March Week 1, 2025: Welcome to our ongoing blog series, where we spotlight the most promising climate tech startups. Each week, we feature five companies and add them to our running list of innovative companies driving solutions across sectors with the highest potential for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions.
These sectors are as follows:
Why did we decide to focus on the five specific sectors?
These sectors present immense opportunities for innovation as well as addressing critical challenges related to GHG emissions. By narrowing our focus to these areas, we can better align our mission with impactful solutions and support founders who are driving meaningful change.
By spotlighting these startups, we aim to support founders by providing them with networking and exposure opportunities that can help them scale and finance their solutions.
Do not hesitate to join our collective movement by requesting your membership.
With care,
Guillaume and the SBC TEAM
Energy
1. Enzinc
Founded: 2016 – Richmond, CA, USA
Leadertship: Michael Burz
Elevator Pitch: Enzinc is developing the next generation of safe, powerful, and efficient batteries by unlocking the potential of zinc-based energy storage. Utilizing cutting-edge nanotechnology, Enzinc’s rechargeable zinc-air batteries outperform traditional lead-acid and lithium-based alternatives, offering superior energy density, enhanced safety, and scalable manufacturing solutions for mobility, grid storage, and microgrids.
Problem they solve: The demand for high-power batteries is rapidly increasing, but existing solutions struggle to meet the need. Lithium-ion batteries face supply chain constraints and scaling challenges, while lead-acid batteries lack sufficient energy capacity. The global battery market needs an alternative that is powerful, cost-effective, and free from critical material shortages—a gap Enzinc is filling with its proprietary zinc-based battery technology.
Impact: Enzinc’s batteries provide a safer and more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion and lead-acid options. Zinc is abundant, recyclable, and eliminates the supply chain risks of lithium mining. Its non-toxic aqueous electrolyte eliminates the risk of thermal runaway, making it a safer choice for energy storage. Additionally, Enzinc’s technology revitalizes existing lead-acid battery factories, enabling legacy manufacturers to produce cleaner, high-performance energy storage solutions with minimal infrastructure changes, accelerating the transition to sustainable electrification across industries.
Stage: Series A.
Interested in Enzinc?
To learn more about their technology or get in touch, see here.
Food, Agriculture & Land Use
2. Vivici
Founded: 2024 – Delft, NL
Leadership: Daniel Bisley
Elevator Pitch: Vivici is revolutionizing dairy protein production through precision fermentation, creating high-quality, functional, and sustainable dairy proteins with significantly less environmental impact. By making fermentation-based dairy commercially viable, Vivici provides food and beverage companies with a scalable, ethical, and superior alternative to traditional dairy proteins.
Problem they solve: The global demand for protein is rapidly increasing, yet conventional dairy production is resource-intensive, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water depletion. Traditional dairy farming is also vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. Vivici addresses these challenges by developing precision-fermented dairy proteins that maintain the nutritional and functional benefits of traditional dairy without the environmental footprint.
Impact: Vivici’s dairy proteins require fewer resources—reducing land use, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional dairy farming. By replacing animal-based dairy proteins with fermentation-based alternatives, Vivici helps mitigate climate change, promote sustainability, and create a more resilient food system while maintaining the high nutritional standards needed for a growing global population.
Stage: Series A.
Interested in Vivici?
If you are interested in learning more, see here.
Transportation
3. Kwetta
Founded: 2021 – Napier, NZ
Founders: Dustin Murdock, Mike Lazelle & Robert Turner
Elevator Pitch: Kwetta is revolutionizing the future of electrification with grid-first EV charging solutions that enable the rapid deployment of high-powered chargers without costly grid upgrades. Founded in New Zealand in 2021, the company combines cutting-edge technology and grid infrastructure expertise to accelerate the transition to sustainable transport.
Problem they solve: The electrification of transport is growing, but grid constraints pose a major barrier to widespread EV adoption. Expanding charging infrastructure often requires expensive and time-consuming grid upgrades, making it difficult for fleet operators, bus companies, and charging park operators to scale EV charging effectively.
Impact: Kwetta’s Prime Grid Gateway optimizes grid efficiency and energy distribution, reducing the need for fossil-fuel-powered backup generation and minimizing the strain on electrical infrastructure. By making high-powered EV charging more accessible and cost-effective, Kwetta plays a crucial role in reducing transportation emissions and enabling a faster, more sustainable transition to clean mobility across New Zealand, Australia, and beyond.
Stage: Series A.
Want to learn more about Kwetta?
To learn more about their technology or get in touch see here.
Energy
4. Valtar Atomics
Founded: 2023 – El Segundo, CA, USA
Founder: Isaiah Taylor
Elevator Pitch: Valtar Atomic is unlocking the next generation of abundant, grid-independent nuclear energy. By developing high-volume, scalable nuclear reactors, the company is making nuclear power the most cost-effective and reliable energy source in the world. With a focus on manufacturing excellence, Valtar Atomic is poised to drive the new atomic age.
Problem they solve: The world’s growing demand for energy—driven by AI, industrial expansion, and interplanetary exploration—requires a high-density, reliable, and scalable power source. Traditional energy sources, such as fossil fuels and intermittent renewables, are struggling to meet these needs efficiently and sustainably. Valtar Atomic is bridging this gap by developing advanced nuclear reactors that provide affordable, grid-independent power without emissions.
Impact: By advancing scalable nuclear technology, Valtar Atomic is accelerating the transition to carbon-free baseload power that is reliable, cost-effective, and deployable at scale. Its innovations in nuclear reactor design reduce dependence on fossil fuels, eliminate carbon emissions, and pave the way for a future powered by clean and limitless atomic energy.
Industry
5. Karman Industries
Founded: 2024 – Los Angeles, USA
Founder: David Tearse & Chiranjeev Kalra
Elevator Pitch: Karman Industries is revolutionizing industrial heat by electrifying thermal energy use, enabling manufacturers to cut costs and eliminate onsite Scope 1 emissions. Its breakthrough product, Thermal01, is the first-of-its-kind electric heat pump designed to replace natural gas-powered industrial heating, offering a scalable and cost-effective solution for global enterprises.
Problem they solve: Industrial heat is responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions and costs manufacturers $600 billion annually to generate at temperatures below 300°C. Until now, industries have relied on inefficient and polluting natural gas-powered systems, lacking viable alternatives for electrification. Karman Industries addresses this challenge by introducing a drop-in, rapidly deployable electric heating solution that modernizes industrial heat production.
Impact: By eliminating the need for fossil-fuel-based industrial heating, Thermal01 dramatically reduces Scope 1 emissions, enabling manufacturers to decarbonize their operations without compromising efficiency. Its modular and retrofittable design accelerates the transition to clean energy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets.
Stage: Seed.
Interested in Karman Industries?
If you are interested in learning more, see here.
Do you know of other startups we should include in our Startups to Watch Series? Submit to our list!
How do these startups fit in with all the others we have looked at?
Check out our running list of the 400+ climate tech startups to watch we have featured.
