Oxford’s climatetech is heating up

We are all in the same boat. And we have to take a punt on climate tech. 🙊

In our accelerating climate emergency, human-driven greenhouse gas emissions have led to significant global warming, with the IPCC confirming that carbon dioxide and methane are the principal drivers. Since the Industrial Revolution, CO2 levels, fueled by fossil fuel combustion, have surged, paralleling increases in average global temperatures. Methane exacerbates warming 80 times more than CO2 in the short term. The last 20 years have been marked by extreme heat, ice loss, and unprecedented sea levels. This year has been worse.

Climate tech, once a niche investment area, has surged into the mainstream of VC, marked by a tenfold increase in funding since the Paris Agreement in 2015, reaching over $60 billion in 2022. A new report by Oxford Climate Tech Initiative (The Climate Tech Opportunity) spotlights that industry specialists & investors are excited about climate tech themes that Oxford happens to be really good at: energy (storage, grid management); food/agriculture (low GHG proteins, alternative inputs); recycling/circularity; heating/cooling… definitely go read the full report.

Oxford is well-positioned to fight the climate emergency with innovation*:

• The ZERO Institute (Zero-carbon Energy Research Oxford) brings together Oxford researchers to accelerate multidisciplinary research on zero-carbon energy systems.

• Oxford Net Zero is an interdisciplinary research initiative working to track progress, align standards and inform effective solutions in climate science, law, policy, economics, clean energy, transport, land and food systems and Carbon Dioxide Removal.

• Battery Intelligence Lab designs systems and develops diagnostics and control algorithms for electrochemical energy devices such as batteries and supercapacitors.

• Intelligent Earth brings together academics from key environmental science and AI departments across Oxford with non-academic partners to train a new generation of PhD students to tackle climate, biodiversity, natural hazards using AI.

• Environmental Change Institute conducts interdisciplinary research focusing on the complex processes of global environmental change.

• CO2RE — The UK’s Greenhouse Gas Removal Hub, cross-disciplinary research into carbon dioxide removal (CDR) covering science, business models, regulatory, and more.

• The Oxford Martin School fosters interdisciplinary research tackling global challenges, supported by partnerships and driven by the goal of real-world impact. The Oxford Smith School integrates business and research to promote global net-zero emissions.

• The Oxford Climate Tech Initiative (OXCTI) is a research and knowledge-hub for climate-tech based in the Said Business School — authors of this handy report: the Climate Tech Opportunity.

* this is a non-exhaustive list, please let me know who else I should add.

Early stage climate tech founders are finding a home in Oxford

We need entropic spaces for innovation. We need diversity to catalyze research into scale. And we are in a climate emergency demanding positive solutions. In that spirit, there are nascent spaces for climate tech founders that we need to support and build momentum around.

ZERO Founders Network is a newly formed entrepreneurial hub for climatetech founders in Oxford, embedded in the ZERO Institute, University of Oxford. Founded by Prof. Paul Shearing from ZERO Institute, Chris Morton from Royal Society EiR, Motoaki Sumi from Oxford Science Enterprises, and Marcel Seger (reach out to him for venture scouting).

Through the network, the team aims to catalyze the development and deployment of zero-carbon energy solutions by connecting entrepreneurs, academics, students and funders, passionate about making a real-world impact on climate. In it’s first year, the network has convened the ecosystem — bringing in speakers like Dr. Eric Toone from Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The network has also showcased climate and energy entrepreneurs emerging from Oxford, like HydSun, Mixergy, Snowfox Discovery, Brill Power, Rockpool, and Kestrix. I am really excited to see what ZERO becomes as it continues to grow. I think ZERO has a great foundation to bolt-on acceleration and early-stage capital for early-stage climate and energy founders in Oxford.

What’s also been great to see is outside stakeholders trying to innovate on an accelerator model for climate tech in Oxford. Planet Positive Lab had it’s inaugural cohort last year, powered by Wadham College University of Oxford, Founders Factory, and Planet Fund. Running nine founding teams through a10-week programme to accelerate their business — check out their cohort here. Would love to see programs like this continue to innovate and experiment with partnerships to bring expertise, networks, and capital into Oxford’s climate scene.

Private capital is starting to take notice — Acclimate Ventures got started in 2023 and has already made investments into 9 ventures. One of it’s portfolio, Sparkz, recently signed a 5 year, $280m contract to supply EV company Ryvid! If you’re a climate venture building in deeptech in Oxford, head over to Acclimate Ventures.

There are (seriously) promising climatetech ventures coming from Oxford

Oxford University’s ecosystem is producing transformative climate tech startups — and there are common themes that align with the strength of the climate-aligned research hubs. Oxonian climate tech founders are building especially exciting ventures in hydrogen; carbon removals and capture; batteries and long duration storage; bioprocesses and natural systems for sustainability; power generation; and AI tools for climate.

🔵 Hydrogen

Snowfox Discovery, an Oxford University Innovation spinout backed by Oxford Science Enterprises, is pioneering natural hydrogen exploration, uncovering new, sustainable sources. Hydrologiq is transforming hydrogen distribution by replacing diesel generators with clean hydrogen alternatives, driven by their proprietary systems integration OS. Additionally, Oxford Nanosystems (also backed by Oxford Seed Fund) optimizes energy systems with innovative coatings, enhancing the efficiency of electrolysers and heat exchangers crucial for hydrogen processing. Milvus is a particularly exciting venture advancing green hydrogen production with nano-material catalysts that offer a cost-effective alternative to precious metals. HydSun focuses on scaling efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production using sunlight and seawater.

⬇️ Carbon Removals

OXCCU, a spinout from Oxford’s Chemistry Department, is redefining the future of hydrocarbons by producing circular e-fuels, e-chemicals, and e-plastics using CO₂, water, and renewable energy. CyanoCapture offers affordable carbon capture solutions for industries worldwide, using synthetic biology to make carbon capture economically viable in various settings while producing valuable byproducts like biochar and biocrude oil. Heimdal is set to revolutionize direct air capture (DAC) with their upcoming facility in Oklahoma, US aiming for unprecedented scale and cost-efficiency in removing over 5,000 tCO2/year per plant. Isometric enhances the integrity of carbon offset efforts with a new carbon removal registry that provides rigorous, scientific certification of carbon credits, helping organizations meet their climate commitments effectively.

🔋 Batteries

Brill Power — supported by Oxford Science Enterprises — makes batteries perform better, live longer, cost less and be more sustainable with their intelligent battery management and control technology. Electric Fish — backed by Oxford Seed Fund — is reshaping energy infrastructure by deploying flexible microgrid solutions that facilitate rapid EV charging and provide reliable backup energy at grid-constrained sites, accelerating the adoption of next-gen community energy storage. On the materials side, Project K Energy is developing potassium-ion batteries to reduce charging time and energy storage costs. Free from lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper, Project K’s innovations represent a leap forward in battery technology, backed by partnerships with the US Department of Energy’s ARPA-E.

🌱 Bioprocesses and Natural Systems

Change Bio is leveraging synthetic biology to upcycle carbon through precision fermentation, focusing on creating sweet proteins and capturing/utilizing methane. Their approach aims to align industrial processes with nature to foster sustainable production. Wild Bioscience, supported by Oxford Science Enterprises, taps into natural solutions from wild plant species to genetically enhance vital crops. Their innovations not only look to increase yields but also contribute to carbon mitigation, aiming for larger harvests with smaller environmental footprints for agriculture. MoA Technology, also backed by Oxford Science Enterprises, is developing sustainable herbicides with new modes of action.

🛰️ Climate Data and AI

Little Place Labs revolutionizes satellite imagery analysis with their edge-computing solutions, delivering insights in under 7 minutes — vital for climate disaster response (e.g., wildfires). Plastic-i is transforming ocean monitoring by tracking marine ecosystems and pollution with satellite technology, aiding MRV and environmental compliance. Kestrix, looking to be the “Google Maps for heat loss”, uses drone thermal imaging and AI to enhance energy efficiency in buildings, facilitating city-scale retrofit planning. Omega Crop — backed by Oxford Science Enterprises — optimizes agriculture with a platform that integrates diverse data sources for precise yield predictions and crop protection. Natcap — also backed by Oxford Science Enterprises — offers proprietary data solutions to help companies manage nature-related risks and meet reporting requirements.

⚡ Sustainable Power Generation

Odqa is advancing a cutting-edge thermal receiver that converts concentrated sunlight into high-grade heat for industrial use and power generation. First Light Fusion is pioneering a simpler, cost-effective approach to inertial confinement fusion energy, potentially revolutionizing clean power production. Both ventures are backed by Oxford Science Enterprises.

I’m excited to see what the next few years brings. We’re running out of time — and necessity breeds invention. This makes excited and positive thaat we’ll find solutions that work to mitigate climate change and enable adaptation where we can with innovation.