elmo Selected for Tech Nation Net Zero Programme

By Olly Jones

Sep 9, 2020

Tech Nation has judged elmo as one of 30 of the UK’s most promising scaleup companies in the UK tackling climate change.

The winners were announced by Secretary of State for Business & Energy, Alok Sharma, at London Tech Week on 8th September 2020. elmo and the other winners will now start Tech Nation’s first ever ‘Net Zero’ accelerator programme at the end of the month.

The Tech Nation Net Zero Programme

The government-backed Tech Nation programmes are extremely prestigious and in recent years have focused on supporting fast-growing companies in FinTech in particular, with companies like Monzo, Starling Bank and Onfido counted among the alumni.

This is the first Tech Nation programme designed to accelerate the growth of the most promising Net Zero scaleups in the UK. The programme includes workshops on quantifying sustainability, navigating the regulatory landscape, and how to internationalise a Net Zero business. The Net Zero programme comes at a critical moment, with COVID-19 highlighting the key role played by technology in aiding a green recovery to the crisis and the importance of building a sustainable future.

The Cohort

elmo is joined on the cohort by companies building vertical farms and animal-free dairy products, tracking environmental footprints, and improving manufacturing and recycling supply chains.

The companies were assessed through a rigorous judging process. The judging panel included Hayden Wood, CEO of Bulb; Pippa Gawley, Founder and Director of Zero Carbon Capital; Mark Hodgson, Chief Business Officer of Cervest; Tom Adeyoola, NED of Verco; Dr Ben Caldecott, Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme at the University of Oxford; Helen Clarkson, CEO of The Climate Group; Jeff Eneberi, Director of Sustainable Seaweed and Azeem Azhar, Founder of Exponential View.

“The UK’s Net Zero sector already leads Europe for VC investment, at £336mn, and is home to 323 tech companies that are working hard to reduce carbon emissions globally. Scaling such businesses can be hard, which is why we are delighted to launch a new programme focused on businesses at this stage of growth from all over the UK, especially given the impact they will have on climate change and their drive towards a net zero economy.”

Gerard Grech | Chief Executive | Tech Nation

It’s fantastic to be recognised as one of the fastest-growing tech companies on a mission to reduce carbon emissions in the UK. Luke and I are delighted for the team, our partners and investors whose support and belief in the elmo mission continues to propel us towards making a meaningful impact on decarbonising UK transport.

Oliver Jones | co-founder | elmo