September week 1, 2022: In this monthly 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. Coastruction
Founded:
2021 – Rotterdam, Netherlands
Founder:
Nadia Fani, Astrid Kramer
Elevator Pitch:
Our goal is to contribute to restoration of damaged marine ecosystems through sustainable concrete structures for the marine industry. Our products are inspired by nature and emulate a healthy base for nature to return.
Problem They Solve:
The causes of the decline all lie in human behavior. Through misunderstanding, ignorance and greed we have interacted unsustainably with the marine world creating a strong imbalance.
Impact:
Our main responsibility is to design, produce and install artificial reefs to help restoration of damaged reef systems and protect vulnerable coastlines. We believe that artificial reefs should be naturally shaped in order to cater for the system they are placed in. When key species adopt their new habitat there is a bigger chance of success.
Stage:
Pre-Seed
Interested in Coastruction?
If you are interested in learning more, see here.
Industry
Founded:
2019 – Oakland, CA, USA
Founder:
Cody Finke, Hugo Leandri
Elevator Pitch:
Brimstone Energy has created the world’s first carbon-negative Portland cement
Problem They Solve:
We’re building a new foundation for the climate era. Cement is responsible for about the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as all of the cars on the road today. Cement has been one of the most difficult materials to decarbonize, until now.
We have invented a way to make carbon negative Portland cement that is identical to conventional cement and lower in cost. Simply put, our process will turn one of the most intractable climate problems into a carbon negative climate solution.
Impact:
Cement is responsible for about the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as all of the cars on the road today worldwide. Cement has been widely considered one of the most difficult materials to decarbonize and has even been called out as the reason why we need point-source CCS. We have invented a way to make carbon-negative Portland cement that does not rely on point-source CCS and is identical to conventional cement and, most importantly for impact, is lower in cost. Simply put, our process will turn one of the most intractable climate problems into a carbon-negative climate solution.
Stage:
Series A
Interested in Brimstone Energy?
To learn more about their technology or get in touch, see here
Founded:
2021 – Oxford, UK
Founder:
Simson Wu, Edman Tsang
Elevator Pitch:
Spin-out company backed by the University of Oxford, specializing in Catalytic Technologies in Ammonia & Hydrogen Utilisation.
Problem They Solve:
With years of experience in developing robust catalysts, OXGRIN has invented a novel integrated ammonia propulsion system. This is enabled by powerful low-temperature ammonia cracking catalysts coupled with optimized thermodynamics. The compactness and scalability of the unit allow on-board applications across various sectors.
Impact:
The pressing need to decarbonise our mother earth for the next decade prompts the timely utilization of hydrogen energy. The cost of hydrogen transportation and storage has however limited the deployment of the fuel vector. To tackle this problem, we are building a cross-platform ammonia decomposition reformer powered by disruptive low-temperature catalysts for stationary and mobile applications.
Stage:
Pre-Seed
Interested in Oxgrin?
If you are interested in learning more, see here.
Cross-cutting enablers
4. KorrAI
Founded:
2020 – Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Founder:
Rahul Anand, Rob McEwan
Elevator Pitch:
Simplifying satellite data for mining offering data solutions you can implement now to reduce operational costs, mitigate risks, and optimize mining processes
Problem They Solve:
Create dynamic 3D representations of all phases of your mining operations. Our cloud-based platform is designed with users in mind, enabling seamless data management and sustainable exploration practices.
Impact:
This capability will be key to meeting the need for critical minerals while protecting the environment and associated biodiversity. Beyond helping find minerals, KorrAI’s vision is to improve environmental permitting, monitor critical mining site infrastructure, and accelerate the due diligence processes of mining projects.
Stage:
Seed
Interested in KorrAI?
To learn more about this company, see here.
Location:
2018 – London, UK
Founder:
Jack Kelly, Dan Travers
Elevator Pitch:
Open Climate Fix is a research and development lab, totally focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible. Every part of the organisation is designed to maximise climate impact, such as our open and collaborative approach, our rapid prototyping, and our attention on finding scalable & practical solutions.
Problem They Solve:
By using an open-source approach, we can draw upon a much larger pool of expertise than any individual company, so combining existing islands of knowledge and accelerating progress.
Our approach is to search for ML (Machine Learning) problems where, if we solve a well-defined ML task, then there is likely to be a large climate impact. Then, for each of these challenges, we will:
Collate & release data, and write software tools to make it super-easy for people to consume this data.
Run a collaborative “global research project” where everyone from 16-year-olds to PhD students to corporate research labs can help solve the ML task.
Impact:
Open Climate Fix is a non-profit product lab, totally focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible. Every part of the organisation is designed to maximise climate impact, such as our open and collaborative approach, our rapid prototyping, and our attention to finding scalable & practical solutions.
Stage:
Undisclosed
Want to learn more about Open Climate Fix?
To learn more about their technology or get in touch 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 250+ climate tech startups to watch we have featured.
