This is a quarterly update on the latest news, events, and developments with D2XCEL, a pan-European scaling programme for deep tech and digital ventures.
Spring 2025 has been a season of growth and momentum across the D2XCEL network.
As the mentorship programme for Cohort 2 unfolded in April, we witnessed powerful breakthroughs—both ventures and mentors shared inspiring insights that reinforced the unique value of the D2XCEL experience.
It’s no coincidence that ventures from Cohort 1 have raised an impressive €49.5M since joining the programme.
We’re also accelerating our efforts to build meaningful partnerships and host impactful events—opening doors for ventures to connect with lead customers and investors, while offering our network partners and authorities front-row access to Europe's most promising deep tech innovation.
Read on for the latest highlights and what’s coming up next at D2XCEL!
Cohort 2: Venture Spotlights
We have welcomed 54 new ventures to the D2XCEL community—each with an inspiring story and bold mission. Here are just a few, driving change across Europe, and already featured in our dedicated Venture Spotlight series:
AraBat (Italy) – Recycles lithium batteries using agri-food waste, offering a cost-effective, sustainable solution rooted in circular economy principles.
ScanwAi (Finland) – Builds AI-powered tools for road infrastructure maintenance and digital supervision.
ReCatalyst (Slovenia) – Develops next-gen platinum-alloy catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolyzers
Biojet (Norway) – Converts wood-based waste into renewable liquid biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels.
Varaedon (Germany) – Builds fully electric Microliner aircraft to connect underserved regions across Europe with clean, affordable air mobility.
Flowcate (Germany) – Unifies location data across positioning technologies to enable seamless tracking and automation in supply chains.
Atlas Metrics (Germany) – Helps private market players unlock business value from ESG data and stay ahead of regulations.
BioFashionTech (Italy) – Recycles blended textile waste, driving circularity in the fashion industry.
Untuvia (Sweden) – Builds scalable down recycling solutions to cut textile waste, water, and energy use.
Biosphere Solar (Netherlands) – Creates open-source, recyclable solar panels for a fair and circular energy transition.
If you are a D2XCEL venture that wants to be featured across our channels, please reach out to your Group Manager.
Mentoring Services
From April to June 2025, our Cohort 2 ventures participated in a dynamic series of webinars designed to equip them with key skills and insights for scaling successfully.
Webinar 1: Founder Teams Led by Martijn De Zoete (CEO, AnyChange; Co-founder, Teamaturity) and Willem Bulthuis (Corporate Ventures Advisory).
Webinar 2: Go-to-Market & Value Proposition With Willem Bulthuis (Corporate Ventures Advisory) and Irina Stefanova (The Recursive & Storytelling Studio)
Webinar 3: Collaboration with Corporates Facilitated by Willem Bulthuis
Webinar 4: Intellectual Property (IPR) Featuring Ilja Rudyk (European Patent Office), Philippe Knüsel (Hepp Wenger Ryffel AG), Cemresu Yucebalkan (European IP Helpdesk), and Willem Bulthuis.
Webinar 5: Internationalisation Canvas Presented by Hugo Niezen (Director, DutchBasecamp)
Additionally, we hosted targeted Go-to-Market strategy sessions for each market opportunity, providing ventures with tailored tools for entering new markets.
D2XCEL mentoring resumes in September 2025, focusing on new market entry, fundraising, and EU funding opportunities.
Roadmap Reports
We’re excited to share the latest batch of Market Opportunity Roadmap Reports, covering five key sectors:
Supply Chain Management & Trade Finance, Sustainable Mobility, Renewable Energy Production, Circular Models for Cities & Regions, and AI-Powered Utility Management for Smart Cities.
Each report outlines market potential, key challenges, and strategic actions to support the successful scaling of deep tech ventures.
Co-hosted by D2XCEL and NEXUS Agenda, this two-day event will explore the digital and green transition in Sustainable Transport, Trade Logistics, and Infrastructure, with a strong focus on innovation, collaboration, and real-world applications.
The conference gathers over 150 carefully selected port leading port authorities, transport and logistics industry players, innovative ventures, investors and scientists to discuss key challenges and especially concrete innovations to address these.
Stay tuned for speaker announcements and full agenda details on our event page.
📍 F&L European Freight Leaders Forum“Thriving in Changing Times” April 9–10, 2025 | Wroclaw, Poland
At this timely event, D2XCEL Co-lead Willem Bulthuis (Corporate Ventures Advisory) shared insights on building innovation cultures and startup collaborations. Portfolio venture BuyCo also engaged with key logistics leaders.
📍 F&L European Freight Leaders Forum“How? Not Why” June 27, 2025 | Zurich, Switzerland
Willem Bulthuis took part in the next F&L Event in Zürich, where he showcased several D2XCEL ventures (without their presence).
📍 CSC Live at TOC Europe June 17–19, 2025 | Amsterdam, Netherlands Under the headline “Trade, Tariffs & Tension,” TOC Europe explored pressing port logistics challenges.
On Day Three, we tuned into an innovation-driven panel on port logistics venture investments featuring insights from Dylan Maxwell, Sriram Giridhar, and Willem Bulthuis, moderated by Boris Wenzel.
D2XCEL was spotlighted by founding partners Pascal Ollivier and Willem Bulthuis, and featured five standout startups during the CSC Live pitching session: DMSLOG.Ai, T-Mining, Elonroad, Flowcate, ex9.
Thanks to our “Shark Tank” panel: Sriram Giridhar, Max Doyle, Jorge Marcos, Wim De Waele, superbly moderated by Kris Kosmala.
News from our network
The Captain’s Table has opened applications for its global innovation competition (deadline: 31 August). 🔗 More info
Smart Freight Centre launched the Poland–Germany Zero Emission Freight Corridor, Europe’s largest initiative to cut road freight emissions. 🔗 Discover more
SET Ventures released its 2024 Impact Report, highlighting how digital innovation accelerates the shift to a carbon-free energy system. 🔗 Read the report
Intent Communications led the newly released IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime Survey 2024, offering the first global comparative analysis of gender data in the sector. 🔗 Dive into the report
Have a great summer and stay tuned!
Thank you,
The D2XCEL team
This project has received funding from the European Union under grant agreement Nº101121100. Views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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