Daniel Saks
Chief Executive Officer
Climate tech startups raised over $56 billion in 2024, but which companies are truly accelerating the fastest? As the climate crisis intensifies, innovative startups are scaling rapidly with breakthrough technologies in energy storage, carbon capture, renewable integration, and sustainable manufacturing. For these companies, growth isn't just about revenue—it's about measurable environmental impact at scale. However, even the most revolutionary climate solutions face a critical challenge: efficiently reaching the right decision-makers who can implement them. This is where AI-powered audience discovery becomes essential, enabling climate tech innovators to identify and engage precisely targeted prospects using natural-language prompts rather than manual list-building.
1KOMMA5° develops networked energy systems for homes, integrating photovoltaic systems, electricity storage, heat pumps, and EV charging stations into a unified platform. The company enables homes to achieve up to 80% energy self-sufficiency, eliminating dependence on fossil fuels and volatile electricity costs.
1KOMMA5°'s ecosystem approach addresses the fragmentation that typically exists in residential clean energy adoption, making sustainable home energy accessible and economically viable. Their rapid scale demonstrates that integrated clean energy solutions can achieve both profitability and environmental impact simultaneously.
Valuation: $1.2B | Founded: 2021
Recent Funding: €150M Pre-IPO round (December 2024, extended Jul 2025)
Form Energy develops iron-air battery technology that enables multi-day energy storage (up to 100 hours), transforming how electric grids integrate renewable energy. Their technology allows utilities to provide reliable power even when the sun isn't shining and wind isn't blowing, addressing the fundamental challenge of renewable energy's intermittency.
Form Energy's multi-day storage capability (100 hours vs. conventional 4-6 hours) enables utilities to retire fossil fuel peaker plants and achieve grid reliability with 100% renewable energy. Their iron-air chemistry uses abundant, safe, recyclable materials, making long-duration storage economically viable at scale.
Valuation: $1.13B | Founded: 2017
Recent Funding: $405M Series F (October 2024)
Climeworks operates the world's leading Direct Air Capture technology, permanently removing CO2 from the atmosphere. The company's Mammoth facility in Hellisheidi, Iceland captures 36,000 tons of CO2 annually at peak capacity.
Climeworks provides a proven commercial pathway for permanent carbon removal, recognized by IPCC as vital for limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Their success demonstrates that Direct Air Capture can move beyond pilot projects to meaningful climate impact at scale.
Valuation: $1.08B | Founded: 2009
Recent Funding: $162M Series E (July 2025)
Solugen replaces fossil fuel-derived chemicals with bio-based alternatives using proprietary processes that combine enzymes and electrochemistry. The company produces carbon-negative chemicals that traditionally rely on petroleum feedstocks, with commercial facilities already operational.
Solugen addresses hard-to-abate industrial emissions in chemical manufacturing, which represents a significant portion of global carbon emissions. Their carbon-negative production process eliminates the energy-intensive processes typically associated with chemical manufacturing while maintaining product performance.
Valuation: $2B | Founded: 2016
Recent Funding: $200M Series D (November 2022)
LanzaJet produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using waste-based ethanol and other low-carbon feedstocks through its patented Alcohol-to-Jet technology. The company operates the Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Georgia and is building additional plants to scale SAF production.
Aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize, and LanzaJet's SAF can reduce aviation emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel. Their commercial-scale production facilities address the growing airline demand for sustainable fuel alternatives as the industry faces mounting pressure to decarbonize.
Founded: 2020
Recent Funding: $50M Series A (January 2022)
ZeroAvia develops hydrogen-electric powertrains for commercial aircraft, aiming to enable zero-emission flight for regional routes. The company has completed multiple test flights and is working toward commercial certification for its 19-seat aircraft by 2025, with larger aircraft to follow.
ZeroAvia's hydrogen-electric approach overcomes battery weight limitations that constrain electric aviation, enabling zero-emission flight for regional routes. Their technology addresses aviation emissions without the range constraints of battery-electric solutions, providing a viable pathway for decarbonizing regional air travel.
Valuation: $403.28M | Founded: 2017
Recent Funding: $24.71M Grant - VIII (November 2025)
CarbonCapture develops modular Direct Air Capture systems designed for deployment at sequestration sites, reducing transportation costs and complexity. Their technology uses proprietary sorbents and processes to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere for permanent storage underground.
CarbonCapture's modular approach enables cost-effective DAC deployment at scale by integrating systems directly with sequestration sites. This addresses the scalability challenge of carbon removal technologies while reducing the logistics costs that have hindered widespread DAC adoption.
Valuation: $115M | Founded: 2019
Recent Funding: $80M Series A (March 2024)
Redwood Materials recycles lithium-ion batteries and recovers critical materials like nickel, cobalt, copper, and lithium for reuse in new batteries. The company creates a closed-loop supply chain that reduces reliance on virgin mining and lowers the carbon footprint of battery production.
Redwood Materials creates a circular economy for critical battery materials, addressing both environmental impact and supply chain security for minerals essential to electrification. Their closed-loop approach reduces the carbon footprint of battery production while decreasing dependence on geopolitically sensitive mining operations.
Valuation: $2.22B | Founded: 2017
Recent Funding: $350M Series E (October 2025)
Sublime Systems has developed an electrochemical process to produce cement without the high-temperature kilns that generate most of the industry's CO2 emissions. Their technology can reduce cement's carbon footprint by over 90% compared to conventional production methods.
Traditional cement production accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions, making Sublime Systems' electrochemical process one of the most significant opportunities for industrial decarbonization. Their technology addresses a massive source of emissions while producing cement with identical performance characteristics.
Valuation: $45.9M | Founded: 2019
Recent Funding: $40M Series A (January 2023)
Rondo Energy develops high-temperature thermal energy storage systems that store excess renewable electricity as heat in solid materials, which can then be used for industrial processes requiring temperatures up to 1,500°C. This addresses the challenge of decarbonizing industrial heat, which accounts for about 15% of global CO2 emissions.
Rondo Energy addresses industrial heat, which represents 15% of global CO2 emissions and has been difficult to electrify using conventional technologies. Their system uses excess renewable electricity when supply exceeds demand, providing both grid flexibility and industrial decarbonization.
Valuation: $170M | Founded: 2020
These 10 companies demonstrate the diverse and rapidly scaling nature of climate technology innovation. From home energy integration to industrial decarbonization, carbon removal to sustainable transportation, these startups are proving that climate solutions can achieve both environmental impact and commercial success. However, even the most promising climate technologies face a critical go-to-market challenge: efficiently identifying and engaging the specific decision-makers who can implement these solutions.
Climate tech companies need to target organizations that are actively investing in sustainability initiatives, have the budget for new technologies, and possess the organizational readiness to adopt innovative solutions. This requires sophisticated audience intelligence that goes beyond basic firmographics to include signals like:
This is where agentic AI platforms like Landbase become essential for climate tech growth. Instead of manually building prospect lists using complex query builders, climate tech companies can use natural-language prompts like "Sustainability Directors at manufacturing companies with 1,000+ employees that have made net-zero commitments" to instantly generate AI-qualified audiences.
Landbase's VibeGTM interface combines 1,500+ unique signals across firmographic, technographic, intent, hiring, and funding data to identify the highest-potential prospects. Climate tech companies can export up to 10,000 contacts instantly without requiring a login, dramatically accelerating their go-to-market timeline.
For climate tech startups operating with limited sales and marketing resources, this precision targeting capability is not just convenient—it's mission-critical. Every outreach attempt must count, and every prospect must be qualified not just by company size or industry, but by their actual readiness and capacity to implement climate solutions.
The fastest-growing climate tech companies share a common characteristic: they combine breakthrough technology with efficient go-to-market execution. To replicate their success, climate tech startups should:
Platforms like Landbase enable this precision targeting by providing company data that includes 300 million+ contacts and 24 million+ companies, enriched with 1,500+ unique signals. This allows climate tech companies to move beyond basic demographic targeting to intelligent, behavior-based prospecting that aligns with their specific solution and ideal customer profile.
In a sector where timing, precision, and efficiency are critical to success, AI-powered audience discovery isn't just a nice-to-have—it's a fundamental requirement for scaling climate solutions at the pace the planet demands.
A climate tech company develops technologies, products, or services that directly address climate change mitigation or adaptation. This includes renewable energy, energy storage, carbon capture and removal, sustainable agriculture, circular economy solutions, electrification technologies, and climate resilience tools. These companies aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, remove existing carbon from the atmosphere, or help society adapt to climate impacts.
Climate tech startups secure funding through venture capital firms specializing in clean technology, corporate venture arms of energy and industrial companies, government grants and incentives, and strategic partnerships. According to PwC's State of Climate Tech 2024, the market raised $56 billion in 2024, with energy sector startups capturing 35% of funding. Successful startups demonstrate both technological innovation and a clear path to commercial viability with proven unit economics.
The biggest challenges include high capital requirements for hardware and manufacturing, regulatory uncertainty across different markets, lengthy sales cycles for enterprise and industrial solutions, and supply chain constraints for critical materials. Additionally, climate tech companies must navigate complex stakeholder relationships and demonstrate both environmental impact and economic value to secure adoption. Specialized talent shortages and the need to educate markets about new technologies also slow growth.
Climate tech companies can effectively reach target customers by using AI-powered audience discovery platforms that combine firmographic, technographic, and behavioral signals to identify organizations with high intent and readiness for climate solutions. Natural-language targeting allows companies to quickly build and refine prospect lists without technical expertise, while real-time data on funding, hiring, and technology changes helps prioritize the most promising opportunities. This precision approach maximizes limited sales and marketing resources.
AI plays a dual role in climate tech: first, as an enabler of climate solutions themselves such as optimizing energy grids, improving carbon capture efficiency, and monitoring forest carbon. Second, AI serves as a go-to-market accelerator that helps climate tech companies identify and engage the right customers by analyzing thousands of signals to score prospects based on fit and timing. This dramatically improves conversion rates and reduces customer acquisition costs for climate tech startups operating with limited resources.
Tool and strategies modern teams need to help their companies grow.
