While 2024 marked a record-breaking year for startup funding across the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague (MRDH), with the region realising at least 107 funding rounds totalling €437M. Unlike most regions that saw declines due to macroeconomic factors, MRDH has been an outlier with improved funding after 2021. That said, the Energy sector remains an under-leveraged opportunity. Despite MRDH’s ambitions to lead the energy transition and sustainability front, capital deployment into Energy startups reflects a more uneven and undercapitalized picture.

Below is a snapshot of overall venture funding over the years in the region.

Headline Figures

Up!Rotterdam primarily focuses on Digital, Circular, and Energy. While this white paper centers
around the Energy sector, it helps to briefly benchmark the three sectors against each other for
deeper perspectives.

Energy recorded 14 disclosed transactions, exceeding Circular’s 11. However, the average deal
size (€4.6M) was significantly lower than both Circular (€8.1M) and Digital (€7.9M), pointing to
more fragmented investments. Total known funding into Energy amounted to approximately €65 million, accounting for only about 15% of the region’s €437 million raised across all sectors.

Research-Driven Activity, Limited Commercial Scale

Spinouts remain a key strength of South Holland’s innovation landscape. Energy startups
accounted for 2 academic spinouts, on par with Circular but below Digital’s 5. This suggests
solid R&D activity but fewer scale-ready ventures transitioning from research labs to investable
companies.

Spotlight on Leading Energy Investment Rounds in 2024

Amidst fragmented funding activity in MRDH’s Energy sector, a few standout investment rounds
signal real momentum in scaling climate technologies. These companies represent the front line
of energy transition innovation: advancing deep-tech hardware, electrolysis, nanotechnology,
and sustainable mobility solutions.

Battolyser Systems – €30M Series A (Schiedam)
Technology: Electrolysis, Energy Storage | Round Valuation: €120–180M
Investors: Innovation Industries, Global Cleantech Capital, Invest-NL

Just 11 months after their previous round, Battolyser Systems closed a major €30 million Series
A, making it the largest Energy deal in MRDH for 2024. The Schiedam-based company
develops integrated battery-electrolyser systems powered by renewable energy, offering flexible
energy storage and green hydrogen production. Although theirs was the only Energy deal
amongst 10 big deals, it signals investor inclination in hardware-intensive deep-tech models,
especially when backed by strategic cleantech expertise.

Elysian Aircraft – €9.1M Early VC (Delft)
Technology: Sustainable Aerospace | Round Valuation: €40–60M
Investor: Panta Holdings

A 2023-founded Delft startup, Elysian Aircraft raised nearly €9.1 million in early VC funding to
accelerate development of its next-generation sustainable aircraft. While relatively new, the
company’s bold ambition to transform regional air mobility resonated with investors. It marks
one of the largest single-ticket early-stage investments into a clean aviation play in the
Netherlands.

VSPARTICLE – €6.5M Series A (Delft)
Technology: Deep Tech, Hardware, Nanotech
Investors: InnovationQuarter Capital, Fairtree, SIG InnoVentures

VSPARTICLE develops advanced nanomaterial production tools that can enable breakthroughs
in energy, sensing, and semiconductors. Backed by globally respected investors like Hermann
Hauser and NordicNinja, this €6.5M Series A represents growing global faith in South Holland’s
nanotech pipeline and its applications in energy transition.

Kalpana Systems – €3.5M Early VC (Delft)
Technology: Deep Tech, Hardware, Nanotech
Investors: InnovationQuarter Capital, Fairtree, SIG InnoVentures

Kalpana Systems is developing sensors and measurement platforms with deep-tech and
nanotech foundations. With InnovationQuarter backing, and a €3.5M raise, the startup
exemplifies strong local-international co-investment alignment.

Powall – €3M Early VC + EU Support (Delft)
Technology: Nanotech, Clean Materials
Investors: EIT RawMaterials, Invest-NL, Sandwater

Powall closed a €3M early-stage round 29 months after its last investment, paired with support
program participation through EIT RawMaterials. Their innovation targets sustainable materials
at the atomic level, enhancing performance and energy efficiency of industrial systems. Powall’s
success shows how combined equity and European grant mechanisms are critical for energy
materials science companies.

Implications for the Region
These five companies together raised over €52 million in 2024: representing ~80% of the
Energy sector’s known capital raised. All five are deep-tech, hardware-intensive ventures
headquartered in Delft and Schiedam, reinforcing the region’s growing concentration of
research-led Energy innovation. They also share several commonalities:

• Technical depth rooted in university ecosystems (TU Delft spinouts or collaborations)
• Blended capital structures, mixing public and private funding
• Strong international investor participation, including NordicNinja, Plural, and Hermann Hauser Investment These signals offer a clear roadmap for scaling Energy innovation: combine technical excellence, long-term R&D vision, and blended financing strategies.

Signs of Specialization
Compared to other sectors, Energy startups exhibited greater focus across well-defined sub-
industries:

• Energy Storage – 4 companies
• Solar, Transportation, Advanced Materials, Industrial Efficiency – 3 companies each.

This sub-sector clarity indicates technical depth, albeit from a small pool of investments. However, without adequate growth-stage funding or repeat investor participation, many of these startups risk stagnating before they can scale commercially.

Early-Stage Pipeline: A Missing Link
A major gap is evident in the early-stage pipeline. University-affiliated funds and pre-seed VCs
that play a strong role in the Digital sector are less visible in Energy deals. This may be due to:

• Longer R&D cycles in cleantech
• High capital intensity and infrastructure dependency
• Higher perceived risk without dedicated, risk-tolerant capital pools.

While public investors like Invest-NL and InnovationQuarter Capital are present in multiple energy deals, private-sector early-stage capital is sparse.

Corporate and Strategic Backers: Underused Allies
Despite challenges, several major international strategic and corporate investors placed early
bets in the region in 2024:

• Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund
• Helen Ventures
• Nestlé

These players have the potential to anchor larger syndicates and de-risk capital for future
Energy rounds. But to do so effectively, South Holland needs stronger local co-investors willing
to step in at earlier stages.

Who’s Investing in Energy?
An analysis of key investor engagement in Energy and Deep Tech startups shows strong support from public and strategic actors:

• Shell and InnovationQuarter Capital each participated in 3 Energy deals, demonstrating strong regional commitment from both industry and public development agencies.
• UNIIQ, EIT RawMaterials, and Invest-NL joined 2 deals each, reflecting alignment with deep-tech and sustainability themes.
• Other notable participants include Rotterdamse Havendraken, NordicNinja VC, and Helen Ventures, indicating growing international interest.

Early Wins: Can They Scale?
Companies like RIFT (Iron Fuel Technology) and Maeve Aerospace (Electric Aircraft) stood out
in 2024 for their capital-intensive ambitions and advancing TRLs. These companies, along with
Hardt Hyperloop, signal the region’s ability to incubate complex climate technologies.

The challenge: these are outliers, not yet the norm.

Recommendations: 2025 and Beyond
To convert Energy from an undercurrernt into a regional strength, the following priorities are recommended:

• Expand blended finance and non-dilutive public support for early-stage Energy ventures.
• Bridge research and commercialization, especially within energy storage and advanced materials.
• Strengthen local VC participation by educating funds on EU-aligned cleantech strategies and creating co-investment pathways with public and international actors.
• Replicate success stories by identifying their key inflection points and creating support
  mechanisms for similar ventures.

Final Thought
2024 was a record-breaking year for entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem builders in
MRDH, and we should take this opportunity to celebrate the win. It is no mean feat! While most
countries and regions saw funding nosedive after 2021, MRDH bucked the trend. Instead of a
downward curve, its investment trajectory formed a healthy smile.

Since 2019, founders and the broader ecosystem have shifted gears, playing in a different
league. They aren’t just building companies, they have started a movement with industry-
defining technologies.

If MRDH is to lead in the energy transition, it must first lead in how it funds that transition.

About the author
Aditya Raj is the Investment Lead at Catalyze Group, bringing 12 years of experience in blended and equity finance. He has played a key role in over 50 transactions and is all about connecting investors with scale-up founders, facilitating capital flows, and managing stakeholder relationships. He is also the host of The Storyshapers podcast.

About Up!Rotterdam
Up!Rotterdam is a non-profit that helps front-runners of the next economy scale up. Rotterdam‘s
thriving ecosystem offers the best home port for forward-thinking startups, scale-ups, innovative
SMEs and corporations that dare to think big. We are community driven. By linking and
strengthening existing initiatives in partnerships, we work together with stakeholders to develop new activities. We provide startups and scale-ups with better access to talent, (international)
markets, and capital.

About BRAVE
The BRAVE (Business Readiness Acceleration for Innovative Regional Energy Ecosystems)
project is an EU-funded initiative under the Interreg North Sea Programme. BRAVE builds
“innovation readiness” among public-sector organisations to more effectively facilitate the
“scaling jump” of commercially un-viable local clean energy projects. Between 2024-27, BRAVE
brings together 13 organisations from six European countries — France, the Netherlands,
Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway — to develop replicable regional investment
strategies for scaling cleantech across Europe, transforming mature local energy technology
projects into highly bankable solutions.

Disclaimers: This article is based almost entirely on information from Dealroom.co (premium access) as of 6 February 2025 and does not constitute investment advice. Additional rounds may become public after this date. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, we apologize for any errors or omissions and accept no liability for their impact. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the organizations mentioned. Suggestions and feedback are welcome. This article is intended for informational, promotional, and inspirational purposes only.