10 Innovative Startup Companies in Renewable Energy

As the renewable energy sector continues to show significant advancements in innovation, driven by the global need and commitments to address climate change, we wanted to highlight the key startups driving innovation within the industry. In this guide, we explore ten innovative startup companies in renewable energy that are at the forefront of offering groundbreaking sustainable solutions across various aspects of the energy transition. 

From carbon capture and community solar programmes to advanced battery storage and sustainable fuels, these renewable energy startups are making significant strides in promoting clean and sustainable energy practices.

This guide will highlight the following ten startup companies in renewable energy:

1. Carbo Culture

2. Common Energy

3. EcoFlow

4. Enpal

5. Epishine

6. Freyr Energy

7. Liquid Wind

8. Moment Energy

9. Next Energy Technologies 

10. PurposeEnergy

1. Carbo Culture

Our first entry to our list of the top startup companies in renewable energy is Carbo Culture. Through their innovative and patented technology, the Finnish startup is focused on decarbonising plant waste and biomass into a solid state where it can be stored to remove carbon from the atmosphere. 

Carbo Culture's technology is known as Carbolysis, which works similarly to pyrolysis. Here, biomass is exposed to extreme pressures and high temperatures within a reactor and converted into solid biochar. The biochar produced by Carbo Culture contains 91% or 3,086 tonnes of carbon, which can be used for agricultural and construction purposes and stored without impacting the atmosphere. 

Their carbon capture renewable energy solutions require no energy to maintain their reaction. They also convert excess tars and oils into biogenic syngas, removing liquid tar byproducts. From this, a form of carbon with significantly strong atomic bonds is formed, making it unable to negatively impact the atmosphere. Their biogenetic syngas can also be used as a renewable energy source for households and businesses to heat and power appliances.

After being formed in 2017 by co-founders Henrietta Moon and Chris Carstens, Carbo Culture is on a mission to create multiple facilities by 2026 to support its mission of removing 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

2. Common Energy

Established in New York in 2018, Common Energy is focused on building its community solar programme, whereby renewable energy is more accessible and affordable across the US. Currently available in 15 states, their solution allows homeowners, non-profit organisations and businesses to save on electricity by supporting clean energy projects. 

The solar programme works by users entering their postcode and utility into Common Energy’s system to see if there is a clean energy project in their local area. Once a community solar project is established in the user's local area, they can sign up for free and have their electricity supplied by renewable energy sources. 

Those who sign up for the community programme will receive tax credits aligned with the Inflation Reduction Act. As a result, people and businesses can save between 5% and 25% on their electricity bills for up to 20 years while supporting renewable energy projects. 

Over 3,000 participants have signed up for Common Energy’s solar community programme, which includes major global brands like Microsoft, Nike, T-Mobile, and LinkedIn. 

3. EcoFlow

Next on our list of innovative startup companies in renewable energy is EcoFlow. Founded in 2017 by a group of experienced battery engineers, EcoFlow is a Californian startup that manufactures portable power solutions, home battery solar systems and smart energy devices. Their eco-friendly solutions can be used as an off-grid power supply when camping in the wilderness or during household power outages, reducing the need for carbon-intensive generators. 

EcoFlow's 522 patented technologies are designed to make renewable energy more widely accessible to people, families, and communities. Their solutions come equipped with high-capacity batteries that can be charged quickly and tracked on a mobile app. Currently available in over 100 countries with over 2.5 million users worldwide, EcoFlow's solutions have been endorsed by Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. 

4. Enpal 

Enpal is a German renewable energy startup founded in 2017 that is spearheading Europe’s largest energy movement. They provide a range of green technologies for households, including solar systems, energy storage and wall box chargers for electric cars. With a dedicated app to track energy usage, these innovative solutions enable users to increase their independence from electricity providers by up to 85%.

“We connect people to form a renewable community.”
-Mario Kohle, Enpal Founder and CEO

As one of the top startup companies in renewable energy, Enpal’s accessible and affordable products are used by over 65,000 households across Germany. These products can be purchased or rented, allowing users to access the free energy from the sun for decades. Enpal's renewable energy solutions are honing in on the evolution of smart homes and helping people reduce their energy prices and save money while allowing the nation to support the energy transition. 

5. Epishine

Another of the top startup companies in renewable energy is Epishine, the Swedish brand redefining photovoltaic technology with printed organic solar cells. Their solar innovation has been developed with over 30 years of research in photovoltaics and organic electronics. With 15 sustainable products on the market, which over 120 customers use, Epishine's pioneering solution is helping to make electronics more sustainable worldwide. 

Like many advanced technologies in the solar energy space, Epishine's solution can capture energy from the sun. However, what separates Epishine from most is that its solar technology can extract power from light produced in settings as dim as 50 lux. Therefore, when sunlight passes into a building and even on cloudy days, Epishine's solar cells can capture renewable energy. 

Their solar cells can even generate energy indoors from lamps and internal lighting. These indoor solar cells can reduce a household or office building's carbon footprint by up to 85%.

Epishine's solar cells are manufactured using organic materials and nano-engineering. They can seamlessly integrate into various applications, from smart IoT devices to consumer electronics. Their products are becoming a unique and sustainable power source, opening new opportunities for renewable energy generation in households and office buildings.

6. Freyr Energy

Another of the top companies in renewable energy that we must highlight is Freyr Energy, a startup at the forefront of rooftop solar energy technologies in India. Since 2014, they have provided solar solutions to households and businesses, making rooftop solar power accessible and affordable. 

With over ten years of experience in solar energy, Freyr Energy has built a reputation for saving money for people and businesses. Their solutions come with a subsidy of up to  ₹ 78,000 (£782) and can reduce electricity bills by 90%. Freyr Energy has supported over 5,000 customers across India and impacted over 2 million lives, providing 24/7 service support to ensure people can harness the power of solar year-round. 

Since its inception, Freyr Energy has reduced over 82,000 tonnes of CO2 and created more than 1,000 renewable energy jobs. Additionally, 60% of their leadership team is comprised of female leaders, making them pioneers in the solar energy market, as well as diversity and inclusion.

7. Liquid Wind

Liquid Wind is another of the top renewable energy startups worth highlighting. Founded in 2017, with a headquarters in Gothenburg and a presence in Copenhagen and Stockholm, Liquid Wind is focused on reducing the world's fossil fuel dependency while facilitating sustainable and commercially scalable electrofuel or eFuel development.

Their electrofuel is made up of eMethanol, which is created in Liquid Wind's eFuel facilities. The eFuel is created in these facilities through a Power-to-Liquid (PtL) process, utilising renewable energy sources and biogenic CO2. This process involves a combination of electrolysis, carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), eMethanol synthesis, and product refinement. 

These processes produce high-quality and eco-friendly eFuel for various transportation applications. Liquid Wind's eFuel primarily supports industries such as shipping, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants, and pulp and paper mills.

Liquid Wind is committed to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They aim to deliver their electrofuel to market by 2025. By 2030, the renewable energy startup aims to develop over ten facilities across the Nordics, with 100-300 established worldwide by 2040 and 500 global facilities by 2050.

8. Moment Energy

One of the top startups at the forefront of innovation in the battery and energy storage space is Moment Energy. Established in 2019 by four tech entrepreneurs, the Canadian renewable energy startup provides affordable, reliable and sustainable battery energy storage systems (BESS) by repurposing retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries. 

Moment Energy’s application, Flora BESS, supports healthcare, manufacturing, data centres, mining sites, remote communities and office spaces. With its on and off-grid facilities, Moment Energy helps people and businesses with the following:

• Arbitrage
• Backup Power
• EV Charging Support
• Load Shifting
• Peak Shaving
• Renewable Integration

Partnering with notable automakers, such as Mercedes Benz Energy and Nissan North America, Moment Energy helps offer newfound life to old EV batteries, reducing the need for retired batteries to be sent to landfills. Their innovations are helping to build a sustainable future, allowing people the opportunity to access renewable energy storage solutions. 

9. Next Energy Technologies

The penultimate entry to our list of innovative startup companies in renewable energy is Next Energy Technologies. Founded in 2010 and with headquarters in Santa Barbara, California, their organic Photovoltaic (OPV) transparent nano-coated windows are helping to enable buildings to generate renewable energy and ultimately become net zero.

As an established renewable energy startup, Next Energy Technologies’ OPV windows are manufactured using organic semiconductors to generate electricity from sunlight, various lighting conditions, and earth-abundant semiconductor materials. These products create OPV transparent nano-coatings, which can be applied to glass windows to capture light energy. 

This energy can power houses and buildings, reducing their carbon footprint while driving sustainability efforts. The OPV glass windows NEXT is developing can remove the need for heavy metals and toxic byproducts, contributing to more clean and sustainable renewable energy solutions for the construction industry and glass and window manufacturers. Their solution also benefits property owners and developers seeking to harness solar energy and join the energy transition.

10. PurposeEnergy

Our final entry to our list of renewable energy startups is PurposeEnergy. Founded in 2007, the US business focuses on capturing millions of tonnes of organic waste from food and beverage production plants and converting them into renewable energy, healthy soil and clean water.  

PurposeEnergy's core solution is the trademarked and patented Tribrid-Bioreactor. This technology treats wastewater and organic byproducts from industrial food production plants without trucking or overburdening public waste treatment resources. 

By harnessing the power of biogas, a renewable energy fuel generated through anaerobic digestion, PurposeEnergy helps the food and beverage industry increase production uptime, reduce off-site disposal costs, and lower its carbon footprint. PurposeEnergy has treated over 432,000,000 gallons of waste, produced over 28,000,000 kWh of renewable energy, and removed the need for over 50,000 trucks on the roads, equivalent to planting 968,000 trees. 

Final Thoughts on Startup Companies in Renewable Energy

These renewable energy startup companies are pioneering sustainable advancements and contributing greatly to the energy transition. Their innovative technologies and solutions are significantly reducing carbon footprints and making clean energy more accessible and affordable for communities and industries worldwide. As these startups continue to scale their operations, they will play a vital role in the global energy transition and efforts to create a more sustainable future.

Discover some of the innovative companies in renewable energy that we’ve partnered with by exploring our Client Showcases - Capstone Infrastructure and Velocys.

Specialists in Renewable Energy Recruitment

At NES Fircroft, we specialise in connecting passionate professionals with startups and global companies in renewable energy. If you’re a startup or multinational organisation in the renewables space and are seeking talent to support your growth targets within the industry, we can help. Explore our Talent Acquisition Services and find out how we can source and place the permanent and contract hires you need to achieve your renewable energy recruitment goals.

Alternatively, if you're a candidate seeking an opportunity to enhance a renewable energy startup or advance your career in the industry, register for the latest renewable energy jobs. 

If you want to speak to one of our renewable energy recruitment specialists about your hiring or job-seeking needs, contact us today to find out how we can help.