ClimateView, a Swedish climate action technology company, has secured EUR10 million in funding to enhance its ClimateOS platform and make it available in additional markets in Europe, North America and beyond.
The funding round was led by CommerzVentures, a specialist fintech investor, and NordicNinja, a Nordic-Japanese venture capital fund. Norrsken, 2050. VC and Gaingles also took part in the round, bringing the company’s total investment to EUR 14.5 million.
Launched at the start of 2021, ClimateOS was initially developed by ClimateView for the Swedish government to make their decarbonisation plans publicly available. Now supporting over 30 cities and municipalities across Sweden, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Canada, ClimateOS helps a growing number of cities with net zero commitments identify the most cost-effective route to decarbonise their economies.
More than 700 cities have already committed to reaching net zero by 2050, but they have complex economies and to plan effective action they must understand emissions from thousands of activities and develop comprehensive plans to decarbonise key sectors such as transport, buildings, industry, energy and waste.
ClimateOS offers a unique range of functions that helps cities such as Newcastle, Mannheim and Bern develop, implement and manage comprehensive climate action plans and accelerate action to decarbonise their economy. It creates a digital twin city reflecting the complexity of each city’s economy, using the best data available from national and international statistics and the city’s own sources. It models the impact of low-carbon initiatives, allowing leaders to explore different ways of meeting their carbon targets, and identify the best transition path to meet local needs.
Tim Rippon, Senior Climate Change Advisor with Newcastle City Council, says: “The wholesale decarbonisation of a city is something that’s never been done before and the challenge is absolutely enormous. ClimateView gives us the platform we need to develop and roll out an ambitious climate action plan. By breaking the net zero challenge down into bite-size chunks you can understand how each will contribute to cutting carbon, start setting year by year transition targets, and then build a robust set of actions on this framework.”
“The new funding will be used to roll out enhanced functionality in early 2022 which will allow cities to identify the costs of each of the numerous shifts they can take to cut emissions, from encouraging uptake of EVs to retrofitting old buildings to make them more energy efficient. It will also identify additional benefits, such as better health through cleaner air and warmer homes. This will make it easier for cities to make the economic case for their climate plans, minimise financial risk, and win support for investment. As well as developing the ClimateOS platform, funding will go towards driving further market expansion across Europe and into North America.”
Paul Morgenthaler, Partner at CommerzVentures, says: “Cities around the world are placing carbon reduction at the heart of their agenda and looking to cut emissions across every sector of their economy. ClimateView’s technology makes this complex challenge manageable, enabling effective decarbonisation strategies that can deliver thriving and sustainable economies. ClimateView have unlocked the vital ability for cities to win greater investments into robust climate action plans and we’re delighted to be investing in this essential business.”
Tomosaku Sohara, Managing Partner at NordicNinja and former deputy director for green and climate finance at Japan Bank for International Cooperation, says: “I understand the struggle cities face to identify their best route to climate neutrality and to coordinate action on many fronts. That’s why I knew the moment I met ClimateView that it has the solution cities all over the world are seeking. We are thrilled that our investment will allow it to expand globally and help cities make a faster transition to net zero.”
Tomer Shalit, ClimateView founder and Chief Product Officer, says: “Cities have to cut carbon fast, but it’s hard to plan how to meet their commitments while maintaining a thriving economy. ClimateOS enables them accelerate climate action, helping them identify their best route to net zero, make the right investments, and manage a successful transition in one living climate action plan.”
