1.5° Ventures

?? The future of aviation is carbon-neutral, and today, we’re one step closer. ? ?? We’re excited to announce that Spark e-Fuels has successfully closed our €2.3 M pre-seed funding round, led by Nucleus Capital! ? The round included Zero Carbon Capital, IBB Ventures, Chemovator, VOYAGERS.io, and 1.5° Ventures, alongside business angels with deep industry experience, including former Shell, Lufthansa, BP, Siemens Energy, and McKinsey executives. We’re so grateful to have the support of investors who share our commitment to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors. ? With this backing, we’re gearing up to accelerate our mission to make e-fuels a viable alternative to fossil kerosene by leveraging cheap intermittent renewables with our demand-responsive technology. What’s next? Growing the team and focusing on our first pilot plant! It’s exciting times ahead. ? ?? A huge thank you to our investors, partners, and supporters. Click below to learn more about this round and our plans, and stay tuned for what’s next because this is just the beginning! https://lnkd.in/d3Dxcp75 Arno Zimmermann, PhD Julia Bauer Anh Dung Nguyen David Rowan Natalia Westhaeuser Dr. Tom Kirschbaum Christoph Wolff Jeff Katz Dr. Julian Weisbrod Thorsten Luft Dietrich Roeben Thomas v. Hake Dr. Isabella Fandrych Maximilian Schwarz Alex Gawley Max Werny, PhD Roman Pimonov Stephan Schulze Tobias Lechtenfeld Markus Bold Daryna Kornieieva Lukas Kaestner Melanie Form Maximilian Uhl Jennifer Kürner Julia Jakob Martin Rahmel Denitsa Georgieva Maria Koycheva Mariana Mela Martins Gianluca Gygax Lindsey Higgins, PhD #SustainableAviation #EFuels #CleanEnergy #Decarbonization #NetZero?

?????????????????? ???? ?? ?????? ???????????????? ?????????????? ?????????????? ???? ????????????????????????! ???? At the??????????????????? ?????????? & ???????????? 2024, an expert jury chose ecoLocked from a longlist of over 150 startups in Europe to win a prize for leading the shift from a linear to a circular economy in the built environment. By transforming biomass residues—materials that would otherwise be left on the fields or be burned—into?functional, CO2-negative building materials, ecoLocked is helping to?close the loop?while?opening new opportunities?in the construction industry.????? We’re proud to stand alongside other innovative startups like?ecoworks,?Earth Plus, and TRIQBRIQ?in shaping a more circular future. A big thank you to?Claus Schuster and?Natascha Zeljko?and the whole CIRCULAZE by CURAZE team for organizing this insightful gathering, fostering collaboration, and creating visibility for startups driving circularity forward. ?? ??Together, we’re building a circular future! Get in touch with us to learn more about how ecoLocked can support your sustainable building projects. #ecoLocked #Circular #Economy #CIRCULAZE #CloseTheLoopOpenOpportunities

Credit Finance for #ClimateTech? Yes! ??? Imagine the speed of climate tech production and deployment if scaleups had access to credit for their #FOAK (First of a Kind) plants. Well, here’s some good news in the making! ??? For over a year, we’ve been working behind the scenes with the incredible European Investment Bank (EIB) team with Alessandro Izzo, Irene Gálvez and Ruben Devogelaer to address the gap in credit finance for cleantech scaling. ??? ?? The challenge:?? Drawing private credit from banks and other lenders requires underwriting risks. Unfortunately, most climate tech scaleups lack the assets or revenue to meet these requirements.? ?? The solution:?? This is where public credit guarantees come into play. Together with Jules Besnainou and his team at Cleantech for Europe, we’ve published reports on counter-guarantees and working capital guarantees, demonstrating how such solutions could work.? We’ve also organized multiple workshops, roundtables, and—most recently—a working lunch in Brussels was held by CfE with some of Europe’s leading cleantech founders and private banks. ???? ? Here’s the exciting update:?? Pending board approval, the EIB is planning to launch a €500M loan guarantee package to support climate tech scaleups. This package will:?? - Provide loan coverage up to €30M??according to the news - Will only cover a part of the loan value, typically up to 80% in public guarantees, but could be much lower in this program - Require agreements between the bank and the EIB to underwrite the lender's risks? Full story on Bloomberg https://lnkd.in/dkSznYCR ?? Fingers crossed for the EIB board approval! The timing couldn’t be more critical to accelerating Europe’s climate tech revolution. ??? Let’s make this happen! ????? This is huge news for Climate Tech Scale-ups in Europe: Tech for Net Zero Nils Aldag Christopher Frey Claudio Spadacini Francesco Oppici Ben Potter Taavi Madiberk Arnaud Castaignet Henrik Henriksson Ola Hansén Mattijs Slee Ana?s Laporte Yoann Barbesol Khouloud Karam Jon Dyar Boles Caspar Schuchmann Philip Hainbach Stephan Herrmann cc Ann Mettler Philipp Offenberg Yair Reem Fridtjof Detzner Nick de la Forge Isabelle Canu Danijel Vi?evi? Julia Reinaud Elisabeth Springer Danielle Baron Ruben Davis Pierre Louis Auzel, Julian Joswig

Proud to announce that ecoLocked is a Falling Walls Foundation winner! ?? Falling Walls Foundation is a prestigious global platform that highlights breakthrough scientific and innovative achievements. This year's Falling Walls Global Call received more than 1.100 nominations showcasing innovative scientific advancements and impactful initiatives across various fields. After the second round of the selection process, we are honored to share that ecoLocked has been named a winner in the ?????????????? ??????????-?????? category for developing new material. ?? Micheil Gordon will represent ecoLocked and speak about our project at the ?????????????? ?????????? ?????????????? ???????????? ???? ???????????????? 7????. ???? ??? For getting your ticket and more information, please find the link in the first comment. Congratulations to our fellow Science Start-Up category winners: ActiTrexx GmbH, AI Proteins, ARQUE Systems GmbH, Bioeutectics, Cyclize, ElectraLith, Gisens Biotech, Greenlyte Carbon Technologies, Level Nine, Linium Biochemicals, Origin by Ocean, PEARCODE, qCoat GmbH, Qkera, Reme-D.Inc, S.Lab, Sparxell, TAU Systems, xemX materials space exploration GmbH #ecoLocked #FallingWalls #ScienceStartUps #ScienceSummit24 #ClimateTech

?? Just got back from the Breakthrough Energy Summit in London. What did I learn? 1?? The quality of climate tech #founders is getting ever stronger. Many of the world's smartest people are focusing all their energy on climate solutions. 2?? There is increasing clarity on how to #scale asset-heavy startups by focusing on cost and scale before anything else. Thank you to Mario Fernandez of #BECatalyst for drilling down this point! 3?? Nobody seems to know how we can price-in the long-term benefits of climate tech for investors. That's why we see #IRR expectations in line with fossil investments, typically ranging from 15-25% p.a., depending on asset class. This adds additional pressure to the green premium and makes it nearly impossible to close the #FOAK Finance Gap. Insurance firms stand to benefit the most from fewer climate-triggered disasters. Any pointers on how to price in future impact to today's IRRs? ?? A big thank you to Breakthrough Energy for the incredible lineup, highly valuable mix of founders, investors, and decisive policymakers. Plus, the space for highly valuable side events, including by the Energy Resilience Leadership Group. It was great to connect with the European cleantech champions. Thank you ???? Ann Mettler, Philipp Offenberg, Maria Leis, Julia Reinaud, Mariano Berkenwald, Jules Besnainou, Magnus Agerstr?m, Bianca Dragomir, Sarah Mackintosh, Federico Cuppoloni and many more! Special thanks to Yair Reem, I finally got my FOAK T-Shirt! ?? #BESummit24 #ClimateTech #BreakthroughEnergy #Sustainability #Innovation #Cleantech #GreenEnergy #Summit

?????? ???????????????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????????????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????? ???? ? ?? Offtake agreements are vital for the success of capital-intensive projects, offering guaranteed revenues and market access even before production begins. These agreements play a crucial role in sectors like #renewableenergy, #sustainableagriculture, #greenmanufacturing, #carboncapture, and #wastemanagement.? ? ?? They secure a market for future outputs, providing financial stability and assurance to lenders and investors. With types such as fixed quantity, take-or-pay, and tolling agreements, #offtakeagreements are tailored to meet specific industry requirements.? ? ??If you want to find out more about offtake agreements, check out the presentation on the new ?????????????????? ?????? ?????????????? ???????? ???????????????? section on our website! It provides valuable insights and tools to support those at the forefront of #climatetech. Whether you’re looking to understand the intricacies of offtake agreements or seeking guidance on financing your next big project, our resources are here to support you.? ? ???Visit our ?????????????????? to explore more: https://lnkd.in/gFZkUhRE?? ? Tech for Net Zero Breakthrough Energy Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) Tobias Lechtenfeld Pia Dorfinger René B?hm Philipp Offenberg Maria Leis Julian Joswig Sibylla Heckmann Theresa Jahr Raphael Putz?