Chambéry-based Venture studio 4elements announced today it has raised €27.4 million, exclusively dedicated to the creation of startups with a high environmental impact, intending to launch around ten startups within 5 years.
This first round of funding has been raised from the European Investment Fund (EIF), alongside France 2030’s French Tech Acceleration 2 Fund, managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance, Greenpact and several family offices.
According to 4elements, the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of adaptation, arguing that at the macroeconomic level, many studies show this. This could cost companies up to 7% of their annual revenues by 2035, according to a recent study by the Word Economic Forum (WEF) and Accenture.
“This round of financing will enable us to provide adapted and progressive funding, up to 6 million euros per startup, depending on the different stages of maturity of the projects, throughout Europe, with priority given to the French market,” explains Cédric Favier, Co-founder of 4elements.
Entrepreneur and investor Cédric Favier (ex Elaia) and venture building specialist Jean-Baptiste Goffart co-founded 4elements in 2023, recently taking on board deeptech entrepreneur Cédric Boisart as a partner.
The team builds and finances startups from idea to product-market validation, with operational involvement. It plays the role of Co-founder, identifying the keys to success, defining the value proposition and preparing for market access: product development, industrialisation, innovation marketing, sales, strategic positioning, etc.
Its targets are exclusively high-impact projects that meet proven or emerging market needs, and benefit from a strong technological differentiator.
Currently, 4elements manages 3 startups within its portfolio.
- Bluefins: Inspired by whale fins, the company has conceived, in partnership with Ifremer, a propulsion system for merchant ships that reduces fuel consumption by an average of 20%.
- Cedrus Solutions: It accelerates the decarbonisation of real-estate assets through a solution (AI) to manage and optimise the massive renovation of real-estate assets (the “worksite of the century”), reducing costs and lead times by a minimum of 60%.
- Netcarbon: Alongside CNES and Inrae, they have designed a solution using satellite data and AI to measure and optimize carbon storage in natural sinks for the agricultural world, infrastructure operators and local authorities.
“We’re building a community of entrepreneurs, scientists and experts in these fields, in order to accelerate project growth,” adds Jean-Baptiste Goffart, Co-founder of 4elements.
4elements is in line with the AIFM directive and article 9 of SFDR. For each project and participation, the initial intention is to create impact, and the level of impact is measured at different stages of the company’s maturity, right from the start.
4Elements is supported by the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. The EIF promotes innovation and growth in Europe’s SMEs.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/01/startup-studio-4elements-raises-e27-4-million-to-create-the-next-flagships-of-the-climate-transition/
