London-based Zero Carbon Capital (ZCC), a VC firm backing early-stage founders, has closed its £20M (approximately €23.47M) fund to invest in European pre-seed and seed-stage companies working on scientific solutions for deep decarbonisation.
The fund received money from various investors, including institutions, corporate, and individuals. Investors include Isomer Capital, Green Future Investments, Bunge Ventures, and Extantia Climate All-stars.
Chloe Dagnell of Isomer Capital says, “We’re excited to partner with Zero Carbon Capital given their prior experience in the climate tech space, coupled with the strong team they have been able to build.”
“Combining both scientific research capabilities and operational experience at leading tech companies, we’re confident they will be able to identify, analyse and support leading early-stage climate tech companies across Europe.”
Backing “exceptional” early-stage founders
Led by Pippa Gawley, who has eight years of experience in climate tech investing in the US and Europe, Zero Carbon Capital (ZCC) is a venture capital firm that integrates science into its investment philosophy.
According to a statement, Gawley’s expertise and passion for climate tech have been crucial in creating a team of scientist-investors and shaping the fund’s strategy. This helps ZCC make impactful investments to tackle climate change challenges.
Founding partner, Gawley, says, “We want a future where humans are thriving on a healthy planet with healthy ecosystems. We believe deeply that the combination of brilliant scientific advances with sustainable, scalable commercial models is the best way to get there.”
“Our team is uniquely positioned to catalyse those opportunities at the earliest moments, supporting ambitious scientists that are building businesses to tackle the hardest problems in decarbonisation.”
The fund has already invested in 12 companies, some of which include Level Nine, Ionate, NetZeroNitrogen, and RepAir.
Besides investment, ZCC is also building a community of climate tech innovators and leaders. The company provides strategic support to its portfolio companies, helping them succeed and grow their solutions to reduce global carbon emissions.
This fund is a “significant” milestone for ZCC, showing its commitment to leading climate tech investment and supporting the development of solutions for the planet’s future.
Brief about Zero Carbon Capital
Zero Carbon Capital focuses on early-stage investments in companies creating scientific solutions to reduce carbon emissions. Working across Europe, ZCC supports teams that aim to make a big impact on cutting carbon emissions, with a commitment to science and environmental care.
ZCC started investing in 2020 with a small fund that supported seven early-stage decarbonisation companies in the UK.
The ZCC team is a diverse group of individuals with expertise in various fields relevant to climate tech investing. It is led by founders Pippa Gawley and Alex Gawley, who bring years of experience in angel investing and tech innovation, respectively.
Sarah Jones, Chloe Coates, and Max Werny, each with their unique backgrounds in engineering, chemistry, and venture capital, further strengthen the team’s capabilities in technical analysis, research, and investment evaluation.
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