Startups, ideas and innovations for a green economy
Agreenet is a startup that operates in the production of innovative biomaterials for the preservation and packaging of fresh foods. The startup was founded in Turin in 2022 from the desire of two friends - Gustavo Gonzalez and Stefano Ferioli - to contribute at the forefront to reducing food waste and creating a more efficient and sustainable food supply system. Specifically, the startup creates and produces biodegradable, biobased and bioactive materials aimed at improving the preservation of packaged fruit and vegetables to increase their shelf-life. These materials are based on a mixture of substances of plant and food origin that can be adjusted based on the packaging conditions of the fresh product and the needs of the customer. The products are made with an innovative technology that reduces the proliferation of pathogens and microorganisms on the surface of the fruit by at least 90%.
The company has developed PìFresc , a cutting-edge technology that offers advantages for producers and distributors, taking up the challenge of preserving fresh fruit. This technology is able to delay the appearance of mold by at least 7 days, reducing waste from spoilage and related economic losses by up to 74%, with an effectiveness extended to over a month, thus guaranteeing benefits even at the consumer's home. Being the only natural solution for non-climacteric fruit, PìFresc It is essential for a wide range of products, including citrus fruits, table grapes, strawberries, berries and cherries, sectors in which Italy is one of the largest producers in the world. The startup is currently raising capital from venture capital funds to start production and marketing, as well as developing new technologies to support the agri-food supply chain.
In the center of Sardinia, a huge balloon looms on the horizon, filled with carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases that cause dangerous climate changes. Yet the same gas that is primarily responsible for global warming could become a determining factor in the fight against climate change. For Energy Dome , a Milanese scaleup led by Claudio Spadacini, the enormous balloon, also known as "the dome", represents a fundamental element of the "CO2 Battery" proposed by the company. The properties of carbon dioxide allow the system to store energy efficiently and conveniently through a patented thermo-mechanical process. CO2 Batteries use widely available and standardized components from globally reliable supply chains, thus offering a safe, efficient, economical and scalable solution to accelerate the energy transition. This is a pioneering technology capable of storing energy for 10 hours at a cost equal to half that of lithium-ion batteries. The Energy Dome demonstration plant, the first of its kind, has been in operation for two years in Italy. The company is currently marketing its innovative long-duration energy storage solution, the CO2 Battery, on all five continents and in over 40 countries. Energy Dome is supported by the European Investment Bank (with a €25 million venture debt) and Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Catalyst fund (with €35 million in financing).
Founded in Turin in 2022 by Roberto Carnicelli, Chiara Mugnai, Giovanni Luddeni and Emidio Granito, Eoliann is a climate risk startup that uses satellite data and proprietary machine learning algorithms to quantify the probability, intensity and impact of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and fires, heatwaves and earthquakes across the European continent, with a granularity of up to 30 meters. Proactive strategies not only save costs but can also effectively protect communities as climate volatility continues to persist.
Eoliann’s main product is a digital interface that provides climate risk assessment data through different AI algorithms - based on physics, economics, climate studies and satellite data - managed in a cloud infrastructure, ensuring automation and scalability. The startup obtained the support of Primo Ventures and Exor Ventures by raising its first pre-seed round of 1.5 million euros at the end of 2022, funds used to continue developing its solutions with the aim of building “climate resilience from the sky”. In fact, the company, thanks to satellite data and proprietary AI algorithms, continues its mission of supporting financial institutions in predicting the probability and impact of climate risks.
Eoliann has recently won the participation in the “Startup World Cup, as the best cleantech startup in the Mediterranean. The competition will be held in October 2025 in San Francisco, with a prize of 1 million dollars up for grabs.
Founded in Bari in 2023 by Massimo Sabatini, Riccardo Bottiroli, Giuseppe D'Alessandro and Massimo Brochetta, Foreverland is the foodtech startup that created Choruba, the alternative to traditional chocolate made from Italian carob and naturally plant-based, designed to respond to the cocoa crisis and the sustainability challenges of the sector.
In recent years, the price of raw materials for chocolate has increased by 300%, largely due to the devastating effects of climate change on major cocoa-producing countries such as Ghana and Ivory Coast, which account for around two-thirds of global production. Added to this are issues related to high water consumption, deforestation and child labor, making cocoa one of the most problematic products from an environmental and social point of view. In response to these challenges, Foreverland has developed Choruba, a carob-based alternative that promises to be not only environmentally friendly, but also tasty. Protected by two patents, Choruba uses 90% less water than traditional cocoa and reduces CO2 emissions by 80%, representing a breakthrough for the confectionery industry. Choruba is sold in drops or liquid, in different variations and applications, to companies in the food sector.
In 2024, the startup raised capital of 3.4 million euros from leading investors in the world of food-tech and food innovation with the aim of creating the first production plant in Puglia.
Founded in Brindisi in 2023 by Marta Pisani and Alessandro Monticelli, Green Independence is a startup with the mission of accelerating the energy transition from fossil fuels, providing innovative solutions for energy independence and access to clean water. The startup has created the New Artificial Leaf (NAL) technology, an advanced and multifunctional solar panel that works just like a leaf: it desalinates sea water (or purifies waste water) and produces green hydrogen completely independently from the electricity grid.
This technology is capable of exploiting up to three times the solar energy compared to conventional panels and integrates an innovative water purification system that uses waste heat to purify or desalinate water. During the desalination process of sea water, the panel is able to generate up to twenty times the energy needed compared to traditional systems, such as Reverse Osmosis, which instead consume energy to obtain the same result. This combination of energy efficiency and sustainability makes NAL a unique solution in the panorama of green technologies. The prototype of the panel will be previewed at the Green&Blue Festival.
Backed by prominent investors and Italian institutions, the startup aims to set new standards in green innovation, making clean energy and water accessible to everyone, regardless of geographical limitations. With the aim of leading a “decentralized revolution” and sustainability, the company says it is ready to leave a significant footprint in the renewable energy sector worldwide.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by human activities is the main factor in global warming. For this reason, the European Union is looking with interest at solutions that can reduce CO2 emissions, the primary cause of ongoing climate change. In this sense, the mission of the Lecco startup Limenet is revolutionary: to transform carbon dioxide into an aqueous solution of calcium bicarbonates, with potential beneficial effects for the marine ecosystem. To do this, it has developed an innovative technology that allows the storage of carbon in the form of bicarbonates. In simple terms, the technology works like this: from calcium carbonate (present in nature in very large quantities, considering that it is 7% of the Earth's crust), sea water and renewable energy, Limenet is able to transform carbon dioxide, collected from the atmosphere or other sources, into an aqueous solution of calcium bicarbonates. In this way, it is possible to obtain a long-lasting and stable CO2 storage solution (for over 10 thousand years) within the sea and oceans.
Limenet was born as a scientific community: it became a company in 2023, founded by Giovanni Cappello, Stefano Cappello and Enrico Noseda. At the end of September 2024, it opened the first industrial plant built in the Syracuse area. The facility based in Augusta is now the largest in the world in terms of production capacity for CO2 storage – 100kg/h – at sea in the form of calcium bicarbonates. This CO2 sequestration plant is 100 times larger than the pilot plant built by Limenet at the beginning of 2023 in the Naval Support and Experimentation Center (CSSN) of the Italian Navy in La Spezia in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Milan and the UNIGE University of Genoa.
After having raised over 2 million euros in its first year through a participatory financial instrument (SFP), the company has announced the opening of a new capital increase of five million euros. The funds raised will be used to finance the development of the startup and its growth in the carbon removal market.
Producing heat by exploiting the storage power of sand, an easily available raw material. This is what the sand batteries patented by Magaldi Green Energy , a startup from Salerno, led by Letizia Magaldi, do and that are preparing to be exploited for industrial use, providing a concrete solution to decarbonize thermal industrial processes.
The storage system is technically called MGTES - Magaldi Green Thermal Energy Storage. The innovative batteries are based on the fluidized sand bed technology that accumulates and returns thermal energy. In practice, it is a steel battery that contains heated sand that allows energy to be stored for days and weeks. The choice of sand was not random, but aims to use a raw material available throughout Italy and not subject to risks related to supply chains and scarcity of materials. After a period of testing and a series of prototypes, in May the battery entered the operational phase at the IGI plant that produces edible fats and oils for Ferrero, in Buccino in the province of Salerno. Today Magaldi is the only company that uses silica sand, one of the most common materials on Earth, found in river beds, on beaches, in deserts and used in construction, foundries, electronics and to make glass.
ReWind – Milan Recyclable modular wind turbinesFounded in 2023 on the idea of Claudio Spadacini, led by Pietro Cerboni, ReWind is a deeptech startup based in Milan that develops modular, high-performance and fully recyclable wind turbines. ReWind technology aims to make wind power more competitive, scalable and quick to install, reducing logistical complexities and promoting a European industrial supply chain. The first prototype will be tested on an operational plant (FOAK) in 2026, with the aim of progressively scaling up to latest-generation blades over 100 meters.
Deeptech startup that develops high-performance and sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics, combining agricultural by-products and mycelium to create compostable solutions. Founded in 2024 by Luca Ficarell, Marco Lenzi, Luca Schettino and Sara Mantero, the startup aims to replace traditional solutions with a high environmental impact, such as single-use plastics — in particular polystyrene — with natural alternatives, contributing in a concrete way to the global transition towards a more sustainable and circular economy.
This material, once broken, can be thrown in the organic waste and composted within 90 days, representing a concrete solution to reduce the environmental impact of packaging materials commonly used today. The project has taken root thanks to the acceleration and incubation path offered by PoliHub and the support of CDP Venture.
Based in Giussago, in the province of Pavia, Smush Materials is attracting the attention of companies looking for a concrete solution to the problem of polystyrene pollution. The company stands out for its rigorous approach: the material is certified as compostable, guaranteeing excellent performance for sectors such as electronics and manufacturing, for heavy fragile products. Last April, the startup raised 1 million euros in its first seed round that allows it to move from the prototyping phase to the first scaled supplies, accelerating the evolution of its technology already tested with reference players in the industrial sectors. The project combines scientific research, design and circularity to revolutionize the world of packaging.
Founded in Turin in 2014 by Francesco Taiariol, Filippo Veglia and Piero Degasperi, Tau Group is specialized in the development of innovative solutions for the production of high-performance insulated metal conductors, essential for the construction of electric motors, transformers and generators. The patented technologies allow the creation of low-carbon coatings, optimizing the energy efficiency and performance of electrical components. This approach helps make electrification more sustainable and competitive, with a view to decarbonizing energy.
The company is leading the energy transition, focusing on the decarbonization of energy and the electrification of transportation . The company’s patented technologies optimally balance resource-efficient, sustainable production with the performance needed to ensure effective electrification. Its focus on low-carbon protective coatings for high-performance copper, aluminum and steel wire has made Tau Group a key player in promoting smaller, greener, longer-lasting and more powerful motors, transformers and generators.
Traditionally, the wire present in electric motors is disposed of through a complex process that requires repeated evaporation phases and the use of environmentally harmful solvents. The DryCycle process, patented by Tau, is able to obtain equal or better results than the traditional process in a single step. The process eliminates the use of solvents, reduces energy consumption and minimizes production waste. Thus, the company produces high-performance and low-cost eco-sustainable wires for electric vehicles and other electric machines, helping to accelerate the development of sustainable mobility. Tau has raised over 36 million euros from international investors and has more than 60 professionals with an operational headquarters in Pianezza (TO). After consolidating production in Italy, the company is now focused on international expansion. The goal is to replace current wire enameling solutions, which involve the use of dangerous and polluting solvents, with a new technology that allows the wire to be coated with advanced engineering polymers.
WSense is a deep tech company, spin-off of La Sapienza, that has pioneered and is leading the revolution of the underwater Internet of Things. Founded by Chiara Petrioli, professor of computer engineering at Sapienza University, who has held the role of CEO since 2022, WSense offers solutions that ensure the interoperability of adaptive wireless networks between multi-vendor underwater sensors and autonomous vehicles. Its patented technologies enable real-time, secure and cost-effective underwater wireless communications. This makes it possible to collect underwater Big Data at an unprecedented scale, revolutionizing the study and understanding of the oceans and their impact on our planet . But it has also opened up a range of new possibilities, including monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure, resident autonomous robotic networks to support the energy transition, and real-time underwater environmental monitoring.
In a sector – the underwater one – that will reach 400 billion euros globally in the period 2024-2030, with a value of innovative solutions equal to 30 billion euros, WSense aims at the global market of underwater communications, which is expected to reach 10.4 billion euros. To confirm the growing potential of the underwater market, just think that in the field of underwater telecommunications alone, 552 cables are currently laid on the ocean ridges, for a total length of 1.4 million kilometers. 98% of global digital telecommunications, including digital transactions, pass through these cables. In 2023 alone, these transactions exceeded one trillion, for an estimated annual value of 10 trillion dollars, with an average growth of 12% per year ( source : Italian Navy).
With the participation of CDP Venture Capital and major European funds, WSense has grown from 2017 to 2024 to include over 65 people located in Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, France and the United Arab Emirates. Last April WSense closed a Series B round of 7.2 million euros participated by Fincatieri.
repubblica
