The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances tech start-ups with growth potential and has supported more than 700 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of its fourth fund, HTGF now has about 1.4 billion euros under management. Its team of experienced investment managers and start-up experts support young companies with expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion. HTGF’s focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected about 5 billion euros of capital into the HTGF portfolio via more than 2,000 follow-on financing rounds. In addition, HTGF has already successfully sold shares in more than 170 companies. Fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries. Fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries.

HTGF | High-Tech Gruenderfonds

ENGIE is a global energy player and an expert operator in the three key sectors of electricity, natural gas and energy services. The Group supports changes in society that are based as much on economic growth as on, social progress and the preservation of natural resources.   ENGIE employs 152,900 people worldwide and achieved revenues of €74.7 billion in 2014. The Group is listed on the Paris and Brussels stock exchanges (ENGI) and is represented in the main international indices: CAC 40, BEL 20, DJ Euro Stoxx 50, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI Europe and Euronext Vigeo (World 120, Eurozone 120, Europe 120 and France 20).   As a global energy player, ENGIE operates in close to 70 countries on 5 continents. While the Group still intends to maintain its position as a key player in Europe and a leader on the energy transition, it is now a benchmark energy provider in the emerging world.

Engie

Established in 2015, Safran Corporate Ventures is the Group's corporate venture capital arm. It funds startups that have developed breakthrough or disruptive technologies or business models which will help Safran to address the challenges of the aerospace, defense or security markets.  Safran Corporate Ventures will help agile, innovation-driven companies by funding their growth. These companies will also benefit from:  • Access to an international network of leading technology experts in Safran's business sectors. • The global commercial and industrial reach of Safran companies. • Commercial and development agreements to be implemented between such startups and Safran's own entities.

Safran Corporate Ventures

MPC Capital is a global manager of real asset investments. They are experts in providing institutional investors, family offices and other professional investors with superior niche investment solutions in real estate, infrastructure and shipping. Their unique markets insights and hands-on financial management set us apart. They find the right projects and partners to deliver the returns that achieve their investors’  objectives.

MPC Capital

FO Holding

We are all about Climate First.  We invest in deep decarbonization technologies that lead us to a world beyond fossil fuels. Extantia literally aims at the aspect of survival; not only of our planet, but also of humanity, of our values, of our culture of inclusion and progress. There is no  better way to achieve this than by supporting the next generation of mission-driven Gigacorn founders. We are actively searching for companies that have the potential of becoming a “Gigacorn”.  Our goal is to find exceptional companies that are ultimately capable of saving in excess of 1Gt of CO2e emissions per year and are also commercially viable with scalable business models. We assess Gigacorn potential by measuring and forecasting CO2e savings over time and place the evaluation of this impact corridor at the core of our investment decisions. This means we only back companies that are capable of reducing at least 100 Mt of CO2e a year, either through direct technology impact or indirectly as a significant digital enabling force across sectors.

Extantia Capital

Planet A Ventures is a greentech venture fund looking to support European solutions for a sustainable future. Planet A Ventures has an in-house science team that calculates life cycle assessments to determine a startup's impact. Their scientists have the authority to veto investments if the impact is not significant and quantifiable. Planet A Ventures invests in European green tech start-ups that are making a significant positive impact on the environment while also building scalable businesses.

Planet A Ventures

Piva is a venture capital firm investing in visionary entrepreneurs and emerging technology companies that bring new software and hardware solutions to the world’s industrial and energy markets. It is investing its first $250M Fund I in disruptive energy and industrial companies across North America and Europe.

Piva Capital

Emerald Technology Ventures specializes in clean technology venture capital. Founded in 2000, Emerald focuses on the areas of energy, water, and materials. From offices in Zurich, Switzerland and Toronto, Canada, Emerald manages several venture capital funds and venture capital portfolio mandates.

Emerald Technology Ventures

The primary responsibilities of the group are to source, qualify, and invest in technology related companies. Our major investment areas include semiconductors, materials, mobile service, internet, software, security, enterprise solutions, bio engineering & medical, while potential investment subjects range from early-stage startups to pre-IPO companies. Currently, the group has over $1.8B under management and invests $250M annually.  Samsung Ventures was founded on October 8, 1999, and is based in Seoul, South Korea.

Samsung Ventures

Rock Creek is a leading, highly respected global investment and advisory firm that provides our investors with solutions

Rock Creek

HG Ventures supports innovation and growth across The Heritage Group by investing and partnering with private companies developing new technologies and approaches in both their core and adjacent markets. They leverage the world class expertise of The Heritage Group operating companies and research center to offer a unique value proposition to our portfolio company partners.HG Ventures invests in early stage and growth stage companies developing advanced materials and systems for transportation infrastructure, environmental services and specialty chemicals.

HG Ventures

ENGIE New Ventures (ENV) was founded in 2014 as the corporate venture arm of the global energy provider ENGIE. Its €180 million funds are dedicated to making a minority investment in technology startups that complement existing activities and resources to spur internal innovation within ENGIE. With offices in Paris, San Francisco, and Tel Aviv, ENGIE New Ventures’ strategic fund-to-fund portfolio is one element of ENGIE’s multi-pronged strategies to re-envision existing business models and spark new opportunities in the rapidly changing energy sector. To date, ENV has deployed over EUR110M of capital across 23 investments worldwide, with an emphasis on Europe, North America, Israel, and Asia.

ENGIE New Ventures

TDK Ventures is a technology-focused venture fund based in San Jose, California. We invest globally in Seed to B-round startups that leverage fundamental material science to unlock an attractive and sustainable future for the world. We believe in a sustainable world where digital and energy transformation will improve billions of lives for the better. Our mission is to help accelerate learnings and contributions to society, investing in start-ups with similar idealism. We aim to find meaningful opportunities in early-stage technology, especially in Health & Wellness, next Generation Transportation, Robotics & Industrial, Mixed Reality, and the wider IoT market segments. Dielectrics, magnetics, MEMS, neuro-electricals, organic materials, piezoelectrics, semiconductors, and many other types of materials, TDK Ventures is looking for the hardest problems where we have a proven track record of solving since 1935 and are passionate to continue solving these challenges together with our global innovation partners.

TDK Ventures

WIND Ventures is a corporate venture capital arm specializing in the new mobility, energy, and retail sectors for startups and scaleups. The firm leverages COPEC's significant resources to accelerate startups and scaleups in realizing new growth. It also invests in entrepreneurs working to build tomorrow’s energy, mobility, and retail companies.  WIND Ventures aims to build a sizeable investment portfolio of strategic startups and scale-ups where COPEC's significant resources accelerate the exploration or realization of new growth. It was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA.

WIND Ventures

Honda is an automotive company that manufactures and sells cars, motorbikes, marine engines, lawn mowers and other power equipment.

Honda

INERATEC

INERATEC offers a wide range of solutions, from pilot applications to chemical plants. They make sustainable, CO2-neutral, and cost-effective e-fuels and e-products available to all. They provide reactors suitable for fluctuating renewable energy applications.

INERATEC is a German company specializing in alternative fuels and e-chemicals. The company provides modular chemical plants for power-to-liquid, power-to-gas, and gas-to-liquid applications. It also converts hydrogen from renewable energy and CO2 into sustainable fuels (such as e-kerosene, CO2-neutral gasoline, clean diesel, or SNG) and chemical feedstock like waxes and methanol.

Moving industry forward with next-gen advancements in energy storage and transmission

Alternative Energy

INERATEC and COPEC enter strategic partnership to spearhead e-Fuel availability in Chile

INERATEC is a German company specializing in alternative fuels and e-chemicals. The company provides modular chemical plants for power-to-liquid, power-to-gas, and gas-to-liquid applications. It also converts hydrogen from renewable energy and CO2 into sustainable fuels (such as e-kerosene, CO2-neutral gasoline, clean diesel, or SNG) and chemical feedstock like waxes and methanol.INERATEC has already established industrial-scale power-to-liquid plants in Germany to increase the availability of sustainable fuel and chemicals for various industries, such as transportation and aviation. The groundbreaking for its pioneering plant was held in April 2023 in the industrial park Frankfurt Höchst, with the plant expected to produce up to 2,500 tons of sustainable e-fuels annually from 2024.Key customers and partnershipsINERATEC has followed a collaboration strategy for the research, development, and production of its solutions. In March 2022, the company partnered with Synhelion to leverage its technology to develop a solar solution to replace fossil fuels. In May 2022, Ineratec launched the “Care-O-Sene” project in collaboration with the South African Government, focussing on decarbonization projects aimed at the aviation industry. Further, it also entered into a partnership with Clariant to accelerate developments in sustainable fuel production and signed an MoU with Japanese company Chiyoda to establish power-to-liquid projects in Japan and Asia-Pacific. In April 2023, INERATEC announced a collaboration agreement with Ferrostaal Chile to jointly develop e-fuel projects in Chile.Funding and financialsINERATEC raised a total of EUR 20 million (~USD 22 million) in funding, as of April 2023, with its latest funding coming in January 2023 from an undisclosed investment led by Honda Motor Co. with participation from Engie New Ventures, MPC, Safran Corporate Ventures, FO Holding, Planet A Ventures, and HTGF. The new investment was to be used to support further growth and development of its technologies.

Canada-based Carbon Engineering (CE) specializes in Direct Air Capture (DAC) and air-to-fuel (ATF) technologies. ATF technology turns atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) DAC facilities into low-carbon fuels. The company’s pilot DAC plant in British Columbia captures one ton of CO2 per day. As of March 2024, CE is working with 1PointFive to commercialize its air-to-fuel processes.Key customers and partnershipsCE has partnered with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (the venture capital arm of the oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum) to build its first commercial DAC facility in Texas Permian Basin. The proposed facility will capture one million tons of CO2 per year. The construction of the plant is to be completed by 2024. CE has also begun engineering at its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14178">second DAC facility</a> in Kleberg County, Texas to capture 30 million tons of CO2 per year. The site is expected to begin operations by late 2024. CE also has a partnership with Storegga Geotechnologies to deploy its DAC technology in the UK. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10949">June 2022</a>, CE extended its collaboration with 1PointFive to deploy DAC projects globally.CE allows customers to pre-purchase carbon removal quantities from its future projects. In March 2021, Shopify became CE’s first customer, having reserved 10,000 tons of carbon removals. CE has also partnered with BeZero (a British climate asset and liability management company) for a joint retail offering that allows customers to purchase carbon removals through BeZero’s website. In November 2021, CE also signed up BMO Financial Group, a Canadian financial service provider, as a new customer and plans to deliver 1,000 tons of carbon removal units.CE estimates the net cost of its DAC technology to be around USD 94–232 per ton. The net cost of capture from its proposed one-megaton commercial plant is expected to be “little less than USD 200 per ton”. The company has also reported that its net cost of capture needs to fall below USD 150 per ton for the technology to make commercial sense.In October 2021, Carbon Engineering also partnered with Huron Clean Energy (Canada), The Upper Nicola Band (Canada), and Oxy Low Carbon Ventures to develop a large-scale commercial ATF facility in British Columbia. The facility is expected to begin operations in 2026. In November 2021, the company partnered with Air Canada to explore sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) opportunities.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21044">August 2023</a>, Occidental Petroleum announced a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Carbon Engineering for USD 1.1 billion in cash. The deal was closed in <a href="https://www.blg.com/en/about-us/deals-and-suits/2023/11/occidental-petroleum-completes-us1-1-billion-acquisition-of-carbon-engineering-ltd#:~:text=On%20November%203%2C%202023%2C%20Occidental,equity%20of%20Carbon%20Engineering%20Ltd.">November 2023</a>.&nbsp;

Carbon Engineering

TAE Technologies is a next-generation renewable energy company focusing on fusion technology. The company’s technology attempts to fuse hydrogen and boron to produce light to generate heat for power generation. TAE aims to connect the first hydrogen-boron fusion power plant to the grid in the 2030s and expects to demonstrate net energy on its next research reactor Copernicus around mid-decade.TAE Technologies has obtained more than 1,400 patents and launched several spin-off technologies in sectors such as electric mobility, power management, and life sciences. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15971">January 2023</a>, formed a new subsidiary known as TAE Power Solutions. This subsidiary is developing a unique technology platform derived from fusion research to improve the reliability, efficiency, longevity, and affordability of electric-powered products, including EVs and renewable energy storage.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6255">October 2021</a>, TAE Technologies partnered with the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), a Japanese research institute, to test hydrogen-boron (p-B11) fusion reactions. Furthermore, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16848">March 2023</a>, TAW and NIFS carried out the world’s first hydrogen-boron fusion experiments in a magnetically confined fusion plasma.Since 2014, TAE Technologies has worked with Google to apply machine learning, data science, and advanced computations to jointly develop the Optometrist Algorithm to speed up experiments involving plasma, the core ingredient in a fusion reaction.Funding and financialsThe company’s most recent funding event was a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11710">July 2022</a> USD 250 million round led by Google. The company planned to use the funds to construct its research reactor “Copernicus.” Prior to this, in April 2021 TAE Technologies raised USD 280 million led by Google and New Enterprise Associates. Funds were expected to be used to further the company’s fusion experiments and to build a new reactor-scale facility.

TAE Technologies

Canada-based Enerkem converts waste into transportation fuels and chemicals. The company produces renewable methanol and ethanol from non-recyclable and compostable solid waste. Ethanol produced by Enerkem is used as a high octane oxygenate in gasoline to reduce its toxicity.Enerkem operated a pilot biofuel facility in Edmonton, Canada, which was capable of recycling upto 40,000 metric tons of waste, annually. As of January 2024, the facility has produced ~5 million liters of ethanol and methanol. As part of this project, Enerkem had a 25-year agreement with the city of Edmonton to recycle 100,000 dry metric tons of waste per year. In February 2024, the company reported plans to retire the facility and focus on the deployment and commercialization of its technology.Key customers and partnershipsEnerkem is developing a biofuel facility at Varennes (Canada) in partnership with Hydro-Quebec. The facility, which is set to come online in 2025, will couple Enerkem’s technology with a 90 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system to produce 125 million liters of biofuels and circular chemicals from 200,000 metric tons of waste per year.Enerkem is also developing a facility in Tarragona, Spain in partnership with Repsol to manufacture 290 million liters of methanol from non-recyclable waste and residual biomass per year. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20773">July 2023</a>, Enerkem partnered with Dimeta to begin a feasibility study to examine the development of two large-scale projects to convert waste into renewable and recycled carbon dimethyl ether (DME). The projects are to be developed in Northwest Europe and in the Gulf Coast of the US, with each project expected to produce ~165,000 tons of DME annually from mixed residual waste.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20774">August 2023</a>, Enerkem partnered with Technip Energies where the latter agreed to contribute its expertise in engineering, technology integration, and project delivery to support projects developed by Enerkem.Funding and financialsEnerkem’s <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9646">most recent funding </a>event was an April 2022 CAD 255 million (USD 203 million) round led by Repsol. The funds were to be used to expand Enerkem’s geographical footprint in Europe and to scale up the deployments of its gasification technology.

Enerkem

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is an MIT spinoff that focuses on commercializing fusion energy using revolutionary high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets to build smaller and lower-cost tokamak fusion systems. The company aims to manufacture these magnets and is building ‘SPARC’, its net energy fusion machine with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Following this, CFS plans to build a fusion power plant named ARC.In February 2023, CFS opened its new 50-acre campus in Massachusetts, US. This will contain the company’s corporate headquarters, advanced manufacturing facility, and the SPARC facility.In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/36243">November 2024</a>, CFS completed testing of its new electromagnet, the Central Solenoid Model Coil (CSMC), with plans to demonstrate net fusion power by 2026.Key customers and partnershipsIn July 2022, CFS signed a five-year Collaboration Framework Agreement with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to carry out a series of work projects to support the development of fusion energy. In March 2023, CFS signed a framework agreement with Eni to carry out a series of work projects to advance fusion energy.Funding and financialsIn August 2023, CFS was awarded three undisclosed grants by the US Department of Energy’s Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program to fund research and development projects with the University of California at Berkeley, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, and University of California at Los Angeles. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19658">May 2023</a>, CFS was one of eight companies to receive a total of USD 46 million from the US Department of Energy’s Milestone-based Fusion Development Program to advance design, research and development for fusion power plants.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7124">November 2021</a>, CFS raised USD 1.8 billion in a Series B funding round led by Tiger Global Management. The company planned to use the proceeds to build and operate SPARC and commence deployment of ARC.&nbsp;

Commonwealth Fusion Systems

General Fusion aims to develop utility-scale fusion power using Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology. In December 2022, the company demonstrated plasma energy confinement times, plasma temperatures, and compression system performance that support its goal of meeting 100 million degrees Celsius in its MTF demonstration.&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22691">August 2023</a>, General Fusion announced a new MTF machine known as “Lawson Machine 26” (LM26). The company intends to use the machine to achieve fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celcius (180 million degrees Fahrenheit) by 2025, and progress toward scientific breakeven by 2026. The LM26 is designed to validate the company’s ability to symmetrically compress magnetized plasmas in a repeatable manner and achieve fusion conditions at scale. It integrates the company's existing operational plasma injector with a new lithium liner compression system.Construction of General Fusion’s demonstration at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) Culham Campus began in 2023 and is expected to be commissioned in 2026 and fully operational by early 2027.Key customers and partnershipsIn June 2021, General Fusion partnered with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to build and operate a fusion demonstration plant (FDP) at UKAEA’s Culham Campus in Oxfordshire, UK. In July 2021, General Fusion partnered with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, a nuclear technology laboratory managed by the Canadian National Energy Alliance, to develop tritium extraction technologies for fusion power.&nbsp;In February 2022, General Fusion, Bruce Power, and the Nuclear Innovation Institute partnered to accelerate the delivery of clean fusion power in Canada. In November 2022, the company partnered with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories again to carry out a series of joint projects to accelerate the deployment of commercial fusion power in Canada.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22653">October 2023,</a> General Fusion partnered with Kyoto Fusioneering to advance critical systems for MTF commercialization, including the tritium fuel cycle, the liquid metal balance of the plant, and the power conversion cycle. During the same <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23302">month</a>, General Fusion expanded its partnership with TRIUMF to design diagnostics that will advance the former’s technology and prove the performance of its MTF demonstration, LM26. In December 2023, the company partnered with the University of Lisbon to develop a key diagnostic for MTF technology.Funding and financials&nbsp;In March 2024, General Fusion and TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator centre, received a USD 800,000 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alliance grant. The companies intended to use the funds to advance technology to develop an ultra-fast neutron spectrometer system to measure plasma temperatures at fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celsius.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24966">December 2023</a>, General Fusion received CAD 5 million (~USD 3.7 million) from the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). The company planned to invest the funds in the research and development of the company’s MTF demonstration, LM26. The company’s latest funding round was in August 2023, when it raised USD 25 million in the first close of its Series F funding round. Participants of the round included existing investors, BDC Capital, and GIC, as well as new grant funding from the government of British Columbia.In November 2021, the company raised USD 130 million led by Temasek. Previously, in January 2021, General Fusion raised an undisclosed amount from Thistledown Capital, a venture capital firm established by Shopify founder Tobias Lütke.

General Fusion

Companies that facilitate renewable energy generation through next-gen advances in conventional renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, and hydro

Companies developing long-duration stationary energy storage technologies that are essential to match the intermittent supply of renewable sources with the inflexible demand for energy. Includes utility-scale, industrial, and residential stationary energy storage solutions

Companies that facilitate renewable energy generation through disruptive bioenergy technologies such as waste to energy (WTE) and advanced biofuels

Companies that facilitate renewable energy generation through disruptive technologies such as geothermal, fusion, wave, tidal, etc.

Provides next-gen renewable energy sources and energy storage for sustainable energy consumption

<div>
 German synthetic fuels developer, INERATEC, has secured EUR 118 million in a Series B funding round spearheaded by Piva Capital, pushing the company's total investment to USD 151.6 million. The firm intends to use the funds to expedite the commercialisation of its CO2-neutral e-Fuels. It aims to transform 1 GW of renewable energy into 165,000 tons of sustainable e-Fuels by 2030. Other contributors include HG Ventures, TDK Ventures, Copec WIND Ventures, RockCreek, Emerald, Samsung Ventures, ENGIE New Ventures, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Honda.
</div>

INERATEC

EDGE Insights

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless