Sustainable Accelerator makes three new investments – April 2021
Sustainable Ventures is delighted to announce that it has made three new investments from the Sustainable Accelerator 4 fund. We believe that these investments will play an important role in addressing the challenges of climate change and resource scarcity.
We are especially pleased that these investments are all into founders from groups which are under-represented in early stage investing. Investing into these founders reinforces our belief that diverse teams outperform and delivers on commitment to supporting and investing in the very best founders.
Albotherm – passive cooling technology to tackle carbon emissions in the agriculture and the buildings markets
Albotherm is developing a smart transitioning coating technology that regulates the temperature of surfaces and structures without the need for energy input. These coatings transition reversibly from clear to white at a tuneable temperature to prevent excess solar gains in hot weather.
Temperature regulation is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. The adoption of eco-friendly temperature management solutions across many industries could reduce emissions by several billion tonnes CO2 in the next decade. The applications for Albotherm’s product are wide-ranging; from green/glasshouses and polytunnels for food production, to commercial buildings for thermal management, reducing and potentially eliminating the need for air conditioning and/or heating. For their initial target market within agricultural growing, the technology will help optimize crop-specific growing conditions, boost photosynthesis, increase crop yields, and prevent crop loss due to excessive shading.
Albotherm Ltd is a spin out of the University of Bristol, developed at the Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials based on polymer research conducted over a period of 10 years. The all-female founding team of Sian Fussell and Molly Allington has a strong technical background in chemistry, with a special focus on polymer and colloid science.
As well as the investment from Sustainable Accelerator and individual angels, the team has received grant funding from Innovate UK that will be used for prototyping and running trials to further develop their coating over the next year.
You can find out more about Albotherm at https://www.albotherm.com/
Loopcycle – unlocking circular value through product traceability for manufacturers
Loopcycle is disrupting current practices for the management, resale and recovery of high-quality underutilised and end-of-life products. Embedding traceability to physical products by assigning a unique product ID, called a ‘Cyclecode’, allows users to track product provenance with their smart device. It gives manufacturers visibility of their end users, enables them to extend the life of existing products through better repairability, and increase the recovery of end-of-life products for recirculation in the supply chain. Having started in the Commercial Kitchen Equipment sector, Loopcycle aims to expand into IT hardware, automotive components, household electricals and other recoverable B2C goods.
Current solutions for building stronger relationships between manufacturers and end users, like extended warranty cards, have very low up-take; hence, many faulty goods are discarded rather than refurbished as a whole or in parts. Loopcycle aims to change this and open up a new channel for the repurposing of existing products.
Loopcycle’s co-founder and CEO Lugano Kapembwa comes from a strong corporate sustainability management background and Chandan Rajah (co-founder and CTO) has an impressive technology background, with a previous exit from a start-up of his own. The team will use the investment funds to further develop the platform, expand the team to meet the demand from customers and drive marketing efforts to sell to manufacturers with the goal of tracing over 1 million products from manufacturers to their end users in the next 3 years.
Sustainable Accelerator invested into Loopcycle alongside BRAN Investments and several angel investors.
You can find out more about Loopcycle at https://loopcycle.io/
Biophilica – alternative leather from green waste
Biophilica converts green waste into an alternative leather which is fully recyclable and compostable. Biophilica uses existing process equipment to provide a leather-like aesthetic and material which is non-toxic and contains zero plastic. Its material can be used for a variety of product applications and its first product Treekind™ will be used to create fashion accessories such as bags, watch straps and wallets, with ambitions to expand into all other leather applications. The alternative leather market is a rapidly growing market as brands and consumers look to more environmentally friendly materials for their products.
Biophilica have developed their product through extensive research and development and have already conducted significant performance testing. The team will use the investment funds to develop its formula to fully comply with leather goods requirements, as well as prove manufacturability with its pilot partners. Biophilica is already collaborating with leading fashion brands and plans to expand this brand partner network supported by recently winning a place in the Fashion for Good programme.
Biophilica’s Founder and CEO, Mira Nameth, comes from a background in creative direction and design, having spent 15 years working with some of the world’s largest brands including renowned fashion brands. The team includes strong material science and chemical engineering leaders as well as commercial and marketing experience.
Sustainable Accelerator invested into Biophilica alongside BRAN Investments and several angel investors.
You can find out more about Biophilica at https://www.biophilica.co.uk/
