$ 32.3 billion. This is the amount of venture capital investments made in ClimateTech startups since January 2021, according to a report published by London & Partners and Dealroom. Since the Paris Agreement in 2016, global investments in the sector have increased fivefold. The report states that Europe will be the continent with the largest growth in this area, as investment in ClimateTech will be seven times higher than in 2016, which will increase from 1.1 to 8 billion dollars raised by companies. European startups have also succeeded in attracting a growing share of global capital, representing 28% of investments in 2021, thanks in particular to record fundraising as in the Back Market of 276 million euros in May 2021.
While these numbers are encouraging, the latest IPCC report is clear: it is urgent to accelerate efforts to decarbonize the global economy to slow global warming. It is in this view that Marble, a new startup studio, aims to accelerate the development of the technologies and solutions needed for so-called “hard to decarbonize” sectors. Based in Paris, this new structure was designed by Frenchman Benjamin Tincq, engineer and entrepreneur expert at ClimateTech and former manager of the Good Tech Lab agency, and Briton Jonny Everett, former mentor and manager of the Entrepreneur First program.
Promise to act quickly
To bring out new innovations and meet complex climate challenges, Marble collaborates with hybrid profiles of engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs. The startup studio aims to address diverse themes such as the decarbonization of the chemical industry through bio-production, the extraction of CO2 into the atmosphere with minimal energy costs, or the exploitation of agricultural lands in dry environment.
The structure was funded by an international panel of climate and DeepTech investors, including the Grantham Foundation, a prestigious American CleanTech fund, David Helgason, founder of Unity Technologies and Alexis Angot, co-founder of Ynsect. During the nine-month programs, founders of climate solutions can benefit from technical and industrial expertise, operational support from scientific and business teams, mentoring and optimized development. source of co-founders.
In addition, Marble is investing 250,000 euros in pre-seed in projects it seems to be the most promising. ” Entrepreneurship is the fastest way to have a global impact. But I’ve met so many researchers who want to deal with the climate emergency, but don’t know where to startexplained Jonny Everett, in a press release. We designed Marble to be that starting point, go faster and avoid pitfalls. »
4 startups are already in the making
Marble already has four startups under development, whose projects are as follows:
- Steven Bardey, doctor of physics and chemistry of materials at the University of Strasbourg, is developing a solution for the intelligent integration of CO2 extraction and recycling to decarbonize chemical raw materials with high efficiency in energy;
- Jerome Unidad, a scientist working on a new avenue to produce low-carbon fuels on a large scale;
- Amandine Cadiau, PhD in materials science, is committed to developing a new generation of energy -efficient CO2 extraction solutions;
- Expert mechanical engineer Paul Hervé is developing a seawater misting project in arid coastal regions to create stable microclimates, terraform of new farmland and cool urban areas.
The startup studio is, moreover, already in the process of recruiting future founders of its next projects, and the applications. in the Founder in Resistance program is open. Ultimately, Marble’s goal was to help catch up with Europe’s lag in creating ClimateTech spin-outs compared to the United States, in order to position the continent as a leader in climate change. . A goal that the European Commissioner for Innovation and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, told us at the end of January 2022 to share. To do this, Marble continues to measure its ambition: the structure aims, through its modifications, to eliminate “ at least a billion tons of CO2 “.