November Week 4, 2024: In this weekly series, we highlight 5 climate tech startups to watch by featuring the incredible startups, companies, or projects that are leading the fight against the climate crisis.
Each month, we add these startups to our running list, which we have categorized based on fuel emission sector data from the most detailed, recent data SBC could identify from the World Resource Institute in 2016.
This initiative from Startup Basecamp aims to support founders by giving them access to networking and exposure opportunities that help them to scale and finance their climate tech solutions.
Do not hesitate to join our collective movement by requesting your membership.
With care,
Guillaume and the SBC TEAM
Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use
1. Faircraft
Founded: 2021 – Paris, FR
Founders: Haïkel Balti & César Valencia Gallardo
Elevator Pitch: Faircraft is revolutionizing material science by creating a lab-grown alternative to animal leather using advanced tissue engineering and material science techniques. By harnessing the power of cells and proteins, Faircraft produces sustainable, high-performance materials with the look, feel, and versatility of traditional leather—without the environmental or ethical drawbacks.
Problem they solve: The production of traditional animal leather is resource-intensive and contributes significantly to environmental degradation, including deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, it raises ethical concerns regarding animal welfare. Faircraft addresses these issues by offering a sustainable, cruelty-free alternative that maintains the quality and functionality of leather while minimizing its ecological footprint.
Impact: Faircraft’s lab-grown leather significantly reduces the environmental impact associated with traditional leather production. By eliminating the need for livestock farming, the process cuts down on land use, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Its low-impact materials contribute to a more sustainable fashion and design industry, aligning with global efforts to combat climate change and preserve natural resources.
Stage: Series A.
Interested in Faircraft
To learn more about their technology or get in touch, see here.
Industry
(chemical & cement production)
2. Concretene
Founded: 2018 – Manchester, UK
Leadership: Mike Harrison, Alex McDermott & Craig Dawson
Elevator Pitch: Concretene is a revolutionary admixture for concrete that uses graphene-enhanced nanomaterial technology to deliver stronger, more sustainable concrete. By significantly reducing the carbon footprint of cement-based materials, Concretene helps the construction industry tackle its emissions challenges while maintaining high performance and durability. Developed with industry-leading partners, Concretene is setting a new standard for sustainable infrastructure.
Problem they solve: Concrete production accounts for more than 7% of global CO₂ emissions, primarily from cement manufacturing. With rising demand for decarbonization in construction and current alternatives falling short, the industry faces significant challenges in reducing embodied carbon without sacrificing structural performance. Concretene provides a cutting-edge solution, improving concrete strength and sustainability through graphene technology.
Impact: Concretene reduces embodied carbon in construction by enhancing concrete performance, enabling material reductions, and using sustainable raw materials like waste graphite and methane-derived biogas. Its innovative formulation achieves up to a 30% performance improvement, lowering resource consumption and supporting the transition to greener, more sustainable construction practices.
Stage: Seed.
Interested in Concretene?
If you are interested in learning more, see here.
GHG Capture, Use, and Storage
3. Planetary
Founded: 2019 – Nova Scotia, CA
Founders: Greg Rau & Mike Kelland
Elevator Pitch: Planetary is revolutionizing the fight against climate change through Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE), a process that safely removes excess atmospheric carbon dioxide and stores it in the ocean for up to 100,000 years. By leveraging naturally abundant, proven materials, Planetary not only reduces CO₂ levels but also combats ocean acidification, restoring the ocean’s vital chemistry and enhancing the planet’s largest natural carbon removal system.
Problem they solve: Climate change is exacerbated by excessive atmospheric CO₂ levels, while oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, threatening marine ecosystems and their ability to absorb carbon. Current carbon removal solutions often lack scalability, permanence, or efficiency. Planetary addresses these dual challenges by enhancing the natural geologic carbon cycle, enabling safe, large-scale, and permanent CO₂ removal directly in the ocean.
Impact: Planetary’s OAE method captures and neutralizes CO₂ at scale, reducing ocean acidity and storing carbon safely for millennia. This dual benefit mitigates climate change and protects marine ecosystems. By leveraging existing water systems and well-understood materials, Planetary provides a scalable, sustainable solution that accelerates global carbon removal efforts and restores the ocean’s ecological balance.
Stage: Series A.
Want to learn more about Planetary?
To learn more about their technology or get in touch see here.
Cross-cutting Enablers
4. Tset
Founded: 2018 – Viena, AT
Founders: Sasan Hashemi & Andrea Tsetinis
Elevator Pitch: Tset revolutionizes cost and carbon management in the manufacturing industry through advanced software that combines data-driven algorithms with decades of industry expertise. By automating labor-intensive processes, Tset enables manufacturers to achieve up to 15% efficiency gains across the supply chain, delivering faster, smarter, and more sustainable solutions for the entire product life cycle.
Problem they solve: Manufacturers face the dual challenge of reducing costs and minimizing carbon emissions while managing complex supply chains. Traditional methods for cost and carbon calculations are manual, time-consuming, and prone to bottlenecks, slowing decision-making and limiting progress toward sustainability goals. Tset addresses these inefficiencies by streamlining and automating the calculation process.
Impact: Tset empowers manufacturers to significantly reduce their carbon footprint by providing precise, actionable insights into product life cycle emissions. By integrating sustainability into cost management, Tset facilitates the transition to greener supply chains, enabling manufacturers to make data-driven decisions that improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact at scale.
Cross-cutting Enablers
5. First Street
Founded: 2017 – New York, NY, USA
Founder: Matthew Eby
Elevator Pitch: First Street™ sets the standard for climate risk financial modeling, delivering transparent, peer-reviewed methodologies to assess past, present, and future climate risks for properties worldwide. Their data empowers consumers, industries, and governments to make informed decisions about climate exposure and resilience.
Problem they solve: As climate change intensifies, properties increasingly face hazards such as flooding, wildfires, hurricane winds, extreme heat, and poor air quality. Conventional risk assessments often fail to reflect the current realities of climate change, leading to undervalued risks, inadequate insurance coverage, and unforeseen financial liabilities for property owners and investors.
Impact: By offering precise, data-driven insights into climate risks, First Street drives the adoption of resilient planning and investment strategies. Their solutions help mitigate the financial and environmental costs of climate-related damages, enabling communities and infrastructure to adapt to a changing world while fostering transparency in real estate and financial sectors.
Stage: Series A.
Interested in First Street?
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.
