Green space fuel, alt-chocolate and textiles – this week's top impact rounds (and their backers)

Impact startups across Europe pulled over €200m in fresh capital this week, according to Dealroom data.

Southern Europe in particular stood out this week, particularly Italy, which has a small but booming impact tech ecosystem.

From chocolate without cocoa to textile recycling tech, here are the five deals that caught our eye.

Arkadia Space

Space travel just got a little bit greener.

Spanish startup Arkadia Space secured €14.5m through the EIC Accelerator, structured as a €2.5m grant, €6m in equity from the EIC Fund, and €6m in private investment – making it the first Spanish space company selected for the programme.

Founded by CEO Francho García alongside Francisco Espinosa, Ismael Gutiérrez, and Sergio Soler – all former PLD Space propulsion engineers – the company has developed a hypergolic bipropellant system built on high-concentration hydrogen peroxide.

The clean fuel replaces toxic hydrazine at a competitive price: filling a propulsion tank with hydrazine can cost up to €2m, while the same operation on Arkadia's first mission came in at under €50,000. Commercial deployment is targeted for 2027.

Renasens

Textile tech is back in fashion.

Extantia led a €10m seed investment in Renasens, a Swedish startup using supercritical CO2 to recycle blended textile waste. Course Corrected VC co-invested, with continued backing from Norrsken Launcher.

Founded in September 2022 by chemical engineer Dr. Jade Abir Bouledjouidja, the company has developed a modular reactor that strips dye and separates blended fibres – cotton, polyester, polycotton – without water, toxic chemicals, or depolymerisation.

Funding will go towards a pilot plant in Borås, Sweden, with existing recovered-fibre partnerships in Portugal and Italy set to expand.

Entrix

AI is getting a handle on electrons.

Munich-based Entrix has raised €43m for its battery optimisation platform which uses AI to determine the best times and prices to trade energy across Europe's electricity markets.

The round was led by Junction Growth Investors and family Belgium office Korys, alongside BNP Paribas via its Solar Impulse Venture Fund, Allianz, AENU, Enpal, Abacon, and Arvantis Group.

Founded in 2021 by Steffen Schülzchen (CEO) and Jeremias Heinrich, the company has grown from managing one of Germany's early large-scale storage projects to overseeing more than 70 battery systems across five markets.

Foreverland

Chocolate without beans.

Italian foodtech Foreverland has raised €6m for its cocoa-free chocolate.

The round includes follow-on investment from Kost Capital and Maia Ventures, alongside new investors CDP Venture Capital, Linfa, and Newtree Impact.

Founded in 2022 and led by CEO Massimo Sabatini, along with co-founders Riccardo Bottiroli, Giuseppe D'Alessandro, and Massimo Brochetta, the company makes Choruba: a cocoa-free chocolate alternative built from Mediterranean carob, an evergreen shrub that produces beans similar to cocoa.

Subbyx

This Italian scaleup is giving tech many lives.

Subbyx has closed a €30m Series A, led by Systemiq Capital with participation from existing investor Azimut, bringing total funding to €50m across equity and debt.

Founded in 2024 Filippo Rocca (CEO), Federica Rossi (CPO), Francesco Durighetto (CRO), and Ferruccio Ferruzzi (CBO), the company builds infrastructure enabling businesses to shift from ownership-based models to access-based subscriptions, to boost circularity in the tech sector.

Pictured: Benoît de Bruyn (NewTree Impact); Katja Bergman (Course Corrected); Jade (Renasens); Barbara Coussée (Junction Growth); Cristina Bini (CDP Venture); Filippo Rocca (Subbyx); Federica Rossi (Subbyx); Steffen Schülzchen (Entrix); Jeremias Heinrich (Entrix); Ismael Gutiérrez (Arkadia Space); Francho García (Arkadia Space); David Bassani (Maia Ventures); Irena Spazzapan (Systemiq Capital); Massimo Sabatini, along with co-founders Riccardo Bottiroli, Giuseppe D'Alessandro, Massimo Brochetta (Foreverland).