Carbon credits hold significant importance in expediting the energy transition. Last year, the value of traded global markets for carbon dioxide (CO2) permits surged by 164% to a record-breaking 760 billion euros ($851 billion), as determined by Refinitiv. Ensuring efficiency in the voluntary carbon market is a pivotal lever to offset climate emissions effectively. It allows for optimal resource allocation towards impactful carbon reduction projects, driving progress towards a sustainable and low-carbon future.
Addressing this critical need is Riverse, a Paris-based startup, which has unveiled a software solution that digitises the measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) process for carbon credit issuance. This technology enables the issuance and sale of carbon credits at a staggering speed 20 times faster and at a cost three times cheaper than prevailing market standards.
Investment from Speedinvest
Notably, the company has recently secured €1.5 million in funding, marking a significant milestone in its journey towards promoting a greener and more sustainable future. The round was led by Speedinvest, a pan-European early-stage investment fund, which backed Vienna-based Prewave and Germany-based Blocktorch recently.
The round also saw participation from additional investors with strong expertise in the greentech sector, including Techstars Berlin and Evolem, and business angels, including Stephan Rohr, co-founder and CEO of TWAICE, Eric Bergé, Tobias Lechtenfeld, partner at 1.5° Ventures, and Andreas Wiele, founder of OakTree Power.
According to the company press release, the investment will allow French climate tech to continue supporting industrial greentech SMEs in Europe by enabling them to access the voluntary carbon market and issue highly verifiable carbon credits. As part of the new funding, the company will also pursue research and development, enrich its commercial offerings, and hire web and business developers, as well as life cycle assessment specialists.
Targeting circular economy projects
Founded in 2021 by Ludovic Chatoux, Grégoire Guirauden, and Clément Georget, Riverse primary focus is to support high-impact European green tech players, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in CO2-intensive sectors such as Biogas, CO2-intensive equipment reconditioning, Biochar, and Bio-based construction materials.
With ambitious plans ahead, the startup aims to issue over 200,000 carbon credits (equivalent to a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions) in the upcoming months. Additionally, they seek to onboard more than 40 greentech project developers and major carbon credit resellers, fortifying their position as a key player in the realm of carbon credit issuance and sustainability advancement.
Further, Riverse.io, the platform developed by Riverse, collects and aggregates data from various sources within industrial SMEs. The company’s platform offers a unique carbon credits standard, encompassing a comprehensive suite of features. These include a carbon credits calculation tool for facilitating life cycle assessments, digitised reporting capabilities to issue credits, robust verification processes, and seamless connections to tier-1 carbon credit sales partners.
Additionally, Riverse currently focuses on four key greentech verticals: bio energies, low carbon construction materials, recycling and reconditioning of CO2 intensive waste, and carbon removal technologies.
“The voluntary carbon market represents a $40 billion opportunity to finance the environmental transition by 2030. Through the industrial expertise we have developed, combined with our European and transparent approach, we aim to stimulate the development of this sector and offer our clients an experience aligned with their values and objectives,” said Ludovic Chatoux, CEO and co-founder of Riverse.
“Before we invested in Riverse, we met with many teams working on the problem of scaling verifiably high-quality carbon markets supply. What won us over was the team’s incredibly mission-driven mindset, and their approach to enable lower cost and faster certification allowing for the rapid increase of credible project supply needed here in Europe,” added Namratha Kothapalli, Principal at Speedinvest.
“Our partnership with Riverse was a major factor in the evolution of our business model. It was a fast and smooth process that allowed us to add value to our battery regeneration business and sell our carbon credits on the voluntary carbon market,” added Bertrand Coste, CEO of Be Energy.
