2150 Raises €210M to Tackle Urban Climate Challenges
▼ Summary
– Cities are critical for addressing climate change as they generate 70% of global emissions while producing 80% of global GDP.
– The venture capital firm 2150 focuses its climate investments on urban problems and opportunities, viewing sustainability as better and more efficient business.
– 2150 has raised a new €210 million fund, bringing its total assets under management to €500 million, with investments targeting technologies for urban systems.
– The firm has already invested in seven companies from its new fund, including startups in industrial heat pumps, e-waste recycling, and direct air capture.
– Beyond climate, 2150 sees societal opportunities in areas like industrial automation to address Europe’s aging population and maintain economic productivity.
Addressing climate change effectively often begins where the problem is most concentrated: our urban centers. Cities function as powerful hubs, drawing in vast resources and generating immense prosperity, yet they are also responsible for a staggering share of global emissions and waste. This central paradox makes them the critical starting point for meaningful environmental action and sustainable investment.
Jacob Bro, co-founder and partner at the investment firm 2150, describes cities as entities that “aggregate all the prosperity in the world , 80% of GDP , but also 70% of emissions and all the other resources, all the waste, and all the downsides of the good life.” To find the most promising opportunities, his firm begins by examining the specific challenges and bottlenecks within urban environments. The logic is compelling; by focusing on the technologies needed to make cities operate more efficiently, investors can identify ventures that are not only profitable but also generate significant environmental benefits. Bro argues that sustainability, when executed well, represents superior business, offering cost savings, greater speed, and reduced geopolitical dependency.
This focused strategy has proven successful. 2150 recently secured €210 million for its second fund, attracting capital from institutional investors and family offices such as Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker, the Church Pension Group, EIFO, Carbon Equity, Novo Holdings, and the Viessmann Generations Group. This latest raise brings the firm’s total assets under management to €500 million. According to co-founder Christian Hernandez, the fund has 34 limited partners, each contributing what he calls “pretty meaty checks.”
The firm has already deployed capital from this new fund into seven companies. These include AtmosZero, which manufactures industrial heat pumps; GetMobil, a startup focused on electronic waste recycling; Metycle, a marketplace for scrap and recyclable metals; and MissionZero, a direct air capture company. Three other investments remain undisclosed. Overall, 2150 plans to back around 20 startups from this fund, primarily at the Series A stage, with initial investments typically ranging between €5 million and €6 million. Half of the fund’s capital is reserved for follow-on financing rounds.
While the firm maintains a broad investment thesis, the partners express particular excitement about opportunities in data centers and industrial automation, sectors experiencing accelerated growth due to advancements in artificial intelligence. However, their perspective on AI extends beyond its direct energy demands. Hernandez points to a pressing societal challenge: Europe’s aging population. With projections suggesting a loss of 100 million people by 2040 due to demographic shifts, he questions how automation can help maintain productivity, support GDP growth, and fund pension systems. This broader view aligns with the firm’s foundational belief, as Bro notes, that “cities are all supplied by large or small industries at the end of the day.”
The results so far suggest this urban-industrial focus is effective. Hernandez reports that 2150’s portfolio companies were responsible for mitigating one megaton of carbon emissions last year alone. Achieving that scale of impact in just four years, combined with strong commercial progress, reinforces the firm’s conviction that targeting the systems which supply and sustain our cities is a powerful strategy for both financial returns and planetary health.
(Source: TechCrunch)
