Amsterdam-based Seenons raises €6M to combat climate change with its waste-saving platform

Amsterdam-based Seenons, a waste-saving platform for the circular economy, announced that it has raised €6M in its Seed round of funding led by Dutch venture capital firms Tablomonto and Capital T.

The raised capital will help the company to further develop its technology and expand its service in the Benelux, while also accelerating the race to meet Europe’s target of zero-waste by 2030. Seenons was one of the 12 Amsterdam-based startups selected by StartupAmsterdam and Smart Health Amsterdam to exhibit at the recently-concluded TNW Conference 2021. 

Joost Kamermans, Seenons CEO, says, “We need to act fast to change the way we deal with waste. This €6M investment allows us to significantly increase our impact to meet zero-waste targets, by intensifying our cooperation with partners in the waste industry and expanding our professional team by around 40 FTE by the end of 2021.”

Tablomonto’s Tamara Obradov says, “We are excited to support Seenons in their mission to close the chain and facilitate demand and supply of the circular economy in a scalable way. The significant funding of Capital T, Tablomonto, and the angels gives a clear signal that we need to take a serious stance to structurally change the processes within the current waste industry. As one world, we need to apply circular strategies to significantly reduce GHGs and Seenons is en route to be the #1 platform to do so.”

“Together for a world without waste”

Founded in 2019 by ex-BCG consultant Joost Kamermans and platform entrepreneur Jorn Eiting van Liempt, Seenons addresses the growing challenges of waste.

According to the company, about 2 million megatons of waste are incinerated every year in the Netherlands alone, while natural resources continue to deplete rapidly. That is roughly equivalent to 40 million cargo bicycles full of waste. 

In the Amsterdam metropolitan region alone, 8.5 million tons of industrial waste and 1.1 million tons of household waste are generated. However, the current waste system does not provide the desired change required by the transition to the circular economy.

Europe’s targets are clear: by 2030, the region plans to reduce the use of natural resources and cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent. This is where Seenons steps in.

Giving waste a new life

The company has developed “innovative” technology to bring stakeholders in the waste chain together, and claims that it is the only platform in Europe that caters to the fine-mesh waste streams. 

The company’s platform matches waste (also known as residual flows) with the right processor. The processor turns it into a new product or processes it into green electricity or biogas. This gives the waste a new life. For example, coffee grounds are processed into soap or used as raw material for oyster mushrooms.

If there isn’t a ‘match,’ the technology ensures that waste is taken away in the most efficient and sustainable way, utilising the existing transport network for maximum efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions and traffic in cities.

Seenons’ team has calculated that by boosting circularity, half a megaton of waste (about 10,000 cargo bikes full) can be re-used instead of being burnt, and about 100,000 businesses will be working towards zero waste by 2025. 

With this impact, Seenons will also directly boost the efforts to meet current national and international targets to slow climate change.