This week in NatureTech #35

🗑️ The food waste conversion market map

From trash to treasure: Meet the visionary startups transforming food waste into the resources of tomorrow

We've uncovered 100+ innovative companies turning the food industry's biggest problem into lucrative opportunities— collectively attracting over $200 million in funding.

The Challenge

Food waste is one of our most pressing yet overlooked environmental challenges. Approximately one-third of all food produced globally—1.3 billion tons annually—ends up discarded. This massive inefficiency has big consequences:

• Climate Impact: Food waste generates 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions as it decomposes in landfills, releasing methane that is 25 times more potent than CO2

• Resource Drain: Producing food that is ultimately wasted consumes vast resources, including 25% of the world's freshwater used in Agriculture and an area of land the size of China

• Economic Loss: The economic cost of food waste exceeds $1 trillion annually, and occurs while nearly 733 million people face food insecurity worldwide

Value Recovery: A Different Approach to Waste

While many initiatives focus on preventing food waste at the source, our database highlights a critical complementary strategy: value recovery from unavoidable waste. These innovators recognize that:

• Some food waste is inevitable in our complex food systems

• "Waste" is actually a misplaced resource containing valuable nutrients, compounds, and energy

• Capturing this value creates circular economy opportunities and new revenue streams

• These approaches can address waste that prevention strategies can't reach

The Four Frontiers of Food Waste Innovation

👚 1. Food waste to textiles

Where yesterday's lunch becomes tomorrow's fashion From orange peels spun into luxury fabrics to mushroom leather grown from bakery waste—these companies are weaving food waste into the future of sustainable fashion.

🧑‍🌾 2. Food waste to fertiliser

Closing the loop from plate to plant Using advanced bioprocessing and fermentation, these startups transform food scraps into premium fertilizers that regenerate depleted soils and reduce dependence on synthetic alternatives.

🐖 3. Food waste to animal feed

Reimagining nutrition cycles for livestock Converting grocery surplus and processing byproducts into protein-rich animal feeds

⛽ 4. Food waste to fuel

Cooking up power from what others discard These trailblazers convert everything from coffee grounds to restaurant scraps into biofuels, biogas, and clean energy solutions that could power our cities tomorrow.

This market map was made in collaboration with Net Zero Insights

Want us to take a deep dive or see the full map? Maybe we missed a startup? Drop us a reply to this email!

💬 Snippets for your lift conversations

💼 Big business:

• Reforestation startup Mombak secures 100 million reais from Santander Brasil and BNDES, aiming for growth in the carbon removal market. (Read more)

• The location of large-scale solar farm developments can play a significant role in protecting biodiversity, charting a path for clean energy projects to avoid areas with conservation value. (Read more)

🏦 Finance:

• JP Morgan Asset Management has raised $1.5 billion for the Campbell Global’s Forest & Climate Solutions Fund II, surpassing its original fundraising target. (Read more)

• Venture capital investments in nature tech startups surpassed $2 billion last year, with the biodiversity credit and MRV markets attracting significant early-stage support. (Read more)

💻️ Tech:

• A novel approach using satellite data could be a game changer for protecting life on Earth, according to the Zoological Society of London. (Read more)

• A revolutionary scanner will be launched into Earth orbit to map the carbon content of the world's remotest tropical forests and measure the effects of deforestation. (Read more)

📖 Research:

• A team of ecologists from The University of Hong Kong are leading an international initiative to study the decline of insect populations in tropical forests. (Read more)

• Researchers found 488 distinct species thriving in a deep-sea biodiversity study off the coast of Costa Rica. (Read more)

📝 Policy:

• The EU has agreed on proposals to regulate microplastic pollution, aiming to reduce plastic pellet losses by up to 74% to preserve biodiversity. (Read more)

• The EU has created a policy that will ensure soil is monitored in all EU countries and provide farmers with better support (Read more)

• A Dutch initiative is launching three pilots of a government-backed biodiversity credit framework aimed at national scale-up. (Read more)

• A shoreline restoration project in Texas aims to generate blue carbon credits to cover the construction costs. (Read more)

📝 Community news and asks:

• Aioi R&D Lab-Oxford and Natcap announce global partnership to transform biodiversity risk management, delivering risk assessments that empower businesses to integrate biodiversity risks into financial decision-making.(Read more)

  Submit community news or requests

🎣 Deals

🇫🇷 Ynsect raised $10.9Mn in Late VC for their insect ingredient products for animals, people, and plants (Source)

🇸🇪 Swedish Algae Factory raised $3.28Mn for their algae-based advanced materials (Source)

🇵🇱 Fresh Inset S raised $4.56 Mn for their innovative solutions to prolong the shelf-life of harvested fruits and vegetables (Source)

🇨🇭 Bloom Biorenewables raised $15Mn for their technologyy that converts agricultural and forestry waste into high-value chemical products (Source)

🇫🇷 Fairmat raised $29Mn for their recycling solution for carbon fiber and polymer matrix composites (Source)

50+ Startups are raising >$100mn in our network this year - get in touch to hear more

💭 Little Bytes

📊Read: The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census has discovered 866 new marine species, highlighting the vast undiscovered biodiversity in the oceans

🎞️  Watch:  Illegal luxury timber from Brazil's COP state makes its way to US and Europe, investigation finds (Read more)

💬 Research: Large animal conservation and rewilding as climate strategies may be overstated, potentially hindering effective climate mitigation and conservation efforts. (Read more)

📆 Events

In just a few weeks from now, over 200 of the brightest minds in climate tech will gather in London in Mayfair on the 7th of May, uniting growth-stage climate entrepreneurs and innovators for a day of content and networking. Sign up today and use the code NTM20 to get a 20% discount on your ticket. (Attend)

🇫🇷 Global Water Summit 2025, 12th April (Attend) 

🇺🇸 Smart Cities Conference, 14th April (Attend)

🇺🇸 ClimateTech Connect 2025, 15th April (Attend)

🇨🇦 Canadian Circular Economy Summit 2025, 15th April (Attend)

🇺🇸 SF Climate Week, 19th April (Attend)

🇺🇸 San Francisco Climate Week, 19th April (Attend)

🇺🇸 Earthx, 21st April (Attend) 

🇺🇸 US Climate Action Summit 2025, 22nd April (Attend)

🇩🇪 Tech Tour Bio-based Industries 2025 Programme, 23rd April (Attend)

🇫🇷 Change Now Summit 2025, 24th April (Attend)

🇬🇧 Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit, 25th April (Attend)

🇳🇱 Sustainable Industrial Manufacturing, 25th April (Attend)

💼Jobs

Start-up or Funds:

• Founders Associate, Amini, Nairobi / London / Paris (Apply)

• General Opportunities, Ulysses, San Francisco (Apply)

• Customer Success Manager, Verna, Remote (Apply)

• Head of Sales Europe, Planet A Foods, Germany (Apply)

• Backend Engineer, Landbanking Group, Germany (Apply)

• Sales Development Representative, Arbonics, Remote (Apply)

• Director of Nature Based Solutions, Sylvera, UK (Apply)

• The Great Bubble Barrier (Multiple Roles)

• Verna, Customer Success Manager, UK (Apply)

• Behold - CTO (Apply)

Corporate:

• Climate, Nature and Social Risk Modelling Vice President, JP Morgan, London (Apply)

• Nature-Based Solutions, Subject Matter Expert, Ramboll, USA, (Apply)

  See 10+ more Nature Jobs
  Submit a job