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Let‘s scale all available climate technologies

Only by scaling highly innovative climate tech startups can we still meet the climate targets in time.

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Green Public Procurement

Climate-neutral procurement by federal, state and local governments offers enormous potential for reducing emissions and building green lead markets.

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Energy Resilience Leadership Group

By acting with urgency and innovation, we can decrease dependence on natural gas and move Europe toward a cleaner, resilient, and more secure energy future.


Let‘s scale all available climate technologies

Only by scaling highly innovative climate tech startups can we still meet the climate targets in time.


Who we are

Our mission

Tech for Net Zero is a network of leading climate tech startups, scaleups and investors in the DACH region. To accelerate the scale-up of innovative climate technologies and thus contribute to achieving our climate targets, Tech for Net Zero is committed to supporting market-based framework conditions and improving the financing of green technologies.

Given the abundance of technical solutions, talent, and financial resources, we believe achieving the climate targets is a matter of speed, focus, and execution. We need all hands on deck to move faster and turn Europe into a climate tech powerhouse.

As a Non-Profit Competence Center for Climate Tech, Tech for Net Zero is a reliable partner for policy makers, investors, and founders. Therefore, we support the Climate Tech ecosystem in Germany, Europe and beyond.

Members

Tech for Net Zero is a network of founders of climate tech startups as well as venture capital investors with a clear climate focus. Tech for Net Zero is additionally supported by a network of think tanks, research, science, and industrial players.


News & Articles

Publications

  • EU Climate Tech Manifesto

    Demands of the climate tech ecosystem for European policymakers Europe is at a crossroads: the continent’s economic strength and resilience have been increasingly challenged in recent years. The European Union (EU) must now come up with a clear strategy and smart measures to respond to these challenges. Smart economic policies, market-oriented mechanisms and strategic investments…

    Read article: EU Climate Tech Manifesto
  • Public Credit Guarantees

    How to finance the scaling of breakthrough climate technologies? Many climate tech startups and scaleups struggle to secure the necessary financing for first-of-a-kind (FOAK) facilities – even with existing offtake agreements. Venture capital financing, the most common form of startup finance, is usually not sufficient to meet the investment needs of hardware startups. However, loans…

    Read article: Public Credit Guarantees
  • Green Public Procurement

    Policy paper: “Green Public Procurement – Stimulating climate-neutral demand for a competitive EU net zero economy: A case study of Germany” The public sector awards contracts worth around 500 billion euros a year in Germany alone – equivalent to around 13% of gross domestic product. Such massive purchasing power can be leveraged to reduce greenhouse…

    Read article: Green Public Procurement

Initiatives

The Climate Tech Resources for Founders provide founders with a knowledge base on topics such as Offtake Agreements, Grants, First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) and Next-of-a-Kind (NOAK), Lifecycle Analysis (LCA), Climate Tech Business Models, Techno Economic Analysis (TEA) and our Climate Movers Database. Resources are added on a rolling basis.

Tech for Net Zero provides operational support for Climate Tech Founders and seeks to collect relevant information and guidance for innovators.

The Community of Practice for Industry Heat seeks to drive the decarbonisation of industrial heat with a strategic focus on enhancing energy and climate resilience in Europe. The holistic approach includes the four strategic components (1) industry network, (2) financing solutions, (3) renewable electricity and (4) policy and regulations. 

Tech for Net Zero connects relevant actors in the field of industrial heat to accelerate the
sector’s decarbonisation.

The Energy Resilience Leadership Group (ERLG) is a multi-stakeholder initiative led by Breakthrough Energy and Siemens Energy that brings together corporate CEOs, political leaders, financial institutions, and startups at the technology frontier. The Group was launched at the 2023 Munich Security Conference with the goal to enhance Europe’s energy resilience by rapidly bringing emerging climate technologies to scale.

Tech for Net Zero provides operational support to ERLG and brings the perspective of innovative climate startups to potential partnerships.


Team

Tobias Lechtenfeld

Speaker of Tech for Net Zero and Partner at 1.5° Ventures

Pia Dorfinger

Speaker of Tech for Net Zero and Head of Digital Technologies & Start-up Ecosystem at dena

Julian Joswig

Senior Manager Climate Strategy of Tech for Net Zero

Alliance Chair

Ann Mettler

Vice President Europe of Breakthrough Energy

Corinna Enders

Chairwoman of the dena Management Board


Powered by
1.5° Ventures and dena

Supported by
Breakthrough Energy

Tech for Net Zero was founded in 2021 as a joint initiative by the German Energy Agency (dena) with Breakthrough Energy and 1.5° Ventures. The goal is to address existing barriers to the creation, scaling and growth of climate tech startups in order to facilitate meeting the climate goals. Tech for Net Zero engages with policymakers, financiers, industry and academia to bring breakthrough climate technologies to market and scale, via faster funding and a better enabling environment.