The Greenhouse
The Greenhouse is one of the most established specialist climate accelerators in the world. We support the growth of early-stage (“pre-seed”) startups who are passionate about developing high-quality, scalable solutions to tackle climate change.
Leading the way in climate innovation
What makes The Greenhouse unique?
Embedded within the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London, we have all the elements needed to nurture successful climate innovation: first and foremost, passion for the planet in our DNA. We do not take equity in the businesses that we support. We take the planet’s point of view at every stage of the entrepreneurship journey. We’re fully independent and wholly motivated to work for the public good.
The Greenhouse is one of the most established specialist climate accelerators in the world. We’ve been supporting cutting-edge climate startups for over 12 years, playing a leading role in the growth of a new, green economy. Over that time we’ve developed and refined a successful model that builds a bridge from the experimentation and discovery stage of technology development to commercial success, nurturing innovation until it is ready to be scaled and deployed.
World-class facilities, expertise and networks
- Runs over 12 months
- Provides up to £20k equity-free grant funding
- Provides free office and meeting space
- Provides a comprehensive mentorship and workshop scheme
Startups undertake The Greenhouse journey with the aim of raising a minimum of £100k by the end of the 12-month period – sufficient funds to maintain the business for a further 12-months.
The Greenhouse in numbers
>190
Over 190 startups have taken part in The Greenhouse to date
>$1bn
>2000
They operate across 30 countries worldwide, and have created over 2000 jobs
Our alumni will have real-world impact
29 million tonnes of cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent forecast to be saved by 2030. This equates to 7% of the UK's annual greenhouse gas emissions
76 million tonnes cumulative waste forecast to be avoided by 2030 across the Undaunted startup portfolio. This is equivalent to a third of the UK's annual waste
7.4 million litres total fresh water to be saved by 2030, equivalent to the annual consumption of 75 thousand UK households
What our alumni say…
“It felt so exciting, and gave us hope that our messy, weird design “project” could be a real, tangible business. Many tech programmes are focus [mainly] on scale and growth. While that is important to The Greenhouse, they don’t question the fundamental values of your business around sustainability and eco-friendliness. The support we’ve received has played a huge part in the progress we’ve made.”
Elizabeth Lee, Co-founder of Carbon Cell (The Greenhouse Cohort 5). On the right you can watch Liz pitch at The Greenhouse Demo Day in April 2024 on the historic stage on The Royal Insitution Theatre.
Dan Ellis, Founder of Decarbonite (The Greenhouse Cohort 5 ). On the left you can watch Dan pitch at The Greenhouse Demo Day in April 2024 on the historic stage on The Royal Insitution Theatre.
Abiel Ma, CEO and Co-founder of Vuala (The Greenhouse Cohort 5). On the right you can watch Abiel pitch at The Greenhouse Demo Day in April 2024 on the historic stage on The Royal Insitution Theatre.
Meet more of our alumni
Supported by
The Greenhouse programme is supported by the Greater London Authority via the Mayor of London; HSBC UK, through the bank’s global Climate Solutions Partnership; and the Inflexion Foundation.
We conduct thorough due diligence to ensure that our supporters and partners are committed to reducing their environmental impact. Whilst we are aware that HSBC currently finances a number of industries that significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, we know they have a strategy in place to help their customers reduce their emissions and to reduce their own – for more information please visit the HSBC Climate Strategy webpage.