Variolytics Secures Growth Financing Round with Nordic Alpha Partners

Stuttgart, January 30th, 2025
Stuttgart, January 30th, 2025 – Variolytics is delighted to announce the successful closure of its growth financing round, a significant milestone in the company’s mission to decarbonize the wastewater sector. The financing round, led by Nordic Alpha Partners (NAP), also includes investments from the European Innovation Council (EIC), High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), and Fraunhofer Technology Transfer Fonds (FTTF).
Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute, Variolytics has developed market-leading sensor technology capable of detecting, analyzing, and ultimately reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the wastewater sector. Research shows that wastewater treatment plants emit around 2% of the world’s CO2, comparable to the global aviation industry. In Europe, wastewater treatment accounts for up to 15% of an average municipality’s total emissions, primarily due to nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2.
Variolytics’ innovative solutions provide accurate, real-time measurements of N2O levels using advanced sensor technology and AI. These insights enable treatment plant professionals to adjust processes, preventing harmful emissions from entering the atmosphere. Historically, such measurements have been both costly and inaccurate, but Variolytics’ EmiCo solution offers operators a comprehensive overview of their emissions while ensuring regulatory compliance.
“We are delighted to see how FTTF’s investment approach at Variolytics—driving groundbreaking research outcomes and empowering deep-tech entrepreneurs from Fraunhofer—continues to gain traction. By supporting founders in advancing their businesses and securing further funding, we are proud to attract esteemed investors like NAP,” said Tobias Schwind, Partner at FTTF.
Since August 2024, NAP has collaborated with the Variolytics team to implement a new de-risking strategy, validating pricing, refining the go-to-market plan, and identifying key customers. This highly operational pre-investment approach has enabled NAP to test international commercial expansion and co-develop a new product strategy with Variolytics’ management.
“This technology is a great example of how advanced innovation in Europe can drive massive impact on emissions and accelerate the path to net zero in a simple and capital-efficient way,” said Shari Rana, Investment Director at Nordic Alpha Partners. “Variolytics immediately stood out as a clear technology pioneer in the watertech space.”
The Variolytics solution, EmiCo lite, aligns with every aspect of NAP’s “BCSA-approach,” enabling market adoption by being Better, Cheaper, Simpler to integrate, and Available at scale. Within 12 months of installation, Variolytics’ technology can reduce emissions by up to 50% and energy consumption by up to 20%.
“NAP has worked intensely with the company over the last six months to set up a commercial strategy testing international market potential,” said Jannik Brey Christensen, Value Creation Partner at NAP. “This close collaboration has validated Variolytics’ strong tech edge and solidified a shared vision with the management team.”
“Working with NAP so early on made us deeply confident that we had found the right partner to help scale Variolytics and grow our sensor technology and software platform to its full potential,” said Johann Barlach, Chief Financial Officer of Variolytics. “NAP’s operational approach and expertise in the water technology sector, combined with their deep knowledge of fast-paced scaling, provide a solid foundation for growth in the years to come.”
Nordic Alpha Partners is acquiring a significant stake in Variolytics alongside existing investors, including HTGF and FTTF, as well as new investor EIC. The investment is being made through NAP Fund II. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed during Q1 2025.
Anne Umbach, Investment Manager at HTGF, commented: “It’s a strong signal that Variolytics has convinced NAP to make this commitment with their new second fund generation. HTGF and NAP were previously co-invested in Wiferion, which was acquired by an American OEM in 2023.”
Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board, added: “The European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund invests in promising technologies across a variety of verticals, including energy, green, digital and health. The EIC Fund aims to support the commercialisation of potentially ground-breaking technologies in the EU and help bring the innovations to the market. We are proud to partner with Nordic Alpha Partner, a specialised investor and member of European Commission’s Trusted Investors Network, to contribute to the continued journey of Variolytics, a leading player in the EU water technology space.”
About Variolytics
Founded in 2020, Variolytics GmbH specializes in detecting, analyzing, and reducing emissions in the wastewater sector. Its EmiCo solution is the only turnkey offering in Europe that provides wastewater treatment facilities with real-time data and actionable recommendations to reduce nitrous oxide levels. The company’s technology empowers operators to reduce carbon footprints by up to 50%, contributing to the global green transition. For more information, visit https://variolytics.de/en/.
About Nordic Alpha Partners
Established in 2017, Nordic Alpha Partners is a growth equity fund investing in sustainable hard-tech companies driving the global green transformation. With offices in Copenhagen, Munich, and London, NAP has raised over €1 billion for green investments, saving the environment from more than 1 million tons of CO2 and creating over 1,000 jobs in the past three years. For more information, visit https://napartners.dk/.
About European Innovation Council
The European Innovation Council Fund (EICF) provides the investment component of the EIC Accelerator, supporting companies in developing and commercializing disruptive technologies. The fund aims to bridge financing gaps and foster collaborations with market players and strategic partners across Europe.
About FTTF
The Fraunhofer Technology-Transfer Fund (FTTF) supports start-ups that harness Fraunhofer technology. The fund provides up to €500k during the pre-seed phase and up to €5m in subsequent financing rounds. In addition, it offers extensive expertise in company formation and access to a wide-reaching investor network. With a total volume of €60m, the fund has already built a portfolio of 39 companies.
About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing start-ups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports start-ups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Across its funds, HTGF has over 2 billion euros under management. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed more than 770 start-ups and achieved over 190 successful exits.
Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.
For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn.
Media contact
Variolytics GmbH
Fine Wolff, CAO
T.: +49 157 850 301 15
fine.wolff@variolytics.com