ImpactAlpha, March 17 – The shipping industry emits about a gigaton of greenhouse gasses annually. New York-based Nautilus uses sensor and weather data, as well as shipping routes and schedules, to reduce fuel use and emissions.
“Economic efficiency and environmental efficiency are best solved in unison,” said Nautilus’ Matt Heider.
Microsoft’s venture fund M12 and its Climate Innovation Fund led the company’s $34 million Series B round. Existing investors Systemiq Capital and Root Ventures also participated.
Blue economy
Europe’s emissions trading scheme will expand to ocean commerce next year. Investors are mobilizing. Amsterdam-based Prow Capital’s €420 million ($463 million) Green Shipping Fund helps shipowners finance new, greener vessels and retrofit old ones. Paris-based Eurazeo launched its Sustainable Maritime Infrastructure fund last year to invest in “the ecological transition of the international maritime sector.”
Shipping giant Maersk this month said it will buy 30,000 tons per year of bio-methanol from L.A.-based WasteFuel to power a dozen ‘green methanol’ ships by 2024.
Phenix Capital’s Arnau Gil says shipping is an emerging impact sector to watch. “Because it is so capital intensive, the barriers to entry are high,” he told ImpactAlpha. “You can’t do anything remarkable in the sector with a €30 million fund. You have to go big or go home.”
