The European Innovation Council , in partnership with Cleantech for Europe, offered 5 EIC-funded companies the opportunity to pitch at Cleantech Forum Europe. This year’s edition took place in Brussels, on 8-10 November, and gathered policymakers, experts, investors, and innovators to push for sustainable innovation. Discover the highlights of the EIC’s presence at the event and what the attendees took from the experience!
Cleantech Forum Europe 2022 offered three days of insights into the EU policy landscape, as well as opportunities for networking and business deals. Among the highlights of the 2022 programme were the Innovation Showcases, pitching sessions that featured the ground-breaking startups building Europe’s energy transition.
One of these sessions was exclusively dedicated to EIC-funded companies. On 9 November, these innovators had the opportunity to pitch their projects to some of the leading investors backing Europe’s cleantech solutions.
On the frontline of the cleantech change
One of the EIC-backed innovators that pitched to investors was Carbo Culture. Their patented carbon removal technology converts carbon from waste plant biomass into heat and biochar, which can be used for energy, as well as agricultural and industrial purposes.
“Europe is on the forefront of building this new industry and in finding these European champions in the climate tech space”, argued Hanna Ojanen, Public Policy Lead at Carbo Culture.
As a company, they have participated in pitching and networking events across the world, but chose to attend the EIC pitching to connect with the European ecosystem. Ojanen told us that the event had met these expectations, having already managed to get meetings with potential VC partners and network with other players in the field.
Fabiana Fantinel is the Founder and Managing Partner of CO2Bioclean, which is developing a solution to transform industrial CO2 emissions into value-added biodegradable biopolymers. The company has participated in several pitching events, but Fantinel noted that they “don’t all have the same quality”, which is why knowing that a pitching event was organized by the EIC is very important to them.
She found Cleantech Forum to have a relatively small environment, in which it was easy to meet people and speak to relevant investors. “It was a friendly and welcoming environment – we really appreciated that”, she told us.
Blue Heart Energy, DazeTechnology and Koala Lifter also got to pitch their solutions during the session.
A dealmaking event
Attendees looking to hear panels and briefings on policy and cleantech technologies have plenty of sessions to choose from, but some of the most important exchanges at Cleantech Forum Europe take place outside of the roundtables.
Christopher Burghardt, Venture Partner at 2150, was a jury member during one of the Innovation Showcases. As an investor from a climate tech fund focused on urban decarbonization, he found the pitching sessions to be the most important part of the whole event.
“It’s a very concentrated way of putting entrepreneurs in front of investors, a really helpful way of introducing people to companies”, said Burghardt, who was also impressed by the high level of the companies and entrepreneurs.
Kavita Surana, Principal at IST Cube, joined the jury for the session with EIC Innovators. She represents a fund of deep-tech investors based in Austria, which support seed and pre-seed stage companies.
Much like Burghardt, Surana highlighted the technical and scientific depth of the solutions backed by the EIC. “You need the technological innovation combined with the business models and I saw that”.
Why the EIC is joining forces with Cleantech for Europe
Cleantech for Europe’s mission is to bridge the gap between the EU’s cleantech and policy leaders to help the region accelerate its scale-up of clean technologies. The initiative gathers a coalition of 20+ cleantech venture capital investors, all pushing for stronger EU leadership in the field. It is under this scope that Cleantech for Europe led some sessions at Cleantech Forum Europe, which takes place on a yearly basis and was previously hosted in several major European cities, such as Edinburgh and Stockholm.
“We believe that by bringing the community of investors and innovators closer to policymakers, we can create the conditions for EU leadership in cleantech.”, explained Jules Besnainou, Executive Director of Cleantech for Europe.
Many of the investors present at the Forum are already known in the cleantech space and have been investing in it for years, choosing to join the event’s different editions to get to know new ecosystems across Europe. This year, however, Besnainou added that “there is also a new crop of cleantech investors, and it’s very important that we provide a platform for these newcomers.”
While Cleantech for Europe’s latest quarterly briefing showed that the sector reflected the general downturn in investment, the slight increase in early-stage deals tells us that the European Innovation pipeline is far from dormant.
Deals are happening across 18 out of 27 EU member states, namely Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland. With cleantech named as a strategic priority by the European Union, increased demand for renewables, the unveiling of REPowerEU, and ambitious new Hydrogen targets, there are plenty of opportunities for innovators.
And while Jules Besnainou’s tip for companies attending Cleantech Forum is to use it as an environment to build a good runway and deliver, he has another piece of advice.
Companies need to “get involved in the policy world and start pushing for changes that will make their scale-up easier – they are very focused on their growth story, but they also need to start communicating about what policymakers can do to accelerate their growth.”
About the EIC Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support Programme
The Ecosystem Partnerships and Co-Investment Support Programme is expanding the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services (BAS) by creating a network of specialized, sector-focused partners that can help innovators access the services they need. It is also dedicated to promoting co-investment along with the EIC Fund, by preparing beneficiaries to interact with investors and connecting them through matchmaking and dedicated events.
Should you have any questions regarding this or upcoming events, please contact us through the email events@eicfund.eu.
About Cleantech for Europe
Launched in 2021, Cleantech for Europe represents the trailblazers developing, deploying and investing in clean technologies across the EU. Its main mission is to bridge the gap between cleantech and policy leaders. Cleantech for Europe equips policymakers with insights about cleantech, and build coalitions to chart a new path for the continent.
