Issue #33: Aerogels That Insulate / Sustainable Bottles / Democratizing Climate Investment
Thermulon makes affordable aerogels for building insulation / Conscious Container builds refillable glass bottle infrastructure / Intention democratizes climate investment for retail investors.
ClimateRaise is a newsletter for our network that showcases early-stage climate startups led by women, non-binary and gender non-conforming founders, and connects them with climate ecosystem partners. The newsletter is short and to the point. We want to provide you with useful information, not flood your inbox with yet another lengthy publication.
How it works:
🔎 We find vetted, women-led climate startups.
📝 Our biweekly newsletter then highlights a diverse selection of those startups
🔗 We give you the opportunity to opt-in for 1:1 introductions to the featured founders!
Missed the last issue with RainStick, Rif Care, and GreenBytes? Check out how these companies rethink the way we shower, create biodegradable products for everyone with periods, and help restaurants reduce food waste and save. Read more here and request an introduction here.
Featured Companies
Conscious Container
Over 70% of glass ends up in landfill in the US and only 6% of plastic bottles are recycled. Conscious Container is building a transformational refillable glass bottle business for beverage producers to lower their packaging CO2 footprint and costs. Conscious Container authored and drove successful California legislation enabling returnable beverage bottles to not be crushed, and instead preserved for washing and resell. They were awarded a $500,000 GHG Reuse Grant from the State of California specifically for their refillable wine bottle program. Conscious Container also developed a pilot with a beverage distributor in California within the Anheuser Busch InBev 100+ Global Sustainability Accelerator, and is an invited innovation member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Co-Founder & CEO: Caren McNamara
HQ: San Francisco, CA
Stage: Seed
Company Ask: They are seeking connections with other stakeholders in the reuse sector to collaborate, share successes, and learn from others in the sector.
Thermulon
Thermulon is developing new insulation materials for buildings: aerogels. With 17.5% of global GHG emissions coming directly from building operations, it is imperative to make the built environment as energy-efficient as possible by insulating it. Thermulon’s novel proprietary chemical process enables the development of thermally-insulating aerogels that are affordable enough to be deployed in buildings at scale. To date, Thermulon has delivered two pilot projects, retrofitting ~30sqm of wall with insulation in two homes in England and Wales. Thermulon’s technology has been recognized by a number of organizations and awards, including the Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Tech Prize, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and the Royal Academy of Engineering 1851 Enterprise Fellowship.
Co-Founder & CEO: Dr. Sam Cryer
Co-Founder & COO: Rozalie Ryclova
HQ: London, UK
Stage: Seed/Late seed
Company Ask: They are looking for connections to climate-tech investors focusing on physical technology, advanced materials, and deep-tech.
Intention
Intention is democratizing climate impact investment by opening up the private climate asset class to the 87% of US households who are non-accredited investors. Intention’s desktop and mobile app allows retail investors to easily deploy capital across professionally managed portfolios of renewable energy projects and climate technologies. Intention’s wealth management platform empowers everyone to invest for both climate impact and attractive financial returns at scale. The company recently signed an LOI with solar developer SHINE Partners to pilot a solar project. Intention’s strategic advisory board includes Manolo Sanchez, current board member of Fannie Mae and former CEO of BBVA Compass, and Catherine Flax, former CMO of JP Morgan.
Co-Founder & CEO: Nisha Desai
HQ: Houston, TX
Stage: Pre-seed
Company Ask: They are always looking for people who are willing to participate in a customer discovery interview to learn what is important to them about sustainable investing. They are also looking for collaborators to partner with on climate finance content.
Bonus: Climate tech experts, Shared Future Fund, tactical insights for founders
Investors looking for climate tech experts can hire an expert here or if you are an expert you can get hired at Cleantech Experts.
Applications for the Reuse, Recycle, Revamp Hackaday Prize are open until June 12th: If your project reuses or recycles what would otherwise be waste materials, or helps you to do the same for further projects, apply here. $25,000 and numerous other opportunities on the line.
Collaborative Fund announced Shared Future, a new and different platform for funding climate entrepreneurs. They aim to invest in 100 companies in 2022. Selection is mostly programmatic. Feedback and funding in less <10 days.
Content we 💚
Our friends at Enduring Planet release weekly actionable insights for founders at the intersection of climate, capital and entrepreneurship. Pieces are produced in partnership with a subject matter expert across the climate space. Past insights include: how to build a data room with Susan Su of Toba Capital, winning at SBIR with Kay Aikin of Dynamic Grid, or how to communicate your climate impact with Mia Diawara of Lowercarbon Capital. New pieces are published on Tuesdays here.
Drawdowns Project’s Jamie Beck Alexander and Changemakers’ Dr. Eliza Nemser remind us how to activate our civic action muscle. We all have a role to play in disrupting the systemic and political impasses blocking climate action—as individuals, community members, employees, and leaders. Here is how.
Do you know great climate start-up founded by women, non-binary or gender non conforming folks? Forward this newsletter to them, so they can fill out our founder survey and be featured in future newsletters.
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