Nordic Alpha Partners takes leading position in German Watertech firm Variolytics
Copenhagen, January 30th, 2025 – Nordic Alpha Partners (NAP) is acquiring a significant minority stake in Variolytics, a high impact technology leader in the water treatment sector, based in Stuttgart, Germany. The investment is a strong example of NAP’s strategy to spot greentech pioneers in the Eurozone.
Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute, Variolytics has developed market leading sensor technology that can detect, analyse and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the wastewater sector. Research shows that wastewater treatment plants emit around 2% of the world’s CO2, or as much as the global aviation industry. In Europe, wastewater treatment accounts for up to 15% of an average municipality’s total emissions. This is due to wastewater treatment emitting high quantities of the greenhouse gas Nitrous Oxide (N2O), which is 300 times more potent than CO2.
By providing accurate measurements of N2O-levels in the water using advanced sensor technology and AI, Variolytics enables treatment plant professionals to adjust the processes that prevent the GHG from entering the atmosphere. Historically, such measurements have been both costly and inaccurate, but with a Variolytics solution, operators have full overview of their emissions, and regulators can check for compliance.
Since August 2024, NAP has worked with the Variolytics team to implement a new de-risking strategy to validate pricing, its go to market plan, and to identify the perfect customers. The highly operational pre-investment approach enables NAP to test potential commercial expansion internationally and develop a new product strategy with Variolytics’ management, ahead of investing.
“This technology is a great example of how advanced innovation in Europe, in a simple, non-invasive and capital efficient way, can drive massive impact on emissions and accelerate the path to net zero”, says Shari Rana, Investment Director at Nordic Alpha Partners. “We screen every relevant asset in the watertech space, and Variolytics immediately stood out as a clear technology pioneer in the sector”
The Variolytics solutions meet every aspect of NAP’s ”BCSA-approach”, enabling market adoption by being Better, Cheaper, Simpler to integrate and Available at scale, relative to competition in the specific value chain. 12-months after installing, the Variolytics solution treatment plants can save up to 20% in energy consumption and reduce emissions by up to 50%.
”NAP has worked intensely with the company in the last six months to set up the commercial strategy that is testing the international market potential”, says Jannik Brey Christensen, Value Creation Partner at NAP. “The close collaboration has not only validated the strong tech-edge but also solidified a shared vision with the management team”.
“Working with NAP so early on made us deeply confident in the fact that we had found the right partner to help scale Variolytics and grow our sensor technology and software platform to its full potential”, says Johann Barlach, Chief Financial Officer of Variolytics. “NAP’s operational approach, value creation muscle and expertise in the water technology sector paired with their deep knowledge of fast-paced scaling and hypertransformation provides us with a solid foundation for growth in the years to come”.
Nordic Alpha Partners is investing alongside new investor European Innovation Council (EIC) and existing investors such as Fraunhofer Technology Transfer Fonds (FTTF) and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF).
“The European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund invests in promising technologies across a variety of verticals, including energy, green, digital and health. The EIC Fund aims to support the commercialisation of potentially ground-breaking technologies in the EU and help bring the innovations to the market. We are proud to partner with Nordic Alpha Partner, a specialised investor and member of European Commission’s Trusted Investors Network, to contribute to the continued journey of Variolytics, a leading player in the EU water technology space,” Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board, said.
Anne Umbach, Investment Manager at HTGF, commented: “It’s a strong signal that Variolytics has convinced NAP to make this commitment with their new second fund generation. HTGF and NAP were previously co-invested in Wiferion, which was acquired by an American OEM in 2023.”
“We are delighted to see how FTTF’s investment approach at Variolytics—driving groundbreaking research outcomes and empowering deep-tech entrepreneurs from Fraunhofer—continues to gain traction. By supporting founders in advancing their businesses and securing further funding, we are proud to attract esteemed investors like NAP,” said Tobias Schwind, Partner at FTTF.
The investment is being made through NAP Fund II. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed during Q1 2025.
The Nordic Alpha Partners team on the Variolytics investment include:
Investment Director, Shari Rana
Value Creation Partner, Jannik Brey Christensen
Associate, Alexander Tengberg
Contact for Nordic Alpha Partners:
Head of Communications, Gustav Hoejmark-Jensen
Email: ghj@napartners.dk
Mobile: +45 28 25 36 71, +44 07737806923
About Variolytics
Founded in 2020, Variolytics GmbH specializes in detecting, analysing, and reducing emissions in the wastewater sector. Its EmiCo solution is the only turnkey offering in Europe that provides wastewater treatment facilities with real-time data and actionable recommendations to reduce nitrous oxide levels. The company’s technology empowers operators to reduce carbon footprints by up to 50%, contributing to the global green transition. For more information, visit https://variolytics.de/en/
About Nordic Alpha Partners
Nordic Alpha Partners is a Nordic and Germany-based growth equity fund established in 2017 with offices in Copenhagen, Munich and London. It is investing in sustainable hard tech companies with the potential to pioneer and accelerate the global green transformation. Since its inception, NAP has raised €1+ billion for green investments, saving the environment from more than 1 million tons of CO2 and creating over 1000 jobs over the past three years. NAP’s investment approach focuses on a supportive ownership model combined with a highly operational value creation approach which enables visionary founders to scale from local players to global market leaders. More info: https://napartners.dk/
About the European Innovation Council
The European Innovation Council Fund (EICF) provides the investment component of the EIC Accelerator, supporting companies in developing and commercializing disruptive technologies. The fund aims to bridge financing gaps and foster collaborations with market players and strategic partners across Europe.
About Fraunhofer Technology-Transfer Fund
The Fraunhofer Technology-Transfer Fund (FTTF) supports start-ups that harness Fraunhofer technology. The fund provides up to €500k during the pre-seed phase and up to €5m in subsequent financing rounds. In addition, it offers extensive expertise in company formation and access to a wide-reaching investor network. With a total volume of €60m, the fund has already built a portfolio of 39 companies.
About – High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing start-ups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences, and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports start-ups at every stage of their development on their path to becoming international market leaders. The fund invests in pre-seed and seed stages and can participate significantly in subsequent financing rounds. Across all its funds, HTGF manages over €2 billion in assets. Since its founding in 2005, it has financed more than 770 start-ups and achieved over 190 successful exits. HTGF operates as a public-private partnership, with investors including the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital as well as 45 corporations and family offices.
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