Hello, Graham!
The IPCC released its latest report this week. The central message: we have a “brief and rapidly closing” window to adapt to climate change, and the risks associated with even the lower levels of warming are greater than previously thought.
It’s a reminder of how high the stakes for getting climate tech right are, so we decided to ask scientists which tech they’re backing. That’s in today’s newsletter, plus…
💰 A new carbon offset-focused fund. German fintech VC CommerzVentures announced its new €300m Fund III. It’s also arranging and funding carbon offsets for its portfolio companies in their first year of investment. CommerzVentures’ portfolio includes successful startups like Bought By Many, eToro and Doconomy.
🍔 The biggest Nordic alt-protein Series A. Mycorena, a Swedish startup developing a fungi-based fat for use in alt protein products, raised $26.8m. It’s currently building a production plant in Falkenberg, western Sweden, which is due to be completed next year.
🛰️ Guess who? It’s Satellite Vu. The British startup has just bagged $21m to send up seven satellites to begin scanning the Earth with thermal cameras. Satellite Vu says its tech can be used to track emissions across the planet's surface.
🥗 £100m for vertical farming. UK-based vertical farming startup GrowUp Farms, which includes Whole Foods as a client, will use the fresh capital to fund the construction of its farming facility in Kent. Once built, the company says that it will use 95% less water than traditional farming methods, while saving 3m lorry miles by reducing imports.
There’s a lot of buzz around Europe’s climate tech industry at the moment — the continent is the fastest-growing region for climate tech in the world.
But how can VCs be sure they’re putting cash in the right places? We asked four climate scientists which tech they think will have the biggest impact. Sneak peak: no one picked carbon accounting software or climate fintechs.
Are you building a physical product with environmental impact in mind? Europe-based startups can apply now to the Amazon Launchpad Sustainability Accelerator, to receive mentorship, a tailored curriculum and over £30k/€40k worth of grants and credits.
It’s been described as the “bleakest warning yet” on climate change. But what does the latest report from the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) actually say? It’s 3,675 pages long, but here’s a few of the central stats.
The report focuses on the impacts of climate change. Current trends show we’re on track to heat the planet by 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and the report says the destruction caused by that rise is greater than previously thought. Between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people are living in areas “highly vulnerable” to climate change. And to allow ecosystems to cope with the destruction wreaked upon them, we’d need to conserve about 50% of the Earth’s land.
🤨 Gloomy carbon capture findings. Research from Radboud University in the Netherlands, which assessed the effectiveness of 40 carbon capture and utilisation technologies, found that 32 are emitting more carbon than they capture.
📝 ESG, impact and greenwashing in VC. Not all investors see eye to eye on “sustainable” investments. This analyst note by Pitchbook dives into the different ESG philosophies within VC firms.
Something about the carbon markets confuses you? Wondering what the latest updates are in the cell-based meat market? Or need a quick fix on green legislation in a tech sector?
Those things escooter startups love? Yes, those! Swappable batteries allow owners of electric vehicles to replace uncharged batteries with, you guessed it, charged ones. Shifting to swappable batteries is one way micromobillity startups (and escooter providers in particular) are making their services more sustainable.
How are swappable batteries more sustainable?. According to a study carried out by escooter operators Tier, Dott and Voi, swappable batteries reduce operational CO2 emissions by up to 81%. Before swappable batteries became the hip thing, batteries used to be integrated into the escooter itself. This meant that vans (often not electric ones) had to come and pick the scooters up and take them back to warehouses to recharge. Not the best way to keep emissions down.
— Connor
Seen a sustainability term that's totally confused you — or want to have a go at explaining some often-misused jargon yourself? Let Connor know.
Connor Bilboe 
Freya Pratty
Copyright © 2022 SIFTED (EU) LTD, All rights reserved. |
