ON THE RADAR
Sustainability-Focused Venture Capital Firms in Europe
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Investors who care about more than just making good returns have more and more opportunities. Venture capital firms (VCs) have taken part in the sustainable finance change, directing investors’ funds towards sustainable assets.
There are many smart green VCs in Europe and the US that back startups in energy, mobility, buildings, cities, materials, food and circular economy to create impact as well as environmental, financial and strategic returns for their fund investors (LPs).
In the VC food chain, early stage investors prefer to invest, at higher risk, in the Seed, Series A and Series B financing rounds of young startups working on user acquisition and revenue formation. On the other hand, late stage VCs like shorter holding periods and, consequently, advanced startups with more than €5M revenues, experienced management teams and fast growth.
Below Cyan Reef outlines the list of sustainability-focused European VCs that we follow closely.
Sustainability-Focused VCs
| VC | Name (Country) | Short Description | Impact Portfolio | ||||
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1 | SET Ventures | SET Ventures (Netherlands) | An Amsterdam-based VC founded in 2007, it invests in early- and growth-stage technology companies that focus on sustainable energy transition. | Technology, Clean Energy | Official Web (external) |
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2 | Icos Capital | Icos Capital (Netherlands) | A Rotterdam-based cleantech collaborative venture capital firm working at the intersection of digital and sustainable industry. Icos Capital is focused 100% on early stage startups. | Technology, Clean Energy | Official Web (external) |
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3 | DOEN Foundation | DOEN Foundation (Netherlands) | One of the most active Dutch impact VCs, investing globally. The Dutch foundation support initiatives in the field of culture and cohesion and in the field of green and inclusive economy. | Culture and cohesion, circular and green economy. | Official Web (external) |
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4 | Demeter | Demeter (France) | A major player in venture capital and private equity for the ecological transition, based in France. Invests in ventures of all stages. | Renewable Energy, Green Economy, Technology, ESG. | Official Web (external) |
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5 | Ecapital | Ecapital (Germamy) | A German VC investing in early to growth stage technology companies. | Technology, Cybersecurity, CleanTech, New Materials. | Official Web (external) |
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6 | Sustainable Ventures | Sustainable Ventures (U.K.) | Invests in sustainable, early stage businesses, in sectors creating significant impact in the fight against climate change. | Mobility of the Future, Climate Sustainability, Waste Management, Technology. | Official Web (external) |
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8 | VNT Management | VNT Management (Finland) | A Finnish fund manager, primarily active in the Nordics and DACH. VNT funds focus on clean technology, in particular on renewable and distributed power generation and energy-saving technologies in electrical and power electronics applications. | CleanTech, Renewable Energy, Technology. | Official Web (external) |
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10 | Future Energy Ventures |
Future Energy Ventures (Netherlands) | Future Energy Ventures is the venture capital investment and collaboration platform of E.ON, one of Europe’s largest operators of energy networks and energy-related infrastructure and a provider of innovative customer solutions for about 50 million customers. | Energy, Future Cities and Technology | Official Web (external) |
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11 | Green Horizon Renewables |
Green Horizon Renewables (Czech Republic) | A Prague based Private Equity firm focused on investments in renewable energy across Europe. GHR has made several investments and holds a 55MW+ portfolio of operating solar and wind assets. Recently, GHR has acquired a major share in Winda Power Oy, a leading developer of wind farms in Finland, and is in process of developing a portfolio of 240 MW wind farms, with an ultimate goal of developing, constructing, and operating assets throughout the Nordic countries. | Clean Energy | Official Web (external) |
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12 | EIT InnoEnergy | EIT InnoEnergy (Netherlands) | Founded in 2010, EIT InnoEnergy is the leading innovation engine in Sustainable Energy. With offices in Europe and US, the firm seeks to make equity minority investments in early-stage companies and through added value services make the business case bigger, sooner and safer (de-risking). Currently they’ve invested in nearly 500 assets, all of them providing ROI with a forecasted revenue of €16 billion. Also the company brings together 500+ key players from across the energy value chain, from 18 different countries, who have indirect access to 150 million energy consumers. | Clean Energy | Official Web (external) |
