Impact startups: 11 of the top 100 are from Germany

This year, for the third time in a row, the Swedish Impact Foundation Norrsken named the 100 most promising impact startups from around the world under the motto “100 ways to fix the future”. And 49 of the 100 startups are European – eleven even from Germany. This puts Germany in second place, just behind the United Kingdom with 13 startups that made it onto Norrsken's prestigious list. We introduce you to the eleven German startups.

When you hear the word impact, do you prick up your ears and feel addressed? Do you know a startup that is indispensable for the impact scene – or are you the founder of an impact startup yourself? Then apply now for the Gründerszene Impact Award 2024. This year with a new format and for the first time with five categories: Consumer Goods & Commerce, Climate Tech, Health Tech, Deep Tech & AI. The winners will be announced by a jury in Berlin on December 3rd.

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Apply now for the Founder Scene Award 2024 *Impact Edition*

What is Impact Foundation Norrsken?

The Norrsken Foundation was founded in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Klarna, and is based on the founder's own financing. Norrsken defines “impact tech” companies as companies that aim to achieve one of the United Nations’ sustainability goals, such as economic growth, healthcare or social justice. To select the top 100 impact startups, 40 renowned VCs – including Balderton Capital, Obama Foundation, Andreessen Horowitz and Breakthrough Energy – nominated a total of over 1,200 startups. Most impact startups come from the “Sustainable Food Systems” industry (18 percent), closely followed by “Health” (15 percent) and “Energy” (14 percent).

The impact startups from the Cleantech-Area

Greenlyte

Greenlyte has developed a technology to filter CO₂ from the air. One of the founders explained in an interview that this technology could be imagined as similar to a gigantic vacuum cleaner. The CO₂ sucked in is transformed into pure hydrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide in a complex chemical process. These products could then be used further in industry – for example in oil refining or ammonia production. Florian Hildebrand, Niklas Friederichsen and Peter Matthias Behr founded the startup in 2022 based on their research work.