As the urgency of climate action grows, Europe has a key opportunity to lead the next phase of climate tech innovation. In this conversation, Fernando Casado Cañeque shares a hopeful vision from the front lines of European venture capital. As Co-founder and General Partner at Inclimo Climate Tech Fund, he brings to investing in climate innovation a background that blends deep expertise in impact investing, international development, and sustainability.
Fernando makes the case for accelerating climate tech, spanning AI-powered energy grids to regenerative agriculture. He discusses Barcelona’s rise as a climate innovation hub and highlights how founders are shifting towards market-driven solutions. And while acknowledging global uncertainties, he highlights overlooked opportunities in sectors like water and agrotech, explaining how a strong European climate tech ecosystem can drive both environmental impact and commercial success—regardless of political shifts across the Atlantic.
Could you start by sharing with us your journey to becoming a General Partner at Inclimo Climate Tech Fund? What shaped your conviction about venture capital’s role in tackling climate challenges?
My journey has been shaped by a deep-rooted belief that technology-driven solutions are the key to accelerating climate action at scale. Before launching Inclimo, I spent years working for sustainability with the United Nations, Development Banks, multinational companies and foundations, forging partnerships for impact and development, and learned that to enhance and promote systemic change, you need well-funded entrepreneurship that generates high-impact startups. We saw a great opportunity to create a founder-first, impact-driven investment firm focused on scalable solutions across the European climate ecosystem.
The European climate tech sector has evolved significantly in recent years. From your perspective, what shifts have you observed in how founders approach climate challenges—whether in business models, technology, or partnerships?
There’s been a paradigm shift in how founders think about climate tech. In the past, climate-focused startups were often seen as mission-driven, impact-first ventures that struggled to attract mainstream investors. Today, that narrative is changing:
- Business models are evolving – Startups are moving beyond subsidies and ESG narratives to build financially compelling models. Carbon accounting, energy flexibility, and circular economy innovations are integrating deeply into enterprise operations.
- Hardware meets software – There’s a growing push for digitally enabled climate solutions, from AI-powered energy grids to predictive analytics for resource optimization. The intersection of IoT, automation, and data intelligence is where we see massive potential.
- Strategic collaborations – Founders are engaging in more cross-industry partnerships, working with corporations, city governments, and utility providers to drive adoption. Climate tech doesn’t scale in isolation—it thrives on ecosystem-wide collaboration.
Is there a particular vertical within climate tech that you believe has transformative potential but might be overlooked by the broader investment community? What makes this area especially compelling from both an impact and investment perspective?
One of the most overlooked yet transformative sectors in climate tech is the intersection of water and agrotech, particularly in Spain, where agriculture plays a crucial role in the economy and food security depends heavily on water availability. With 80% of the country’s water usage tied to agriculture, intensifying droughts and desertification are putting enormous pressure on food production. The agri-food industry is both a major contributor to emissions and highly vulnerable to climate change, yet technological innovation in water efficiency, precision irrigation, and climate-resilient farming remains underfunded. Smart water management, AI-driven yield optimization, and regenerative agriculture can significantly reduce environmental impact while increasing productivity.
From an investment perspective, the agricultural value chain in Spain and across Europe is highly fragmented, creating massive inefficiencies in water usage, soil health, and food distribution. Emerging solutions such as AI-powered irrigation, water desalination, regenerative farming practices, and biological fertilizers are poised to optimize resource use while reducing emissions. Additionally, blockchain-enabled traceability, cold-chain logistics, and predictive food demand models can cut food waste and drive efficiency across supply chains.
When evaluating potential investments, how do you balance the urgency of immediate climate impact and a medium-term financial return against the potential of longer-term transformative technologies?
At Inclimo, we approach each investment on a case-by-case basis, recognizing that systemic change in climate tech is a long-term goal. However, we remain highly pragmatic in our investment strategy, focusing on companies that have already demonstrated traction—meaning we do not invest in pre-market ventures. Our role is to accelerate startups that are at a pivotal growth stage, where additional capital and strategic support can exponentially scale their impact and financial returns. This ensures that our portfolio companies are not just promising ideas, but proven solutions ready to expand their market presence and climate contribution.
Balancing immediate climate impact, medium-term returns, and long-term transformation requires precision. We invest in companies that have clear commercial viability, scalable technology, and a direct impact on decarbonization, resource efficiency, or circular economy models. While breakthrough deep-tech solutions may take years to mature, our focus is on those already proving their business model in the real economy. With a rigorous selection process, we can ensure that we back only those companies with the right timing, the right team, and the right market fit to scale successfully.
You’ve been actively involved in building Barcelona’s climate tech community through various events and meetups. What unique advantages does Barcelona offer as a hub for climate innovation startups, and what gaps still need to be filled to make Barcelona a true leader in climate tech?
Barcelona is at a turning point in its evolution as a climate tech hub. The city has all the right ingredients: a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, where a growing number of startups are tackling challenges in energy, mobility, circular economy, and urban resilience; a progressive policy environment, with local government initiatives supporting green infrastructure and sustainability-focused projects; and world-class research institutions, fostering deep-tech advancements in materials science, clean energy, and water management. These factors have positioned Barcelona as one of Europe’s most exciting climate innovation ecosystems, attracting talent and capital from across the continent.
Yet, despite this momentum, critical gaps remain. The transition from early-stage innovation to large-scale implementation is still a challenge, as growth-stage funding—especially for hardware-heavy climate tech—is scarce. Many promising startups struggle to secure Series A/B rounds, limiting their ability to scale beyond pilot projects. At the same time, stronger industry collaboration is needed to bridge the gap between startups, corporates, and municipal authorities, ensuring that innovations transition from test environments into real-world infrastructure and supply chains. Lastly, while Barcelona is an attractive destination for early-stage founders, the challenge lies in retaining top-tier technical talent—especially in areas like AI, energy systems, and industrial decarbonization—to support the scale-up phase.
Recent shifts in US climate policy and the EU Omnibus initiative are causing some uncertainty. How do you see these changes shaping the climate tech ecosystem in Europe?
Regulatory shifts, especially those driven by the Trump administration’s return, are bound to create short-term turmoil in global climate policy. However, history has shown that the sustainability movement is incredibly resilient—it has grown and evolved over decades, often in the face of political pushback and economic downturns. In many ways, these disruptions can strengthen the climate tech ecosystem, forcing startups and investors to focus on innovation, market-driven adoption, and cost-effectiveness, rather than relying on policy incentives or favourable governments to ensure success. The companies that thrive in uncertain environments are the ones that will be truly scalable and impactful in the long run.
What’s clear is that Europe must lead the global climate tech agenda. With the EU doubling down on its Green Deal Industrial Plan, carbon pricing, and sustainability-driven regulations, the region is in a unique position to set the standard for climate innovation. While US policies may shift depending on political cycles, Europe is moving toward a structural transformation of its economy, with energy transition, circularity, and climate resilience embedded in long-term strategies. For startups, this means that while regulatory landscapes may change, the fundamental drivers of demand—efficiency, price competitiveness, and impact—will remain constant.
This is why we believe the current uncertainty will ultimately produce stronger, more resilient climate startups. The best companies will emerge not because they are backed by policy, but because they are commercially viable, scalable, and essential for the future economy.
The rapid advancement of AI technologies is disrupting every industry. Do you see AI as primarily an accelerator for climate solutions, or are there risks that the industry is underestimating?
AI is a massive enabler for climate tech—but with challenges. On the positive side, it enhances grid optimization, predictive climate modelling, and resource efficiency. However, AI’s energy consumption and potential biases in decision-making require careful oversight. The key is ensuring that AI solutions maximize sustainability impact without unintended trade-offs.
Looking ahead to the next five years, what major transitions do you anticipate in the climate tech sector, and how is Inclimo positioning itself to support founders through these changes?
The next five years will bring profound transformations in the climate tech sector, reshaping industries, supply chains, and the way we interact with the planet. One of the most exciting shifts will be in regenerative agriculture, where the relationship between humans and land is undergoing a fundamental redefinition. At the same time, we are entering a new era of convergence between energy, mobility, and smart infrastructure, largely driven by AI and digitalization. The transition to distributed energy grids, vehicle-to-grid solutions, and hyper-efficient urban systems will be accelerated by real-time data, predictive analytics, and automation.
Perhaps the most pivotal change, however, is the mainstreaming of climate tech. Regardless of the political climate, we are witnessing a structural shift in investment priorities—institutional investors, venture capitalists, and corporate funds are increasingly embedding climate-aligned strategies into their portfolios. Climate tech is no longer a niche category; it is becoming a fundamental pillar of global finance and economic strategy.