The selected companies also represent a truly global drive for impact. Applications for this year’s program were received from 62 countries across six continents. The final selection represents 13 different countries, spread over 5 continents. 

In an indicator of our commitment to gender diversity in the field of impact investment, it’s noteworthy that 9 out of these 23 companies (nearly 40%) are led by a female founder, underscoring the key belief that true impact is delivered by truly diverse teams. 

These selected 23 startups will undertake an intensive journey through the Katapult 2023 accelerator program, a globally-acclaimed platform crafted to bolster high-impact companies specializing in impact technology.

With a reputation for nurturing impactful ventures with its thorough approach, the program promises to instill each company with indispensable skills and knowledge, strategically positioning them to thrive in areas of impact, strategy, management, and investor readiness. Through a balanced blend of video modules and hands-on workshops, they will also fortify their core competencies, while securing access to a treasured network of international mentors, industry pioneers, and prospective investors.

“In the Katapult 2023 accelerator program, our selected 23 startups will be meticulously equipped with practical skills and vital knowledge to enhance their impact in the Ocean and Climate technology sectors. We’re offering a structured blend of educational video modules and interactive workshops, ensuring each company not only gains essential skills but also access to a valuable network of mentors and potential investors. Our objective is straightforward: to elevate these companies by sharpening their strategy, management, and investor readiness, positioning them robustly for future success.” says Program Director, Marcus Hølland Eikeland. 

Katapult Climate’s Investment Director, Jørn Haanæs, comments “In this newest investment round, we are thrilled to elevate 11 innovative companies who are genuinely pioneering solutions to some of the world’s most critical challenges. From developing mycelium based meat production to vastly integrating solar energy into the energy matrix and producing organic metal-like pigments, reducing microplastic from the environment, these companies are setting new trends in impact technology. Katapult is fully committed to investing in their ventures as they harness positive change and create substantial impacts on environmental sustainability and community quality of life across the globe.”

Jonas Skattum Svegaarden, CEO of Katapult Ocean, remarks: “In our latest investment series, Katapult Ocean is honored to back 12 companies, delineating the future of the maritime and ocean technology sector. With innovations ranging from marine transport decarbonization to sustainable seaweed-based plastics and marine asset monitoring, these companies are strategically addressing vital challenges in ocean sustainability and climate resilience. We keenly anticipate collaborating with them as they profoundly impact our marine ecosystems and pave the way toward a more sustainable future for our oceans.”

“At Katapult, we’re steadfast in our pursuit of catalyzing tangible, impactful solutions to urgent global challenges relating to oceans and climate. Underpinning this pursuit is our commitment to gender diversity, with a robust 40% of our recently backed companies being spearheaded by women. Across both Katapult Climate and Katapult Ocean, our investments strategically amplify innovations, from alternative food production and waste management to marine transport decarbonization and sustainable maritime technologies. It is through these investments and collaborative endeavors with these pioneering companies that is helping to build progress toward both environmental sustainability and a fairer planet,” states Linn-Cecilie Linnemann, CEO, Katapult Group.

Introducing the Startups Changing the Future:

Adamo Foods is a plant-based meat producer using precision fermentation offers sustainable steak and meat alternatives made from fungal mycelium. 

Cirkula provides a digital platform that allows restaurants and stores to reduce their food waste – a marketplace for surplus food.

Gridio offers solutions for smart EV charging, combining energy price, energy emissions, energy storage, vehicle and battery information and more, via a consumer facing app. 

HERlab is a high-throughput AI and Synthetic Biology platform for screening, developing, and optimizing novel non-conventional yeast hosts that would be more efficient and more scalable than currently available hosts.

Metalchemy is an operator of a nanotechnology manufacturer developing biodegradable and recyclable food packaging infused with silver nanoparticles to increase food shelf life and packaging solutions in other industries.

Over Easy Solar is building vertical bi-facial solar panels designed for flat and green rooftops that are easy to install, maintenance free, and have a high energy yield.

Phoenix Carbon have developed a composite recycling solvolysis process, that maintains product parity with virgin materials, to unlock value from waste, reducing CO2 emissions, and offering cost-effective quality alternatives to different industries. 

Planboo is a carbon removal company that connects agriculture landowners with the technology to extract carbon from the atmosphere via pyrolysis (creating biochar), sharing the revenue of certified carbon removal credits with the landowners. 

Solfium  is a marketplace platform connecting customers to rooftop solar installers via an end-to-end app, aimed at being used from installing quotation to operation and maintenance. They work with large corporations to reduce their Scope 2 & 3 emissions by facilitating clean energy adoption. 

Sparxell is developing innovative bio-inspired photonics technology that solves the pigment industry’s sustainability problems and regulatory problems by harnessing the capability to reproduce the intense color and shimmering effects displayed in nature using plant-based material. 

The Tyre Collective is spearheading the capture and monitoring of tyre wear (microplastics) to accelerate the shift towards true zero-emission mobility. For that, they have developed a unique ‘catalytic converter for tyre wear’, leveraging electrostatic technology. 

Pascal Technologies is accelerating the transition to greener means of maritime propulsion through air lubrication technology that drastically improves the energy efficiency and range of electric, and other alternative fuel motors.

Hullbot is revolutionizing marine hull cleaning with its cost-effective, eco-friendly, fully autonomous underwater drones which can remove biofouling before it becomes an issue for the environment or the vessel’s fuel efficiency. 

Mocean Energy is leading the charge for ocean wave energy adoption with its durable, scalable wave energy converter, designed to be deployed as a supplement for offshore energy projects, as well as serve as a standalone energy resource for island communities and other remote customers.

Triton Anchor provides efficient, environmentally friendly, versatile anchoring solutions to significantly lower the cost and installation time of floating wind and other offshore renewable energy, enabling greater, more rapid adoption for such projects in the process.

Syrenna is an ocean data company using cutting edge subsea robotic solutions and AI to drastically improve ocean data collection, unlocking blue carbon markets and natural capital monitoring to enable greater restoration and conservation finance in the future.

Coral Vita has pioneered a profitable farming model to grow diverse and resilient coral in order to restore the world’s invaluable reef systems under threat from climate change.  

Sway is a California-based clean tech startup scaling next generation packaging made from bioplastics derived from seaweed, designed to be fully compatible with existing plastic manufacturing machinery. 

WSense is enabling Internet of Underwater Things (ioUt) with ‘Subsea Wifi,’ bringing the rapidly growing world of offshore infrastructure and other ocean assets online, and improving the versatility of such assets in the process. 

Gigablue are on a mission to combat global warming through pioneering enhanced technology to improve the efficiency and viability of ocean fertilization as a means of carbon dioxide removal, addressing climate change at its roots for a sustainable future.

Vycarb is developing modular autonomous systems for precisely measuring and sequestering carbon dioxide in water via alkalinity enhancement, assisting customers to perform better MRV of their water-based systems, facilitating carbon credit generation in the process.

Newfish, by unlocking the power for microalgae to serve as a primary source of protein with its proprietary fermentation technology, is building a better way to provide people with great natural nutrition that doesn’t cost our earth and oceans.  

ICODOS is de-fossilizing  maritime shipping and other industries via its proprietary, scalable, low cost, and time-efficient e-methanol production which utilizes a hybrid, one-step process for carbon dioxide capture and methane synthesis.

Learn more about Katapult’s Accelerator Program, here.