Accelerating Climate Tech: The Power of Strategic Partnerships

The climate crisis needs urgent innovation at a rapid scale. Innovations for climate action already exist — now we must rapidly transition breakthrough technologies from the lab to the market. Early-stage climate ventures often encounter high costs, technical risks, and slow regulatory processes, all of which slow down innovation adoption. This is where specialized partnerships are crucial; partnerships between various stakeholders, such as startups, corporations, governments, and research institutions, help leverage their strengths and share resources.

Lack of collaboration and strategic partnerships can impede and slow down progress. Startups operating in isolation typically face considerable challenges, including limited access to capital, regulatory hurdles, fragmented research and development resources, and slower time-to-market. Without strategic alliances, even the most promising innovations risk stagnating at the prototype stage.

Working in silos results in a fragmented ecosystem where climate solutions are delayed, duplicated, or poorly scaled. The climate crisis is too urgent, complex, and capital-intensive for isolated approaches to succeed rapidly.

NOW Venture Studio aims to foster meaningful collaboration for early-stage climate technology. By co-developing ventures and connecting founders with relevant partners, NOW helps to mitigate the risks associated with innovation and create pathways for scaling solutions.

Key Benefits of Specialized Partnerships

Strategic collaboration has multiple benefits. Collectively, these benefits lead to a multiplier effect and enhance the performance and growth of a startup.

1. Faster Commercialization and Market Access: Collaborating with an established partner gives a startup immediate access to a pool of resources such as customers, distribution channels, and testing environments. Large companies frequently serve as pilot customers or ‘launch partners’ for climate startups, accelerating real-world deployment.

Many climatetech startups operate in B2B sectors. Corporate partners can provide critical pathways for commercialization by leveraging customer channels and global market access. Corporations also offer specialized R&D facilities and funding. This helps startups move from prototype to product rapidly.

2. Shared Risk and Resource Pooling: Developing new climate technologies comes with a lot of uncertainty and requires significant investment. Partnerships enable the sharing of costs and risks, allowing startups to make bold decisions. For instance, governments and large institutions can take on some financial risk by co-funding projects or providing grants, while private partners contribute market expertise.

Research from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) shows that blending private and public funds creates an innovative approach to risk sharing, attracting further investment. No single entity bears the full cost of research, development, or the risk of failures. Teams are more willing to test new solutions when there is a division of the cost burden. This risk-sharing encourages bold innovation.

3. Access to Expertise and Networks: Partnerships allow for knowledge and skill. Different partners come with different pools of resources. For example, a university lab may have in-depth scientific expertise, a corporate partner might provide insights into industry standards, and a startup might contribute agility and innovative ideas.

An example of this is the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program. This program pairs innovators with business mentors and connects them with corporate partners for testing of their technology while providing financial assistance. Strategic alliances provide startups with valuable mentorship, technical feedback, and networking opportunities that may be difficult to tap into by themselves.

4. Regulatory and Policy Navigation: Climate tech intersects with complex policy regulations and economic incentives. Partnering with government or regulatory bodies can simplify this process. For example, a startup working with a state agency or international fund can receive guidance on compliance and access tax incentives more easily.

UNFCCC research shows that public-private partnerships enhance technology diffusion by aligning policy support with market development. This helps startups navigate regulatory hurdles while ensuring that innovations meet national goals.

5. Credibility and Funding Leverage: Partnering with credible organizations and experts enhances investor confidence. It validates a startup’s technology, business model, and leadership. Research shows that startups collaborating with government agencies see a 74% increase in patenting activity, and each government technology license more than doubles their follow-on financing.

Endorsements from established partners can unlock capital. Investors are more inclined to support ventures with institutional backing. Ultimately, co-development signals market viability, accelerating growth and scale.

Examples of Strategic Partnerships in Climate Tech

The following examples illustrate how specialised partnerships with climate tech companies can help transform the sector.

• Climeworks & Carbfix: Climeworks is a Swiss startup specializing in direct air capture (DAC) technology, which removes CO₂ directly from the atmosphere. In partnership with Carbfix, they inject the captured CO₂ into basalt rock formations in Iceland, where it mineralizes into stone. This partnership addresses carbon removal and showcases how two companies can work together to scale innovative solutions.
• Terradot & Google: Terradot, a startup focused on enhanced rock weathering (ERW) to sequester CO₂, has partnered with Google, H&M Group, and Salesforce, among other major companies. Their innovative technology offers a scalable solution for carbon removal. Their strategic collaboration with major organizations showcases the vital role of tech companies in promoting climate innovation.

In the fight against climate change, there is no silver bullet. Specialized partnerships are crucial for breaking silos and accelerating innovation. These collaborations enable faster deployment, share risks, navigate policy challenges, and optimize resources.

At NOW Venture Studio, we embody this approach by acting as a co-founder for climate ventures, connecting founders with funding partners and experts to de-risk and scale new technologies.

Stakeholders can champion collaboration. Investors and corporations can create opportunities for startups, while government programs can provide funding and support. Entrepreneurs should actively seek alliances beyond their core teams and immediate networks. Through collaboration, we can address the climate emergency and build a sustainable future more quickly than any of us could alone.