Three green finance deals have been announced this week that could ultimately support retailers’ efforts to become more sustainable.
FPS
Fleet electrification company Flexible Power Systems (FPS) has secured its first external investment round, with the £2.7 million financing set to accelerate the commercialisation of its real-time electric vehicle (EV) and charger management platform for commercial vehicle fleets.
The ‘FPS Operate’ system, which was originally developed for the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) and is set to be introduced to the John Lewis and Waitrose parent’s operations later this year, has now been expanded to address the needs of all commercial vehicle fleets.
Following the announcement of securing its green finance package, supported by a combination of equity investment and a £1.49 million innovation loan from InnovateUK, FPS said its technology integrates and operationalises charge points, vehicles, building energy management and logistics software systems. The data is used for automated vehicle-task matching, smart charging, reporting and managing uptime, and improving EV return on investment.
Michael Ayres, managing director of FPS, commented: “Every day there are press stories about EV range variability or charge point failures disrupting commercial vehicle operations.
“FPS Operate has been developed over the last four years to allow fleets to cope with this variability, dynamically and in real-time, to get-on with the day job.”
FPS has previously invested more than £4 million in technical development of its software platforms.
Justin Laney, general manager for central transport at JLP, remarked: “We have been working with FPS since 2020 on a range of electrification topics, from our van fleets to transport refrigeration unit hook-ups.
“Currently, nearly all of our commercial vehicle EVs and the majority of our transport refrigeration hook-ups are on their FPS Operate platform and FPS has become a key part of our transport decarbonisation journey.”
Polytag
Meanwhile, Polytag, a recycling technology company, announced on Monday that it has completed Series A seed funding with two prominent female-led investors as it accelerates its mission to transform the recycling industry across the UK and Europe.
The investment builds on the company’s momentum gained through already established partnerships with UK retailers, including Ocado Retail, Aldi, and Co-op.
Polytag’s technology offers real-time visibility and insights into single-use packaging throughout its lifecycle. Using its QR codes and ‘Invisible UV Tags’, FMCG brands can track and incentivise plastic packaging recycling.
The funding is led by Collateral Good, a sustainability-focused venture capital firm based in Switzerland, and co-led by Knop Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in start-ups positioned to build a better world. Overall, the investment is to be directed towards the wider installation of Polytag’s Invisible UV Tag readers in material recovery facilities across Europe.
Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, said: “Securing this seed round funding is a testament to the strength of Polytag’s vision and the potential impact that our technology has in revolutionising the recycling sector.
“We thank our investors who, sharing our commitment to addressing the single-use plastic crisis, believe in our mission. Their support will drive our growth and allow us to provide exceptional value to customers and scale our transformative technology for the betterment of the environment.”
Packfleet
On the delivery side of retail, tech-enabled all-electric courier company, Packfleet, has announced it has raised $10 million in Series A funding, co-led by General Catalyst and Voyager Ventures.
The funds are set to support the development of ‘Pathfinder’, which is the company’s proprietary routing software that has been instrumental in the company’s meteoric rise.
Since launching in 2021, the B Corp courier has developed delivery partnerships with consumer brands such as Who Gives A Crap, Pizza Pilgrims, and Hurr.
The Earthshot Prize
These green finance announcements come as it emerged this week that The Earthshot Prize – founded by Prince William to reward sustainability-focused start-ups with funding each year – has created a new match-making platform to connect green innovators with sustainability-minded investors.
Dubbed ‘Launchpad’ the platform has already attracted 135 investors and philanthropists despite only being in pilot phase. At present, it showcases 25 Earthshot solutions from six continents, with funding needs exceeding £400 million.
The system offers investors and philanthropists access to a database of scalable environmental solutions and details of their current funding needs. Then, these funders can browse and discover potential matches.
[Main image credit: Flexible Power Systems. Embedded image credit: John Robertson for Waitrose]
