Elbow Beach is one of the UK's most active seed investors in transformative climate technologies. We back pioneers of clean technologies that improve industrial productivity efficiencies, and outcomes. The companies we invest in have potential to create real value for their customers while achieving climate targets.
The financing round was led by Elbow Beach to support pilot-scale trials of the company waste-to-fuel platform.
"Aviation’s fuel bill is only going one way, and the industry urgently needs alternatives that can scale commercially. Too much SAF technology solves for cleaner fuel without solving for cheaper or more available fuel, largely because it still depends on limited feedstocks like waste cooking oil. Neela’s approach is different as it builds on infrastructure that already exists across Europe, avoiding the capital costs that have held back other SAF players, while its low-energy process gives it a credible route to cost parity with fossil jet fuel. It’s that combination of capital efficiency and genuine potential for commercial deployment that convinced us to lead this round from pre-seed through to pilot."
Elbow Beach backed the follow-on investment to accelerate commercial launches and robotic harvesting expansion.
"Food manufacturers are facing several significant challenges; together, these issues are creating a challenging environment for food manufacturers, but also opportunities for innovation and growth. We offer food manufacturers a number of ways to respond to these challenges and opportunities, along with the ability to diversify and localise their protein sources."
The funding round includes participation from Sustainable Future Ventures, Hearst Ventures, Elbow Beach Capital, and WakeUp Capital to expand international reach.
The funding round was co-led by Sustainable Future Ventures, Hearst Ventures and Elbow Beach to accelerate autonomous drone operations.
"sees.ai sits at the intersection of two defining megatrends of our time – the application of AI to unlock new levels of efficiency, and the global transition to clean energy. Their autonomous inspection technology has the potential to transform how critical infrastructure is managed, delivering safer, faster and more scalable insights. SFV is excited to back this outstanding team as they scale their solution, which is both commercially compelling and vital to the net zero transition."
Elbow Beach Capital led the funding with a £1.7m investment to support the commercial deployment of carbon capture systems.
"I am pleased to be joining Barton Blakeley at this pivotal time for the company. With the technology proven, I look forward to supporting the company as it enters its first commercial partnerships and navigates the scale-up process with a great partner in Elbow Beach Capital."
