European industrial firms face a dual challenge amid fierce global competition: establishing market leadership through sustainability while maintaining competitiveness. With 60% of Europe’s energy currently imported and recent disruptions exposing supply chain vulnerabilities, local renewable energy sources offer significant untapped potential. Munich-based Atmen addresses this critical need.
Founded in January 2023 by Flore de Durfort, Quentin Cangelosi, and Erika Degoute, who met while working at E.ON, Atmen automates sustainability certification for industry. Their platform creates a seamless data infrastructure layer that integrates with industrial supply chains, transforming how companies document and certify product characteristics while enabling climate action through reliable, auditable data.
“We like to think we’re the typical ‘hacker, hipster, hustler’ combination. We uniquely combine cutting-edge technology, regulatory expertise, and user-centric design, which allows us to revolutionise how industrial firms make product claims and verify them,” said Flore de Durfort, who was speaking exclusively to TFN.
Scaling up: €5M investment and market expansion
Today, Atmen closed a €5M seed funding round, led by Project A. Existing investors Revent and Vireo Ventures participated, alongside notable angel investors: former TÜV SUD CEO Axel Stepken, former ThyssenKrupp CEO and serial board member Martina Merz, and serial founder Christian Vollmann, an early investor in Trivago and SumUp.
This brings Atmen’s total funding to €6.3M, with the valuation undisclosed to TFN. The company previously secured €1.3 million in pre-seed funding in January 2024, led by Revent and Vireo Ventures, with participation from UnternehmerTUM and angel investors.
The €5 million will power Atmen’s expansion beyond hydrogen and renewable fuels into certifying other energy-intensive goods, steel, chemicals, and fertilisers, where proving product characteristics is essential for market access and decarbonisation. The team will also strengthen regulatory partnerships and launch tools to help companies track environmental impact and meet evolving regulations.
At the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam, Atmen signed a strategic partnership with CertifHy, becoming the first officially recognised Compliance Technology Provider for the CertifHy EU RFNBO Voluntary Scheme. This partnership creates a streamlined digital infrastructure for producers to document and demonstrate compliance efficiently.
Behind Atmen: Solving the pain points of industrial certification
Despite certification’s growing importance for market access, most industrial producers still rely on outdated manual processes, error-prone paperwork and scattered spreadsheets ill-suited for today’s complex, data-rich supply chains. Atmen’s platform automates these processes, enabling continuous compliance and audit-ready reporting. Their “Automate” product already serves industrial sites across nine countries and works with five leading certification bodies, including TÜV NORD and CertifHy.
Atmen’s technology ingests real-time operational data directly from industrial processes, replacing periodic sampling and annual estimates with continuous digital verification. This integration streamlines compliance for energy-intensive products, enabling companies to prove product composition and material origins with unprecedented certainty.
Durfort explains to TFN, “We watched companies trying to manage incredibly complex supply chains with spreadsheets and paper processes — it was like seeing someone try to run air traffic control with a paper logbook. When certifying ammonia requires tracking 70,000 annual data points manually, you can see why the system breaks down.”
“In a world where industrial competitiveness depends on traceable, low-carbon supply chains, Atmen is building the digital backbone that turns complex production inputs into compliant, market- and export-ready products,” says Mila Cramer, Principal at Project A.
How Atmen builds trust across the supply chain
Atmen connects all stakeholders in a single system, including producers, traders, auditors, and certification labels. This replaces siloed audits with continuous data monitoring and tracking tools that validate product specifications and origins. Their approach aligns with the EU Clean Industrial Deal, supporting decarbonisation as a growth driver for European industries.
Industry leaders like Lhyfe, Schneider Electric, and Energy & Regulation Partners already recognise the platform’s impact. The team of 11 employees is set to grow as Atmen expands its reach and capabilities.
Durfort notes, “Our biggest competitor is actually the status quo — companies doing this manually with spreadsheets and internal processes. Some incumbents like SAP and Siemens Energy are developing their own tech layers, but the market is fragmented: most solutions are either too broad or too narrow. We’re building something deep enough to handle the complexity of industrial certification but flexible enough to work across industries and regulatory frameworks.”
Atmen aims to expand into steel, chemicals, fertilisers, and plastics — anywhere proving product characteristics and origin is critical. Their long-term vision is to become the data backbone for Europe’s industrial transformation, enabling comprehensive, scalable, and trusted certification as regulations tighten and supply chains grow more complex.
And what is it like to be a woman in tech?
Durfort, a mother of two, reflects on her journey: “I’m extremely grateful to live in an era where women can choose their calling and pursue their passions. I discovered my passion for industrial supply chains and decarbonisation early on, along with an affinity for data and tech’s ability to drive progress. I found my sweet spot at the intersection of energy markets, regulation, and tech — and I’ve used this to build confidence and grow. I’ve done this while founding a family. While this isn’t every woman’s calling, it’s mine, and I’m grateful to have embraced it.”
Her advice to her younger self:
- Love. Ask yourself: What are you excited about? Which kinds of things at work get you excited? Fall in love with the problem! What has purpose for you won’t exhaust you. No one can compete with someone who’s having fun. Replace jealousy with admiration.
- Candor. Know what you want, and say it. Authentic curiosity is always rewarded. Network candidly, follow your curiosity, learn to communicate effectively and authentically, and ask for advice!
- Quit the “good grades” mindset. Find out what you’re exceptionally good at – and double down on it. Don’t try to be good at everything. Build your self-confidence by excelling at a few things. Don’t think in titles. Think about progress. Success is about becoming, not about being.”
Atmen is redefining industrial certification by automating and digitising compliance, enabling traceable, low-carbon supply chains, and supporting Europe’s transition to a net-zero future. By turning a regulatory bottleneck into a strategic advantage, Atmen empowers industries to trade on trust, scale decarbonisation, and unlock new market opportunities.
