MIT Technology Review names ten top climate tech companies

MIT Technology Review announced its 2024 Climate Tech Companies to Watch list on Tuesday, naming ten startups and scale‑ups that the publication believes will shape the fight against climate change over the next few years. The list, published online and in the magazine’s annual edition, follows the 2023 release that highlighted companies in sectors from carbon capture to renewable energy storage. The announcement comes amid a record‑setting heatwave that has pushed the world into the sixth decade of the Anthropocene, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The timing of the list is no accident. Global temperature records have been broken each year since 2015, and the 2024 World Meteorological Organization report warned that the next decade could see the most extreme weather events on record. In this climate urgency, MIT Technology Review’s editors have been tightening their selection criteria, looking for firms that combine technological novelty with clear pathways to scale. The review’s climate team has sifted through thousands of pitches, funding rounds, and academic papers, and has also consulted with climate scientists, investors and policy makers. The result is a roster that balances high‑tech innovations—such as direct air capture membranes and next‑generation batteries—with more mature businesses that are already deploying solutions in real markets.

Among the highlighted companies are Carbon Clean Solutions, which has secured a $120 million Series C to expand its modular carbon‑capture units, and EnerNex, a startup that has engineered a low‑cost, high‑efficiency lithium‑sulfur battery now in pilot testing with a European utility. Others on the list include HelioGen, a solar‑thermal plant developer that has recently signed a 30‑year power purchase agreement, and GreenWater, which has created a membrane‑free desalination system that could reduce energy use by 60 percent. The publication noted that each of the ten firms had already raised significant capital, with a combined total of $2.3 billion in funding, and that they are positioned to benefit from upcoming policy shifts, such as the EU’s Green Deal and the US Inflation Reduction Act.

Looking ahead, MIT Technology Review will track the progress of these companies through quarterly updates, webinars and a dedicated climate tech conference in late 2025. The list is intended not only as a spotlight for investors but also as a call to policymakers and businesses to accelerate adoption of breakthrough technologies. The next edition of the Climate Tech Companies to Watch will be released next year, with a focus on emerging markets and circular economy solutions, the review said.