts. Superorganism typically invests $250,000 to $500,000 in pre-seed and seed rounds and commits 10% of its profits to future conservation initiatives. Managing director Kevin Webb describes the fund as analogous to a climate tech fund but focused on preventing nature loss rather than carbon emissions. Founded in 2022 by Webb and Tom Quigley, Superorganism aims to build a diverse portfolio of about 35 companies, having already invested in 20. Their portfolio includes startups like one using computer vision to track bird migration to reduce wind turbine impacts,
energybiodiversityclimate-techconservation-technologywind-turbinescomputer-visionenvironmental-startups12 investors dish on what 2026 will bring for climate tech
The article discusses investor perspectives on the outlook for climate tech in 2026, highlighting the sector's resilience despite political headwinds and economic uncertainties. Venture investments in climate and clean energy technologies in the U.S. and Europe remained stable relative to 2024, driven by the ongoing threat of climate change and significant cost reductions in solar, wind, and battery technologies. These advancements have made many climate solutions cheaper or more efficient than fossil fuels, creating ample opportunities for funding cleaner energy alternatives. Data centers continue to be a central focus for climate tech investment, largely due to their massive electricity demand and growing role in AI development. Investors expect the conversation around data center energy use in 2026 to shift from simply meeting demand to enhancing resilience and decoupling from traditional power grids, addressing challenges related to grid operator resistance and rising electricity prices. Renewable energy sources like geothermal, nuclear, solar, and batteries are seen as key beneficiaries of this trend. While some investors acknowledge the possibility of an AI bubble burst,
energyclimate-techclean-energydata-centersrenewable-energybatteriesAI-energy-demandKering-backed fund Mirova pours $30.5M into India’s Varaha for regenerative farming
Mirova, a French climate-focused investment firm backed by luxury group Kering and other major corporations, has invested $30.5 million (€26.4 million) in Indian climate tech startup Varaha to expand its regenerative farming program. This marks Mirova’s first carbon investment in India and is structured uniquely: instead of equity, Mirova provides cash in exchange for a share of carbon credits generated over time. The investment supports Varaha’s Kheti project, which promotes low-emission agricultural practices among smallholder farmers in Haryana and Punjab, aiming to improve soil health and generate verified carbon credits as an additional income source. The project currently covers over 200,000 hectares and plans to scale to 675,000 hectares, reaching approximately 337,000 farmers. Varaha, founded in 2022, operates through a network of 48 local partners and uses software to monitor and verify climate and social outcomes in real time. Its regenerative farming methods focus on practices tailored to India
energyregenerative-farmingcarbon-creditsclimate-techsustainable-agricultureemissions-reductionbiocharInvestors are betting $21 billion that the energy transition isn’t going away
Despite political opposition in the U.S., notably from Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration, investor confidence in the energy transition remains robust. This is evidenced by significant capital commitments to clean energy funds: Brookfield recently raised $20 billion for its second energy transition fund—33% more than its first fund in 2021—and Energy Impact Partners closed its third flagship fund at $1.36 billion, a 40% increase over its prior fund. These investments target renewable power projects and climate tech companies, reflecting sustained belief in the sector’s long-term growth potential despite a less favorable economic environment than in previous years. While the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts a 45% reduction in U.S. renewable adoption by 2030 compared to last year’s forecast, global renewable capacity is still expected to double by 2030, driven by solar expansion in China, India, the EU, and other regions. Analysts at DNV foresee continued momentum toward renewable energy, though acknowledge that current efforts will
energyrenewable-energyclean-energyenergy-transitioninvestmentclimate-techventure-capitalNovoloop’s upcycled plastic takes a step closer to production
Novoloop, a plastic recycling startup based in Menlo Park, has secured a commercial-scale production deal with Huide Science and Technology to supply a chemical building block—polyol—used to make thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Novoloop’s polyol is produced from post-consumer polyethylene waste, such as plastic bags, which are notoriously difficult to recycle. TPU is a versatile plastic used in products ranging from running shoes to medical devices. This agreement marks a significant milestone for Novoloop as it navigates the challenging “valley of death” phase common to hardware-dependent climate tech startups, where technology validation has occurred but revenue generation remains limited. Currently, Novoloop operates a demonstration plant in India capable of producing tens of tons of polyol annually, sufficient for major pilot projects including an upcoming footwear collaboration. The company previously supplied Swiss shoe manufacturer On with its Lifecycled TPU material. CEO Miranda Wang emphasized that achieving economies of scale through deals like the one with Huide is critical
materialsplastic-recyclingthermoplastic-polyurethaneupcycled-materialssustainable-materialschemical-building-blocksclimate-techEarthmover wants to become the Snowflake of weather and geospatial data
Earthmover, a climate tech startup co-founded by Ryan Abernathey and Joe Hamman, is repositioning itself to focus on weather and geospatial data that change frequently, rather than broader climate data which tend to be more static. Their platform is designed to handle large, complex datasets—referred to as rasters, tensors, or arrays depending on the field—and provides tools to help customers extract actionable insights. This pivot toward weather-related data has helped Earthmover secure over ten paying customers and raise a $7.2 million seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from Costanoa Ventures and Preston-Werner Ventures. The company’s technology stack is built on open-source software such as Xarray, Pangeo, and Icechunk, and operates across major cloud providers as well as on-premise servers. This open-source foundation not only suits the demands of massive Earth observation datasets—often tens to hundreds of terabytes per customer—but also reduces customer risk by ensuring data accessibility
energyclimate-techgeospatial-dataweather-forecastingrenewable-energydata-storageopen-source-softwareHow Bill Gates’s fellowship program is adapting to global uncertainty
Bill Gates’s climate tech organization, Breakthrough Energy, is adapting its fellowship program to address growing global uncertainty, including economic challenges and shifting policy priorities. The program, which supports startups led by budding entrepreneurs, has announced a new cohort of 45 fellows across 22 startups, marking its most globally diverse group yet—with half of the teams based outside the U.S., including locations in Asia, Canada, Germany, the U.K., and South Africa. This international emphasis is partly driven by the opening of a new fellowship hub in Singapore in partnership with Temasek and Enterprise Singapore, reflecting the recognition that climate change solutions must be globally sourced and locally tailored. The new cohort focuses on areas such as hydrogen, circularity (recycling materials), critical minerals, agriculture, and grid modernization, with particular attention to regional priorities like Asia’s interest in hydrogen and recycling due to its manufacturing footprint. The fellowship’s curriculum has also evolved to emphasize techno-economic analysis, encouraging startups to rigorously assess the economic viability of
energyclimate-techhydrogen-economycircular-economycritical-mineralsgrid-modernizationstartup-innovationTED leader’s $300M ‘valley of death’ fund might be just what later-stage climate tech needs
The article discusses a new $300 million fund called All Aboard, led by Chris Anderson, former head of TED Talks, designed to address the significant financing gap—often called the "valley of death" or "missing middle"—that climate tech startups face between early-stage funding and growth capital. This gap is especially wide in climate tech because many startups focus on hardware solutions that require expensive first-of-a-kind power plants or factories, often costing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. All Aboard aims to provide equity or convertible equity investments, rather than loans or project-specific financing, to help startups secure the $100 million to $200 million rounds necessary to scale their technologies commercially. The fund brings together a coalition of prominent climate-focused venture firms, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Energy Impact Partners, among others. While participation in the fund does not require investment from these partners, their involvement is intended to create a "Sequoia-like" signal to attract additional
energyclimate-techclean-energyventure-capitalstartup-fundingclimate-technologyenergy-investmentAmogy raises $80M to power ships and data centers with ammonia
Brooklyn-based startup Amogy has raised an additional $23 million in funding, bringing its total to $80 million and increasing its valuation to $700 million. The funding round was led by Korea Development Bank and KDB Silicon Valley LLC, with participation from other investors. Amogy focuses on ammonia-to-power technology and targets Asian markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, where demand for alternative power generation methods is growing due to limited solar, wind, geothermal, and nuclear options. The company aims to provide a clean energy solution by fully replacing fossil fuels with ammonia as a fuel source. Ammonia, commonly used in fertilizers, serves as a hydrogen carrier that is easier to transport than hydrogen itself. While some Asian countries and shipping companies currently burn ammonia mixed with fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions, this approach does not achieve full decarbonization. Amogy’s technology cracks hydrogen atoms from ammonia and uses them in fuel cells to generate electricity and water vapor without combustion, thus eliminating NOx
energyammonia-fuelclean-energyhydrogen-carrierpower-generationdecarbonizationclimate-techAlt Carbon scores $12M seed to scale carbon removal in India
energycarbon-removalclimate-techsustainable-agricultureenhanced-rock-weatheringenvironmental-impactIndiaBosch Ventures is turning its attention to North America with new $270M fund
energy-efficiencyautomotiveclimate-techsemiconductor-manufacturingAI-in-manufacturingdeep-tech-startupsNorth-America-investmentsAra Partners’ new $800M fund will decarbonize old industrial assets
energydecarbonizationclimate-techindustrial-assetsinfrastructure-fundcarbon-emissionsinvestment