Forget about FTX or Binance: here are a few unicorns you never heard of. And well, maybe you should.
Forget about FTX or Binance: here are a few unicorns you never heard of. And well, maybe you should.
The CEO of Blackrock predicted that the next 1000 unicorns would be "climate tech"... And apparently he was right. This month, we have done the heavy lifting for you of mapping them out...
As the devastating impacts of climate change become a fact of life, governments and companies across the globe are racing to achieve net-zero emissions targets. Technological innovations will be a major contributor to whether these targets are achieved, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that climate investments are on the upswing.
In 2021, tech startups fighting the climate change battle raised a record-breaking US$32bn and are expected to exceed $41B in 2022.
By 2023, total investment in the climate and cleantech sectors is expected to reach $6.4 trillion.
Today we are going to see climate tech unicorns provide solutions capable of influencing the decarbonization of our planet and mitigating the impact of climate change on our cities.
An army of climate tech unicorns, uptaking the biggest climate change challenge
In 2022, We have witnessed the horrific results of climate change and it is a pressing issue today, there’s a dire need for sustainable solutions. Certain ventures and startups are trying to fill these gaps to create a cleaner future with climate-friendly technology. This year, we are counting already hundreds of emerging “climate tech unicorns” joining this expanding and exciting industry:
The listed companies below are changing the status quo of the five most important industry sectors of our cities: energy, food, agriculture & forestry, manufacturing, transportation, and buildings.
CleanTech & Energy Unicorns
The energy sector is the biggest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 25% according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Not only for this reason it is worth innovating in renewable energies, but also because it is part of a bigger solution: with clean energy available, we unlock the opportunity to power other sectors and therefore also reduce and avoid their emissions.
Northvolt
Founded: 2016
Location: Sweden
Total funding: $11.8B
What they do: Northvolt introduces a new concept inspired by the semiconductor industry, focusing on; scale, customized customer solutions, vertical integration, and highly controlled manufacturing. The execution is fundamentally different compared to current battery production facilities. Northvolt is dedicated to creating a circular system, and has the highest ambitions regarding life cycle management: their approach covers cradle to grave. Building the factory in the Nordic region, given its carbon-free power base, will enable us to rely on fossil-free energy.
Energy vault
Founded: 2017
Location: Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland
Total funding: $380M (Post-IPO Equity)
What they do: Energy Vault SA offers an energy storage technology utilizing fundamental principles of science to deliver a storage solution that's as compassionate to the planet as it is efficient to build and operate. The Energy Vault solution utilizes the same fundamentals of physics and kinetic energy as pumped hydro but replaces the water with custom-made cylindrical blocks utilising an extremely innovative use of low-cost materials.
Green Buildings & Retrofitting Unicorns
Due to rapid population growth, the demand for building sites is expected to further increase in the next few years. Buildings are a big source of GHG emissions due to the materials used for their construction and the energy supply for lighting and heating.
Nexii
Founded: 2018
Location: Canada
Total funding: $119.5 M
What they do: Nexii provides a building solution that enables the rapid construction of sustainable and resilient buildings. Nexii is a green construction technology company committed to transforming the world’s buildings to be healthy, more affordable, and truly sustainable.
Carbon Clean Solutions
Founded: 2009
Location: United Kingdom
Total funding: $214 M
What they do: Carbon Clean Solutions is an innovation company specializing in carbon dioxide (CO2) recovery technology for industrial purposes. CCS APBS breakthrough technology significantly reduces operating costs and environmental impacts, thereby, making CCS technology cost-effective. Its carbon capture technology is designed to help industries decarbonize and leverage the growing value of captured carbon. The company's technology offers an energy-efficient process that provides improved capture rates and delivers industrial-quality carbon dioxide for reuse or sequestration, enabling clients to have easy, affordable, and scalable carbon capture.
Industrial Decarbonization Unicorns:
Industrial production processes emit a large number of emissions. For this reason, the development of sustainable manufacturing practices for raw materials (such as steel, concrete, cement, paper, etc.), components, and products is going to significantly change this sector within the next few years.
BRIMSTONE ENERGY
Founded: 2019
Location: Berkeley, California, United States
Total funding: $55 M (Series A)
What they do: Brimstone Energy is a California-based R&D company aiming to reduce global CO2 emissions. Brimstone has produced a process capable of producing carbon-neutral Portland cement and supplementary cementitious materials. Brimstone's products will solve two key problems. Reduce liability for cement companies as governments pass laws driving sustainability. Drive lower costs and create more efficient logistics through the co-productions of their cement.
Lilac Solutions
Founded: 2016
Location: United States
Total funding: $ 223.6 M
What they do: Developer lithium extraction technology designed to absorb lithium from brine resources. The company's technology is based on the ion-exchange theory that facilitates the production of lithium from brine resources with minimal cost and low environmental footprint, enabling lithium producers to accelerate project development, boost lithium recovery, streamline operations and unlock new resources.
Climeworks
Founded: 2009
Location: Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Total funding: $784.1M
What they do: Climeworks empowers people and companies to fight global warming by offering carbon dioxide removal as a service via direct air capture (DAC) technology. At Orca, Climeworks’ DAC facility in Iceland, the CO₂ is permanently removed from the air by capturing and geologically storing it for thousands of years with Climeworks’ storage partner Carbfix.
AgriTech climate resilience unicorns:
When it comes to the agricultural sector, the main challenge is to find a way to feed our exponentially growing population without increasing emissions at the same level. For this reason, the areas of innovation are concentrating around making our food system less wasteful as well as finding less polluting and more sustainable ways of nutrition.
Apeel Sciences
Founded: 2012
Location: Goleta, California, United States
Total funding: $ 640.1M
What they do: Apeel Sciences develop plant-derived shelf-life extension technology for fresh produce that extends shelf-life and reduces food waste. Apeel Sciences’ plant-derived doubles the lifespan of harvested fruits and vegetables without refrigeration. Their low-cost, natural technologies help to eliminate food spoilage, reduce water and energy use, and preserve natural ecosystems.
Bowery Farming
Founded: 2015
Location: United States
Total funding: $2.3 B
What they do: It grows and delivers pesticide-free lettuce, leafy greens, and herbs. The largest vertical farming operation in the United States, it serves major retailers at over 850 locations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, including Whole Foods and Walmart, and supports local, fresh produce supply for a number of food-delivery companies.
Low-carbon mobility unicorns:
The transportation sector generates the 4th largest share of greenhouse gas emissions (14% according to the IPCC), primarily from road transportation and burning fossil fuels for planes, trains, trucks/cars, and ships for passenger travel (60%) and freight (40%). It is responsible for the fastest growth in CO2 emissions and is expected to continuously grow.
AIWAYS
Founded: 2017
Location: China
Total funding: $ 791.7 M
What they do: AIWAYS is the owner and operator of an automobile company intended to manufacture electric vehicles. The company's automobiles utilize artificial intelligence and provide customized travel services, enabling customers to elevate their driving experience and reduce environmental pollution.
Lilium
Founded: 2015
Location: Germany
Total funding: $ 240 M
What they do: Lilium is an aviation company developing an emissions-free regional air mobility service. It has designed and prototyped the Lilium Jet, a brand-new type of aircraft that will enable it to deliver regional journeys that are considerably faster than rail or road, yet competitive in price. The demonstrator aircraft first flew in May 2019 and is a five-seater, fully-electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically (eVTOL). Lilium expects to service a sizable global market demand by connecting communities at a fraction of the cost of conventional high-speed infrastructure, with zero operating emissions.
Co-invest with us
At Atlas Society, we do not only focus on new technologies, but we also aim to revolutionize traditional industries into greener ones, more resilient to climate change. We believe that by bringing innovators, and investors together, we can ride that trillion-dollar market tsunami while returning huge ROI to our investors and saving gigatons of CO2. Now is the time your investments can build a climate-resilient world for your children.