European climate technology is picking up speed. Last year investors poured out $ 10 billion in startups trying to tackle the climate crisis, up from $ 5.4 billion last year.
There is a wide variety of startups working in the region, from agro-tech companies changing the way we eat to a fleet of electric vehicle startups changing the way we eat we move.
But which “Planet Positive” companies are growing the fastest? And what could have the greatest impact?
Sifted analyzed the top 10 fastest growing based on data from Salesroom. We have selected companies that meet the definition of Goal 13 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Take action against climate change.
We measure growth by how quickly companies have hired over the past year. To avoid the results being skewed by extremely small teams hiring many new employees, we only look at companies that have raised a total of over 50 million euros.
It’s a good indication of which companies are worth seeing in 2022 (Sneak Preview: It looks good for the electric truck industry).
It also shows which places are emerging as major climate tech hubs – the list is dominated by Swedish, Dutch and German companies, especially those based in Stockholm.
1 / Volta Trucks
The Swedish electric truck manufacturer Volta Trucks recorded the fastest growth in its number of employees last year. It has increased by 422% to 120 employees.
Volta Trucks has a custom built 16 ton electric truck that can travel up to 200 km on a single charge. It is expected that 500 will be sold in 2022 and 5000 of these by 2025.
Founded: 2019
HQ: Stockholm
Team growth this year: 422% (on 120 employees)
Total funding: $ 63 million
2 / Tevva engines
Second place is another manufacturer of electric trucks – British company Tevva Motors. At the end of last year, the company presented its 7.5-tonne electric truck. The trucks will have a purely battery-electric range of 250 km and a hydrogen fuel cell extender that can increase the range to 500 km.
Production of the trucks is slated to begin this July, and Tevva expects 3,000 trucks to be manufactured annually by 2023.
Founded: 2012
HQ: Chelmsford, UK
Team growth this year: 153% (to 111 employees)
Total funding: $ 88.7 million
3 / driveway
Einride is another electric truck company – like Volta, it is based in Stockholm. Its main product offering is an electric, driverless truck that drives autonomously or can be controlled remotely without the need for a driver on board.
According to Einride, his pod trucks can help companies cut fuel costs by up to 70% and CO2 emissions by up to 90% while increasing efficiency.
Founded: 2016
HQ: Stockholm
Team growth this year: 139% (on 258 employees)
Total funding: $ 152 million
4 / cake
Cake moves away from trucking and works on electric off-road motorcycles. The range of bicycles is designed to be light and quiet and can be used for trail or freeriding.
Founded: 2016
HQ: Stockholm
Team growth this year: 128% (on 121 employees)
Total funding: $ 74 million
5 / light year
The Dutch company Lightyear develops a solar powered car based on a model they built to compete in the World Solar Challenge, a 3,000 km race through the Australian outback for solar powered cars.
His cars can currently travel 725 km on a single charge, 70 km of which come from solar and the remainder from electric charging. If someone drives less than 70 km, their trip will be entirely solar powered. Lammers estimates that 40% of people never need to charge their car.
Founded: 2016
HQ: Helmond, Netherlands
Team growth this year: 122% (on 349 employees)
Total funding: $ 152 million
6 / GO sharing
GO Sharing, another Dutch company, has electric scooters that can be rented. It has 5,000 emopeds and is in use in 30 cities in three countries – the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.
Founded: 2016
HQ: Utrecht, Netherlands
Team growth this year: 116% (on 108 employees)
Total funding: $ 66 million
7 / recognition
French startup Verkor is developing Lithium-ion batteries for both electric vehicles and stationary storage systems for generating electricity from renewable energy sources.
In October last year, the company raised € 100 million from investors such as Renault and Capgemini to complete the construction of the pilot project for its planned Gigafactory.
Founded: 2020
HQ: Grenoble, France
Team growth this year: 113% (on 51 employees)
Total funding: $ 110 million
8 / zolar
The German startup Zolar helps customers install solar power systems in their homes. customers rent the systems for a monthly fee and adapt the components of your solar system to your energy needs.
According to Zolar, a family of four can produce around four tons of CO. save on2 per year with his system.
Founded: 2016
HQ: Berlin
Team growth this year: 86% (on 195 employees)
Total funding: $ 92 million
9 / Tibber
The Swedish company Tibber describes itself as a provider of “digital electricity”. With artificial intelligence, it only buys as much energy as a household needs based on its forecast consumption and changes providers during the day depending on which is cheapest. It can also prioritize green energy sources.
Founded: 2016
HQ: Oslo
Team growth this year: 86% (on 151 employees)
Total funding: $ 61 million
10 / Enpal
Like Zolar, the German company Enpal offers solar modules on a subscription plan. Prices start at € 49 per month to avoid the high upfront costs often associated with installing solar panels. The company raised a € 150 million Series C round from SoftBank last October.
Founded: 2017
HQ: Berlin
Team growth this year: 80% (to 533 employees)
Total funding: $ 276 million
Freya Pratty is the news reporter for Sifted. She tweets from @FPratty
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