NextSTEP, the enterprise capital fund of NextEnergy Group, has introduced investments totalling €590k in 5 UK-based CleanTech startups, every creating progressive and sustainable options round recycling.
With headquarters in London and Milan, NextSTEP focuses on backing startups devoted to decreasing ecological footprints via progressive options in useful resource effectivity, emission discount, and waste minimisation. The fund, launched in 2022, goals to be a frontrunner in CleanTech investments, focusing on ventures on the pre-seed and seed phases.
Claudio Colombo, Managing Director of NextSTEP, commented: “We’re immensely happy with the milestones achieved in 2024. Our dedication to figuring out and supporting rising initiatives that contribute to a greater planet not solely fosters their development but additionally reinforces our dedication to a sustainable and progressive future. As we glance forward, our imaginative and prescient stays clear: to develop our efforts in discovering and investing in UK-based startups and initiatives that drive significant and lasting change. That is only the start—we’re decided to deepen our investments and construct even stronger, impactful connections between Italy and the UK.”
The 5 startups to obtain funding are detailed beneath, together with the date through which NextSTEP invested.
- Pulpatronics (August 2024): This startup is disrupting RFID know-how with their metal-free and chipless tags, designed to guard pure assets. Utilizing an progressive laser-induced course of, they imprint conductive circuitry immediately onto paper, eliminating the necessity for steel parts and simplifying manufacturing. This method not solely reduces prices but additionally cuts CO2 emissions considerably, saving 2,400 kg of CO2 for each million tags produced.
- Algapelago (November 2024): This startup is creating sustainable seaweed-based merchandise aimed toward revolutionising regenerative agriculture and past. By cultivating in depth offshore kelp forests, they produce pure fertilisers and animal feed dietary supplements that eradicate the necessity for freshwater, land, pesticides or fertilisers. Their method not solely sequesters carbon and enhances marine biodiversity but additionally helps coastal communities via job creation and financial revitalisation. As the most important licensed kelp cultivator within the UK, Algapelago is dedicated to scaling its operations to create a world community of “algapelagos” and contribute to a greener future.
- ClearWatt (July 2024): This startup has developed a machine learning-powered app that precisely measures and certifies EV vary and battery well being. ClearWatt’s distinctive GPS-based method eliminates third-party knowledge limitations and allows OEM and telematics-agnostic deployment, making certain most protection and fast scaling. ClearWatt EV Well being Stories present detailed superior efficiency metrics, fostering belief between consumers and sellers all through the whole gross sales course of.
- Nina Vitality (January 2024): A British-Ecuadorian startup that transforms agricultural waste into strong biofuels and biochar, providing sustainable alternate options to fossil fuels. Their progressive know-how yields various secondary merchandise like biochar, torrefied biofuels, and liquid merchandise, enriching soil, decreasing CO2 emissions, and offering sustainable vitality options for numerous sectors.
- The First Ingredient (June 2023): A British startup for clear vitality options with its Sensible Tank know-how which allows the protected and scalable era of inexperienced hydrogen. From properties to industries, TFE permits customers to contribute to net-zero emissions through the use of water and renewable electrical energy.
NextSTEP was launched by NextEnergy Group to create significant impression within the CleanTech house. Whereas its main focus is on UK and Italian startups, the fund additionally invests throughout Europe and within the US. Its technique contains figuring out promising ventures rising from accelerators, universities, and analysis centres. As well as, NextSTEP collaborates with established firms to develop bespoke open innovation programmes, focusing on sustainability challenges with tailor-made options.
As a part of its broader mandate, NextSTEP plans to develop its funding attain in 2025, constructing on its monitor file and enhancing collaboration between Italian and British markets.
