EIT Climate-KIC welcomes its 100th portfolio company

In the ever-evolving landscape of climate innovation, every milestone marks a step closer towards a just, beautiful and climate-resilient future. Today, we are proud to announce the signing of our 100th portfolio company. These start-ups, propelled through our flagship ClimAccelerator programme, represent the forefront of transformative solutions addressing global climate challenges.

Among this distinguished cohort, Point2Hectare stands out as our 100th addition. Hailing from Potsdam, Germany, Point2Hectare epitomises innovation in agricultural sustainability. Through their state-of-the-art biochar fertilisers, they empower farmers and fertiliser manufacturers to minimise nitrogen losses, boost crop yields, and contribute to carbon removal and healthy soil functions.

EIT Climate-KIC’s portfolio is not only impressive in its scope of climate-focused start-ups but also in its diversity, featuring early-stage climate-tech ventures spread across 27 countries. It is particularly noteworthy that 68 per cent of these companies hail from Central and Eastern Europe, highlighting the region’s potential as a hub for climate entrepreneurship.

The collective impact of the portfolio is projected to avoid a staggering 18.7 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions over the next ten years. Moreover, the creation of 579 green jobs highlights the economic and social benefits stemming from our initiatives.

Diversity and inclusivity are core values at EIT Climate-KIC, with 35 per cent of our portfolio companies having at least one woman in their founding team. While this surpasses the average of venture-backed companies in Europe (22 per cent), we remain committed to achieving equal representation across our incubation and acceleration programmes in 2024.

One of the standout success stories is female-founded Bound4Blue, a Spanish developer of automated wind-assisted propulsion systems for maritime transport. The start-up recently secured a €15.9M Series A funding round from the European Innovation Council and major corporate investors and VCs.

Similarly, RepAir from Tel-Aviv achieved remarkable success within a year of participating in the Carbon Removal ClimAccelerator with its CO2 removal solution powered exclusively by renewable energy. The company has raised €10M in Series A funding, further validating the market demand for direct carbon capture at the gigaton scale.

Lithuania-based Boldr, another noteworthy start-up in the EIT Climate-KIC portfolio, is making strides in empowering households to reduce energy consumption with their smart home-climate devices. Having raised a €1 million seed round in Fall 2023, Boldr is poised to continue enhancing its product offerings and expanding its reach.

Scaling through Climate-SAFE

Each of the 100 start-ups signed our Climate SAFE agreement, a convertible investment instrument developed by EIT Climate-KIC to take equity stakes to support Europe’s most exciting climate innovation start-ups. Through Climate SAFE, start-ups gain access to operational support, fundraising advice, potential follow-on investments, comprehensive impact assessments and validation reports, and access to our global community of investors.

By leveraging this diverse portfolio, we can amplify our impact locally, tailoring solutions to meet the unique climate challenges faced by different cities, regions, industries and value chains. EIT Climate-KIC welcomes angel investors looking to invest in our impact-driven start-ups as well as institutional investors interested in large-scale value chain transformations. Learn more: https://www.climate-kic.org/get-involved/investment-opportunities/