Zero Carbon Capital (ZCC) has announced the successful closure of its £20 million fund, which will be used to invest in European pre-seed and seed-stage companies focused on developing transformative scientific solutions for deep decarbonisation. The fund has attracted a diverse group of investors, including Isomer Capital, Green Future Investments, Bunge Ventures, and Extantia Climate All-stars, highlighting the broad support for ZCC’s mission to tackle the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges through science.
Led by Pippa Gawley, a seasoned climate tech investor with eight years of experience in both the US and Europe, ZCC stands out as a venture capital firm that deeply integrates science into its investment philosophy. With a talented team of scientist VCs, Pippa’s experience and passion for climate tech have been instrumental in shaping the fund’s strategy and identifying investments that will address the challenges of climate change.
“We envision a future where humans thrive on a healthy planet with healthy ecosystems. We strongly believe that the combination of groundbreaking scientific advancements and sustainable, scalable business models is the key to achieving this goal,” said Pippa. “Our team is uniquely positioned to drive these opportunities at early stages, supporting ambitious scientists who are building businesses to tackle the toughest decarbonisation challenges.”
Chloe Dagnell of Isomer Capital expressed excitement about partnering with ZCC, citing the firm’s prior experience in the climate tech space and the strong team they have built. With a combination of scientific research capabilities and operational experience at leading tech companies, ZCC is well-equipped to identify, analyze, and support early-stage climate tech companies across Europe.
ZCC has already made significant investments in 12 companies that align with its mission. These include Level Nine, which manufactures chemicals from biological feedstocks; Ionate, which builds smart transformers to support the renewable grid; NetZeroNitrogen, which uses bacteria to reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers; and RepAir, which is developing low-power, electrochemical direct air capture technology to efficiently remove CO2 from the atmosphere. These investments highlight ZCC’s commitment to aligning its portfolio with areas in most need of transformative change.
In addition to providing capital, ZCC is dedicated to building a community of innovators and leaders in the climate tech space. The firm offers strategic support to its portfolio companies, ensuring their success and ability to scale solutions that contribute to global carbon reduction.
Liv Anderson, CEO of ZCC portfolio company Biozeroc, shared her positive experience working with ZCC. “ZCC was the first investor to join us on our journey to decarbonize concrete at Biozeroc. Since their investment, they have helped us navigate our growth and provided invaluable support. It’s a great team, and we love working with them,” she said.
This fund marks a significant milestone for ZCC, reaffirming its commitment to leading the charge in climate tech investment and supporting the development of solutions that have a meaningful impact on our planet’s future.
About Zero Carbon Capital (ZCC)
Zero Carbon Capital is a venture capital firm that specializes in pre-seed and seed-stage investments in companies developing hard-science solutions to the critical challenge of decarbonisation. With a focus on Europe, ZCC supports teams with the ambition and potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions, leveraging a deep commitment to scientific rigor and environmental stewardship.
ZCC began investing with a proof-of-concept fund in 2020, which backed seven early-stage UK-based decarbonisation companies.
The Zero Carbon team includes:
– Pippa Gawley – Founder / Managing Partner: With eight years of experience in climate tech investing in California, Pippa has been an active member of the impact investing ecosystem. Before that, she held various roles in technology companies, including general management, business analysis, and consumer-facing interactive user experience research and design. She holds a Master’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Cambridge.
– Alex Gawley – Founder / General Partner: Before co-founding ZCC, Alex spent 14 years at Google as Product Director for Gmail and Google Calendar. He also founded and managed Google’s newest innovation lab, Area 120. With strong connections to the Silicon Valley VC/tech world, Alex brings unique insights about innovation from two-person teams to global scale. He holds a Master’s degree in Astrophysics from the University of Cambridge.
– Sarah Jones, PhD – Principal: Sarah’s background is in Bioprocess Engineering and Environmental Biotechnology. She completed a PhD and PostDoc at the University of Cape Town, where she researched bioreactor design and sustainable products from microalgae. She then worked at Imperial Innovations and Oxford University Innovation, helping academics commercialize their science-based innovations. In 2020, she joined the Creative Destruction Lab as an early employee of the Oxford University-based mentorship program for science and deep-tech startups. At CDL, Sarah launched and led the Health stream and then advocated launching a Climate stream
