Motion Capital

The 2nd annual Aotearoa Climate-Tech Summit is being held on 26 June this year in Wellington. Everyone will be there, and so should you. This will be a full-day climate-tech extravaganza, including the demo day for the Aurora Climate Lab. We have a number of international climate-tech VCs attending this year, and there will be some excellent panels, content and learnings. Interested in climate-tech? Come spend the day with us. Creative HQ WellingtonNZ Joe Slater Catherine Jones Colm Kearney Holly Beals Ara Ake Cristiano Marantes Lachlan Nixon Ralph Chang Luca Harris Callaghan Innovation Fractal Climate Jennifer Wagner Alice Havill https://lnkd.in/g-yaXJJi

It's been a privilege to support Aspiring Materials through to the successful completion of their pilot plant, which was officially launched in Ōtautahi Christchurch on Friday. Big things to come!

The second half of 2024 marked significant growth for climate-tech investment in New Zealand, with a 67% surge in total investment in the sector compared to the same period the previous year. The overall venture capital market rebounded 34% over the same period. Climate-tech investment now reflects 11% of the overall venture capital market in New Zealand, with annualised investments in climate-tech at $140m p.a. We're proud that a few big rounds led by Motion Capital, such as Zincovery's $12.1m round in late 2024, have significantly contributed to this. The full market report is linked below, with a detailed breakdown of insights from Angel Association New Zealand's Bridget Unsworth and NZGCP’s Jacques Richter.

Makes sense.. Motion Capital ✅

Thanks very much to M2 Magazine and Andre Rowell for profiling Motion Capital's Lachlan Nixon on our investment approach. “All of our companies are world-class Kiwi climate tech companies that originated in New Zealand but are taking on global opportunities, and all of them have some kind of breakthrough technology that we think enables the economic decarbonisation of a large global industry" "This isn’t a philanthropic or impact fund approach but a VC lens with a focus on real, commercially viable solutions that can fundamentally reshape industries like energy, transport, food production, and manufacturing" "One of our core investment philosophies is investing in companies that make it cheaper to save the world than to destroy it.” https://lnkd.in/gjU-HXkE Available where all good magazines are sold, as well as on the coffee table at your local hairdresser.

Motion Capital is expanding! We’re delighted to welcome Ralph Chang formally to our team as a Partner. After a decade in banking and finance, Ralph has spent the last several years leading start-up companies. He was most recently CEO at P^werfinance - a start-up connecting debt instruments with emissions reduction data. Ralph will be a key person going forward and involved in all aspects of the business. He’s already added great value to our existing companies and investors. Welcome to the team Ralph!

We were stoked to be part of the Callaghan Innovation Cleantech Trek last year, travelling with a number of kiwi companies (including several or our portfolio companies) to the USA and Europe. We're deeply focused on supporting our companies on their international expansion, so trips like this are vital to strengthen our relationships with global investors, customers and partners. Our key takeaway from the trip is that the kiwi climate-tech companies are truly world-class. On this trip, they quite obviously outshone many of their overseas counterparts. One global climate-tech VC commented to us that they have never seen "such a well-honed group of climate-tech opportunities from one country". Don’t just take our word for it – check out this hype video! AZURA Ocean Technology, Hot Lime Labs, Geo40 Limited, UsedFULLY® , Mint Innovation, Basis, Solarferm, TasmanIon, Cetogenix, Zincovery, Mushroom Material @prospero and Waste To Energy Technologies Limited. Huge thanks to ASB Bank, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Invest New Zealand, Ara Ake, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and Callaghan Innovation for making it happen.

We’ve been blown away by the response to Aurora Climate Lab - New Zealand’s climate-tech accelerator. 🚀 Applications have been rolling in, and it’s clear: NZ’s climate-tech founders are ready to make waves. If you’re a pre-seed or seed-stage climate-tech startup in New Zealand, Aurora is for you. Here's what you can expect: 🌱 Up to $50k of investment (via a SAFE) 🌱 In-depth support over a number of months from Creative HQ and Alice Havill (formerly at LanzaTech and Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy ) 🌱 A pitching slot at the Aotearoa Climate-tech Summit (last year over 500 attendees, including domestic and international VCs) Applications close 30 January 2025. It takes just 5 minutes to apply ⏱️ 🌏 Ready to make an impact? Apply here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gjR_8MAk Thank you to our supporters: Callaghan Innovation, Ara Ake, Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation, K1W1, Fractal Climate. Joe Slater Holly Beals Catherine Jones Ralph Chang Luca Harris Alice Havill Lachlan Nixon Carl Vink Colm Kearney Cristiano Marantes Ariel Bing

Great to announce a US$350k investment from Elemental Impact into our portfolio company Aspiring Materials. Aspiring Materials is focused on processing serpentine rocks, such as olivine, into carbon-free critical minerals sich as magnesium, silica and iron. The technology allows for the onshoring of mineral supply chains while avoiding significant emissions. Elemental is supporting the company on their US market entry and positioning, prior to a significant seed round in 2025. Thanks very much to Fiona Rotherham and NBR - National Business Review for the coverage (paywall). https://lnkd.in/g6uwztaD