The fund aims to help foster the development of indigenous tech companies in Ireland to support the country in meeting its climate change targets across a spectrum of agricultural and industrial sectors.
Resolve Ventures, an Irish-based fund manager, has launched a €30m Climate Impact Fund, backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Irish government, which aims to support Irish-based startups developing technology tackling climate change-related challenges.
The fund is backed by the Irish Innovation Seed Fund, a €90m fund of funds supported by Enterprise Ireland and the EIF, as well as Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency’s Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
Resolve Ventures was founded in 2023 by David Scanlon and Alan Costello, whose track records include fostering startups, science commercialisation and impact investment. Costello formerly worked at Enterprise Ireland. Most recently, the managers have been running a separate consultancy, Resolve Partners.
The fund aims to create a portfolio of firms developing nature-positive, equitable solutions aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals by supporting and advising early-stage Irish companies playing a role in decarbonisation in areas including energy, agriculture, mobility, construction, smart consumer tech, and resource management. The first investments have yet to be made, but areas currently being looked at include industrial heat loss, food waste, aquaculture, and direct air capture, according to the partners.
The fund managers plan to build on their experience by bringing together large companies and organisations seeking to foster entrepreneurship with Irish technology startups.
Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, said government support reflected the belief that that, if new Irish-based companies were not supported at the seed and early stage, there would not be enough scalable indigenous companies available later in the development lifecycle.
“That is why this allocation is such a positive initiative for the Irish market, with Enterprise Ireland investing alongside the EIF,” he said. Coveney added that the government planned to make further announcements on funding allocations.
Resolve’s Scanlon said he hoped the fund would benefit innovative tech solutions powering the decarbonisation of food, energy, transport, and consumption systems. The strategy made sense economically as well as environmentally, he said, as governments, utilities, and multinational corporations would be required to invest and spend heavily on sustainability in coming years to align with Ireland’s National Development Plan and Climate Action Plan.
“We are building a portfolio of startups to capitalise on this. Our mission is to cultivate our venture ecosystem, seizing this market opportunity, while making a meaningful impact on carbon reduction and the preservation of our planet for future generations,” Scanlon said.
