Europe
Climate Finance | March 18, 2024
HeavyFinance raises €20 million to help farmers regenerate Europe’s agriculture
HeavyFinance offers credit to help farmers and small agri-businesses adopt regenerative practices to improve soil health and sequester carbon. The Lithuania-based crowdfunding platform, …
Climate Finance | March 6, 2024
Carbon Equity raises €100 million for a climate tech fund of funds
ImpactAlpha, March 6 — Amsterdam-based Carbon Equity launched in 2021 to provide access to venture capital and private equity impact investment funds for …
Europe | February 27, 2024
Verdane raises €1.1 billion for sustainable European businesses
ImpactAlpha, February 26 — Verdane, a Norwegian private equity investor, targets tech-enabled businesses that can pass its “2040 test” – a screen to …
Agrifood Tech | February 7, 2024
Spain’s Heura raises €40 million for ‘clean’ plant-based meat
ImpactAlpha, February 7 – It’s been a tough couple years for companies trying to offset global meat consumption with alternatives made from plants. …
Low-carbon transition | January 30, 2024
Captura scores $33.5 million to capture carbon from the oceans
ImpactAlpha, January 30 — Pasadena, Calif.-based Capture extracts carbon from the ocean’s upper layers using seawater and renewable electricity. Captura says the process …
Dealflow | January 18, 2024
Blue Earth Capital doubles down on Varthana for quality education access in India
ImpactAlpha, January 18 — Bangalore-based Varthana has extended loans to over 7,500 low-cost private schools in India to rehabilitate facilities, train teachers and …
Dealflow | January 12, 2024
Deal spotlight: European impact investing funds
ImpactAlpha, January 12 — Carbon13, a climate-focused “venture builder” based in Cambridge, England, reached an undisclosed first close for a €30 million (£26 …
Dealflow | December 12, 2023
Sir Ronald Cohen’s Apax Partners closes $900 million global impact fund
ImpactAlpha, December 12 — Born in Egypt to a Jewish family that emigrated to the UK, Sir Ronald Cohen in 1972 launched Apax …
Dealflow | November 29, 2023
French nuclear startup NAAREA raises €60 million to build modular reactors
ImpactAlpha, November 29 — NAAREA, short for Nuclear Abundant Affordable Resourceful Energy for All, is looking to raise €150 million to build a …
Low-carbon transition | November 27, 2023
Advanced Electric Machines scores £23 million to minimize extractive minerals in electric vehicles
ImpactAlpha, November 27 – The green transition has so far depended on intense mineral extraction. Each standard electric vehicle requires nearly 4.5 pounds …
Agrifood Tech | November 27, 2023
Planet Farms raises $40 million for vertical farms in Italy and the UK
ImpactAlpha, November 27– Vertical farming startups have struggled to make unit economics work for high-tech, energy-intensive systems. Milan-based Planet Farms has scored $40 …
Investing in Health | November 1, 2023
Incision raises $7 million to provide online training to global surgical teams.
ImpactAlpha, November 1 – An estimated five billion people don’t have access to safe or affordable surgical care if they need it. In …
Europe | October 19, 2023
Austria’s Inoqo helps grocery stores report Scope 3 emissions
ImpactAlpha, October 19 – Ninety percent of grocers’ carbon emissions are tied to their supply chains and stem from the products they stock …
Low-carbon transition | October 19, 2023
Skoon Energy raises $5.6 million for clean generators in Europe
ImpactAlpha, October 19 – Film sets, festivals, construction sites and other temporary setups depend on reliable energy access—mostly from fossil fuel-guzzling generators. Netherlands-based …
Dealflow | October 13, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Geothermal heat pumps
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — The Inflation Reduction Act offers HVAC owners tax credits up to half the cost to install geothermal heat pumps, …
Low-carbon transition | October 11, 2023
VARM raises early funding to make German homes more energy efficient
ImpactAlpha, October 11 – Two-thirds of Europe’s homes and buildings are deemed energy inefficient. VARM tackles a simple improvement – better insulation – …
Europe | October 3, 2023
Germany’s Traceless Materials raises €36.6 million for a plastic alternative
ImpactAlpha, October 3 — Hamburg-based Traceless Materials has developed a bio-based, low-emission plastic alternative made from agricultural waste, such as rice and wheat …
Dealflow | September 27, 2023
Kern Tec lands $12.8 million to make dairy alternatives from upcycled produce
ImpactAlpha, September 27 – The one-third of grown food that goes to waste is an enormous lost opportunity. It’s also an environmental liability, …
Climate and Clean Tech | September 21, 2023
European Investment Fund plugs €40 million into Blume Equity
ImpactAlpha, September 21 – Blume Equity is one of a small number of climate tech venture funds with all female founders. The firm …
Impact Tech | September 14, 2023
UBQ Materials scores backing from TPG’s impact funds for its plastic alternative
ImpactAlpha, September 14 – UBQ Materials converts banana peels, chicken bones, pizza boxes, baby diapers and other household waste into pellets that can …
Europe | September 12, 2023
World Fund adds €50 million to European climate tech venture fund
ImpactAlpha, September 12 – World Fund secured €50 million from KfW Capital, the German development bank’s venture arm, and Lithuanian utility Ignitis Group. …
Climate Finance | August 29, 2023
Letter from Italy: Our seriously sunny summer
Parma, Italy – As I pen these words, Italy is caught in the clutches of the third heatwave of this seemingly unending summer. …
Europe | July 18, 2023
VIA Fund makes four impact investments in Armenian entrepreneurs
ImpactAlpha, July 18 – Armenia, with fewer than three million people, punches above its weight in tech entrepreneurship and VC. But impact capital …
Dealflow | July 5, 2023
BlueOrchard secures $50 million for climate adaptation in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, July 5 – The Schroders impact investing group is among the few investors directing capital to climate adaptation in vulnerable countries. BlueOrchard …
Impact Tech | June 28, 2023
DePoly secures $13.8 million to recycle old plastic and cut fossil fuels in new products
ImpactAlpha, June 28 – Plastic use is still on pace to triple in the next 40 years. Less than 10% gets recycled (in …
Agrifood Tech | June 8, 2023
Source.ag bags $27 million to give greenhouses an AI boost
ImpactAlpha, June 8 – Greenhouses provide climate-stable environments for growing food, while reducing water use and inputs needed on traditional outdoor farms. “The …
Climate and Clean Tech | May 17, 2023
Kensa Group secures £70 million to accelerate adoption of ground-source heat pumps in the UK
ImpactAlpha, May 17 — The UK government wants to install 600,000 heat pumps each year as a low-carbon alternative to gas boilers. Ground-source, …
Agrifood Tech | April 20, 2023
Aqua-Spark invests in sustainable aquaculture startups in Vietnam and Finland
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – Aqua-Spark was one of the earliest investors in the “blue economy,” focusing on an agrifood niche at a time …
Dealflow | April 20, 2023
Wire Group closes out first fund’s investments and launches second fund
ImpactAlpha, April 20 – Dutch impact advisor Wire Group launched its first fund in 2019, after 10 years helping European family offices develop …
Dealflow | April 5, 2023
Investors target home energy efficiency in Europe
ImpactAlpha, April 5 – European climate tech investing is defying the lull in venture capital dealmaking. The latest: Energy Impact Partners, Fair Capital …
Refugee Lens Investing | April 4, 2023
NESsT brings its livelihoods solutions to refugees from the war in Ukraine
ImpactAlpha, April 4 — NESsT has invested $27 million in 233 enterprises to create quality jobs for refugees, migrants and other displaced people …
Return on Inclusion | April 3, 2023
No Label Ventures to channel capital to immigrant-led businesses in Europe
ImpactAlpha, April 3 – People who uproot their lives in one place are uniquely compelled to succeed in another. That’s the premise of …
Dealflow | March 31, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Climate tech in Europe
Impactalpha, March 31 — Climate tech is the fastest-growing sector in Europe. Of the $70.1 billion in funding deployed to global climate tech …
Europe | March 29, 2023
MDIF and partners democratize impact investing in independent media
ImpactAlpha, March 29 – Media Development Investment Fund has for 23 years invested in independent media outlets in places where a free press …
Impact Tech | March 29, 2023
Carbonaide secures €1.8 million to ramp up production of carbon-negative concrete
ImpactAlpha, March 29 – A raft of startups are developing lower-carbon construction materials for buildings, which are responsible for 40% of global carbon …
Clean Energy | March 27, 2023
Mixergy raises £9.2 million to convert hot water tanks into energy storage systems
ImpactAlpha, March 27 – Individuals wanting to lower their carbon footprints – and energy bills – are adopting solar panels, electric vehicles, heat …
ESG | February 1, 2023
How Europe is recalibrating tech, one ESG step at a time
A crisis is usually followed by learning. If in 2022 tech private markets were defined by the crash of some of the highest-valued …
Climate Finance | January 31, 2023
Obvious Ventures backs Senken to finance reforestation through ‘carbon forwards’
ImpactAlpha, January 31 – Berlin and Cape Town-based Senken is a blockchain-based carbon credit trading platform. Its next offering is a form of …
Dealflow | January 26, 2023
Tado raises €43 million for energy-efficient thermostats
ImpactAlpha, January 26 – Europe’s energy crisis, ignited by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has led to skyrocketing home energy costs. Many consumers …
Dealflow | January 10, 2023
Commerz Real’s Klimavest real assets impact fund crosses the billion-euro mark
ImpactAlpha, January 10 — Germany is one of several European nations that backslid on fossil fuels in order to generate power as Russia’s …
Climate Finance | December 14, 2022
HSBC-backed Climate Asset Management raises $650 million for natural capital funds.
ImpactAlpha, December 14 – U.K.-based Climate Asset Management launched in 2020 to prove that protection and restoration of natural resources can be attractive …
Climate + Gender | November 1, 2022
Satgana raises funds for climate tech startups in Africa and Europe
ImpactAlpha, November 2 — Luxembourg-based Satgana, which means “a good company” in Sanskrit, has raised an undisclosed amount in a first close from …
Climate Finance | October 17, 2022
Lightrock’s climate fund raises €860 million for net-zero growth companies
ImpactAlpha, October 17 — London-based private equity investor Lightrock has raised €860 million ($838 million) for its first climate impact fund. Lightrock raised …
Impact Management | October 3, 2022
Societe Generale takes a stake, as impact ratings-agency impak raises €4.5 million
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 3 – Ratings by the Montreal and Paris-based impak emphasize the impact of a company’s products and services, not just how …
Signals | September 27, 2022
U.K. impact investing nears £8 billion on strong growth
ImpactAlpha, September 27 – The pound is tanking and U.K. energy prices are skyrocketing, but here’s something to be chuffed about: Impact investments in …