AENU closes first climate tech fund at €170m, above target and near hard cap
Berlin, September 11, 2024 – AENU, one of Europe’s leading Article 9 climate tech venture capital funds, has announced the final close of its first fund at €170 million, significantly above its initial €140 million target and close to its hard cap. The fund focuses on Seed and Series A investments in climate technologies across Northern Europe, with a particular emphasis on the energy transition and the carbon economy. AENU’s mission is to accelerate the systemic shift toward #ImpactCapitalism, aligning market-rate financial returns with measurable positive climate impact.
Fund size and structure
- Final fund size: €170 million
- Target fund size: €140 million (significantly exceeded)
- Stage focus: Seed and Series A
- Geographic focus: Northern Europe
- Thematic focus: Energy transition and carbon economy
AENU began its journey in 2022 with an evergreen fund structure, designed to democratize access to the asset class, ensure long-term stakeholder alignment, and create novel liquidity options for LPs. In 2023, after recognizing that this innovative structure was not yet widely accepted by institutional LPs, AENU pivoted to a more conventional structure. This strategic shift unlocked substantial institutional demand and ultimately enabled the successful €170 million final close of AENU I.
Investor base: strong institutional and entrepreneurial backing
The oversubscribed fund reflects growing LP confidence in AENU’s climate-focused strategy and team. The investor base combines leading institutional capital with prominent entrepreneurs and family offices:
- Institutional LPs:
- European Investment Fund (EIF)
- KfW Capital
- Bertelsmann
- Rentenbank
- Serial entrepreneurs:
- Lawrence Leuschner (TIER)
- Anna Alex (Planetly)
- Michael Wax (Forto)
- Niklas Zennström (Skype)
- Family offices:
- E.R. Capital Holding, among others
These investors share AENU’s conviction that investing at the intersection of market-rate returns and climate impact is both a financial and planetary imperative.
Differentiation: research-led investing and Impact-as-a-Service
AENU sets itself apart through a research-led, science-based investment approach and a structured value-add platform for founders.
Research-led investment strategy
AENU’s in-house team conducts several Deep Dives per year into specific sub-sectors of the energy transition and carbon economy. Recent research topics include:
- Carbon removal via direct air capture and mineralisation
- Energy flexibility behind-the-meter
- Climate risk & analytics
These Deep Dives inform AENU’s investment theses and drive proactive, outbound deal sourcing. Approximately 70% of AENU’s active investments have been sourced through this outbound, thesis-driven approach. The firm openly publishes much of its research on its website, providing founders and investors with insights into emerging markets, technologies, and trends.
Value-add: entrepreneurial sparring and Impact-as-a-Service
AENU supports portfolio companies with:
- Entrepreneurial sparring: Hands-on strategic and operational guidance from seasoned entrepreneurs with unicorn-building and exit experience.
- Impact-as-a-Service: A structured offering that includes:
- Impact measurement and reporting
- Life-Cycle Assessments (LCAs)
- CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) readiness
- Theory of Change (ToC) development
This combination of commercial expertise and impact tooling is designed to help founders scale both their businesses and their climate contribution.
Portfolio highlights: early success stories
AENU invests in companies that directly contribute to solving the climate crisis. Selected portfolio companies include:
- Alcemy (Berlin, GER)
Uses data-driven technologies to optimize concrete production, significantly reducing CO₂ emissions in the construction industry.
Co-investors: LocalGlobe, Galvanize, Norrsken.
- Monta (Copenhagen, DK)
Provides leading software solutions for electric vehicle charging infrastructure management, optimizing charging networks for the energy transition.
Co-investors: Creandum, Energize, Headline.
- Trawa (Berlin, GER)
Specializes in intelligent energy measurement and optimization for industrial applications, increasing efficiency and reducing energy consumption.
Co-investor: Balderton.
- Ocell (Munich, GER)
Develops solutions for monitoring and reducing CO₂ emissions in real time, helping companies achieve their climate targets faster.
Co-investor: Summitteer.
- Hometree (London, UK)
Offers solutions for the installation and maintenance of energy-efficient heating systems, enabling homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint.
Co-investors: 2150, EIP, LocalGlobe.
From a portfolio of more than 20 companies, the first nine have already achieved successful up-rounds, underscoring both commercial traction and investor confidence.
Voices from the AENU team
Fabian Heilemann, Founder & CEO of AENU:
“The strong demand for AENU's final closing demonstrates that climate impact investing has emerged from a niche to the mainstream of the Venture Capital market. We are proud to be drivers of the systemic transformation in our industry by open-sourcing our scientific impact-methodology to other managers and delivering unique Impact-as-a-Service to our portfolio companies.”
Ferry Heilemann, Founder & Partner:
“Our north star is to maximize our impact by finding companies that have the potential to reduce and remove 50 million tons of CO₂ at scale. Since we are committed to advancing the entire climate transition, our approach is collaborative within the VC ecosystem, and we are working alongside impactful NGOs like Leaders for Climate Action, Founder's Pledge, and Clean Air Task Force.”
Siobhan Brewster, Partner:
“With our in-house research we are developing specific investment theses that empower us to discover and close investment opportunities in the market with speed and determination. The founders notice and reward, when an investor has built specific domain expertise in their market.”
Philip Specht, Partner:
“Joining from a generalist fund at the beginning of the year, it is great to now be part of a team that is characterized by a rare combination of commercial track record and impact DNA, striving every day to empower the most ambitious and impact-minded climate tech founders in Europe.”
About AENU
AENU is an Article 9 climate tech VC fund focused on European early-stage companies in the energy transition and carbon economy. The team brings together:
- Former unicorn founders (e.g. Forto)
- Climate activists (e.g. Leaders for Climate Action – LFCA)
- Institutional investment professionals (e.g. Earlybird, Macquarie, Speedinvest)
AENU’s impact methodology is frequently cited by experts and underpins its investment and portfolio support processes. The portfolio has already seen multiple up-rounds, with recent investments including Monta (alongside Creandum, Energize), Alcemy (with Galvanize, LocalGlobe), Agreena (with HV, Kinnevik), and Trawa (with Balderton).
AENU’s first fund close at €170 million marks a significant milestone for European climate tech, reinforcing the momentum behind impact-driven venture capital and the broader transition toward a low-carbon economy.
