👩‍🔬 45 Women with PhDs Behind Leading Climate Startups

According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women - a gap that creates dangerous blind spots in climate research and innovation.

But across sectors, women are turning scientific breakthroughs into real-world solutions, across carbon capture and utilisation, renewable energy, biomining, synthetic biology, green chemistry, and bio-manufacturing.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting 40 women pioneering scalable ClimateTech, transforming PhD research into businesses that drive impact.

And have created a database of 750+ women in Climate to know to inspire action, break down barriers, and showcase the women behind the solutions we need for a sustainable future.

40 Female Entrepreneur Scientists to Know

New Materials

🇸🇬 Xirui Li, Co-Founder and CSO of Biometallica 

• Xirui earned a Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D., Chemistry from Nagyang Technological University Singapore.

• Biometallica is enabling green and sustainable metal recycling at room temperature using synthetic biology.

🇺🇲 Liz Dennett, CEO and Founder of Endolith

• Liz is an enthusiastic technologist and entrepreneur with nearly two decades of experience at the intersection of technology, biotech, and energy industries. Her career journey has been marked by a passionate commitment to harnessing innovation to address pressing sustainability challenges.

• Endolith is harnessing microbes and synthetic biology to fuel sustainable mining. Positioned at the cutting edge of biomining, it specialises in eco-friendly biolixiviants that revolutionize mineral extraction. 

🇦🇹 Dhaarsi Jaksch Co-Founder and Principal Scientist of Magmatic Bio

• Dhaarsi brings experience from previous roles at Max Perutz Labs Vienna, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Roche and Aarhus University and earned her Ph.D at Max Perutz Labs Vienna.

• Magmatic thrives to establish a novel integrated metal separation process for the recovery of the full range of metals.

🇬🇧 Elizabeth Gilligan, Co-Founder and CEO of Material Evolution

• Liz founded Material Evolution with an ambition to “decarbonise the foundation industries metals, ceramics, glass, chemicals, paper, and cement] through advanced materials”.

• Material Evolution uses machine learning algorithms and patented geopolymer technology to turn waste into new materials. 

🇬🇧 Liz Corbin, Co-CEO and Founder of Materiom

• Liz is a materials designer and researcher with a track record of leading academic and commercial projects. Her research expertise lies within materials design, systems thinking, environmental monitoring and digital manufacturing. 

• With open data & AI, Materiom empowers scientists, material developers & brands to accelerate regenerative materials R&D.

🇬🇧 Tara Love, CTO and Co-Founder of NANOPLUME

• With over three years of experience in R&D, Tara specialises in designing impactful products and providing technical consulting.

• NANOPLUME is an advanced biomaterials company developing super insulating bio-aerogels.

🇬🇧 Isabell Sarah Karmel, CSO at RHEON LABS

• Isabell’s Ph.D thesis was on the synthesis of organoactinide complexes containing N-donor ligands and their application in homogeneous catalysis.

• RHEON™ is a dynamic material, naturally soft & flexible. It absorbs ultra-high levels of energy by stiffening when subject to force.

🇺🇲 Gözde Şenel-Ayaz, Co-Founder & President of Tandem Repeat

• Gözde obtained their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University.

• Tandem Repeat Technologies is a cutting-edge startup focused on creating protein fibers through fermentation. 

🇩🇪 Anne Lamp, CEO and Co-Founder of traceless materials

• Anne is a process engineer and scientific researcher at the Institute for Environmental Technology and Energy Economics (IUE) at the Technical University Hamburg.

• traceless materials has created a novel biomaterial solution to tackle plastic pollution, based on plant residues of the agricultural industry, their materials are fully biobased, plastic-free and home compostable.

Green Chemistry

🇨🇭Sotiria Mostrou Founder and CEO at Biosimo Chemicals

• With a strong foundation in chemical engineering, Sotiria transitioned into research and co-founded Biosimo AG to create lasting, positive change in the industry.

• Biosimo Chemicals is a chemical engineering startup aiming to develop and operate processes to produce bio-based platform chemicals.

🇩🇪 Emily Sheridan, Co-Founder and CTO of Level 9

• Emily holds a PhD in Bio-Nanoscience from the top 1% nano research centre. She is a specialist in biochem, biotech and nanotech.

• Level Nine develops next-generation catalysts to enable the green chemicals of tomorrow.

🇮🇱 Ophira Melamed and Meital Alon Co-Founders of Nitrofix 

• Passionate about science and dedicated to creating a sustainable future, Ophira and Meital bring a background in science that fuels their commitment to innovative solutions. 

• Nitrofix’s advanced electrochemical process seamlessly converts water and air into emission-free ammonia, ensuring both environmental sustainability and economic viability. This innovation makes green ammonia accessible for diverse operations worldwide, ranging from small to large-scale facilities.

🇺🇸 Leah Ellis, CEO and Co-Founder of Sublime Systems

• Prior to working on cement at MIT, Leah earned a PhD in chemistry at Dalhousie University, Canada, where she worked on optimizing lithium-ion lifetime and energy density in partnerships with 3M and Tesla.

• Sublime is commercialising breakthrough technology to make low-carbon cement.

🇺🇸 Tara Karimi Co-Founder and Chief Science and Sustainability Officer of Cemvita

• A biochemist, veterinarian, and entrepreneur, Tara is passionate about transforming scientific principles into real-world technologies.

• With a strong foundation in synthetic biology, green chemistry, and bio-manufacturing, Cemvita develops carbon-neutral, bio-based oils that replace petroleum-derived products in critical industries such as biofuels, agriculture, and personal care.

Carbon Capture and Utilisation

🇨🇱 Sandra Astete Morales, Co-Founder and COO at Climalyst

• Sandra earned her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Mathematics and Computer Science at Paris-Sud University.

• Climalyst develops low-energy carbon dioxide capture and permanent storage solutions.

🇨🇴 Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech

• A Chemist whose research area is on chemical technologies and fuel, Jennifer has a  a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Chicago

• LanzaTech is a carbon recycling company transforming waste carbon into sustainable raw materials for everyday products.

🇳🇱 Rose Sharifian, Co-Founder and CTO of SeaO2

• A petrochemical engineer who now runs a CO2-capturing start-up.

• SeaO2 uses electrochemistry and vacuum to alter the carbonate equilibrium of the existing dissolved carbon in water to enable CO₂ extraction in gas form, which is then permanently stored in geological formations or put into products such as concrete.

🇩🇪 Julia Bauer, CTO at Spark E-Fuels

• Julia was a chemistry PhD working at Evonik, before she joined the team. She joined to translate theory into practice, and is developing the technology for load-flexible, energy-efficient e-fuel synthesis.

• Spark E-Fuels is building technologies for affordable, scalable and sustainable e-fuels production, to enable net-zero aviation today.

🇺🇸 Etosha Cave, Co-Founder and CSO of Twelve

• Etosha earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

• Twelve recycles carbon dioxide and water into higher-valued products - such as jet fuel - using metal catalysts, and electricity. 

Biodiversity

🇺🇲 Beth Shapiro, CSO of Colossal Biosciences

• An evolutionary biologist who specialises in the genetics of ice age animals and plants.

• Colossal Biosciences is a breakthrough bioscience and genetic engineering company that builds radical new technologies to advance the field of genomics. 

🇫🇷 Emira Cherif, CSO at MORFO

• Emira has a strong background in education, with a focus on genetics and bioinformatics with a PhD in Genetics. 

• MORFO has developed a solution for large-scale ecological restoration of forest ecosystems.

🇬🇧 Beccy Wilebore, Chief Science Officer of Natcap

• Beccy’s postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, specialised in using large-scale geospatial models to map and quantify ecosystem services from natural capital and build trading platforms for these services. 

• Natcap offers a simple and scalable platform to bring the world's best science, data and technology to create actionable insights and empower organisations to measure, report and ultimately act on their nature-related risks and opportunities.

🇨🇭 Ulrike Pfreundt, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of rrreefs

• An interdisciplinary ocean scientist with a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Microbial Oceanography, Fellow of Singularity University's Global Solutions Program.

• rrreefs combines artistic vision with scientific rigor, and the newest 3D printing technologies to restore damaged reefs.

🇨🇭 Kristy Deiner, Co-Founder and CEO at SimplexDNA

• Kristy has delivered new genetic technology and ways to advance global biodiversity conservation as a Professor at ETH Zurich and by building communities of practice in regenerative finance with SimplexDNA.

• SimplexDNA is on a mission to become the world's most accurate biodiversity monitoring platform.

AgriFood

🇮🇱 Shulamit Levenberg and Neta Lavon, Co-Founders of Aleph Farms

• Two scientists pursuing cultivated meat as a healthier, sustainable and more ethical meat to answer the growing global demand of animal proteins. 

• Aleph Farms enhances sustainability, food security and animal welfare by diversifying the supply and decentralizing the production of quality animal proteins and fats as a complement to sustainable methods of conventional animal agriculture.

🇮🇱 Frida Grynspan Chief Science Officer at Believer Meats

• Frida previously worked at Lonza as a Head of Lonza Collaborative Innovation Center, Israel. Frida Grynspan attended the University of Illinois Chicago.

• Believer Meats is a cultivated meat company driven by a mission to ensure that all future generations can enjoy real and delicious meat.

🇦🇹 Shannon Falconer, CEO and Founder of BioCraft Pet Nutrition

• Shannon has dedicated her scientific training to taking animals out of the supply chain by making a food product that is better for cats, dogs, cows, pigs, humans...all animals. 

• BioCraft makes cultured meat to replace traditional slaughtered-animal meat for pet food. 

🇫🇷 Kelly Mulder Chief Science Officer of Bon Vivant

• A scientist specialised in metabolic engineering and fermentation of bacteria and yeast with extensive experience in enzyme application and process optimisation from bench to industrial scales.

• Bon Vivant is a biotechnology company developing cutting-edge precision fermentation techniques, dedicated to take part in the environmental transition within the dairy production sector.

🇺🇲 Lori Giver, Chief Science and Sustainability Officer of Calysta

• Lori is a Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology.

• Calysta creates protein without limits via a patented fermentation platform that uses no arable land, plant or animal products. 

🇬🇧 Martina Miotto, CSO and Co-Founder of CellRev

• Martina began her PhD in tissue engineering at Newcastle University in 2015 under Professor Che Connon, her future business partner.

• CellRev provides media additives to optimise and intensify cell culture processes. 

🇬🇧 Nimisha Sing, Chief Scientific Officer at Elaniti

• Nimisha is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist and a biogeochemist. Her area of specialisation is biochar and carbon sequestration and mitigation.

• Elaniti provides key decision making information, enabling growers and organisations to achieve optimal crop outcomes by improving their soil health.

🇵🇹 Luísa Cruz, Co-Founder and CTO at MicroHarvest

• Luisa has more than 10 years of experience connecting information, people and technical tools to deliver processes or actionable insights that meet and exceed the requirements of our business and operational partners. 

• Like brewing beer or making yogurt, MicroHarvest uses microorganisms, nature’s most efficient protein factories, to create tasty, healthy, and sustainable protein at scale.

🇩🇪 Verónica García Arteaga, CEO, Co-Founder and CTO at Neggst

• Veronica has a background in food technology and nutritional sciences, which led me to develop the world’s first plant-based egg prototype—complete with an egg white, yolk, and a shell.

• Neggst is a plant-based egg consisting of Neggst white and Neggst yolk - just like its animal-made counterpart.

🇬🇧 Victoria Outram, Bioprocess Engineering Lead at New Wave Biotech 

• Victoria is experienced in bioprocess and fermentation development in industrial biotechnology with experience spanning both upstream and downstream technology.

• New Wave Biotech uses AI and computational modelling to help precision fermentation alternative protein companies optimise their downstream processing, so they can de-risk their ventures, speed up R&D and reduce costs.

🇫🇷 Maya Bendifallah, Co-Founder and CSO at Nutropy

• Maya is passionate about bringing forward the next generation of food products through precision fermentation and has a background in biochemistry and consulting.

• Nutropy brings taste and diversity to the next generation of cheese and dairy.

🇺🇲 Jasmin Hume CEO and Founder of Shiru

• Jasmin has a doctorate in protein engineering from New York University, a Masters of Science in Materials Engineering from Chalmers University, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Biotechnology from McGill University. 

• Shiru is parsing the natural world of proteins via AI to create and optimise bio -based products across food, cosmetics, agriculture, and materials. 

Energy

🇺🇲 Jane Melia, CEO and Co-Founder of Harvest 

• With 15 years of leadership at five startups, Jane is a civil engineer with a Cambridge PhD in fluid dynamics.

• Harvest Thermal provides affordable and low carbon heating, hot water and cooling systems that reduce our impact on the planet while providing superior comfort, healthier and safer homes. 

🇬🇧 Jana Stella, Co-Founder of NewWave Technologies

• Jana's journey began with her PhD research in environmental engineering at the University of Manchester,  where she explored AI-driven models to assess wave energy impacts on wind turbines.

• NeuWave Technologies is set to revolutionise offshore renewable energy with predictive wave analytics, enabling smarter, safer decisions. 

Water

🇨🇭 Jessica Droujko, Co-Founder and CEO of Riverkin 

• Jessica has a PhD in the Chair of Hydrology and Water Resources Management at the Institute of Environmental engineering.

• Riverkin deploys high resolution sensor networks for dynamic water monitoring, delivering actionable insights for global decision-making.

🇺🇸 Jade Stinson Chief Science Officer and President of Zoetic Water

• Jade’s Educational achievements include a PhD in Analytical Instrumentation, an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School, and a BSc in Biomedical Sciences.

• Zoetic Global is on a mission to revolutionize the energy sector through innovative solutions that unleash the power of renewable resources. 

BioTech and BioManufacturing

🇦🇺 Michele Stansfield, Co-Founder and CEO at Cauldron Ferm

• Michele holds a PhD from the University of Sydney. She previously worked at Agritechnology, for 10 years where she helped scale up the organisation as both the Operations Manager and General Manager.

• Cauldron is a global biomanufacturer on a mission to realise the full potential of precision fermentation by unlocking price parity for mainstream bio-manufactured goods. 

🇬🇧 Bethany Eldridge, Co-Founder and COO of Neo-Fossil

• Bethany is a biologist and innovator with a background in Plant Biotechnology, Engineering Biology, Controlled Environment Agriculture and Scientific Communication. 

• Neo-Fossil is a biotechnology startup that uses engineering biology to create fossils and mitigate climate change.

🇬🇧 Monika Tomecka, Founding Director and CEO, uFraction8

• Monika is an entrepreneur scientist building her business she uses scientific knowledge collected through her PhD research as she works with technology enabling the growth of the bio-manufacturing sector.

• uFraction8 provides scalable bioprocessing technology enabling biomass filtration, separation and dewatering, used with a wide range of microbes like microalgae, yeast and bacteria, sorting biomass from culture medium with no harm and no flocculants, unlike centrifuges, filters and membranes.

750+ Women in Climate to Know

Over the last 3 year’s this list has steadily grown to become an extensive list of pioneering Women in ClimateTech. Founders, Investors, Operators and Industry Insiders this list offers a round-the-world glimpse of what women in Climate Tech are working on.

👉️ Head this way to access the full database.

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