Week 2:

Metal Processing Startups:

1. Nth Cycle

 Founded: 2017, Beverly, Massachusetts

Founders: 
Megan O’Connor, Chad Vecitis

Elevator Pitch:
Nth Cycle are a metal processing company working with mining and recycling companies to recover minerals from e-waste, low-grade ore, & mine tailings.

Problem They Solve:
Lithium-ion batteries are an essential player in the movement towards an electrified, low-carbon economy. Recycling these batteries also ensures that precious minerals used in them aren’t continuously extracted in environmentally impactful processes. Unfortunately, the process of separating critical minerals from other less-valuable elements in the batteries is still too high in costs and emissions.

Impact:
Nth Cycle uses an electro-extraction system that can be added to existing mechanical recycling facilities to extract a range of transition, rare earth, and precious metals. Their system is small, low-cost, and cleaner than other current chemical processes and produces a highly marketable end product.

Interested in Nth Cycle?
If you are interested in learning more about Nth Cycle, see here

Carbon Software Startups:

2. Carbon Re

Founded: 2020, London & Cambridge

Founders:
Aidan O’Sullivan, Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Buffy Price, Daniel Summerbell

Elevator Pitch:
Carbon Re use AI software to achieve operational efficiencies, reduce costs and cut carbon emissions in heavy industries.

Problem They Solve:
Energy intensive industries which make products such as cement and steel, are essential in developing our cities and businesses. According to Carbon Re however, these industries are currently producing more than 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Impact:
Carbon Re’s Delta Zero software platform simulates the chemical and physical processes in your plant, finds strategies for fuel optimization, and replicates costs savings and emissions reduction across multiple sites quickly and economically. They have also developed a cement solution that allows cement kilns to operate more efficiently, economically, and produce fewer emissions.

Stage & Amount Raised: 
Pre- Seed, £1M

Interested in Carbon Re?
To learn more about their software, see here

Food & AgTech Startups:

3. Entocycle

Founder:
Keiran Olivares Whitaker

Elevator Pitch:
Entocycle are an insect farming company developing technology that enables insects to be better utilized as protein and food sources.

Problem They Solve:
Producing enough animal protein to feed people requires large amounts of land and water, which has a large impact on the planet, especially as populations expand.

Impact: 
Entocycle have produced 2 products which are using insect protein to better the planet. The first, Entofresh, is a whole insect that functions as a complete protein with all essential amino acids as well as healthy fats and important minerals. Their second product, Entogrow, is a natural soil enhancer made from Black Soldier Fly exoskeletons, recycled organic substrate, and larvae castings that improves soil structure and fertility.

Interested in Entocycle?
To view their tech or learn more, see here.

Recycling Startups:

4. Bower

Founded: Stockholm

Founders: 
Suwar Mert, Berfin Roza Mert

Elevator Pitch:
Bower has created a mobile app that rewards recycling of all consumer packaging at regular recycling bins.

Problem They Solve:
The growing amount of plastic waste worldwide is a major issue in cities and natural environments. Whilst big corporations and developers are trying to find alternatives and reductions, consumers need to be better empowered to address the issue themselves and enforce meaningful change from the ground up.

Impact:
Bowers app allows brand owners to connect their products packaging to a digital deposit system. Connected packaging is provided with a unique bar code that is then scanned by consumers after use and deposited at an existing recycling station. Once users have finished scanning their products at their nearest recycling station, they can use points collected to redeem value checks, discount coupons, donate money to charity, send to a friend or redeem to their bank account. This makes recycling not only easy for the consumers, but highly incentivized as well.

Stage and Amount Raised:
Seed, US $1M

Interested in Bower?
To learn more about their technology or get in touch, see here

Renewable Energy Startups:

5. bound4blue

Location: 2014, Spain & Singapore

Founders:
José Miguel Bermúdez, Cristina Aleixendri Muñoz, David Ferrer Desclaux

Elevator Pitch:
bound4blue is developing automated wind-assisted propulsion systems to be used on a range of vessels in order to reduce fuel costs and pollutant emissions.

Problem They Solve:
Bound4blue identified 2 major issues arising in the maritime shipping industry; The first was that new restrictive regulations for maritime transport were enforcing stronger environmental standards, and the second was that fuel for vessels was becoming increasingly expensive. Both of these factors make the shipping industries current model financially and environmentally unsustainable.

Impact:
Bound4blue has created Wind-Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS) that take advantage of the available wind to generate clean forward thrust. These systems have a low system weight that does not affect vessel load, are easy to integrate, fully autonomous and cut down on fuel consumption and pollutant emissions.

Amount Raised:
US $5.6M

Interested in bound4blue?
To learn more about their technology or get in touch see here.