THESIS

WE BACK BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGIES
AT THE LEADING EDGE
OF SCIENCE.

We are looking for transformational, not incremental. Our mission is to uncover the hidden gems that with capital and support, have the potential to deliver resource resilience and change the world for the better.

Too many potentially world-changing technologies never make it out of the lab because the inventors are not businesspeople and/or investors lack the knowledge, expertise and appetite to invest in this space. And crucially, they often do not fully support companies once invested.

We aim to change this by driving technologies from the lab to commercial reality as fast as possible.

We invest between TRL 4 (tech validated in the lab) and TRL 6 (demo system) and drive companies through to TRL 7/8 which is a major valuation inflection point.

This typically means we are writing first cheques at the pre-seed / seed stages (up to £1m) and following-on at Series A.

We have forged strong relationships with universities and other R&D hubs in the UK which gives us access to high quality deal flow.

THE RESILIENCE EQUATION

We believe that when critical resources are produced in ways that are cost effective, sustainable and secure, they deliver resource resilience to companies, countries and ultimately, all of humanity.

RESILIENT RESOURCES =

Clean air
Abundant freshwater
Sufficient food
Reliable energy
Metals & minerals
Steel & cement
Plastics & chemicals
Rare earths & other key industrial inputs

RESILIENT RESOURCES =

COST-EFFECTIVE +

Compelling unit economics that can beat the incumbent technology on price & function

COST-EFFECTIVE +

SUSTAINABLE +

Less extraction, less emissions, less pollution, whilst protecting and regenerating the natural world

SUSTAINABLE +

SECURE

More robust, more reliable, more geo-secure, enabling onshoring and near-shoring

SECURE

THESIS

THE 4 MACRO FORCES DRIVING OUR THESIS

1. DEMOGRAPHICS

2. CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

3. GEO-SECURITY

4. AI

What does this mean for us and future generations?

  • Water scarcity
  • Food insecurity
  • Energy demand surge
  • Materials shortage
  • Air pollution

Leading to second order effects:

  • Economic disruption
  • Mass migrations
  • Health risks
  • Geo-political unrest
  • Loss of habitat & biodiversity

OUR INVESTMENT VERTICALS

WE TARGET HIGH IMPACT SECTORS WITH GLOBAL MARKETS.

We invest in transformative technologies across sectors where innovation is ramping up and big capital is beginning to flow. But we are pragmatists and we are capitalists.

New technology must have the potential to make a large, positive impact but also compete or beat the incumbent on price and function.

FUTURE POWER
& ENERGY

FUTURE POWER
& ENERGY

We need low-cost, modular, renewable energies which are sustainable, geo-secure and enable energy independence

And we need to upgrade the grid to transmit and store this energy where it is needed

FUTURE OF FOOD &
WATER

FUTURE OF FOOD &
WATER

We need new ways to find, harvest, desalinate and clean water

We need to grow more food, on less land, with less inputs and less pollution

CRITICAL
MATERIALS

CRITICAL
MATERIALS

We need less environmentally damaging ways to extract and process critical materials and metals

Better still, we need to negate the need for mining by synthesising critical materials and then recycling / reusing them

CARBON
MITIGATION

CARBON
MITIGATION

We must acknowledge the trajectory that we are on and therefore, the need to deploy scalable, low-cost carbon capture technologies

We must decarbonise heavy industries like steel and cement

ADAPTATION, CIRCULARITY & WASTE

ADAPTATION, CIRCULARITY & WASTE

We need to recycle, upcycle and re-use. We need to utilise waste for energy and materials

We need technologies to mitigate climate risk and shield the vulnerable

Breakthrough
technologies

We invest in technologies that deliver resilient resources across sectors where innovation is ramping up & big capital is beginning to flow.

Breakthrough
technologies

Speed
to market

We look for <3 yrs to commercialisation. We like modular, scalable, geo-secure solutions that reshape key industries like energy, food, water & critical materials.

Speed
to market

Pragmatism

New tech must have the potential to make a large, positive impact and compete or beat the incumbent on price & function.

Pragmatism

Early stages

We typically invest from technology readiness levels (TRLs) 4-6 where we believe the risk / reward ratio is most compelling.

Early stages

Measuring Impact

EVERY INVESTMENT WE MAKE MUST MEANINGFULLY SHIFT THE DIAL IN TERMS OF CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.

DEFINING IMPACT THRESHOLDS:

We must see a route to a technology delivering at least 50 Mt (megatonnes) per annum of aggregate direct or indirect CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents) emissions reduction within a decade after investment.

We also apply a broader lens taking into account any additional benefits such as a reduction in pollution or biodiversity protection.

We use work carried out by the Stockholm Resilience Centre on the ‘9 Planetary Boundaries’ as a reference point.

GET IN TOUCH

THE TIME TO INVEST IN THE FUTURE IS NOW.

Working From_Southwark
32 Blackfriars Road
London, SE1 8PB

info@tspventures.co.uk