Can Scotland produce world-beating companies in climate tech, by Nick Freer

Globally, green financing has gone from around $200 billion to approximately $600 billion over the last decade, with associated climate unicorns, companies who are valued over $1 billion, now numbering over 100 worldwide.  

Two years on from COP26 in Glasgow, and with COP28 now underway in Dubai, it will be interesting to see if Scotland can produce world-beating companies in the climate tech sector.  While ENOUGH, the Glasgow-headquartered sustainable protein producer formerly known as 3F BIO, is viewed as a good bet in the space, another much fancied Scottish company hit the headlines this week having inked a deal at COP.  

Vertical farming technology specialist Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS), the agtech scaleup founded by David Farquhar, was a signatory to an agreement whereby IGS will build the infrastructure for a circular, closed-loop “GigaFarm” that will boost Dubai’s food security and support the push to decarbonise the food industry in the UAE. 

IGS’s towers are forecast to grow more than 250 varieties of plants, seedlings, and saplings, with at least 20 different plants already grown in only a few weeks since a demonstration farm was constructed for COP28.  An IGS farm uses just 1 litre of water for every 250 litres needed on a field, or every 25 litres required in a greenhouse. 

Having seen David Farquhar pitch at investor events like EIE over the years, it’s incredible to see how his company has grown from a fledgling acorn into a fully fledged oak tree on the Scottish startup scene.  

As COP28 rolls on, we are advising a Scottish startup that has just signed a green technology-related memorandum of understanding with a leading financial institution in the Gulf region, more to follow on this next week. 

Notably, Heriot-Watt, which was the first British university to open a campus in Dubai, in 2005, has come up aces at COP with news around its Climate Hub awash across the press and social media.  And it has been good to see companies we have advised, including Krucial and SICCAR, flying the flag for Scotland plc.  

Also in headlines this week was news around the 80 students affected by the closure of digital skills academy CodeClan graduating at a ceremony in Edinburgh.  Joined by instructors, support staff, family, and friends on the day, my spies tell me it was an emotional occasion.  

Kudos goes not only to CodeBase, who have been focused on supporting the affected students and instructors, coordinating spaces, teaching, and guidance so that impacted courses could be brought to completion, and the Scottish Government, who provided financial support, but to many individuals and organisations across the tech ecosystem.

If there is a call for action, it is for as many companies as possible to consider employing these talented and resilient individuals.  A graduate directory has been set up by CodeBase so that prospective employers seeking tech talent can access bios and information of qualified software developers and data analysts. 

With a nod to climate tech, a few of the graduating students built an app during their course that gives you reminders on dates for curb-side recycling.  Who knows, perhaps we’ll see these talented young techies at COP29!