One Big Thing to Chew On
We’ve now hit 250 unicorns in 2021. According to the Morning Brew that’s 40% more than the previous annual record of 178, set in 2018. I’ve gone through the list and picked out a few of my greentech favorites from this year so far:
I’m thinking about keeping a running list of greentech unicorns on the website. Would you be interested in that? Let me know by responding directly to this email.
Chart by the Morning Brew
Greentech Updates by Category
Transportation
Heart Aerospace’s e-plane. Like a normal small plane, but with cool retro propellers.
ZeroAvia, a CA-based hydrogen-powered aviation startup, raised $13m in additional funding led by AP Ventures (PR).
Chicago-based micromobility operator Veo, which claims to be the first profitable micromobility company, raised a $16M Series A led by Autotech Ventures (TC)
Heart Aerospace, a three-year-old, Sweden-based startup building an electric regional airliner, has raised $35 million in Series A funding led by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures. United has already put in a 200-plane order (and Heart doesn’t even have a completed prototype yet)! (TC)
CPG
Aleph Farms’ cultivated meat (hey, Grandma, I know you said “lab meat” sounds gross - how about “cultivated meat?”)
Vaayu, a months-old, Berlin-based carbon tracking platform aimed specifically at retailers, has raised $1.57 million in pre-seed funding in a round led by CapitalT. (TC)
FabricNano, a UK-based company developing a fossil-free biomanufacturing method for producing petrochemicals used in drugs and plastics, raised a $12.5m seed round from Atomico, Biz Stone, Emma Watson (yup), and former Bayer CEO Alexander Moscho. (TC)
Twelve, a six-year-old, Berkeley, Ca.-based startup that turns CO2 into chemicals, plastics and fuels that are traditionally made from fossil fuels, raised $57 million in Series A funding. Capricorn Technology Impact Fund and Carbon Direct Capital Management led the round. (More)
Aleph Farms, an Israel-based lab meat company growing steak from animal cells, raised $105m in Series B funding from L Catterton, Skyviews Life Science, DisruptAD, and others.
Energy & Infrastructure
ION energy, an India-based startup whose flagship product is a smart battery management software that improves battery life & performance, raised a $3.6m seed round led by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. (BW)
Energyworx, a Netherlands-based energy data management software platform that helps energy move with more balance & efficiency through grids, raised $6m in Series A funding led by Eneco Ventures. (PRN)
Svante, a Canadian startup using “solid sorbents” to do carbon capture for industrial buildings, raised $20m in funding from the Government of Canada. (More)
Verkor, a French builder of high-performance sustainable battery cells, raised $118m in funding (less than a year after launching!) led by EQT Ventures and the Renault Group. (More)
Other
Climate X, a five-year-old, London-based startup that uses data analytics to project climate risk for real estate, has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding led by Pale Blue Dot. More here.
Cloverly, an Atlanta-based startup that is developing an API to help businesses track and reduce emissions, has raised a $2.1M seed round led by TechSquare Ventures. (TC)
Infinite Cooling, an MA-based cooling startup focused on reducing industrial water consumption, raised $12.3m in Series A funding from Material Impact.
One Actionable Item
Do you have a compost bin in your home, either for years now or since reading last week’s compost-related action item? Send a picture in response to this email. I’d love to feature you!
Track and offset your carbon footprint with Klima
I stumbled on Klima a few weeks ago and I love it (I’m not getting sponsored by them!). Klima’s a pretty app that helps you estimate your annual carbon footprint. Once you have an estimate, you can donate to carbon-draining projects and bring your net carbon footprint to (roughly) zero.
Carbon neutral pledging has raised some eyebrows recently, especially tree planting projects. That’s why I like that Klima lets you choose what type of project you support, including options beyond planting trees. Others still might say it’s better to reduce your carbon footprint than offset it. I say, why not do both? The app ultimately allows you to put your money where your mouth is and have a truly quantifiable impact.
Action: Learn more about Klima and check out the website here.