In the dynamic realm of business and innovation, some leaders base their entrepreneurship around values of sustainability and steering change. Such is the case of Katja Grothe-Eberhardt who founded Klimate.co, inspired by her personal journey and observations of climate change. Earlier in her career, Katja worked several years as a consultant in firms including BCG. Katja started developing interest in climate tech when she later started working at a company based on tracing biofuels for the shipping industry. The team was exploring innovative ways to scale up a supply-constrained area in the green transition, using synthetic DNA to trace the quality of biofuels.
Then came a personal milestone – the birth of Katja’s first son in August 2019. Katja observed an unusual December and January in 2019-2020, where Denmark experienced unseasonably warm temperatures with no snow in sight. Simultaneously, the devastating forest fires in Australia painted a bleak picture of the global climate crisis.
“All of that, combined with being a mum just dawned on me that we have to do everything we can to basically fix this issue… I started to investigate the options we have for removing co2 from the atmosphere. So basically restoring the atmosphere so we could reverse some of that impact that we already made. That was the beginning of Klimate,” said Katja.
Founded in 2020, Klimate.co specialises in carbon asset management. The asset management platform allows businesses to actively secure high-quality carbon removal solutions, converting carbon liabilities into valuable assets. Klimate.co strategically allocates funding to carbon removal projects, emphasising environmental responsibility and promoting social and economic development. Recently, Klimate.co secured funding in a round led by Eneco Ventures and joined by Helen Ventures, Rockstart, and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.
When asked about what distinguishes Klimate.co from other solutions, Katja mentioned that the startup specialises in due diligence in evaluating carbon removal technologies. “We have built an extensive due diligence framework. That means that we collect more than 150 data points on all of the projects that we analyse if they go through the interface, or if they make it to the phase where we actually analyse them. This means that we ultimately can actually compare projects in terms of their permanence, feasibility and their impact on the environment,” said Katja.
Additionally, Klimate.co engages in collective action by bringing together various stakeholders interested in investing in carbon removal technology as part of their sustainability commitments. By leveraging collective commitment and scale, the company directs substantial funding toward projects, facilitating the establishment of initiatives that can meet future carbon removal requirements. Klimate.co acknowledges the importance of not only making commitments for the future but also taking immediate action in building the necessary physical assets today. In essence, Klimate.co’s approach revolves around rigorous due diligence and fostering collective commitment to drive the development of impactful and sustainable carbon removal projects.
The Climate Insider team congratulated Katja on the recent funding success, and asked her about the funding process and its challenges. Katja commented that investors have become mindful of quality when making investments in the recent past. “That means that as a startup or as a company in America to raise capital, you need to be extremely prepared,” said Katja. She placed a strong emphasis on thorough preparation of the business model, financial plans, and key performance metrics. Investors are increasingly valuing quality over quantity in their investments, necessitating startups to position themselves as high-quality opportunities. Further, Katja underscored the importance of a clear and sustainable vision for growth, and for startups to move beyond mere expansion for its own sake.
Lastly, the Climate Insider team asked Katja about her predictions for the climate tech space for 2024. Katja expressed her excitement about witnessing the initial delivery of carbon removals by companies and technologies focused on carbon removal. Furthermore, she anticipates a positive shift in the ongoing debate surrounding the implementation of a carbon tax, expressing hope for a general consensus within the industry. “That’s going to bring much more clarity as to how companies should position themselves in their sustainability journeys,” she mentioned. Generally, Katja envisions 2024 as a year of tangible progress in both technological advancements and industry-wide policies in climate tech.
To stay informed about the climate industry explore our latest climate news.
Featured Image: Credit: Jeppe Carlsen
