CleanTech Startups / GreenTech Startups – Innovations against climate change
Today’s article kicks off our new series Startup Industries. With this, we would like to offer an overview and insights into the most exciting and relevant industries in the startup world. We show which market has developed particularly well in recent years, where the greatest potential lies and offer interesting case studies of startups and cooperations. The first article in this series will focus on the topic of CleanTech or GreenTech. We explain the context to climate policy and present a wide variety of technologies from this sector, as well as successful green startups in the industry. We also report on a concrete cooperation example of a CleanTech startup and its partners.
The term CleanTech refers to clean technologies, products or services that conserve resources and are climate-neutral. In the best case, they help to reduce pollutants, and can thus contribute to achieving the 2030 climate targets. Particularly due to national or EU-wide climate targets, the CleanTech sector is quite closely tied to climate policy and is supported by it in the form of subsidies or programs. The term GreenTech is also frequently used synonymously. This term originated earlier, but has not become as well established as the term CleanTech. The market is considered a cross-sectional industry, since the goal of sustainability is pursued and implemented in various sectors of the economy. Young companies that are active in this area are also known as green startups.
Germany is well represented in the CleanTech sector. In 2013, for example, the Federal Republic accounted for 14% of the global market volume of €2,536 billion, with €344 billion. This was made up of energy efficiency at €100 billion, sustainable energy generation and distribution at €73 billion, water management at €53 billion, raw material efficiency at €48 billion and circular economy at €17 billion. So the energy sector in particular is currently booming and is undergoing a major shift towards sustainability, so it is expected that renewable energy capacity will increase in the future. But CleanTech also has a lot to offer in resource management. For example, only one-fifth of the world’s e-waste is recycled. However, the estimated value of secondary raw materials tied up in e-waste is around 55 billion euros. This is where raw material management comes in, developing innovative solutions to use resources more sustainably. To provide an overview, we then look at the technologies that are being developed and used in the CleanTech industry. (Source: starting-up.de)
CleanTech encompasses any number of different areas and subcategories where Green Startups and their innovative technologies can contribute to sustainability. These include, for example, the agricultural industry with sustainable food production, monitoring and prevention of natural hazards, sustainable building management and services such as consulting in industrial ecology or the financial sector. The most important sectors include the creation and distribution of renewable energies, efficient use and conservation of resources, and sustainable mobility and transport.
Here, electric mobility plays a major role and helps to reduce CO2 emissions. As the manufacturing costs for the required lithium-ion batteries have fallen, this industry has also grown strongly in recent years. While there were 400,000 electric cars in 2013, their distribution has increased extremely to date. One challenge that remains is the development of storage that can hold energy over time. Lithium-ion batteries can only do this for a few hours. However, some research is already being done in this area, especially by China, the pioneer in e-mobility. (Source: globalinvestor.com)
In the energy sector, the focus is on issues such as energy generation, distribution and storage. Technologies such as wind energy, photovoltaics, hydropower and fuel cells are used to generate sustainable energy. The distribution of energy can be optimized by the so-called smart grid. This works with digital technology and allows energy to be exchanged in both directions. Since it adapts to the needs of the consumer, it is ideally suited for the expansion of renewable energies and paves the way to the future of sustainable energy distribution.
The topic of resource efficiency mainly revolves around the management and distribution of raw materials, but also environmental engineering, waste management, the development of sustainable and alternative valuable materials. The treatment of important resources such as water is also relevant in this area. Here you will find an overview of the European B2B CleanTech startup landscape.
The development of the CleanTech industry
The origins of CleanTech as a separate industry, as we know it today, lie in the 2000s. In the 1990s, investment in sustainable technologies still had a rather negative image. The Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in 2005 and represented a milestone in international climate policy, gave the industry an immense boost. As a result of the associated subsidies, the CleanTech sector has experienced rapid development since 2009. (Source: Cleantech Alps)
However, with the increasingly relevant issue of global warming and the growing urgency to reduce it, it is expected that the industry will continue to grow in the future. With their innovative ideas, CleanTech startups offer plenty of potential to reduce emissions, conserve resources and mitigate global warming. The German Environmental Technology Atlas predicts an average annual growth rate of 6.6% for the CleanTech sector until 2025. The sustainable mobility, raw material efficiency and energy sectors are developing particularly dynamically. In the energy sector in particular, which is currently in a state of upheaval, startups can fill newly created niches. Here, new technologies are often integrated into existing structures. This is both a great opportunity for startups and companies, but can also be a challenge and shows why successful cooperation is so important. Currently, the industry is future-oriented and strongly focused on growth.
In order to provide an overview of the goals the CleanTech industry is actually working towards, we will take a small excursion into climate policy at this point. The primary goal is, of course, quite clear – to stop climate change. But since this is of course much more complex than it sounds and some major changes are needed, there are various plans from both international alliances and the European Union to implement this endeavor. The foundation for this was laid by the Kyoto Protocol mentioned earlier. This was adopted in 1997 and came into force in 2005. It contains a legally binding cap and reduction commitment for emissions from industrialized countries and has been ratified by 191 countries. The overall goals are to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and by as much as 80% by 2050.
The goal of EU-wide greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050 is also pursued by the European Green Deal, a growth strategy for a climate-neutral and resource-efficient economy. It includes measures for environmental protection, obligates all economic sectors to promote clean technologies and supports industry in sustainable innovations. As a result, the EGD also impacts or benefits the CleanTeach. Industry, or rather benefits it. Part of the EGD is also the European Climate Change Act, which will make the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 binding, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021. Another instrument of European climate policy is EU emissions trading. This virtually creates a price for emissions through caps on emissions and trading in so-called “emissions allowances”. It thus offers companies an economic incentive to reduce their emissions of pollutants. Most recently, the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Climate Convention was adopted in 2015, obliging all 195 member states to present a long-term climate strategy by 2020. (Sources: bmu.de, Umweltbundesamt.de)
Before we go into specific startup examples, here are some listings of the most relevant startups in the CleanTech industry, or green startups under the respective link.
| Green Startup/ CleanTech-Startup Listen |
CleanTech Startup Case Study – PlanA
At this point, we would like to introduce a few particularly interesting CleanTech startups. One of them is the Berlin-based CleanTech startup PlanA, which was founded in 2017 by Lubomilla Jordanova (CEO) and Nathan Bonnisseau (CMO). PlanA has developed software to measure and then target emissions reductions. In this way, they enable companies to improve their carbon footprint, and reduce negative environmental impacts. The goal here is to achieve a net-zero balance, i.e. climate neutrality. Reasons for companies to do this are, besides the obvious aspect of sustainability, a positive message to society and a role model function. To this end, the startup awards sustainability certificates. In addition, sustainable technologies are developed from the funds generated by neutralizing the carbon footprint. These are used in areas that are particularly affected by climate change. Examples include water filters, reforestation projects, and energy generation from organic waste.
CleanTech startup case study – Thermondo
Also in Berlin, the startup Thermondo was founded in 2013 by Phillip Pausder (CEO), Florian Tetzlaff and Kristof Fichtner. Since 2016, they have been fully dedicated to supporting climate goals, and in this spirit offer digital, efficient heating solutions. By expanding decentralized energy supply, switching to environmentally friendly technologies and increasing efficiency, they are promoting the energy transition. Thermondo is now the leading heating installer for detached and semi-detached houses and has already carried out heating changes in over 20,000 households. In these, the startup installs efficient heating technologies such as solar thermal and domestic hot water heat pumps. This can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 30%.
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CleanTech startup case study – Sunfire GmbH
Another example from the energy sector is Sunfire GmbH, which was founded in 2010 by Nils Aldag (CEO) and Christian Olshausen (CTO). Since then, it has grown to become one of the world’s leading electrolysis companies. Today, the company has locations in Germany, Norway and Switzerland. The startup aims to gradually replace fossil fuels with renewable energy by converting electricity from renewable energy sources into liquids and gases. The focus is on energy generation through electrolysis, but they are also working with technologies in hydrogen, syngas and e-fuel. Sunfire GmbH has already won the STEP Award and the Ecosummit Award, and has been listed in the Global Cleantech 100 several times in recent years.
Use Case – Infarm and partners
Of course, we would like to present not only successful green startups in our article, but also their cooperations with companies. A great case study here is the startup Infarm. The founders Guy and Erez Galonska and Osnat Michaeli came from Israel to Berlin in 2012, where Infarm was finally born in 2013. The name is made up of the words “indoor” and “farming.” With their farming-as-a-service model, they want to promote sustainable food production and grow both herbs and vegetables fresh and locally. On the one hand, the goal is to use resources such as water and land as sustainably as possible. On the other hand, the entire supply chain is redefined and kept as short as possible, thereby reducing emissions.
The plants are grown in vertical indoor farms, in water solutions mixed with nutrients. Each of these farms is connected to Infarm’s cloud-based platform and is digitally monitored and controlled. Over 50,000 data points are analyzed throughout the life of the plant. This allows conditions to be adjusted to the growth process and it can be optimized. With its technology, the startup says it has been able to save over 35,000,000 liters of water, 3,050,000 kilometers of transportation and 48,800 square kilometers of land to date. Infarm now operates over 1220 farms, allowing them to conserve valuable resources and harvest about 250,000 plants a month. The concept works – in the last few years, the startup has been able to grow strongly, and gain some partners. They now have 600 employees working at locations around the world.
(Image source. farm food future)
Today, Infarm cooperates globally with over thirty different supermarket groups as partners. The fact that the Farming-as-a-Service model is easy to implement means that it offers ideal conditions for working with larger companies. The startup’s German partners include several large supermarket chains. These include, for example, Edeka, Rewe, Aldi Süd and Metro AG. The founders see the challenge for the future in obtaining the energy that the farms consume from sources that are as sustainable as possible. For example, LED solutions are being researched for the light that the plants need. There are also plans to further expand the distribution of the vertical farms and to offer the fresh herbs in schools, hospitals and canteens, for example.
At this point, we would also like to provide an overview of other collected examples of successful collaborations between green startups and companies.
| CleanTech-Startup | Corporate | Link to collaboration |
| Klima-Metrix | Energie-Steiermark | Link |
| Bcomp | 3A Composites | Link |
| SO NAH | VINCI Energies | Link |
| Climacell |
Porsche |
Link |
| EnergyNest |
Deutsche Wohnen / Novoferm |
Link |
| Fresh Energy |
Stawag |
Link |
Although we were only able to present a fraction of the many exciting CleanTech startups and cooperations in this field in our article, it is clear – the growing industry has immense potential. For environmental reasons alone, it makes sense and is necessary to exhaust every possible means in the fight against climate change. And that includes new, smart technologies that conserve resources and reduce emissions. Startups in the CleanTech sector can offer all of this with their innovative ideas. However, companies should not only cooperate with CleanTech startups for the sake of sustainability or keep an eye on the industry for their good conscience. After all, due to the close links with climate policy and requirements for the industry, such as emissions trading, it is also in the economic interest of companies to reduce their CO2 emissions. This is where startups can offer great support. Especially in markets where the new, sustainable technologies are implemented in existing structures, cooperation is needed. For the industry, this means the signs are set for sustainability; for the future of CleanTech, this means the signs are set for growth. The best way to bring this together is through cooperation between companies and promising CleanTech startups.
About Ambivation
Ambivation connects innovative companies and startups for cooperation and innovation partnerships. As an innovation consultancy and matchmaker, Ambivation promotes cooperation between established companies and startups within the framework of concrete customer, supplier and research partnerships. We support companies in the identification of needs, startup identification, startup evaluation and cooperation initiation with startups. Formats such as research on relevant startups, startup monitoring, strategic cooperation consulting or event formats such as startup tours serve this purpose. Our monthly newsletter also provides information on current examples of cooperation and events.
