A University of Glasgow start-up that is set to revolutionise the hydrogen energy sector has announced the successful closure of its pre-seed funding round totalling more than £1m in equity and grants.

East Kilbride plumbing startup, Water Kinetics, has secured a £150,000 investment from British Design Fund for its innovative ‘Eco-Duo’ pipe-within-a-pipe water recirculation system that can help reduce carbon emissions and energy use, while aiding safe pathogen levels within drinking water systems.

Greensphere Capital, a leading specialist investment adviser, has raised £66.3 million in conditional capital for its Gaia Sciences Innovation fund. This will be invested into creating and scaling businesses harnessing innovation and intellectual property from globally renowned British bioscience and environmental science institutes, helping to unlock the commercial potential of cutting-edge UK research to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss

Solivus, a pioneering developer of lightweight solar solutions has been awarded a 3-year contract for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of PV Solar Systems for bp and its customers following a rigorous and competitive commercial bid process. The purpose of the contract is for Solivus’ innovative rooftop solar technology to be included in bp's integrated energy solution portfolio.

Sonichem, an East Midlands-based startup that converts low-value forestry by-products into high-value, renewable biochemicals, has secured £1.2 million in Pre-Series A funding including a follow-on investment by ACF Investors. The investment will be used to further develop its technology and finalise plans for a biorefinery plant — the first of its kind.

OX Delivers, UK-based emobility start-up, has received a £1.2 million funding grant from Energy Catalyst as the company readies its next-generation affordable all-electric OX4 truck for production.

Angel Academe has made its 49th investment in a female-founded agri-tech start-up PheroSyn, an innovative agricultural technology company using green chemistry techniques to produce identical copies of nature’s own pheromones, providing an alternative to damaging pesticides.

BugBiome, a biotech harnessing nature’s microbial defences for pest protection to benefit human and planet health, has successfully closed a pre-seed funding round, securing £310k from Cambridge Angels and Discovery Park Ventures.  This investment will support BugBiome’s mission to address agricultural and human pest protection with naturally derived solutions harnessing the microbiome as a sustainable source of alternatives to synthetic and bio-accumulative chemicals.

HDM Solar, one of the UK's fastest-growing wholesalers of renewable energy products, has announced a major £10.2m funding boost led by a multi-million pound equity investment from Angel Invest in Berlin and supported by UK based DF Capital. The business will use the investment and working capital facility to accelerate the rollout of a nationwide network of branches which will generate new jobs and provide local support to installers, businesses and consumers in every corner of the country.  

Metris, the first AI-powered solar energy platform for commercial property owners, has raised £2 million in a pre-Seed funding round led by Octopus Ventures and Aenu VC with business angels in support, to revolutionise how property owners assess, install, and monetise solar energy within their portfolios. 

HutanBio, a bio-tech company founded by scientists from Cambridge University, based in Cambridge (UK) and in Malaysia, has secured a £2.25m investment from Clean Growth Fund, a leading UK clean-tech venture capital fund to accelerate the commercial use of its HBx bio-fuel oil and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Having raised circa £500k from Angels in late 2022 and the first half of 2023, further angel investment was also made in this latest round.

Turquoise, the UK merchant bank specialising in energy, environment and efficiency, has announced an investment by Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 (LCIF2) in Weeding Technologies. This forms part of a £800,000 second-closing of a capital raising to be completed over the coming months.