Route Konnect, Sero and Surple have been selected to join Tech Nation’s Net Zero programme. The programme has been designed to support 30 of the UK’s most promising scaleups that are contributing to the UK reaching its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The cohort includes companies that are building electric vehicles, creating vertical farms and animal-free dairy products, measuring environemntal footprints, and improving manufacturing and recycling supply chains. These companies represent the most promising UK scaleups contributing to the UK reaching its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In a new report, published today, Tech Nation found that the UK leads Europe for the number of Net Zero companies, at 323 compared to 207 in France (35% less) and 150 in Germany (53% less). Furthermore, 37% of UK Net Zero companies are at an early stage of growth, showing an impressive pipeline for the sector. 26% of UK Net Zero companies are late-stage, highlighting the growth already happening to meet emission targets. In 2019, the UK also led Europe for VC investment into Net Zero companies at £336mn in VC investment, 55% more than France which received £216mn, and 18% more than Germany with £283mn. VC investment in Net Zero in the UK has grown by 28% from 2018 to 2019.
The government-backed initiative is the first of its kind, designed to accelerate the growth of the UK’s most promising Net Zero scaleups. Sessions will include quantifying sustainability, navigating the regulatory landscape, and how to internationalise a Net Zero business. The programme comes at a critical moment, with Covid-19 highlighting the key role played by technology in aiding a green recovery to the crisis and the importance of building a sustainable future.
Route Konnect makes traffic more predictable and more eco-friendly by making smarter junctions and predicting the amount of vehicles and people. By using real-time automated insights from their combined camera and LiDAR traffic sensors, they’re able to produce a dashboard giving the ability to see the road network at any time during the day, enabling people to make smarter choices that avoids traffic jams and causes unnecessary pollution and burning of fossil fuels.
Mohamed Binesmael, CEO & Co-Founder, Route Konnect, comments: “Building relationships and forming connections is key to unlocking opportunities for all involved. Without talking, we do not get the opportunity to get to the heart of what bothers people. We’re most excited about the opportunity to connect with a wider network and begin the talking process.”
Changing the focus of the housing industry to decarbonisation, Sero supports housing providers and their residents to reach net zero by sitting at the intersection of home comfort, construction and energy. Sero develops homes that complement changing energy systems using their energy platform, expertise, optimised design, construction and the new commissioning process of new and existing homes. This saves residents money, effort and it’s more planet-friendly.
James Williams, Co-founder & MD, Sero, comments: “We’re excited to interact with companies building solutions to the climate crisis and learn from the companies that have created great solutions in other industries.”
Surple helps businesses make smarter energy decisions through their energy management software. They pull data from buildings into their cloud-based software, which runs analytics to provide actionable insights to their users, helping them to reduce energy use, carbon emissions and ultimately their costs. Businesses in the UK have an opportunity to collectively save £6bn through energy efficiency and Surple is making this process easier to manage.
Peter Allan, CEO & Founder, Surple, comments: “I’m excited to be part of a cohort that is both inspiring and making change for the better. We really have to think differently to get to net zero and I’m glad to be involved in a group of startups that are at the forefront of thinking differently.”
