Cleantech in London
Clean technology, often called cleantech, includes various products, services and innovations designed to help the environment. These solutions aim to reduce pollution and waste by using energy and resources better.
Here are five reasons why cleantech companies are thriving in London:
1. A bold strategy
The Mayor of London has set out an ambitious mission for the capital to become a zero-carbon, zero-pollution city by 2030 and a zero-waste city by 2050. His Green New Deal focuses on decarbonising London’s transport and buildings, and doubling the size of its green economy.
The mayor’s vision is backed up by clear strategies, targets, infrastructure and finance, including a transport strategy to achieve 80% of journeys as walking, cycling or public transport by 2041, paving the way for the best air quality of any major city in the world.
The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has expanded across all of London’s boroughs. On an average day, 95% of vehicles meet the emission standards, compared to 39% in 2017 when ULEZ was first announced.[1]
2. Access to capital
London is Europe's biggest destination for global VC investment into cleantech companies. Globally, London ranks second, after Silicon Valley, with $3.5bn invested in 2023 alone.
2022 saw $1.1bn of VC investment into London cleantech companies, and a further $413m in 2023.[2]
314 circular economy SMEs and emerging innovators in London have also received support from ReLondon – helping businesses with expertise and guidance to implement circular business models.3. A place where talent thrives
London is where world-leading expertise in technology, engineering, energy, finance, legal and environmental research all converge. Two of the world’s top 50 universities for engineering and technology are in London – University College London (UCL) and Imperial.[3]
World-class research is accessible at faculties such as the Energy Futures Lab and The Centre for Transport Studies at Imperial, and The Bartlett and the Circular Economy Lab at UCL.
London is a global hotspot for cleantech innovation – innovation that addresses the causes and effects of man-made climate change.Professor Richard Templer
Imperial
4. Innovative infrastructure
London is investing heavily in greening its building and transport infrastructure. As of November 2024, the capital has more than 22,000 electric vehicle (EV) charge points.[4] All new London buses will be zero emission, with a commitment to deliver a 100% zero-emission bus fleet in London by 2034.
To improve air quality, the Mayor of London expanded ULEZ in 2023 to cover all London boroughs, requiring vehicles to meet tighter exhaust emission standards or pay a daily charge. The number of vehicles driving in London on an average day that meet the ULEZ emission standards increased from 39% in 2017 to 95% in 2024. In addition, nitrogen dioxide levels are 53% lower in central London now.[5]
The London Plan 2021 requires new buildings to be constructed to zero-carbon standards and larger schemes to be developed in line with circular economy principles.
5. A collaborative ecosystem
Bringing together inspirational events, such as London Climate Action Week and the Cleantech Forum Europe, vibrant networks and access to dedicated business support for entrepreneurs, London is the perfect place to grow your cleantech business.
The London Climate Technology Show aims to be the biggest event of its kind in the world, focusing on climate solutions and technologies. Its goal is to help the world move towards net-zero carbon emissions and create a more sustainable future.
Imperial launched the Centre for Climate Change Innovation, which aims to accelerate innovative solutions to tackle the climate crisis, while London-based Sustainable Ventures has created Europe’s largest startup ecosystem in the cleantech and sustainability sector.
Find out more about sustainable business in London.
Investing in ambitious founders using technology to tackle big social and environmental problems.
Europe's leading climate innovation initiative.
Providing workspace and supporting sustainable businesses.
The #1 European Climate Innovation Accelerator.
Enabling and promoting circular economy across a wide range of stakeholders.
Working to create a hub for low-carbon and circular industries in London.
Providing advisory support on circular initiatives to SMEs in London.
Catalysing innovation of all forms to address the causes and effects of climate change.
Making energy simpler, cheaper and greener.
Providing research, consulting and events to catalyse opportunities for sustainable growth.
Converting citizens' footsteps into energy, data and rewards.
Developing solar-powered urban furniture for smart and sustainable cities.
The UK's largest independent solar company.
Healthy sustainable vegetables, grown under the city with zero effect on the environment.
Improving the sustainability of the built environment by transforming the way it is planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated.
Planet-saving craft beer brewed with surplus fresh bread.
The environmental risk management platform that holistically tracks, monitors and predicts project environmental risk.
Insulating cold and draughty floors with robotic under floor insulation.
Providing a fun, fast and convenient way of travelling in the city.
Providing 100% renewable electricity.
Helping energy companies capture value in the shift towards green energy.
Every Ocean Bottle sold funds the collection of 1000 plastic bottles in weight.
Connecting you with a world of local sustainable energy innovation.
Official agents for rail and bus operators in Europe.
Waste recognition software to monitor, audit and sort waste at scale.
Channelling capital to accelerate the transition to a clean, resilient and environmentally sustainable economy.
Lettings software and services that improve the renting process for agents, landlords and tenants.
Making innovative, sustainable packaging and paper that’s kind to the planet.
Developing sustainable tyres for electric vehicles.
Data-led technology solutions which empower sustainable urban growth.
Helping clients harness the power of technology and data to transform towns and cities.
Data driven solutions to manage supply chain performance and risk.
A pioneer in clean air technology.
Pioneering smart ventilation control technology.
The first company to develop a fully automated drone-based method for cleaning solar panels.
Lifesaver sell and rent portable power banks to charge smartphones in a sustainable way.
A technical consultancy firm in solar, energy storage and EV charging infrastructure projects.
Construction tech startup creating the equivalent of a mission control room for construction sites.
Computer vision (AI) system and robotics for the waste management industry.
London’s only free and truly green e-bike company which offers all users 10 minutes free daily.
Developing the world’s lowest cost flow battery, for long duration energy storage.
Enabling businesses to monitor and track the provenance of raw materials used in their manufacturing and recycling supply chains.
A boundary-breaking AI-introductions platform that connects academics and industry professionals to build high impact networks.
A home food waste reduction app built as a B2B solution.
Connecting the commerical kitchen, creating a movement of chefs and inspiring others to see that food is too valuable to waste.
Network of urban farms to grow fresh food closer to consumers.
Integrating sustainability research with fundamental analysis to provide customised investment solutions for clients for sustainable investing.
Supporting businesses, governments and organisations to realise their plans for a sustainable and low carbon future.
Government department for energy and climate change.
A partnership of the Mayor of London and the London boroughs to improve waste and resource management.
The UK’s leading technology membership organisation.
Growing businesses with innovations in mobility services and the built environment.
Gallery and forum for city architecture.
Network of tech leaders, entrepreneurs and experts in London, across the UK and in more than 50 countries worldwide.
The UK’s largest generator of low-carbon electricity.
A leading energy and services company focused on production and supply of energy, services and regeneration.
Providing energy and automation digital solutions for efficiency and sustainability.
The UK leader in environmental solutions, providing a comprehensive range of waste, water and energy management services.
Reimagining energy for people and our planet and helping the world reach net zero.
Developing creative, comprehensive and sustainable engineering solutions.
A global engineering, management and development consultancy.
Bringing to market innovative solutions that deliver essential energy, healthcare and transportation infrastructure.
Providing energy services and solutions to satisfy the changing needs of all customers.
One of the most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies worldwide.
Providing engineering, architecture, design, planning, project management and consulting services for the built environment.
Design and consultancy for natural and built assets.
The world’s premier infrastructure consulting firm.
The largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalisation.
Technical professional services firm, making the world smarter, more connected and more sustainable.
Exploring and producing energy products - fuels, oil, natural gas, chemicals; including 100% renewable electricity.
One of the largest Japanese general trading companies.
Multinational engineering and technology company, specialised in mobility; consumer goods; industrial, energy and building technologies.
One of Europe's largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat.
Creating a complete, clean-energy ecosystem that reduces the world's reliance on fossil fuels; dedicated to making public transport emission free.
Imperial is the only university in the UK to focus exclusively on science, medicine, engineering and business.
One of the top 10 UK universities in the world.
A public university located in the London Borough of Newham.
An enterprising civic university with more than 18,000 students from 130 countries.
UCL ranks in the top 10 universities in the world for 2021.
The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Aiming to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges for a positive social and environmental impact.
Develop, invest in and create workspaces for sustainable businesses.
Backing transformative tech companies.
Providing tailored funding solutions and support for ambitious and innovative SMEs.
An investment firm focused on these main sectors: telecommunications, health and media/technology.
The only angel investment syndicate in the UK specialising in the fight against climate change and global warming.
Investment strategies that are working towards creating a sustainable legacy for future generations.
Investing in and helping great young European companies that deliver sustainability through innovation.
ClearlySo is Europe’s leading impact investment bank.
Investing in innovations that deliver clean growth.
Use the filters in the map to discover the city's ecosystem. See the full list featured on the map [PDF].
Case study
Klimato
How did London & Partners help you to set up and grow
your business in London?
London & Partners were there to assist us in setting up the company, we were also lucky enough to take part in the Grow London Global accelerator, equipping us for our US expansion.
What do Klimato do?
Klimato is a software for businesses to calculate the environmental impact of their food, communicate
it on menus and report their emissions based on procurement to get a complete overview of absolute-based and intensity-based emissions.
What is Klimato’s long-term sustainability goal in the coming years?
We want to keep helping companies understand their emissions, and address how they can easily start to reduce them. Klimato is allowing for both to happen by enabling users to see where they can cut emissions from both recipe planning and procurement. We are continuously tracking our own emissions and are introducing a slow travel policy to decrease our travel emissions.What challenges did you face to become a successful sustainability business in London? How did you overcome them?
Being a foreign company in the UK, we initially struggled as we were using case studies from our native Scandinavia. So, we focused on leveraging our international customers to develop and establish local case studies allowing us to kickstart our sales in the UK.
Why do you think now is the best time to set up and grow a sustainability company in London?
The presence in London helps our company in having a local presence with key clients, making it easier for us to visit them as well as having easy access to conferences and events. The biggest events we have worked on in London are the Billie Eilish concerts at The O2, the BRIT Awards and the Wimbledon Championships.
How we can help
London & Partners offers free advice to potential and existing overseas investors, from startups to established companies.
We can help you:
- Stay informed and access the latest developments, initiatives and incentives.
- Connect with the wider ecosystem, including support networks and trade associations.
- Future-proof the setup of your London business.