Winter 2024: Heaten Acquired by AI Alpine and Advent & More
See the latest highlights from Prime's portfolio companies, color coded by portfolio across Trellis Climate, Azolla Ventures, Prime Impact Fund and our syndication phase. To find out more about our entire portfolio, visit investments page.
Aikido Technologies, which has developed a platform for floating offshore wind turbines that could transform the industry's economics, successfully completed the fabrication of a quarter-scale turbine platform in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Recharge News, Windtech International, Interesting Engineering, EnergyTech, Riviera Maritime, and Marine Insight covered the exciting milestone.
BioLumic, a company that programs plant genetic expression using light, announced partnerships with major seed companies—including Beck's Hybrids, Peterson Farms, and Breeder Direct—to boost corn productivity through UV light treatment. The news was covered by AgFunderNews, Brownfield Ag News, and SeedWorld. BioLumic's CEO, Steve Sibulkin, discussed how to harness "a-ha" moments to unlock the full potential of agriculture in CropLife.
C-Motive Technologies was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal for its breakthrough work in electrostatic motors. C-Motive motors are up to 80% more efficient than conventional electric motors and could transform industries like robotics, renewable energy, and logistics—all while using fewer rare-earth materials and copper.
Carbon Reform, a company developing modular carbon capture systems that reduce CO2 and contaminants in commercial buildings while lowering energy costs, was recently featured in The Philadelphia Citizen and Technical.ly. Carbon Reform was also recognized in a Cisco blog post, which highlighted their Carbon Capsule® and Carbon Canister® and explained why the Cisco Foundation’s Regenerative Future Fund chose to invest in the company. Additionally, co-founder Jo Norris was named one of Philadelphia Business Journal’s Women of Influence in 2024, which recognizes 36 businesswomen shaping the future of Greater Philadelphia.
Clean Crop Technologies was recently awarded $250K from the Empire State Development's Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Competition for its high-voltage plasma technology that increases yields, improves food safety, and reduces food waste, as reported by MassLive and the Cornell Chronicle.
ConnectDER, which designs products for utilities to monitor and manage residential distributed energy resources (DERs), closed a $35MM Series D funding round, as reported by Utility Drive, CleanTechnica, Coverager, Pennsylvania Business Report, CityBiz, and Pulse 2.0.
Ebb Carbon, a marine carbon dioxide removal company employing a novel electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement process to draw down atmospheric carbon, has partnered with Microsoft to capture and store up to 350,000 tonnes of carbon over the next decade. The announcement was covered by CarbonCredits, ESG News, The Cool Down, Data Center Dynamics, GeekWire, and the Carbon Herald. Ebb was also featured in The World Economic Forum’s article on direct ocean capture (DOC).
Gradient’s All-Weather 120V Window Heat Pump was selected as the Grand Prize Winner in the 2024 CEE Integrated Home Competition. Gradient is building a climate-friendly hybrid heating and cooling unit to push the building sector toward zero carbon.
Heaten, Azolla Ventures' first investment, was acquired by AI Alpine and Advent, enabling the company to rapidly produce and scale its very-high-temperature industrial heat pump technology to decarbonize industrial processes. The acquisition, which marked Azolla's first portfolio company exit, was covered by Impact Alpha, Fortune, and Sightline Climate (CTVC).
Oxylus Energy’s cofounders Perry Bakas, Harrison Meyer, and Conor Rooney were listed in Forbes 30 under 30. The company, which is developing a lower-cost method to convert carbon dioxide into green methanol to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors, was also recognized as a Top Innovator in the UpLink World Economic Forum’s Carbon Capture and Utilization Challenge.
Twelve, a carbon transformation company that turns CO2 into essential products using electrochemistry, closed a $645MM funding round led by TPG Rise Climate. This significant milestone, one of the largest funding rounds in the e-fuels sector to date, will enable Twelve to scale its operations. The announcement was covered by Aviation Week, ESG Today, Pulse 2.0, Renewables Now, Carbon Herald, Axios, and the Wall Street Journal.
Via Separations, which electrifies energy-intensive processes for industrial chemical production, released a white paper analyzing the first six months of operating data for Project Kodiak, a first-of-a-kind commercial-scale black liquor concentration system, in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada.
