Some of the largest rounds in Europe this year have gone to climate tech startups. Last month Sifted reported that French gigafactory startup Verkor was set to announce a €2bn fundraise while Enpal, the German solar startup backed by SoftBank, secured a €430m debt round in June.
All the money being funnelled into the sector means several of Europe’s top climate techs have rapidly accelerated their team's growth. We've analysed the data to find the 15 fastest-growing climate tech startups over the last 12 months, based on Dealroom headcount data. To ensure the growth of small teams didn’t skew results, companies had to have raised at least $50m to be considered.
The list spans Europe but is dominated by the UK and Germany, which are represented by five and four startups respectively.
1KOMMA5°
German startup 1KOMMA5° recently achieved unicorn status after a €430m Series B round. The Hamburg-based company installs energy systems like solar panels and heat pumps in customers' homes, reducing their reliance on the energy grid.
Founded: 2021
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Team growth last 12 months: 298% to 179 employees
Last raised: €430m Series B, June 2023
Total equity funding: €735.7m
Customcells
Customcells develops and manufactures lithium-ion battery cells and plug-in battery systems, specialising in energy storage systems for extreme conditions. Its headcount has grown from 58 employees in July 2022 to 187 in May 2023, per Dealroom.
Founded: 2012
HQ: Itzehoe, Germany
Team growth last 12 months: 240% to 187 employees
Last raised: €63m Series A, December 2022
Total equity funding: €63m
Agreena
Agreena provides a digital trading platform for agricultural commodities. Its platform allows farmers to earn carbon credits by turning their land into carbon sinks — a natural way to remove and store CO2 from the atmosphere. In March 2023, it raised €46m in Series B led by German-based VC firm HV Capital.
Founded: 2018
HQ: Copenhagen, Denmark
Team growth last 12 months: 227% to 196 employees
Last raised: $50m Series B, March 2023
Total equity funding: $81.1m
Newcleo
London-based nuclear technology startup Newcleo has increased its headcount by 201% over the past 12 months. It's developing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), which have lower initial costs and nuclear waste volumes than the full-size plants we have today.
Founded: 2021
HQ: London, UK
Team growth last 12 months: 201% to 202 employees
Last raised: €300m early VC, June 2022
Total equity funding: €410.3m
Electra
French startup Electra provides ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs). It partners with landlords of shopping centres, hotels and supermarkets to provide a wide network of charging points. Its headcount has grown by 190% over the past 12 months, making it one of the fastest-growing French startups.
Founded: 2021
HQ: Paris, France
Team growth last 12 months: 190% to 168 employees
Last raised: €160m Series A, June 2022
Total equity funding: €176.8m
Enpal
German solar startup Enpal was valued at $2.5bn in January 2023 after raising a €215m Series D. Enpal rents out green hardware — such as solar panels and heat pumps — to consumers to help them avoid high installation fees. It's been backed by the likes of SoftBank and BlackRock and most recently secured a €430m debt investment in June 2023.
Founded: 2017
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Team growth last 12 months: 158% to 1739 employees
Last raised: €430m, debt, June 2023
Total equity funding: €469.8m
Raw Charging
Raw Charging supplies businesses with charging points for EVs. In July 2022 it raised £250m — one of the largest rounds of 2022 in the UK.
Founded: 2018
HQ: Leeds, UK
Team growth last 12 months: 147% to 42 employees
Last raised: £250m growth equity, July 2022
Total funding: £250m
Powerdot
Powerdot invests, installs and operates EV chargers in car parks. It offers around 5,000 charging points across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Poland, according to Dealroom. In June 2022, it raised €150m from Antin Infrastructure Partners.
Founded: 2018
HQ: Lisbon
Team growth last 12 months: 144% to 127 employees
Last raised: €150m growth equity, June 2022
Total funding: €150m
Morrow Batteries
Morrow Batteries is developing lithium-ion battery cells for transport and energy storage. The Oslo-based startup is building a hydroelectric-powered gigafactory in southern Norway and aims to start production by 2024.
Founded: 2020
HQ: Oslo
Team growth last 12 months: 142% to 133 employees
Last raised: NOK 567m ($53.1m) convertible loan note, May 2023
Total funding: NOK 2254.7m ($211m)
Verkor
Verkor is developing lithium-ion batteries for EV’s and energy storage. It's set to build a gigafactory in Dunkirk in the north of France. Sifted recently reported that it's on the verge of closing an €800m Series C, plus €1.2bn in debt.
Founded: 2020
HQ: Grenoble, France
Team growth last 12 months: 139% to 261 employees
Last raised: €250m, growth equity, November 2022
Total funding: €352.6m
Candela Speed Boat
Candela makes electric boats and vessels. The Stockholm-based startup is aiming to make an electric boat with better performance than those running on fossil fuels. Its Candela C-7 became the best-selling electric boat in Europe in 2020, according to the company.
Founded: 2014
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Team growth last 12 months: 127% to 188 employees
Last raised: €19.5m Series A, December 2021 & €18.7m early VC, March 2023
Total funding: €47.4m
Octopus Energy
Since launching in 2015, Octopus Energy has been one of the UK’s largest energy suppliers. As well as selling gas and electricity for homes, the company installs heat pumps and solar panels, leases electric vehicles and licences its tech platform, Kraken, to other energy companies.
Founded: 2015
HQ: London
Team growth last 12 months: 115% to 2,556 employees
Last raised: £150m growth equity, June 2023
Total funding: $1.9bn
Field
Field is working on battery-based energy storage sites to supply the grid with renewable energy. Founded by Amit Gudka, former cofounder of now-collapsed energy supplier Bulb, Field has grown its headcount by 114% since raising £30m in equity from Taavet Hinrikus’s €250m VC fund Plural in June 2022, alongside £47m in debt.
Founded: 2020
HQ: London, UK
Team growth last 12 months: 114% to 60 employees
Last raised: £30m early VC & £47m debt, June 2022
Total funding: £41.5m
Venterra
Venterra is an offshore wind energy services company providing engineering, building and operational support across the full lifecycle of offshore wind farms.
Founded: 2021
HQ: Sheffield, UK
Team growth last 12 months: 113% to 32 employees
Last raised: £40m, late VC, February 2022
Total funding: £40m
Hy2gen
Hy2gen builds and operates plants for the production of green hydrogen and hydrogen-based e-fuels. Its €200m fundraise in February 2022 was the largest private green hydrogen-focused capital raise to date, according to the company.
Founded: 2018
HQ: Wiesbaden, Germany
Team growth last 12 months: 107% to 31 employees
Last raised: €200m in growth equity, February 2022
Total funding: €200m
