19 Startups Trying to Conserve Earth's Resources, According to VCs

Natural resources such as oil, soil, metals, sand, and water underpin everything in daily life.

Nature and biodiversity help generate an estimated $44 trillion of economic value – more than half of the world's total GDP, according to the World Economic Forum. This is spread across a range of industries including construction, agriculture, materials, and metals.

But it's estimated that if the whole world consumed the way people in the UK do, a year's worth of natural resources would be depleted by May 19 in 2023.

This is known as "overshoot day," and marks the date that humanity's demand on resources exceeds Earth's ability to regenerate them. It is different for every country and changes each year.

Climate-minded startups are trying to help reduce humanity's reliance on finite resources, working on new kinds of food, recycling technologies, and energy production.

Insider asked venture capitalists to name the hottest European venture-backed startups tackling such issues. They had to nominate one firm inside their portfolio and one outside of it. They chose startups working in technologies such as battery production, plastic alternatives, and cultivated meat.

Here are the 19 companies investors named, in alphabetical order.

Recommended by: Tijl Hoefnagels, venture partner, Rubio

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio

Founded: 2015

Headquarters: Lisbon, Portugal, and London, UK

Total raised: 6 million euros ($6.5 million)

What it does: Arborea is in the business of "industrializing photosynthesis." The startup grows proteins and ingredients for the food industry via its BioSolar Leaf product, which mimics photosynthesis and only needs water and sunlight to work. It creates and maintains ideal growth conditions and allows users to grow food on any surface, even on barren land or rooftops, the company claims.

Why it's poised to take off: "Arborea's unique way of producing proteins, lipids, and high-value ingredients out of abundant feedstock like CO2 and sunlight, while being very land-efficient and independent from agriculturally derived feedstock, set the company for a systemic impact," Hoefnagels said.

The company commissioned its first commercial demonstration facility in Lisbon this year, the investor added. "The productivity and costs of the system are already proving to be outstanding. This development is one to watch for anyone looking to invest in food and-or climate tech."

Recommended by: Magda Lukaszewicz, Balderton

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio company

Founded: 2015

Headquarters: Cambridge, UK

Total raised: $20.7 million, per Pitchbook

What it does: Insect farming company Better Origin has developed AI-powered mini-farms and works with big grocery retailers such as the UK's Morrisons to convert food waste into insect feed for poultry, which will ultimately produce eggs and contribute to a "circular" food system.

Why it's about to take off: Some 40% of the UK's agriculture land is used to grow crops for animal feed, according to analysis by charity WWF. Insect farming has grown in recent years as a way to reduce agriculture's impact on the environment.

"These carbon-neutral eggs, the first of their kind, are an effective tool to combat food waste and reduce our reliance on soy — a major cause of deforestation," Lukaszewicz said.

"Even better, Better Origin just released a major report which showed that hens fed on insect feed are more productive and live longer than hens fed on standard grain mix. Not only is Better Origin the sustainable choice, but it also creates more profit for the farmer."

Recommended by: Magda Lukaszewicz, Balderton

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2020

Headquarters: Hjartdal, Norway

Total raised: $5 million

What does it do: Carbon Crusher wants to move the planet "from gray to green" through more sustainable roads, a representative told Insider.

As an alternative to bitumen, which comes from crude oil, to hold road particles together, the company uses lignin, a compound found in plants, to create a plant-based adhesive. This reduces emissions in the road-laying or resurfacing process and also locks them away as lignin has a high carbon content.

Why it's about to take off: "A lot of attention and capital is directed towards making the vehicles on the road better for the environment, and a lot less towards the materials and methods, making Carbon Crusher uniquely positioned in a conservative industry ripe for change," Balderton's Lukaszewicz said.

"In addition to the immediate carbon impact, their method leads to smoother and longer-lasting road surfaces, reducing the need for frequent repairs and replacements — saving on additional environmental impact, as well as a cost."

At scale, the company hopes to remove and reduce 1 gigaton of CO2 annually.

Recommended by: Paavo Räisänen, partner, Maki

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2021

Headquarters: Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Total raised: Undisclosed

What it does: Circu Li-ion is working to extend the life of lithium-ion battery cells. The company takes in spent battery packs, diagnoses the individual cells, and finds those that are still usable. The working cells are "upcycled" to new battery packs, while the truly dead cells and raw materials are recycled.

Why it's poised to take off: "Circu Li-ion is an interesting startup in the climate tech space because it reduces the need to produce novel Li-ion batteries, which have typically significant environmental footprint," Räisänen said.

Recommended by: Victoria McIvor, investor, World Fund

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio

Founded: 2022

Headquarters: Aachen, Germany

Total raised: $12.55 million per Pitchbook

What it does: Cylib has developed way to recycle lithium batteries, including those typically used in electric vehicles (EVs), with an efficiency of 90%. The process reduces the need to mine virgin materials for new batteries.

Why it's poised to take off: Recycling is a hot topic as the EV industry tries to figure out what end-of-life for a battery looks like. It's also an opportunity to recover and reuse raw materials.

Cylib's multi-pronged approach: its novel technology helps to close the loop and meet material demand. "Its recycling process, which can also extract lithium, is extremely efficient and positions the company to benefit from two major incoming tailwinds; a supply chain constraint for the energy transition, and European regulations mandating high-quality battery recycling," McIvor said.

Recommended by: Ferdi Sigona, partner at LocalGlobe

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio

Founded: 2020

Headquarters: Paris, France

Total raised: 5.5 million euros ($6 million)

What it does: ERS is part of a wave of new companies working to scale the voluntary carbon market, where carbon credits are bought and sold by people and businesses looking to offset their emissions. One carbon credit equates to one ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent removed from or prevented from entering the atmosphere.

ERS, an abbreviation of The Ecosystem Restoration Standard, is a certification for nature-based projects that yield carbon credits. The company specifically focuses on restoration work including the likes of in-land forests or mangroves, and uses digital monitoring, reporting and verification to increase transparency around the carbon credits generated.

The standard, which is currently undergoing public consultation, also looks at projects' impact on biodiversity and communities.

Why it's poised to take off: McKinsey tipped the carbon markets to scale to $50 billion by 2030 but to get there, there are several challenges it needs to overcome. ERS' approach tackles a bevy of these issues, according to Sigona.

"We first need a rapid increase in the supply of verifiable high-quality projects. Planting trees is one of the most scalable solutions, but most projects that claim to do this are actually big monoculture plantations, agricultural 'green deserts' that fail to remove carbon or promote biodiversity," the LocalGlobe investor told Insider.

ERS accounts for biodiversity and livelihoods, he added. It also lowers the barriers to entry be providing a cheaper certification for smaller projects and enables faster certification, which should help increase supply of projects, he added. Cost and red tape are well-documented problems for project developers.

Recommended by: Paavo Räisänen, partner, Maki

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio

Founded: 2021

Headquarters: Paris

Total raised: $3.7 million

What it does: Ever Dye has developed a bio-based pigment made of vegetal waste that can dye materials in 30 minutes and at room temperature. This replaces traditional synthetic dyes which rely on petrochemicals and require energy-intensive high temperatures to apply, the company previously told Insider.

Why it's poised to take off: "Fashion is one of the industries most ripe for disruption — especially in terms of natural and chemical-free solutions," Räisänen said.

The clothes and textile industry is water-intensive, using 1.5 trillion liters of water annually. Together with footwear, production accounts for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Räisänen noted the impressive credentials of Ever Dye's leadership; Amira Erokh, a chemist who developed anti-virus textiles for NATO, cofounded the startup alongside industrial engineer Ilan Palacci.

"So the future of dyeing processes is set to be low-heat, low-energy, and bio-based," the investor added.

Recommended by: Ferdi Sigona, partner at LocalGlobe.

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2018

Headquarters: London, UK

Total raised: $25 million

What it does: Biotech startup FabricNano uses enzymes to create bio-based alternatives to chemicals that can be used to make drugs, plastics, and fuel, and potentially help curb society's reliance on petrochemicals.

The company's enzymes can be used in industrial bioreactors that the chemical industry is already comfortable operating. The startup says it takes advantage of automation and data science to ensure its enzymes function in the industrial environment.

Why it's poised to take off: "In the past, dozens of startups spent billions trying to engineer live microbial factories to produce bio-based and sustainable chemicals. FabricNano is part of a new wave of companies using cell-free systems, rather than working with microbes, to finally scale the bio-manufacturing of commodity chemicals for the mass market," Sigona said.

The company is currently working with commodity chemical manufacturers Sumitomo Chemical Company. Together, they plan to develop a more ecologically friendly bio-manufacturing process for industrial chemicals.

FabricNano also secured backing from Twitter cofounder Biz Stone and actress Emma Watson in its 2021 Series A.

Recommended by: Sandra Malmberg, partner, EQT Ventures

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2021

Headquarters: Le Perreux sur Marne, France

Total raised: $5 million, per Pitchbook

What it does: Genomines is mining metal with plants. By using synthetic biology, the company enhances plants' natural ability to extract metals from soil. It can be used in soils where the nickel concentrations are too low to be economically viable with existing mining methods.

Why it's poised to take off: "Critical metals like cobalt, nickel and lithium are not only vital for the net-zero transition but also economically and strategically important in today's geopolitical landscape," Malmberg said.

Such metals are extracted from developing countries, China, and Australia, giving them a global footprint. Cobalt extraction in the Congo has been linked to child labor, while water-intensive lithium fields in South America are diverting the resources away from local communities.

Recommended by: Dr. Maresa Buttlar, Earlybird

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio

Founded: 2019

Headquarters: Paris, France

Total raised: 56 million euros ($61 million)

What it does: Gourmey is on a mission to accelerate lab-grown meat, which is cultivated in labs from animal cells and does not involve slaughter. The company develops what it describes as "restaurant-grade" products — including lab-grown foie gras.

Why it's poised to take off: Lab-grown meat has the potential to reduce land and water use by 90% and climate emissions by 20% to 90%, depending on the species, Dr Buttlar said. Today, global agriculture is responsible for 38% of the land use and irrigation consumes 70% of water use.

"The company not only has an outstanding founding team and great tech setup but also an advantageous market entry point by focusing on foie gras. This will help them to achieve price parity much quicker than other companies in the cultivated meat environment," she added.

Recommended by: Sandra Malmberg, partner, EQT Ventures

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio

Founded: 2021

Headquarters: Munich, Germany

Total raised: 12 million euros ($13 million)

What it does: Synthetic biology startup Insempra is making sustainable alternatives to materials derived from petrochemicals. It claims to do so without compromising on price, scale or performance.

"Businesses have relied on chemical industrialization processes and petrochemicals for too long, depleting our planet's limited resources. That's why we are committed to driving the regenerative revolution to manufacture at scale, in collaboration with nature," a representative told Insider.

Why it's poised to take off: Many of the products that rely upon today are made from petrochemicals; plastic, clothing, cosmetics, and so on. "The greenhouse gases emitted from the production process are at the core of our planetary crisis, and consumers are now putting more and more pressure on brands to find sustainable alternatives," Malmberg said.

With the exploding demand, manufacturers and brands are desperate for access to new technologies to help them deliver on their sustainability ambitions, she added.

Recommended by: Tijl Hoefnagels, venture partner, Rubio

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2018

Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

Total raised: $240,000

What it does: Kern Tec "upcycles" pits of stone fruits, such as cherries, apricots, and plums that would have otherwise been wasted and turns them into new products such as baking ingredients, sustainable cosmetic oils, fertilizers, and biomass.

The idea is to help customers in industries ranging from food to manufacturing to cosmetics to avail themselves of naturally made raw materials without harming the environment. Its website features a plant-based milk alternative, nougat, seeds and oils.

Why it's poised to take off: Kern Tec's process enables the next generation of animal-free dairy, Hoefnagels said.

"Additional high impact is the valorization of a waste stream while being a substitute for unsustainably produced almond milk. The plant-based milk market can use a new hero ingredient with impact and taste," he added.

"I especially love the guts and commercial mindset of the team; instead of going through the cumbersome process of table top testing of CPGs [consumer packaged goods], they created traction with a business-to-consumer explorer brand, showing the use cases of their ingredients and hence creating a market pull. Their focus to be in the market fast and create revenues and off-take contracts is remarkable."

Recommended by: Victoria McIvor, investor, World Fund

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2016

Headquarters: Graz, Austria

Total raised: $3.11 million, per Pitchbook

What it does: Metaloop is a business-to-business managed marketplace for the sourcing and trading of scrap metal. It uses machine learning and data analysis to match offers with requests and provides logistics and financial services to help scrap dealers, recyclers, and factories scale up.

Why it's poised to take off: "Metaloop are opening up the secondary market for metals through a sophisticated digital marketplace," McIvor said. "Its solution will address pain-points on both buy- and sell-side and improve liquidity. Better reuse of materials is critical in an increasingly resource-constrained market, and the team brings specialised understanding of the metal industry."

Recommended by: Pippa Gawley, founding partner, Zero Carbon Capital

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2020

Headquarters: London

Total raised: $980,000

What it does: Nanomox is creating more sustainable and efficient alternatives to advanced materials. Advanced materials — such as aluminium, carbon fibre and ceramics — have wide-ranging applications from construction and cars to semiconductors.

Nanomox's current work focuses on metal oxide materials, which have uses across energy, storage, and biomedicine. The company told Insider that it can convert metals into advanced metal oxide materials at lower temperatures than traditional methods, saving energy and money.

Why it's poised to take off: The pull for Gawley is Nanomox's ability to reduce energy and resource use in mineral production. She is also impressed by CEO Francisco Malaret's scientific background and passion.

Recommended by: Jacob Bro, 2150 cofounder and partner

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio

Founded: 2014

Headquarters: Guildford, UK

Total raised: $27.4 million

What it does: Biodiversity-monitoring company NatureMetrics provides sampling kits for large-scale surveys. Partners collect DNA samples from project sites and send them to the company for analysis. This generates data that can be factored into business decisions such as where to build and where to protect.

Why it's poised to take off: The world has set a target to protect and conserve 30% of the Earth and restore a further 30% by 2030. It has also outline targets for reducing pollution, minimizing ocean acidification, and boosting biodiversity.

But biodiversity has a measurement problem. Previous tools haven't been able to measure impact, which limited monitoring and forecasting efforts, Bro told Insider

NatureMetrics brings biodiversity into the boardroom, he said. "Applying genomics to nature, the company is working with organizations such as Nestlé, WWF Peru and EDF Renewables to provide businesses and regulators with comprehensive biodiversity insights needed to take meaningful action that can drive nature-positive decision making."

Recommended by: Dr. Maresa Buttlar, Earlybird

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2020

Headquarters: Hamburg, Germany

Total raised: 10.5 million euros ($11.5 million)

What it does: One.Five is set on accelerating the move towards sustainable packaging. Its product is a proprietary database and search engine that aggregates, identifies, understands, and predicts performance of new bio-materials.

The company uses it to identify the best potential IP, based on material performance, sustainability, regulatory requirements, and ease of scaling. It acquires the IP and develops it on behalf of customers.

Why it's poised to take off: One.Five is set on replacing the millions of tons of plastic that are currently used. "This will lead to a reduction in packaging waste and carbon emissions," Dr Buttlar said.

"The company combines an experienced founding team with an interesting approach to leveraging existing IP in a huge market, so it's definitely one to watch."

Recommended by: Pippa Gawley, founding partner, Zero Carbon Capital

Relationship to VCs: Portfolio

Founded: 2019

Headquarters: London, UK

Total raised: £700,000 ($882,980)

What it does: Phycobloom is creating alternatives to existing chemicals. It uses synthetic biology to create new strains of algae that are able to secrete their oils by themselves, allowing for cheaper and easier production of green chemicals.

Why it's poised to take off: "Phycobloom is transforming the techno-economics of algae biofuels by making the algae secrete the oil, removing the energy cost of extraction and de-watering, and increasing the yield," Gawley said.

The company was also part of the Entrepreneur First accelerator programme.

Recommended by: Rubina Singh, principal at Octopus Ventures

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2022

Headquarters: Cambridge, UK

Total raised: Undisclosed

What it does: Biotech Sparxell is working on biodegradable color pigments using plant cellulose, which can come from agricultural byproducts.

The company eliminates the use of mica, a mineral which has been linked to child labor. As well as pigment powders, Sparxell creates sustainable alternatives to large plastic glitter and sequins.

Why it's poised to take off: "Sparxell is creating a platform technology with uses across a range of sectors from cosmetics, packaging, fashion, food and beverages to name a few," Singh said.

"As organizations and customers grow more conscious of their carbon footprint, Sparxell's technology can provide high quality colors at a fraction of the emissions helping reduce the carbon footprint of these sectors when deployed at scale."

Recommended by: Jacob Bro, 2150 cofounder and partner

Relationship to VCs: Non-portfolio

Founded: 2020

Headquarters: Manchester, UK

Total raised: £500,000 ($628,456)

What it does: Manchester University spin out Watercycle Technologies is a deep tech company that has developed a filtration system to extract minerals and clean water.

Its tech is mainly being used for lithium production and can be used in lithium-ion battery recycling.

Why it's poised to take off: More sustainable sources and production of lithium as well as the ability to recycle minerals is essential as the world continues its electrification push, Bro said.

The investor is impressed by Watercycle Technologies' focus on sustainability, the recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries, and availability of clean water.

Its team is developing applications to filter and clean water across multiple industries and produce other valuable commodities, he added.