Issue #62
Spanning energy, circularity, weather tech and the future of food!
Issue #61
Welcome back! The ClimateRaise newsletter showcases actively-raising, early-stage climate startups led by founders from historically marginalized backgrounds. We connect them with investors and climate ecosystem partners through warm introductions.
📩 Submit companies, opportunities, and resources for the newsletter (or just say hi!) by emailing us here.
This month, we’re featuring 6 companies:
Aruna Revolution Health - a woman-founded manufacturer of compostable menstrual pads
Ayrton Energy - woman-founded hydrogen storage technology
Bug Mars - women-founded entomologist-as-a-service platform to optimize insect farming
friendlier - women-founded reverse logistics tracking software for reusable packaging systems
Opalia - a woman-founded lab cultured milk manufacturer
Kai Pono Solutions - a woman-founded stormwater filtration system
Featured companies
Aruna Revolution Health
A woman-founded manufacturer of compostable menstrual pads
Over 20 billion pads, tampons, and their packaging are dumped in North American landfills every year, taking up to 800 years to decompose. Aruna is revolutionizing menstrual health management by creating a fully circular compostable pad made from food and crop waste. The team has developed a novel fiber extraction process, allowing for products to be priced competitively, and their MVP has been tested for gold standard properties as well as compostability. They have received $1.2 million CAD in non-dilutive grant funding, with a potential for an additional $1 million CAD as part of Canada’s Impact Challenge.
Co-Founder: Rashmi Prakash
Co-Founder: Gurleen Bajwa
HQ:Halifax, Canada
Current funding stage: Seed
Asks: Aruna is seeking partnerships with manufacturers, food waste providers, education boards for public schools, and composting facilities. They are also looking to develop relationships with investors as they plan their seed round.
Ayrton Energy
A woman-founded hydrogen storage technology
Ayrton is developing an innovative hydrogen (H2) carrier (LOHC) storage for large, scalable and efficient transport of hydrogen over long distances, while mitigating hydrogen loss and pipeline corrosion. The proprietary storage technology provides a dense hydrogen storage medium without cryogenics or pressure, allowing for management and transportation similar to gasoline. Ayrton has a pilot underway with a major gas utility company. They have secured one granted patent, one PCT filing and two provisional patents. The team has raised $1.2M in non-dilutive funding and $1.2M in a completed equity financing round.
Co-Founder & CEO: Natasha Kostenuk
Co-Founder & CTO: Brandy Kinkead
HQ: Calgary, Canada
Current funding stage: Seed
Asks: Ayrton is currently closing a second funding round to support commercial growth in 2024. They also seek strategic partnerships across their ecosystem, including chemical companies and industrial gas suppliers.
Bug Mars
An entomologist-as-a-service platform to optimize insect farming
Bug Mars is changing the $9B insect farming industry with Hexapod, an AI entomologist-as-a-service platform. Leveraging machine learning, computer vision and environmental monitoring sensors, Bug Mars provides actionable data for potential issues like pests or diseases, and provides predictive analytics for yield and hatching rates, improving farm outcomes, and reducing costs and loss rates. Bug Mars has piloted with USA, Carleton University and Infinte Harvest Technologies for continued research and data collection, and have 150 pre-qualified customers in the pipeline.
CEO: Nat Duncan
Co-Founder & COO: Davina McGrath
HQ: Havelock, Canada
Current funding stage: Seed
Ask: Bug Mars is seeking connections to livestock feed producers in North America and Europe interested in sustainable alternatives to soy, grain, corn and fishmeal.
friendlier
A woman-founded reverse logistics tracking software for reusable packaging systems
friendlier is building a reverse logistics tracking software to enable a turnkey reusable packaging system for businesses. The company’s technology enables brands to use and reuse circular packaging with individual tracking, supply chain data analytics and sustainability impact tracking. After launching in the food industry business, friendlier has scaled to support over 250 B2B clients, including the COmpass Group, Aramark, and Lowblaw Companies, diverting over one million packages from landfill in three short years.
Co-Founder & CEO: Kayli Dayle
Co-Founder & CRO: Jacqueline Hutchings
HQ: Guelph, Canada
Current funding stage: Series A
Asks: friendlier is targeting a US launch in 2025 with existing client partners in place. They are looking for connections in the corporate food service and hospitality industry, as well as food distributor partners. The team is also planning to raise a Seires A in Q1 of 2025 and looking to connect with investors who are interested and connected in the food, supply chains and climatetech space.
Opalia
A woman-founded lab cultured milk manufacturer
Opalia is making whole milk without cows, as a base for sustainable, delicious and functional dairy products. By using Opalia, dairy processors can continue using their existing equipment and processes without costly adjustments or re-calibrations. The company has successful developed its first milk prototype and has LOIs from five dairy and food and beverage companies
Co-Founder & CEO: Jennifer Côté
HQ: Montreal, Canada
Asks: The company has just closed its seed round and is looking for a strategic partner to support R&D and help position the company for its first sales. They are also interested in meeting Series A investors interested in helping Opalia reach commercialization.
Kai Pono Solutions
A woman-founded stormwater filtration system
Kai Pono Solutions develops advanced patented storm water filtration systems and trash capture devices to assist cities, land developers, and industrial facilities with the growing issue of runoff pollution.
The device is patent pending and has an average pollution removal rate of 99% of TSS, 44% of phosphorous and 97% of diesel and motor oil. Kai Pono Solutions is also building out a data collection sector of the company by programming an IOT system, to build access to data including pollutants that go through each device, flow rates on each device and even maintenance cycles associated with each drain.
The company has launched a pilot through a luxury land development company on the island of Maui, Hawai'i and is working strategically with a local non-profit in San Diego California to deploy its first large roll out of devices.
Co-Founder & CEO: Navy Mckee
HQ: San Diego, USA
Asks: The company is looking for connections to storm water professionals, civil and environmental engineers, facility managers and any city or government associate.
ICYMI - They are still raising
Canefin - a woman-founded lender helping homeowners make energy efficiency upgrades
Kara - woman-founded sustainability compliance platform for private investors and technology companies
The Wonki Collective - a woman-founded matching platform for food manufacturers’ surplus
KineticCore Solutions - a veteran-founded, next generation flywheel energy storage system
The Catalyst Fund - a woman-founded pre-seed VC fund investing in innovative tech solutions for a climate-resilient future in Africa
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Resources for founders
Join Black Girl Environmentalist for their Hazel M. Johnson Fellowship Info Session onon March 4th, at 6:30 pm EST! RSVP here
Cleantech Open is a nationwide cleantech accelerator focused on early-stage startups - with a strong record of supporting entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds. Cleantech open offers 12 weeks of business training plus mentoring, investor matchmaking, pitch competitions, and cash prizes to propel startups forward. Find out more at Cleantech Open 2024 Accelerator Program
Thanks!
~Ratnika and the ClimateRaise Team
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