Elena Ballesteros
Associate
Elena invests at the intersection of Climate and Deep Tech. She is passionate about supporting bold founders who are pushing the boundaries of climate and industrial technologies, striving to have a meaningful impact on the planet.
Elena, investor at Hitachi Ventures, specializes in climate-tech. Prior to Hitachi Ventures she was part of the Private Equity Group at the strategy consulting firm Bain & Company and set up the impact investing mechanism of the Arvantis Social Foundation. She has also worked on the operational side of a climate-tech startup focused on ESG data and at an incubation platform aimed at democratizing access to entrepreneurship. Elena also holds dual degrees in International Relations and Business Administration from IE University.
Areas of Interest
- Carbon
- Energy
- Fintech and Insurtech
- Manufacturing
- Water
Active Investments
Perspectives
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October 2, 2024
Why We Invested
Cyclic Materials: Circularity of Rare Earth Elements as a Building Block for the Energy Transition
March 27, 2024
Why We Invested
Wase: Unlocking the power of waste to make it the fuel of the future
March 27, 2024
Why We Invested
Wase zaps microbes to squeeze more biogas from wastewater sludge
February 8, 2024
Why We Invested
Thea Energy raises $20M Series A for pixel-inspired fusion power plants
Creating a Circular Economy for Rare Earth Elements
Cyclic Materials creates a circular supply chain for rare earth elements and other materials critical to supporting the energy transition. They provide solutions for recycling of magnet-containing products made from critical minerals, enabling the creation of a domestic supply chain for REEs through an economic and sustainable magnet recycling process.
CEO
Ahmad Ghahreman
Sectors
Environment
Stage
Series B
HQ
Ontario
Deal Team
Tobias Jahn
Jan Marchewski
Elena Ballesteros
GROW Inc’s technology and services solutions enable super funds and fund managers to optimise operations and step into the future of financial services.
Grow Inc provides wealth administration platform technology and services to the wealth management industry in Australia. Grow’s wealth administration platform helps superannuation funds maintain member records, process fund allocation changes, create workflows and perform calculations based on business rules. Grow also provides administration services including the mailing out and receiving of physical forms, contact centre management and member communication.
CEO
Mathew Keeley
Sectors
Digital
Stage
Series D
HQ
Syndey
Deal Team
Wolfgang Seibold
Galina Sagan
Elena Ballesteros
Developer of a fusion energy system intended to create a limitless source of zero-emission power for a sustainable future with an improved stellarator approach.
Thea is a planar coil stellarator design revolutionizing fusion through arrays of planar magnets that enable new ways of designing, manufacturing, and dynamically controlling stellarators to achieve commercial fusion in a cost-competitive way.
CEO
Brian Berzin
Sectors
Environment
Stage
Series A
HQ
Texas
Deal Team
Wolfgang Seibold
Tobias Jahn
Elena Ballesteros
Tobias Graf
Tibo manages network congestion, saves energy costs and reduces emissions with smart grid management
AI-driven, cloud-native Energy Management System (EMS) for commercial and industrial sites. Their platform—powered by an engine called “Alice”—simulates and optimises local energy use across solar, batteries, EV chargers, and more, enabling real-time flexibility, cost savings, and smooth electrification even amid grid constraints.
CEO
Remco Eikhout
Sectors
Digital
Environment
Stage
Seed
Deal Team
Tobias Jahn
Elena Ballesteros
Edoardo Stazio
Eduardo Stazio
Next-generation tech to enhance methane production by breaking down diverse waste(water) streams.
WASE’s Electro-Methanogenic Reactor, using proprietary membrane-less electrode technology with a biofilm, efficiently breaks down diverse waste streams. It’s applicable to wastewater treatment and the Anaerobic digestion sector, generating net energy and producing methane-rich biogas.
CEO
Thomas Fudge
Sectors
Environment
Stage
Seed
HQ
Bristol
Deal Team
Tobias Jahn
Elena Ballesteros
Grace Mathis
