Plastic eating enzymes, zero carbon hydrogen, and green methanol captured from waste stream flare gas: Recent Deals worth looking at

Agriculture & Food 

THIS (2018) is a developer of plant-based protein products. Its range of products include meat-free alternatives for pork sausage, lamb kebabs, shawarma and beef burgers that are currently sold in multiple major supermarket chains across the UK. 

On June 17th, THIS raised $25.3M in Growth Equity funding from Planet First Partners. As a part of this investment, Planet Frist Partners will take two seats on THIS’s board.  

The round will be used to grow THIS’s product range in the UK, including developing new product ranges to cater to evolving consumer health preferences and increasing profitability of its core products. Earlier this year, Mark Cuddigan was appointed as CEO as co-founders Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman stepped away from the position.    

Energy & Power  

Molten Industries (2021) provides methane pyrolysis technology to generate zero carbon hydrogen. Their technology creates no carbon dioxide, instead producing hydrogen gas and graphite that can be used in batteries. Additionally, its methane is procured from low-emissions sources such as dairy farms, wastewater treatment plants, and landfills.  

Molten Industies’ June 20th Series A round raised $25M from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Sozo Ventures, Mark Heising, Steelhead Capital, Union Square Ventures, 50 Years, J4 Ventures, Moai Capital, UVC Partners (Entrepreneurship Venture Capital), and Woodward and Peter Attia.  

The company intends to use the new capital to build its first modular commercial reactor in Oakland and become a producer of graphite for lithium-ion batteries.  

Materials & Chemicals 

M2X Energy (2020) is a developer of green methanol from methane captured from waste stream flare gas. Their methanol has applications as fuel for the marine sector, as a chemical feedstock, as a hydrogen carrier, and as a precursor to sustainable aviation fuel and biodiesel. 

M2X Energy raised $40M in Series B funding on June 20th led by new investor Conifer Investments. Existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Eni Next, SCG, and Autodesk Foundation participated in the round as well.  

The investment will accelerate the in-house manufacturing and deployment of M2X’s first commercial fleet of their production systems. M2X has already conducted multiple feed deployments and expects to deploy its first commercial systems under long-term offtake agreements in early 2025.  

Resources & Environmental Management 

LiveEO (2017) is a developer of AI-based vegetation management solutions for grids. Their technology uses high-resolution satellite data and proprietary AI-powered algorithms that help critical infrastructure operators manage climate risks and resilience.  

On June 26th, LiveEO’s Growth Equity round raised $26.7M from NordicNinja, DTCF, MMC Ventures, Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures, Helen Ventures, Matterwave Ventures, Motu Ventures, Segenia Capital, and Hannover Digital Investments.  

The recent funding round follows LiveEO’s tripling growth in 2023 and will be used to accelerate development of its technology and expand its team. Currently, the platform serves customers in Europe, Japan, Australia and the U.S.  

Transportation & Logistics 

Waabi (2021) is a developer of autonomous driving technology. Their single end-to-end AI system that is capable of human-like reasoning, requiring less training data and compute resources and is scalable from day one.  

Waabi raised $200M on their June 18th Series B funding round from Uber, Khosla Ventures, Nvidia, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding, Scania Growth Capital, Ingka Investments, HarbourVest, G2 Venture Partners, BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, Radical Ventures and Incharge Capital.  

The investment will be put towards Waabi’s efforts to deploy fully driverless, generative AI-powered autonomous trucks in 2025. It will also be used to grow Waabi’s commercial operations and expand the company’s team in both Canada and the U.S.  

Waste and Recycling  

Samsara Eco (2020) is a developer of enzymatic technology that recycles plastics. Their innovative technology pioneered the ability to recycle plastics using nylon 6,6 and polyester through the use of plastic–eating enzymes.  

On June 27th, Samsara Eco raised a $100M Series A round from Temasek Holdings, Main Sequence, Wollemi Capital, Lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Telstra Ventures and DCVC. Previously, the company’s technology helped to introduce investor Lululemon’s first product made from recycled polyester.  

Through this capital, Samsara Eco will scale its enzymatic recycling capabilities through continued development of commercial facilities in Southeast Asia in the next few years. Furthermore, they also plan to expand its global team of specialists and increase its library of plastic-eating enzymes.