Charting the Path Forward for European Climate Tech

At EUVC Live from The Drop powered by Woven Capital, Europe's leading climate VCs unveiled the playbook, the partnerships & the policies needed to turn deep tech and climate tech into a global edge.

Oct 13, 2025

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From Toyota’s $800M growth fund to the rise of AI-driven infrastructure, our continent is where deep tech meets deployment and where the future of the climate is front and center. Let’s dive in:

Nicole LeBlanc (Woven Capital) set the tone: Europe is Toyota’s testbed for climate innovation. With 15% of global VC, world-class engineers, and founders forced to think cross-border from day one, Europe turns constraint into advantage. For Toyota and Woven, the continent’s small markets and strong regulation create the perfect environment to test, deploy, and scale climate solutions that can go global.

Alex Bakir (Norrsken Evolve) took the stage fresh off his latest fund close — but instead of talking capital, he talked context. Competition defines our era, he argued, from startups to superpowers. In a world fractured by climate shocks and AI races, Europe’s strength must be resilience — rebuilding local production, clean industry, and cross-border collaboration. The next wave of prosperity won’t come from efficiency or outsourcing, but from reindustrializing on green foundations.

Hampus Jakobsson (Pale Blue Dot) argued that corporates and AI aren’t enemies — they’re Europe’s scaling engine. In deep tech and climate, alignment beats independence: when incentives match, corporate distribution and AI leverage can turn prototypes into industries.

Rokas Pečiulaitis (Contrarian Ventures) closed the loop: every breakthrough becomes infrastructure. To win the race from invention to deployment, Europe must blend venture and project finance, taking product or market risk — never both. In climate tech, the winners won’t just innovate; they’ll build the systems everyone else depends on.

Nick de la Forge (Planet A) offered a wake-up call from China’s “hardware Disneyland,” where climate tech startups reach $30–60M revenue within five years and build factories in under two. China’s advantage? Speed, integration, and execution discipline — startups think in systems, not silos. Europe can’t out-China China, Nick said, but it can outlearn it — competing on precision manufacturing, materials science, and sustainability leadership. The goal isn’t to copy, but to calibrate.

Danijel Visevic (World Fund) reminded the room that collaboration is Europe’s superpower. From the Coal & Steel Treaty to NextGenEU, every leap in European progress has come from working across borders and sectors. Today, that same spirit must fuel the continent’s deep tech and climate scale-up — blending public policy, industrial capacity, and venture capital to compete globally. Sovereignty, he argued, is no longer about borders but about control over batteries, chips, AI, and energy systems.

Jamie Rowles (Regeneration VC) took the lens from industry to culture. He reframed consumption as climate culture, showing how Europe’s 450 million consumers, design heritage, and taste leadership make it the world’s most powerful conscious consumer lab. When brands lead with regeneration — investing “from molecule to product and back” — climate transformation becomes a lifestyle, not a lecture.

Finally, Andreas Munk Holm (EUVC) closed with a call to arms: innovation without political influence is fragile. Europe’s founders and funders can build technology, but unless they also shape the policies that govern it, others will set the rules of the game. As he put it, capital scales technology — politics scales outcomes.

The Drop was powered by Woven Capital — connecting global capital and European ambition.

Nicole LeBlanc, Woven Capital: Why Europe is Toyota’s Testbed for Climate and Deep Tech

From Toyota’s $800M climate fund to Europe’s net-zero push, Nicole LeBlanc explains why Woven Capital sees Europe as the testbed for global deep tech and climate innovation. With 15% of global VC, world-class engineering talent, and founders born global, Europe is where climate meets scale.

Lesson: Build global from day one. Europe’s small domestic markets force founders to think cross-border early — turning constraint into advantage. Corporate capital can move faster when it blends strategic leverage with a financial-first discipline.

Why it matters: Europe’s climate tech ecosystem is 10 years ahead on regulation and industrial partnerships. From zero-emission shipping to circular materials, it’s not just inventing — it’s deploying. For Woven Capital and Toyota, Europe isn’t just another region — it’s the launchpad for the next generation of climate infrastructure.

Alex Bakir, Norrsken Evolve: Climate, Competition & Chaos in a Fractured World

From climate shocks to AI arms races, Alex Bakir argues that competition — between startups, nation states, and algorithms — defines our era. In a fractured world, Europe must rebuild around cleantech and climate tech, or risk being left behind in the next industrial cycle.

Lesson: Every system — economic, political, or natural — reaches a breaking point. Populism rises when expectations outpace outcomes. Climate chaos emerges when stress tips into collapse. The antidote? Rebuilding resilience through local production, clean industry, and collaboration across borders.

Why it matters: Europe’s century-long reliance on external manufacturing has become its greatest vulnerability. As AI reshapes power and climate accelerates instability, the next wave of prosperity will come from reindustrializing on green foundations. In a world of shocks and scarcity, climate tech isn’t a niche — it’s the new competitive advantage.

Hampus Jakobsson - From Corporate VC Scars to AI’s Role in Climate

From corporate VC scars to AI’s off-grid future, Hampus Jakobsson argues that corporates and AI aren’t optional add-ons — they’re the backbone of scaling climate solutions in Europe. The key is aligning incentives, not avoiding corporates — and channeling AI where it truly moves the needle.

Lesson: Corporate venturing only works when incentives align. Define your position on the strategic–financial spectrum and structure deals to empower, not block. In climate and deep tech, corporates aren’t slow dinosaurs — they’re the distribution engine.

Why it matters: AI’s energy demand could soon outpace the grid — forcing off-grid innovation — while its potential as “a thousand free interns” can supercharge legacy industries from waste to construction. The winners will merge corporate muscle with AI leverage to build the next generation of climate infrastructure.

Rokas Pečiulaitis, Contrarian Ventures: Why Today’s Tech Becomes Tomorrow’s Infrastructure

From Standard Oil to the electron economy, Rokas argues every tech revolution ends as infrastructure. If Europe wants to win, it must bridge the missing middle between venture and project finance — and own deployment, not just invention.

Lesson: Use wedge strategies to enter consolidated industries, monetizing via embedded transactions. In climate tech, vertical integration might just be the strongest moat.

Why it matters: 80% of climate capital will flow into infrastructure. Without blended venture–infra models, Europe will build prototypes while others build empires.

Nick de la Forge, Planet A Ventures: China — Lessons for Hardware Builders

A week inside China’s “Disneyland of hardware” flipped assumptions: China’s edge is speed, integration, and scale discipline. Startups 3–5 years old are generating $30–60M in revenue, with full factories live in 24 months.

Lesson: Don’t play Djokovic at tennis — pick a different game. Europe can’t out-China China, but it can outlearn it: compete on precision manufacturing, materials leadership, and scientific depth.

Why it matters: Europe must go see China — not to copy, but to calibrate. The new benchmark is speed plus precision.

Danijel Visevic, World Fund: Turning Crisis into Collaboration

From the Coal & Steel Treaty of 1951 to NextGenEU, Daniel makes the case that Europe’s defining power is collaboration. Sovereignty now means control over chips, batteries, AI, and energy systems — not borders.

Lesson: Reframe polycrisis as opportunity. Build public–private partnerships for scale-up capital and bet on deep-tech category creators.

Why it matters: Europe raises 7× less VC than the US; only 11% of climate startups make it past Series B. Collaboration isn’t a luxury — it’s survival.

Jamie Rowles, Regeneration VC: Europe’s Conscious Consumer Lab

Climate transformation isn’t just infrastructure — it’s what people buy. Europe’s 450M affluent consumers, global brands, and high regulatory standards make it the world’s most powerful conscious consumer lab.

Lesson: Think “movie”: brands = directors, tech = actors, consumers = audience. The Regeneration thesis — investing from molecule to product and back — reframes consumer goods as climate infrastructure.

Why it matters: When design and lifestyle lead, the world follows. Taste, culture, and climate can be Europe’s soft power.

Andreas Munk Holm, EUVC: The Real Power Lies in Politics

Innovation without influence is fragile. Andreas closes the day with a call to arms: if Europe wants to lead, it must build policy muscle, coordinate as an ecosystem, and engage politically — not just commercially.

Lesson: In the US, tech learned to shape policy from within. Europe has the vision and values, but now needs infrastructure for influence.

Why it matters: Capital scales technology. Politics scales outcomes.

The Drop was powered by Woven Capital, connecting global capital and European ambition.