Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation

✨ Celebrating Innovation: The Undaunted Alumni Summit ✨ what a fantastic event! Yesterday the Undaunted team welcomed alumni, investors, and stakeholders from our climate innovation community to our new home in Scale Space - part of the White City Innovation District. A great chance to reflect on how our work has flourished over the past twelve years, and to celebrate the impressive achievements of the alumni over that time, as well as to thank the invaluable contributions of our collaborators, funders and partners who have helped us to get to where we are today. We also looked to the future – to the opportunities and challenges ahead – and to convene the ecosystem that will be a part of our ongoing journey. Huge thanks to all those who joined us, and to our excellent panellists and speakers... First up, Alyssa Gilbert chaired an astute and honest spotlight discussion about the highs and lows of / tips and insights from being the founder of a climate innovation startup: ➡ Koji Muto (Co-Founder and CEO of Ki Hydrogen) ➡ Solveiga Pakštaitė (Founder and Director of Mimica) ➡ Robert Godfrey (Co-founder of Treeconomy) Next, Jim Shaikh chaired an expert panel of investors to explore the cleantech investment landscape, its barriers and opportunities: ➡ Namratha Kothapalli (Principal at Speedinvest) ➡ Jim Totty (Viridis Capital) ➡ Rubina Singh (Senior Investment Manager at Foresight Group) These were followed by a captivating keynote delivered by UN Environment Programme Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh on what it takes to be an endurance swimmer – “commitment, resilience, adaptability” – the ingredients that make up a team that can work together to beat the odds, and how closely these experiences relate to our community’s mission to tackle climate change. Our Founder, advisor, and dear friend Professor Richard Templer closed the event by expressing how “incredibly proud” he is of the startups and founders who have persevered to get this far, and to emphasise the importance of community in climate innovation. This work is changing not just one sector or industry – it’s changing everything, but all these different threads are working towards a shared goal: a better world now and for future generations – and our community must work together to speak as one coherent voice to take this forwards. Find your place in the ecosystem – join our community – stay in-the-loop on activities, events and opportunities by signing up to our newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eJQrBBgd The Royal Institution Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment Imperial Enterprise Cathal Hughes

It was good to contribute to Startup Coalition's roundtable on EPC reform today - along with founders and team from Q-Bot Ltd, SmartShift Energy, Building Atlas, LightFi, and Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation. EPCs (energy performance certificates) are an important source of public data on the measurements, construction and systems of our housing stock. This is used for public policy such as new build requirements or minimum energy efficiency standards. I’d in particular be excited to see: 1) Expanding the data available in the EPC registry. I would like to see energy model inputs accepted beyond the requirements of "reduced" assessment methodologies, and site captured sensor data with publicly verified error rates. 2) Greater public participation. What if homeowners could suggest corrections for incorrect EPC data (as they can with Google Maps)? This could be quickly triaged and even trigger publicly funded work for nearby domestic energy assessors to update the EPC (✋🏽 count me in!) 3) Open Data reform. Not (necessarily) EPC related - but can a shift in energy retailer data requirements similar to what we see with Open Banking foster innovation in the energy space? The general mood was that now is the time for a better UK built environment. I look forward to Startup Coalition's report!

What does it take to bring a climate innovation to market? That's what our panel discussed at Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation's Alumni Summit at Scale Space last week. We covered: 💡 That making an innovation usable and therefore easily adoptable, is just as important as the innovation itself 💰 Avoiding VC money for as long as possible and focusing on revenue 💔 The importance of sharing challenging moments with fellow founders Thank you to Robert Godfrey of Treeconomy, Koji Muto of Ki Hydrogen and Alyssa Gilbert of Undaunted for sharing this vibrant and honest conversation and to Cathal Hughes for putting it all together!

Thanks to the Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation team this week for the invite to the Alumni Summit on Thursday, at their new place in Scale Space White City. We talked a bit about what it was like being in Cohort 1 of The Greenhouse incubator (now already on Cohort 7!) in 2021 during social distancing times - and some of the challenges of trying to start/survive a business during COVID (+ post-COVID).. Being a startup founder can be lonely, and being in a cohort of other startups is very valuable. Some themes that came across from the panel of Investors included: * There is optimism on net zero, and fragile optimism is emerging on investing (it is better than 2023). * The hydrogen bubble of 2021 has well and truly burst - and now the term ‘AI’ is over-used..! * Technologies that excite include Carbon removals at near ~$100/te, and industrialisation of biological processes (like natural nitrogen fixing). There’s a lot of £££ going into carbon removals. * ‘First of a kind’ funding is difficult, and investors look for long-term offtaker/ suppliers - So think about what’s needed for sustaining long-term if FOAK. * Energy resilience & food resilience are key themes. * Investors look for good founding teams and large markets. Carbon impact is a byproduct - it’s all about the team & market. Powerful and inspiring storytelling by Lewis Pugh who talked passionately about overcoming fear and negative voices to achieve uniquely difficult things (like swimming 1km in sub-zero salty Arctic water in just Speedos). His supporting team picks are based on pragmatic optimists, and people who care. Lots to think about at what feels like a pivotal summer in accelerating the big clean-up of power, heat, transport - and politics. Onwards!

Ichthion Limited out of Imperial College London and supported by Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation are raising bridging funds for their ocean plastics clean-up tech. #Climateinnovation #investors should have a look.

Congratulations to @Cyanoskin's co-founder Emma Money for giving a super introduction to their product on BBC Sunday Morning Live last weekend! 📺 Emma explained how growing up in the countryside surrounded by greenery inspired her to create a "living" paint that sequesters carbon dioxide 🌲 We're proud to have supported Cyanoskin's development at the Hackspace and witnessed their incredible success in winning Imperial Enterprise Lab's #VCC2024 competition and progressing their concept towards pilot stage 🚀 Emma joined talented Royal College of Art graduates Rhea Thomas (winning Fellow and also a participant on Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation's accelerator "The Greenhouse") and Will Eliot in showcasing their innovations that were shortlisted by The Arts Foundation Futures Awards 👏 Watch from 30.30 👉 bbc.in/4bSrYWw 🖱 More about Cyanoskin: https://www.cyanoskin.com/ #MakeAStart #AdvancedHackspace #Prototyping #Innovation #RegenerativeDesign #ClimateSolutions #BetterFutures Imperial Enterprise Lab | Imperial Enterprise | Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation | Green Business Action

🚨 AirEx Technologies - Smart Draught Control has an exciting news, they have earned the prestigious BBA Agrément Certificate! This distinguished mark of quality and compliance highlights our dedication to excellence, innovation, and reliability in the UK retrofit and construction industry. 👀 Read the guest blog from Agnes Czako on how the startup is reaching milestones, creating waves in the clean tech ecosystem and paving the way for other innovators in the retrofit sector ➡ https://lnkd.in/dMhdasN2

🌳 Vox Aeris donated a sapling for each candidate who interviewed, to honor their time and turn it into a future source of clean air. Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation

Cutting edge technology and expertise provided by Royce at Imperial are helping build new microelectronic devices, starting at the atomic level. “You can come to our facility with an idea for a device, and you can leave with that device in your hands,” says Dr Peter Petrov, the Technology Platform Lead for Royce at Imperial. “And we are particularly set up to do that with devices based on novel materials.” Find out more: https://ow.ly/aRpk50SGCm3

🚀 Ichthion Limited is in the Middle of its Bridge Round! 🚀 I am excited to share that Ichthion Limited is actively raising funds in our Bridge Round, and we have already secured a Lead Investor along with several follow-ups. This is a fantastic opportunity for investors who are passionate about making a significant impact on the environment. Our latest initiative, Galapagos Guardians (https://lnkd.in/eAhTfjCj), is the largest project globally aimed at tackling plastic pollution. This ambitious project is set to revolutionize how we combat plastic pollution by leveraging advanced technology, data, and science. The growth projections for Galapagos Guardians are truly amazing, and we are committed to reducing plastic pollution by at least 30% in the Galapagos Islands. We are looking for investors who are interested in joining us on this transformative journey. If you or your organization are interested, please send me a DM. Your support can make a tremendous difference. Please feel free to share this post with potential investors and organizations that might be interested in supporting our mission. Together, we can make a lasting impact on our planet. 🌍💡 Let's work together to protect our oceans and ensure a sustainable future! #InvestmentOpportunity #ImpactInvestment #Sustainability #PlasticPollution #GalapagosGuardians #IchthionLimited Plug and Play Tech Center, Katapult Ocean, InnovationRCA : Royal College of Art, Imperial College London, Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, 100+ Accelerator,