About us

Building the future together

Image Nium‘s novel nanotechnology is replacing Haber-Bosch, the most polluting industrial process on the planet to enable the synthesis of truly green ammonia for fertilisers and fuel.

Carbon13 is a response to the climate emergency. We recognise that despite the increasing number of commitments to net zero emissions, there is still uncertainty on how to deliver. There are existing technologies to deploy but we also require innovation to reinvent the rules and therefore reimagine what is possible.

Carbon13 is not just about investing in a few startups, it is about harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit. That means engaging with academia, business, policy makers, NGOs, consumers, new standards and finance. We need pioneers across the spectrum and that is where our community is critical to the success of our ventures and the transformation we need to see.

Get to know us

Meet Our Team

With origins across the Cambridge University ecosystem, world leading multinationals and successfully exited starts-ups, this team has deep experience in supporting founders, partners and investors.

Our Community

Carbon13’s community of climatetech founders, Entrepreneurs in Residence, Experts, Investors and our Industry Partners all contribute to tackle the climate emergency.

Develop a strategic partnership

Corporate partners work with us because they want to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions, drive innovation, engage staff and identify investment opportunities.

Attend an event

The latest events for potential founders, investors and corporate partners.

Leadership Team

Dr Nicky Dee

Dr Nicky Dee

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer

Michael Langguth

Michael Langguth

Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer

Our impact

At Carbon13, our focus is not only on Carbon emissions or protecting Earth’s systems for the sake of Impact alone. Developing a scaling mentality from day one is essential to tackling an urgent and sizable problem—one that is increasingly shaped by the growing commercial drivers emerging from the fact that the cost of inaction on climate change now outweighs the cost of action. This dual imperative continues to shape how we support founders in building ventures that are both impactful and resilient.

Additionality

As humanity begins to experience the effects of climate change, and organisations increasingly showcase their efforts to join the sustainability conversation, we are seeing a growing number of claims of action. To achieve its mission, Carbon13 focuses on understanding its own additionality—the unique ways it drives climate impact through entrepreneurship.
This is delivered across four key areas:

First, Carbon13 creates ventures that wouldn’t otherwise exist by connecting founders who might never have met, encouraging those unsure about entrepreneurship to take the leap, and helping individuals find the right cofounder. We are the first line in many of our founders’ stories.

Second, it supports ventures in becoming more impactful by accelerating growth through expert guidance, timely input, access to finance, and fostering effective and diverse teams. Founders are also trained to embed impact from the ideation stage, ensuring they become catalysts for meaningful change. Venture growth also naturally supports job creation and economic engagement.

Third, Carbon13 generates new knowledge that benefits even those who don’t progress with a venture. Many alumni report re-engaging with their careers in more impactful ways, applying what they’ve learned to support climate innovation elsewhere.

Fourth, Carbon13 actively addresses the lack of diversity in entrepreneurship through inclusive programme design, targeted outreach to underrepresented groups, and dedicated support for female founders. Indicators and data supporting these claims are presented in the impact report.

Our Community

Carbon13’s community of climatetech founders, Entrepreneurs in Residence, Experts, Investors and our Industry Partners all contribute to tackle the climate emergency. Find out more about the roles across Carbon13 and the impact they have. 

Entrepreneur in Residence

Entrepreneur in Residence Sarah Dees and Carbon13’s Chief Financial Officer & Managing Director Jonathan Cumming

Image Amrit Chandan, Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Carbon13

Carbon Expert / Domain Expert

James Tabor, BCG Digital Ventures and domain expert at Carbon13

Image James Tabor, BCG Digital Ventures and domain expert at Carbon13

Alumni

Founders of Infyos: Tony To, CTO and Sarah Montgomery, CEO

Image Founders of Infyos: Tony To, CTO and Sarah Montgomery, CEO

Our Beliefs

We believe entrepreneurs will change the trajectory of the world, not through old models, or the wisdom of crowds, but by exploring areas where no footprints exist.

This uncharted territory requires a technical approach, one with carbon aptitude and carbon maths, accelerated by leaps of visionary imagination.

Our Cambridge origins taught us the importance of world-class carbon, commercial and scientific understanding.

We are a people business. We care deeply about the success of those who choose to take giant steps.

Real transformation doesn’t come from a single individual but unencumbered communities with original thought.

Our entrepreneurs will test traditions, render new vision, and have the courage to ask the contrarian questions, because ultimately they are the creative force that will adjust economies for a net zero future.

News, raises & milestones

Learn more about Carbon13’s progress and community. Here we share fundraising news from our ventures, collaborations with our partners, and our own news, opinion, and milestones.

Ki Hydrogen secures £899,654 grant from Innovate UK 

Ki Hydrogen secures £899,654 grant from Innovate UK 

Another win for Ki Hydrogen as they have secured a new £899,654 grant from Innovate UK’s Investor Partnerships programme. This is Ki Hydrogen’s second grant, after the start-up previously secured the 2024 Innovate UK Smart Grant and the Ofgem Network Innovation...

Climate Then and Now: 2020 V 2026 – Part Two

Climate Then and Now: 2020 V 2026 – Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of Climate Then and Now (go back to Part One if you missed it). Carbon13 has just invested in our 100th venture, so we’re comparing the start of our journey in 2020 to 2025, and then how we're approaching 2026. In Part One, we were talking about...

Climatetech Then and Now: 2020 v 2026 – Part One

Climatetech Then and Now: 2020 v 2026 – Part One

Carbon13 just hit a mega milestone in our journey: we’ve made our 100th investment in a high-potential climatetech startup. That's 100 funded ventures through our Venture Builder and Accelerator programmes since we launched in 2020. So as we hurtle into 2026, we're...

Climate Takes 100 Investments

Climate Takes 100 Investments

This episode of our podcast is dedicated to the biggest Carbon13 milestone yet - we just hit 100 invested ventures! That's 100 invested climate startups since we signed our first cheques in 2021. We booted up our website in 2020 and welcomed the first fifty founders...

Spotlight on our Entrepreneur in Residence: Eda Leka

Spotlight on our Entrepreneur in Residence: Eda Leka

Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs) are our closest circle of supporters. From Phase 2 onwards, they are mentors and sparring partners for our teams and bring a wealth of experience from entrepreneurship and technical understanding. We would like to introduce you to our...

Our Upcoming Events & Webinars

Whether investor, partner or participant. We show you how Carbon13 is organised and look forward to your questions and ideas. Our regular webinars and in-person events offer a great opportunity to get to know us better.

Here is what our founders say

"As a scientist on the Venture Builder, yes it was great to join a group which also had lots of other scientists and engineers, but I was also taken out of my comfort zone and challenged by amazing entrepreneurs and commercial founders. That's what took it from an idea to a business."

Yubiao Niu
Co-founder and CTO, Nium
from Cohort 3

“One of the great things about Carbon13 was meeting people from all walks of life, ages and backgrounds.”

Natalia Dorfman
Co-founder and CEO, Kita
from Cohort 2

“I still consider myself to be an engineer and not an entrepreneur. It was never really my plan to move into entrepreneurship but I do believe that it is the best vehicle that humans have developed in order to actually take ideas to accelerate them, make them grow and actually have a profound effect on the world.”

Jonathan Bean
Co-founder and CEO, Materials Nexus
from Cohort 2

"It would have taken me years to meet 50 exceptionally talented and passionate founders who are determined to solve the climate crisis and Carbon13 did it in just a few weeks"

Sarah Montgomery
Co-founder and CEO
at Infyos from cohort 1

Carbon13's participants are uber qualified. I was blown away by the people in the room when I stepped in there. And they actually want to do a startup. Often the biggest challenge is getting someone great to leave a really comfortable job.

Lucy Lyons
Co-founder and CEO
at Kestrix from cohort 4