{"id":342460,"date":"2025-12-30T08:25:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T08:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/342460\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T08:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T08:25:14","slug":"ev-infrastructure-and-ai-materials-lead-the-way-tfn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/342460\/","title":{"rendered":"EV infrastructure and AI materials lead the way \u2014 TFN"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK\u2019s climate tech and sustainability sector had a strong year in 2025, with investors putting significant capital behind companies working on clean energy, electric transport, sustainable food systems, and more.<\/p>\n

From EV charging and hydrogen to AI-driven materials and climate-resilient crops, these startups are trying to solve some of the country\u2019s biggest environmental challenges in practical ways. Rising energy costs, pressure to reduce carbon emissions, and tighter climate targets have prompted both the government and private investors to act more quickly.<\/p>\n

As a result, large institutional funds, national investment banks, and global venture firms stepped in to back companies that are already operating at scale or are close to commercial rollout.<\/p>\n

Investors also showed strong interest in platforms that use AI to accelerate discovery, reduce waste, and improve efficiency across climate-critical sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and energy storage.<\/p>\n

Here are the companies that raised funding in 2025.<\/p>\n

GRIDSERVE<\/p>\n

\"Gridserve-ceo\"Image credits: Klarna <\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Toddington Harper
Founded year: 20117
Recent funding: \u00a3100M<\/p>\n

EV charging company GRIDSERVE secured \u00a3100 million in equity funding from its institutional shareholders, including TPG, Infracapital, and Mitsubishi, to support its next phase of growth. GRIDSERVE is a technology-enabled electric vehicle charging and sustainable energy business. The company operated the Electric Highway, the UK\u2019s most-used public charging network. <\/p>\n

The company operates over 200 charging locations with approximately 1,500 bays nationwide, delivering roughly 250,000 charging sessions each month. GRIDSERVE focused on making electric travel simple, reliable, and accessible for drivers across the UK.<\/p>\n

Fuse Energy<\/p>\n

\"AlanImage credits: Fuse Energy<\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Alan Chang and Charles Orr
Founded year: 2022
Recent funding: $100M<\/p>\n

Fuse Energy raised<\/a> $100M at a valuation of around $5 billion, just five months after it became a unicorn. The round was backed by existing investors, including Lowercarbon Capital and Balderton, as the company continued to scale in the UK market.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2022 by former Revolut executives Alan Chang<\/a> and Charles Orr<\/a>, Fuse Energy operated as a residential electricity supplier, delivering power directly to households. The company entered the UK market following the energy crisis, offering fixed, predictable pricing through a digital-first platform. Its approach focused on simplifying billing, improving transparency, and lowering costs for consumers.<\/p>\n

Fuse reported that its service helped households save up to \u00a3200 per year compared to traditional providers. In 2025, customer numbers grew rapidly, increasing from 50,000 to more than 150,000 within weeks. During the same period, annual recurring revenue rose from $100 million to $300 million, with revenues increasing sevenfold year on year in Q3 2025.<\/p>\n

CuspAI<\/p>\n

\"CuspAIImage credits: CuspAI <\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Dr. Chad Edwards and Prof. Max Welling
Founded year: 2024
Recent funding: $100M<\/p>\n

Founded in 2024, CuspAI developed an AI-driven materials discovery platform. The company built what it described as a search engine for materials, allowing customers to define required properties while the system generated new, synthesizable material candidates significantly faster than traditional methods.<\/p>\n

CuspAI worked with partners across energy, automotive, climate, and semiconductors, including Hyundai Motor Group, Kemira, Meta, and others.<\/p>\n

CuspAI raised more than $100 million in a Series A funding round<\/a>, with Prosus Ventures <\/a>participating alongside co-leads NEA and Temasek<\/a>. The round also included NVentures (NVIDIA\u2019s venture arm), Samsung, Hyundai Motor Group, Basis Set Ventures, FJ Labs<\/a>, Giant Ventures<\/a>, LocalGlobe<\/a>, Northzone<\/a>, Tiferes Ventures,<\/a> Touring Capital<\/a>, and several angel investors.<\/p>\n

Connected Kerb<\/p>\n

\"ConnectedImage credits: Connected Kerb LinkedIn<\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Peter Howe, Richard Clements, Stephen Richardson, Nick Dobie, and Paul Ayres
Founded year: 2017
Recent funding: \u00a365M<\/p>\n

Founded and based in the UK, Connected Kerb operated as a smart EV charging infrastructure provider, working closely with local authorities to install and manage chargers on residential streets and in public car parks. The company also installed charging infrastructure at workplaces, retail locations, commercial properties, and new residential developments.<\/p>\n

Connected Kerb secured \u00a365 million in equity funding to expand its on-street electric vehicle charging network across the UK. The round included a \u00a355 million ordinary equity investment from NWF, alongside an additional \u00a310 million from Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of Aviva plc.<\/p>\n

Pulpex<\/p>\n

\"PulpexImage credits: Pulpex<\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Sandy Westwater and Scott Winston
Founded year: 2020
Recent funding: \u00a372.3<\/p>\n

Pulpex developed a fibre-based bottle made from sustainably sourced wood pulp, designed to be recycled through standard paper and card recycling streams. The company\u2019s patented technology developed a recyclable, biodegradable packaging alternative with a lower carbon footprint than glass or plastic.<\/p>\n

Pulpex raised new equity funding, with the National Wealth Fund (NWF) as cornerstone investor, providing \u00a343.5 million in direct equity, alongside a \u00a310 million co-investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank. The remainder of the round came from existing investors.<\/p>\n

Pathfinder Clean Energy (PACE)<\/p>\n

\"KlarnaImage credits: Klarna <\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Rob Denman\u00a0and\u00a0Alex Ross\u00a0
Founded year: 2011
Recent funding: \u00a346M<\/p>\n

Founded in 2017, PACE operated as a clean energy developer and investor, with a focus on solar power and battery storage assets. The company managed a global development pipeline of more than 3GW across the UK, Canada, Poland, and New Zealand. Its Belgium-based engineering team, supported by UK project management, led assets into the construction phase.<\/p>\n

Pathfinder Clean Energy secured a \u00a346 million investment through a convertible bond from Paris-based investment firm RGREEN INVEST.<\/p>\n

Wild Bioscience<\/p>\n

\"WildImage credits: Wild Bioscience<\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Dr Ross Hendron\u00a0and\u00a0Professor Steve Kelly
Founded year: 2021
Recent funding: \u20ac240M<\/p>\n

Founded in 2021 as a spinout from the University of Oxford, Wild Bio worked on improving crop varieties using AI and precision breeding.<\/p>\n

The company analysed genetic traits found in wild plant species to identify characteristics that could improve crop yields, climate resilience, and sustainability. These insights were then applied to modern crops through targeted breeding methods.<\/p>\n

Wild Bioscience (Wild Bio) raised $60 million in a Series A funding round<\/a> to expand its work in AI-driven crop development. The round was led by the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), with participation from existing investors Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), Braavos Capital<\/a>, and the University of Oxford.<\/p>\n

Hived<\/p>\n

\"HIVEDPicture credits: HIVED <\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Murvah Iqbal\u00a0and\u00a0Mathias Krieger
Founded year: 2021
Recent funding: $60M<\/p>\n

Founded in 2021 by Murvah Iqbal<\/a> and Mathias Krieger<\/a>, HIVED operated a logistics system built specifically for e-commerce. The company ran an all-electric parcel delivery network powered by its in-house platform, HIVEDmind, which managed each parcel\u2019s journey using deep learning, live data, and dynamic delivery zones.<\/p>\n

Instead of relying on fixed postcodes, the system adjusted delivery boundaries in real time and combined live tracking, fraud detection, and optimised EV routing within a single platform. HIVED delivered more than 6.5 million parcels across Greater London, achieving a 99% on-time delivery rate for retailers including John Lewis, Uniqlo, Zara, and Nespresso.<\/p>\n

HIVED secured $42 million in Series B funding<\/a>, led by NordicNinja<\/a>, with participation from Wex Venture Capital<\/a>, Marunouchi Innovation Partners, Elemental Impact<\/a>, Yamato Holdings, Future Back Ventures by Bain & Co, Rocketship VC, and existing investor Planet A<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Protium Green Solutions<\/p>\n

\"ProtiumImage credits: Protium Green Solutions<\/p>\n

Founder\/s: Chris Jackson
Founded year: 2019
Recent funding: \u00a331M<\/p>\n

Founded in the UK, Protium operated as a green hydrogen developer, providing end-to-end solutions that covered production, storage, and supply of green hydrogen for industrial and transport use. The company focused on a local production and consumption model to support decarbonisation in sectors where electrification alone was insufficient.<\/p>\n

Protium Green Solutions secured more than \u00a331 million in Series B funding to accelerate its UK hydrogen projects and commercial deployment.<\/p>\n

The round was led by existing investors Barclays Principal Investments and SWEN Capital Partners<\/a>, through the SWEN Impact Fund for Transition, with new participation from ITOCHU Corporation and Toho Gas Co.<\/p>\n

Peak Cluster<\/p>\n

\"PeakImage credits: Peak Cluster<\/p>\n

Founder\/s: John Egan
Founded year: 2023
Recent funding: \u00a328.6M<\/p>\n

Peak Cluster developed carbon capture and storage infrastructure to transport CO\u2082 captured from industrial plants across Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The pipeline was designed to link these sites to the Morecambe Net Zero project, where Spirit Energy was converting depleted gas fields into the UK\u2019s largest carbon dioxide storage facility.<\/p>\n

Peak Cluster secured a \u00a328.6 million equity investment from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) to advance the development of its planned carbon dioxide transport pipeline for the UK cement and lime sector.<\/p>\n

The investment anchored a \u00a359.6 million equity raise, with additional backing from a joint venture between Summit Energy Evolution Ltd (part of Sumitomo Corporation) and Progressive Energy Peak Ltd, as well as industry partners Tarmac, Breedon, Holcim, and SigmaRoc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s climate tech and sustainability sector had a strong year in 2025, with investors putting significant capital…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-342460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}