The climate tech sector is on an extraordinary ascent, with global investment in energy transition reaching a record $1.8 trillion in 2023, marking a 17% increase from the previous year. This upswing signifies a decisive shift towards sustainable energy solutions, reflecting a deepening commitment to sustainable innovation globally. The 2024 SET100 startups, pulled from more than 430 applications from over 75 countries, are leading this charge through pioneering innovations in high-impact sectors.
In the fifth of our deep-dive interviews with the SET24 winners, we explore insights shared by Tobias Engelmeier, CEO and co-founder of VIDA, a leader in the ‘Quality Energy Access & SDG-7’ category. VIDA’s cutting-edge climate tech bridges critical gaps by delivering sustainable energy solutions to off-grid communities, and with it, propelling the UN’s seventh sustainable development goal forward.
Innovative Data Management for Sustainable Energy Solutions
Imagine a world that is entirely unmapped. This is the reality of upto 4 billion people living in towns and villages, but this world is changing. In 2022 alone, governments and investors mobilized USD 115.9 billion in climate finance for emerging economies to build substantial green infrastructure, aiming to achieve sustainable development.
But how do governments and investors determine where this critical green infrastructure is required? And, how do we track progress? Engelmeier’s insights highlight VIDA’s strategic vision and contribution to the adoption of sustainable energy solutions, positioning them as a key player that helps investors funnel money into combating climate change.
Before VIDA came on the scene in 2018, investors made investments into development infrastructure with limited data and transparency, resulting in slow and imprecise decision-making—we simply didn’t know what was happening where.
You simply cannot invest without data. With VIDA, we’ve built a software to solve that problem. Our entire team of data-scientists and software engineers is value-driven. We all believe that to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) we must learn to invest more, and above all invest intelligently into the remote regions of the world. Our vision is that not a single dollar spent on SDGs should go untracked — Tobias Engelmeier, Co-founder and CEO, VIDA.
VIDA’s AI-based platform simplifies and automates the evaluation of climate, ESG, demand, and accessibility risks for infrastructure. By consolidating diverse data types for remote regions into a single platform, VIDA not only enhances decision-making but provides investors with a comprehensive view of their investments, and ensures streamlining the adoption of clean energy.
Their advanced algorithms assess more than 50 global data layers to quickly evaluate location risks for various infrastructure types, including wind or solar farms, power grids, data centers, mini-grids, transportation and health sites, and warehousing and cooling facilities.
VIDA’s success lies in the initial phases of setting up critical infrastructure—between finding a site and deciding on investment and construction, where major bottlenecks, indecision, and insecurity lie.
Strategic Partnerships To Boost Sustainable Development
For this fast-growing startup, partnerships are key to ensuring compliance with regional regulatory standards from the outset, creating a seamless information flow across developmental infrastructure projects.
Born out of partnerships with Applied AI, Germany’s leading AI Lab, and the European Space Agency that helped VIDA’s platform get off the ground, VIDA continually looks for partners to add new layers of datapoints for the regions they monitor.
Partnerships are really important to us. I underestimated that for a long time because they are complicated. We thought, deceptively that it is easier to do it yourself — Tobias Engelmeier, Co-founder and CEO, VIDA.
As the company has grown from its inception, VIDA offers data assets for over 100,000 locations and is active in over 40 countries. The need to make contextual risk assessment easy, spur data-based investments in off-grid communities, and respond effectively to infrastructure demands in regional markets drives this strategic growth.
More recently, VIDA has added two highly sought-after datasets — the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species— by partnering with Integrated Biodiversity Assesment Tool and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN). These help their users understand the potential impacts of new projects on biodiversity, aiding in habitat preservation.
The startup even offers green certifications for their clients with help from reputed partners like the World Wildlife Fund.
Putting accurate data at the fingertips of impact investors and governments globally, VIDA has identified over 200,000 settlements in 30 countries, channeling $3 billion of investments in 2021-22 into green electrification alone. Customers already use VIDA to assess sites worldwide, positioning the startup for global expansion.
“The SET Award recognition enhances VIDA’s brand credibility and opens doors to new partnerships and investment opportunities,” Engelmeier states. This recognition is crucial as VIDA continues to expand and evolve, solidifying its position in the climate tech sector.
VIDA is at the forefront of revolutionizing climate tech investments through its data-driven platform. By ensuring efficient regulation complicance and fostering collaborations across the critical infrastructure value chain, they significantly contribute to the global energy transition.
SET100 Startups Promoting Sustainable Energy Solutions
Engelmeier quickly acknowledges the contributions of other 2024 SET100 startups in the SDG-7 category. These startups are pioneering holistic and innovative solutions to enhance sustainable energy access. Fellow SET24 alumni and SET Award finalists like Agrisiti and Takachar are revolutionizing sustainable agriculture and waste management through agritech and biomass conversion, improving food security and converting waste into high-value bioproducts.
Innovations by Koolboks and Winture (F.K.A.: Boreal Light) in solar-powered refrigeration and water desalination are crucial in providing essential services to remote areas, demonstrating the potential for wide-scale impact.
Similarly, PAM Africa and Solarworx are significantly broadening access to solar energy, highlighting the industry’s commitment to developing scalable and inclusive sustainable energy solutions. “These trends reflect a sector geared towards innovative and sustainable energy practices, with the potential for renewable energy to drive socio-economic transformation,” Engelmeier adds.
The collective efforts of VIDA and other SET100 startups underscore a sector dedicated to innovative and sustainable energy solutions, demonstrating the vast potential for renewable energy to drive socio-economic transformation and achieve SDG-7. Together, they are pioneering a future where quality energy access is a reality for all, contributing significantly to the fight against climate change.
Follow VIDA’s LinkedIn here, deep dive into SET Tech Festival and SET Award’s 2024 impact here, check out our other SET24 winners here and download the 2024 SET100 here.
Want to know how VIDA works? Try it for free on map.vida.place/explore
