Italy’s climate tech sector surges after slow start – 10 startups to watch

Italy’s climate tech sector is quietly defying global trends. While investment in clean technologies has slowed across much of Europe, Italian startups have already raised $145m in 2025 – the second-best funding year on record.

Federico Cuppoloni, director at startup organisation Cleantech for Italy, believes that by the end of the year, the sector might just top 2023’s $231m peak.

"Italy came relatively late to the cleantech investment wave and follows its own dynamics," Cuppoloni tells Impact Loop. "While global cleantech funding peaked in 2022, Italy reached its peak a year later, and 2025 is on track to surpass that record."

The surge reflects Italy’s growing strength in advanced materials, chemicals, and circular economy solutions, which together attract more than half of the capital invested in the sector this year, says Cuppoloni.

As the EU’s second-largest manufacturing economy, Italy faces mounting pressure to decarbonise while remaining competitive amid high energy costs and volatile supply chains.

When it comes to startups, the biggest hurdle now, says Cuppoloni, is scale.

"The real challenge is to secure an industrial future for these ventures," he says. "While this is a challenge shared globally, it is particularly acute in Italy, where late-stage capital remains scarce."

Against this backdrop, we've picked 10 of the fastest-growing climate tech startups in Italy that should be on your radar.

Tulum Energy

Tulum Energy is pioneering a novel approach to clean hydrogen production through methane pyrolysis. It utilising repurposed electric arc furnaces to convert natural gas or biogas into hydrogen and solid carbon with fewer CO2 emissions. This process, known as turquoise hydrogen, offers a cost-effective and scalable solution for decarbonising heavy industries such as steel, chemicals, and ammonia production.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +150%

📅 Founded: 2024

📍 Headquarters: Milan, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: ~€25m

💸 Latest round: €22.9m Seed (July 2025)

🤝 Principal investors: CDP Venture Capital (Green Transition Fund), TDK Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, MITO Tech Ventures, Doral Energy Tech Ventures

Subbyx

Milan-based Subbyx wants to change how people access tech. Instead of buying gadgets outright, users can subscribe to everything from laptops to smartphones – and swap or upgrade when they need. The model taps into a growing shift toward “everything-as-a-service,” aiming to cut e-waste while making high-end devices more affordable.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +89%

📅 Founded: 2023

📍 Headquarters: Milan, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: €15m

💸 Latest round: €15m Series A (January 2025)

🤝 Principal investors: Azimut Libera Impresa, Azimut Investments

Energy Dome

Energy Dome has developed a novel way to store renewable energy using carbon dioxide instead of rare materials or lithium. Its “CO2 battery” compresses and releases CO2 in a closed loop, potentially offering a cheaper, scalable solution for long-duration energy storage.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +52%

📅 Founded: 2020

📍 Headquarters: Milan, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: €95m

💸 Latest round: €55m Series B (July 2023)

🤝 Principal investors: CDP Venture Capital, Eni Next, Neva SGR, Barclays Climate Ventures, 360 Capital, Elemental Excelerator

Circular Materials

Circular Materials has developed a system that recovers of critical metals from industrial wastewater. Utilising a patent-pending process in supercritical water, the company extracts valuable metals like nickel, copper, and tin without producing toxic sludge.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +39%

📅 Founded: 2019

📍 Headquarters: Padua, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: €10m

💸 Latest round: €4m seed (2025)

🤝 Principal investors: 360 Capital, European Innovation Council Fund, A2A

Wsense

Wsense specialises in underwater monitoring and communication systems. Its Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) tech, enables real-time data collection from marine environments, including for environmental monitoring and deep ocean exploration.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +29%

📅 Founded: 2017

📍 Headquarters: Rome, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: €20m

💸 Latest round: €7.2m pre-Series B (April 2025)

🤝 Principal investors: Fincantieri, CDP Venture Capital, BlueInvest, Axon Partners Group, Katapult Group

Limenet

Limenet has developed a patented technology for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere by converting it into calcium bicarbonates, which are then added to seawater to combat ocean acidification. Their approach not only sequesters carbon but also enhances marine ecosystems. The company operates one of the world's largest CO₂ marine sequestration plants in Augusta, Sicily.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +28%

📅 Founded: 2023

📍 Headquarters: Galbiate, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: €6m

💸 Latest round: €5m seed (July 2024)

🤝 Principal investors: CDP Venture Capital (Green Transition Fund), TDK Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, MITO Tech Ventures, Doral Energy Tech Ventures

Reefilla

Reefilla specialises in mobile energy storage solutions that utilize second-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Their flagship product, Fillee, is a portable charging device designed for electric vehicles, aiming to offer a sustainable alternative to traditional charging infrastructure.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +19%

📅 Founded: 2021

📍 Headquarters: Turin, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: €6m

💸 Latest round: €4.5m Series A (November 2024)

🤝 Principal investors: CDP Venture Capital, HCapital, Azimut, Motor Valley Accelerator

Daze

Daze specialises in smart electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions and energy efficiency systems. Their product lineup includes wallboxes, inverters, and integrated energy management platforms designed for both residential and commercial applications.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +17%

📅 Founded: 2016

📍 Headquarters: Bergamo, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: €22m

💸 Latest round: €15m Series A (February 2024)

🤝 Principal investors: Day One Capital, Prana Ventures, EIC Fund, CDP Venture Capital

MOGU

MOGU develops mycelium-based materials for sustainable design applications. Their products aim to replace traditional materials with eco-friendly alternatives in sectors like interior design and fashion.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +15%

📅 Founded: 2015

📍 Headquarters: Inarzo, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: ~€15m

💸 Latest round: €11m Series A (January 2024)

🤝 Principal investors: CDP Venture Capital, ECBF VC, Kering Ventures, MITO Technology

Planet Farms

Planet Farms operates one of Europe's largest vertical farms near Milan, focusing on pesticide-free, locally grown produce. Their technology is designed to reduce land and water usage when compared to traditional farming methods.

📈 Employee growth (last 12 months): +4%

📅 Founded: 2017

📍 Headquarters: Milan, Italy

💵 Total equity funding: ~€65m

💸 Latest round: €40m (November 2023)

🤝 Principal investors: Swiss Life Asset Managers, Unicredit, Azimut, B Heroes, Enzo Ciavaglioli

Pictured top: Filippo Rocca (Subbyx); Claudio Spadacini (Energy Dome); Antonella Grassigli (Club di Angel); Claudia Pingue (CDP Capital); Maurizio Montalti and Stefano Babbini (MOGU), Marco Bersani (Circular Materials); Federico Cuppoloni (Cleantech for Italy); Chiara Petrioli (WSense).