Climate investments in the European Union last year may have fallen from 2023’s level of €498 billion ($533 billion).
Nonetheless, ImpactAlpha has tracked more than two dozen LP commitments to European climate tech funds over the past year, spanning development finance institutions, strategic corporate investors, and family offices.
Paris and Singapore-based Shift4Good has closed its first fund at €220 million ($236 million). The fund makes Series A and B investments in companies decarbonizing transportation — including road, rail, air, and maritime — across Europe and Southeast Asia.
European backers include French automotive group Renault, commercial bank BNP Paribas, French public investment bank Bpifrance, digital payment company Edenred, and asset manager Candriam. Asian investors in the fund include Singapore’s port operator PSA Ventures, transport group ComfortDelGro, and Australian automotive cooperative Capricorn.
Barclays anchored British impact investor Anthemis‘ $50 million Female Innovators Lab Fund, with backing from insurance company Aviva, Visa, Bank of Montreal, and other strategic investors.
The fund recently co-led a €4 million ($4.3 million) seed round for EV charging payments platform Cariqa, alongside Lithuania’s Contrarian Ventures.
Milan-based Maia Ventures raised €55 million ($64 million) for its debut AgriFoodTech fund from Italian food companies, family offices, and strategic investors. Backers include European investment firm Teseo Capital, Grey Silo Ventures, the corporate venture arm of ingredients company Cereal Docks Group, and Italian food company Andriani.
The fund connects Italy’s food industry with early-stage AgriTech and FoodTech startups. Its portfolio companies include Biorsaf, which raised €1.4 million ($1.5 million) in March for its digital platform improving food safety and traceability.
Lukas Walton’s family office Builders Vision anchored London-based Archipelago Ventures‘ ACE Fund. The fund makes seed and Series A investments in circular economy startups focused on materials innovation, textiles, and metals reuse.
Archipelago is a woman-owned firm, and the fund emerged from its Circular Plastics Accelerator, backed by UK nonprofit Waste and Resources Action Programme, or WRAP.
Development finance
European public institutions are playing a catalytic role, often anchoring funds that then attract additional private capital.
Berlin-based World Fund closed its debut climate tech fund at €300 million ($322 million) . The fund invests in European startups developing technologies to decarbonize entire industries.
The European Investment Fund, or EIF, committed €50 million ($54 million), joined by German public investors KfW Capital, the venture arm of the country’s development bank, and NRWbank, based out of Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state. Other backers include Bpifrance, Lithuanian state-owned energy company Ignitis Group, and PwC Germany.
The EIF also backed Netherlands-based 4impact Capital’s second fund, which closed at €68 million ($73 million), alongside Dutch public investors including development bank Invest-NL, regional development company Oost NL, and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.
The fund invests in early-stage digital and sustainability ventures in northwestern Europe. Its portfolio companies include electric vehicle charging software provider Deftpower, data center energy efficiency firm Coolgradient, and carbon removal credit company Carbonfuture.
Paris-based Sistafund is raising €100 million ($116 million) for its gender-lens fund, which invests in companies where women hold at least 30% of founder shares. EIF committed €30 million ($35 million), joined by BNP Paribas, lottery operator Française Des Jeux, personal care company L’Oréal, among other individual investors.
Hatch Blue’s Blue Revolution Fund closed its second round at €93 million ($101 million), with €20 million ($26 million) from the EIF alongside the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and German agricultural bank Rentenbank.The Ireland-based investor backs early-stage aquaculture ventures developing next-generation fish farms, regenerative seaweed, bivalve farming, and alternative seafood across Europe, Asia and North America. The Nature Conservancy serves as an advisor to the fund.
