Thermal batteries for grid-scale energy storage; aerial methane detection sensors, and lithium-ion battery recycling – Recent deals worth looking at: 

Agriculture & Food 

FreezeM (2018) is a provider of dormant black soldier fly larvae for insect farms.  Through their technology, FreezeM aims to tackle the challenges that vertically integrated insect farmers face by supplying neonates in induced hibernation. This increases yield consistently in insect-protein cultivation, supporting producers looking to scale.  

On February 14th, FreezeM raised $14.2M in Series A funding from the European Innovation Council with participation from other undisclosed investors.  

The investment will help to build a network of breeding facilities to supply insect farmers in different regions.  FreezeM has filed patents around its tech and is focused on expanding production and market reach to capitalize on current traction for their technology. 

Energy & Power  

Antora Energy (2017) is a developer of a low-cost thermal battery for grid-scale energy storage. The company has been able to launch its thermal battery at commercial scale and open its thermal battery manufacturing facility and dedicated manufacturing line for thermophotovoltaic cells.   

Antora Energy raised $150M in Series B funding from Decarbonization Partners, Emerson Collective, GS Futures, The Nature Conservancy, Trust Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BHP Ventures, Overture VC and Grok Ventures. Since it’s 2022 Series A round, total funding was brought to $230M. 

This round will be used to support scaling production, manufacturing, and commercial deployments to meet the growing demand for their products. It is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) as well as the National Science Foundation and the California Energy Commission.  

Materials & Chemicals 

Paques Biomaterials (2021) is a developer of biobased biodegradable PHA from industrial and municipal waste streams.  Since 2022, Paques Biomaterials has been running a demonstration plant in Dordrecht in collaboration with HVC and five Dutch waterboards. Additionally, it has collaborated with Looop to further improve its technology. 

On February 12th, Paques Biomaterials raised $15M in Seed funding from Invest-NL and NOM (or the Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands).  

The investment will be used to build an extraction facility in the northeastern Netherlands for PHA production. The company is looking to scale up and move into the next phase of growth, with plans to begin production at its Drenthe extraction facility in 2026.  

Resources & Environmental Management 

Kairos Aerospace (2022) is a developer of advanced aerial sensors combined with cloud-based analytics to rapidly find methane leaks on a continental scale. Its emission capture technology is already in widespread use across North America, providing rapid and actionable methane emissions data. 

Kairos Aerospace’s February 21st Growth Equityr raised $52M from BlackRock, Hartree Partners, DCVC Bio, Climate Investment, and Energy Innovation Capital.  

Kairos Aerospace aims to use the funding to bring its technology to its customers. Later in Q1, Kairos Aerospace intends to rebrand as Insight M to better align with its plans moving forward.   

Transportation & Logistics 

Daze (2018) is a provider of EV charging solutions. Daze has spent the past three years developing Dazebox, its first product, as well as expanding its range to include home charger Dazebox Home in 2023.  

On February 14th, Daze’s successful Series A round raised $16.1M to solidify presence in Spain and France and fuel business expansion into new European markets. Participating investors included CDP Venture Capital, European Innovation Council (EIC), Simest, Founders Future, Prana Ventures, and 035 investimenti.  

In addition to this round, Daze plans to host an equity crowdfunding campaign hosted on the Mamacrowd portal. This campaign has two purposes: to foster engagement with current supporters and to raise €1.5M in preparation for its February launch.  

Waste and Recycling  

Altilium Metals (2018) recycles lithium-ion battery materials and operates mines. The company successfully expanded its recycling facilities in the UK, solidified its senior management team, and refined its EcoCathode hydrometallurgical process. 

Altilium Metals raised $9.43M in Series A funding from SQM Lithium Ventures on February 23rd. The round is a follow-on investment from its previous Series A round in September of 2023. This funding follows a £700K grant from the UK government to support research projects focused on recovering copper and rare earth elements from mine waste. 

The funding will expand Altilium’s operations in the UK and Europe and facilitate the introduction of the company’s battery circularity offering. In 2024, Altilium Metals intends to commence operations at their Devon facility and construct the first battery recycling station.   

Enabling Technologies 

Monumo (2017) is a developer of AI-engineered electric motors and generators. Monumo has entered into NDAs with several tier one engineering companies and OEMs.  

Monumo’s successful Seed round raised $13.3M on February 21st from undisclosed angel investors. The round accompanied Monumo’s emergence from stealth having been incubated at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and an inaugural member of its Canopy Business hub in October 2022.  

Funds will be used to expand operations and development efforts.