On 4 March, Kapital, Cycle Group, and the ICFA collaborated to host Luxembourg’s first Climate Tech Meetup at The Office. The packed event brought together over 60 investors, founders, and key ecosystem members to discuss the challenges of building and funding a Deep Tech climate startup.
According to Bloomberg, climatetech companies raised $51 billion in venture capital and private equity funding across more than 1,000 deals last year. The event, co-hosted by Kapital‘s CEO Arman Anatürk, Jekabs Vinauds, senior analyst at ICFA and Dan Choon, managing director at Cycle Group, aimed to understand how some of this capital could be directed to Luxembourg to build successful climate startups.
Event speakers Adelaide Cracco, Head of Climate and Environmental Impact at European Investment Fund (EIF), Cherif Assaf, CEO, Evercomm Europe, Pieter Fossel CEO & Co-founder, Hydrosat had some ideas.
A Deep Tech resurgence
One of the highlights of the event was a panel discussion, where the event speakers shared their perspectives on various aspects of climate tech and its impact on the future. Adelaide Cracco, spoke on the resurgence of Deep Tech, emphasizing the increasing allocation of funds towards investments. Cracco noted that funds are now prioritizing the recruitment of technical talent, recognizing its pivotal role in driving innovation and progress.
Pieter Fossel, offered valuable insights into navigating fundraising in different market conditions. Pieter explained that despite challenges, in 2021, his company Hydrosat secured a $10 million seed round, which was succeeded by a $20 million Series A round in 2023. Fossel added that entrepreneurs in climate tech should push through for funding, as their ideas are beneficial.
“Climate and deep tech funding is clearly top of mind from a capital allocation perspective as more funds continue to emerge and investors look to build climate into their overall portfolio. Still, globally we’re underfunding climate solutions compared to what’s needed to meet our targets […].”
Arman Anatürk, CEO of Kapital
Another noteworthy takeaway came from Dan Choon’s perspective on leveraging non-dilutive funding for European deep tech ventures. Choon, Managing Director at Cycle Group, emphasized the importance of exploring alternative capital sources beyond traditional venture funding, highlighting the diverse avenues available to founders for building their capital stack.
Cherif Assaf, a partner at Evercomm, flew in all the way from Singapore, and underscored the pivotal role played by corporations in driving growth within the climate tech sector. Drawing from his experience with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Assaf emphasized the significance of attracting multinational corporations as strategic allies.
Luxembourg climatetechs pitch
The event wrapped up with an exciting highlight: a succession of 30-second elevator pitches presented by up-and-coming startups in the climate tech sector. Each pitch showed innovation, passion, and dedication to tackling urgent environmental issues.
Some of the startups, which, among others, included Maana Electric, Greenworlder and SustainCERT eagerly displayed their innovative solutions, spanning from renewable energy innovations to sustainable social media platforms, with a 30-second timer on the board.
“It was incredibly encouraging to see the number and diversity of attendees in the room, from Luxembourg’s EIF, one of the most active investors driving climate venture funding, to emerging climate deep techs, like Aerd Lab who are part of the current Fit4Start program this year,” said Arman Anaturk, CEO and co-founder of Kapital.
Events like these are recognized as catalysts for positive change, as they bring together diverse stakeholders to collectively address the pressing challenges of climate change.
