ecoworks closes €40 million round to fuel expansion
ecoworks raises €40 million to accelerate serial, climate-neutral building renovation
ecoworks reduces built environment emissions by retrofitting buildings with an AI-supported digital planning solution and serially produced efficient building skins.
- World Fund led the round, with participation from Haniel, KOMPAS VC, and ISAI
- EU market volume is projected at €6.2 trillion by 2030 for the renovation of Europe’s building stock
- Capital will be used for further tech optimization and scaling
Berlin, December 14th, 2023 – ecoworks, the global leader in climate-neutral renovation, has closed a €40 million Series A funding round led by World Fund, with participation from Haniel, KOMPAS VC, and ISAI. The high level of investor interest reflects the rapidly growing demand across Europe’s residential, industrial, and commercial real estate sectors.
“Almost 75% of buildings in Europe are considered energy inefficient. Currently, the renovation rate is less than 1%,”
says Daria Saharova, Managing Partner at World Fund.
“ecoworks is a retrofitting tech leader that is primed to benefit from regulatory demands for renovation and increasing capital for reducing carbon emissions in the sector.”
World Fund invests exclusively in startups with the greatest climate performance potential. The decision to lead this round was based on the enormous CO₂ savings potential in building retrofits. ecoworks aims to cut over 1 gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
A Massive Untapped Market
Around 50% of the 315 million residential units in Europe have an energy performance rating of E or worse. Retrofitting these homes requires multi-trillion euro investments in the EU alone by 2030. Poor-performing homes face:
- Higher energy costs
- Stricter regulatory pressure
- Devaluation and risk of becoming stranded assets
The ecoworks Solution
ecoworks provides climate-neutral renovation by installing highly efficient, prefabricated building envelopes. The Berlin-based startup can retrofit apartment blocks in just a few weeks, doubling their value. Each façade module comes with:
- Integrated windows
- High-performance insulation
- Built-in building services (MEP)
The company has already implemented its system in numerous buildings across Germany and continues to expand its product portfolio.
“As a pioneer and market leader in serial, climate-friendly renovation, ecoworks fits perfectly into Haniel’s purpose-driven strategy ‘enkelfähig’,”
says Philipp Göhre, Growth Partner at Haniel.
“We’re excited to support the ecoworks team on their mission to reduce more than 1 gigaton of CO₂ emissions by 2045.”
“Our investment in ecoworks reflects our commitment to a sustainable, efficient, and resilient built environment,”
says Andreas Winter-Extra, Partner at KOMPAS VC.
“Europe’s aging building stock is unfit for a changing climate. ecoworks' tech is uniquely positioned to scale across the continent.”
“The round was almost three times oversubscribed. This shows the enormous interest in renovation solutions across Europe,”
says Emanuel Heisenberg, Founder of ecoworks.
“With our order book and increasing margins, we’re poised to become Europe’s leading tech innovator in the construction sector.”
About World Fund
World Fund is Europe’s leading climate-focused VC, investing in high-impact startups across energy, food, agriculture, manufacturing, buildings, and transport. Their team includes engineers, physicists, biologists, and seasoned investors focused on tech that supports a regenerative world.
www.worldfund.vc
About ecoworks
ecoworks offers modular, climate-neutral renovation solutions for the housing sector. It designs, builds, and installs prefabricated façades and roofs, enabling retrofits to NetZero standards in just weeks. The Berlin-based company is among the world’s most innovative ClimateTech startups in the built environment.
www.ecoworks.tech
About Haniel
Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH manages a portfolio of purpose-driven businesses. Their mission: build “enkelfähig” (future-ready) companies that balance sustainability and performance. In 2022, the group employed 21,500 people and generated €4.2 billion in revenue. Haniel is 100% family-owned and based in Duisburg since 1756.
www.haniel.de
About KOMPAS VC
KOMPAS VC is an early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, and Tel Aviv. It invests in innovations accelerating decarbonization and digital transformation in construction and manufacturing. KOMPAS typically invests €1–5 million in Seed and Series A rounds, and supports companies long-term.
www.kompas.vc
