From a corporate matchmaking day to a multi-party investment: what happened

In late 2021 a European Innovation Council Corporate Day acted as the initial introduction between Dutch software start-up Circularise and Finnish renewable materials company Neste. That meeting led to a partnership announced in May 2022 to deploy Circularise’s traceability software for circular and bio-based polymers and chemicals. The relationship deepened through pilot projects including a test linking Circularise’s blockchain-based tracking to ISCC Plus certification. In November 2022 Circularise closed a combined Series A financing round of approximately €11 million with strategic backers including Brightlands Venture Partners, Asahi Kasei, 4impact and Neste, plus supplementary European Commission grants.

Why Neste and Circularise connected

Neste, which refines waste and residues into renewable fuels and feedstocks for polymers and chemicals, faces the practical problem of proving where renewable or recycled feedstocks actually end up in complex chemical and polymer value chains. Physical materials are often blended, co-processed or converted in ways that make visual or laboratory distinction difficult. Circularise builds a software layer described as a 'digital twin' to represent material flows and associated attributes so actors across a supply chain can verify provenance and sustainability attributes without having to reveal proprietary details.

What the collaboration aims to deliver

The stated goal is to increase supply chain transparency in polymers and chemicals by using Circularise’s software to trace renewable and recycled material flows. For corporates and downstream brands this can translate into the ability to substantiate sustainability claims, streamline audits and calculate life cycle emissions with greater fidelity. For suppliers, Circularise positions itself as a way to share verified data selectively while protecting sensitive commercial information using its data-sharing and privacy design.

The money: who invested and why

In November 2022 a group of investors and corporate partners announced approximately €11 million of new funding for Circularise. The consortium included lead investment from Brightlands Venture Partners, strategic corporate investors Asahi Kasei, Neste and existing backer 4impact capital. European Commission grants supplemented the financing. Circularise had previously received EIC funding, reported by the EIC as an earlier investment of €1,502,331.

How the EIC contributed

The EIC Corporate Partnership Programme organises matchmaking events and Corporate Days to connect EIC-funded startups with large corporate partners. In this case the Corporate Day provided the initial introduction and a neutral forum for challenge-definition and early engagement. According to Circularise and Neste, the EIC match made the first contact and helped seed subsequent follow-up activity including proofs of concept with multiple supply chain partners.

Voices from the collaboration

Representatives from both sides reflected on the dynamics that made the partnership possible and on its practical benefits for industry transparency.

Technology explained and practical trade-offs

Where this delivers practical value and where it falls short

The collaboration addresses clear industry needs: regulators and buyers are demanding more verifiable supply chain evidence and life cycle data. Digital traceability can shorten audits, reduce compliance friction and help corporates quantify Scope 3 emissions. However, important practical challenges persist. Standards for digital product passports and data models are still emerging. Suppliers need commercial incentives to disclose data even with privacy-preserving approaches. Corporate procurement cycles and regulatory timelines can be slow compared with software product development. Finally, claims based on mass balance still rely on agreed allocation rules which need broader industry acceptance and third-party assurance.

Negotiation, value and future outlook

Both partners described negotiations as smooth and driven by shared vision. Neste highlighted the capacity to 'turn the trust game into a data-backed game' by validating claims across multiple parties. Circularise said the partnership enabled further engagement with the chemical and polymer industry and provided customer references that helped attract investors for the Series A round.

Context from the EU innovation landscape

The collaboration sits in a wider policy and market push. The European Union is moving towards more stringent reporting and product-level information obligations, and initiatives such as Digital Product Passports and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive create regulatory pressure to disclose reliable supply chain data. The EIC’s role is to accelerate connections between deep tech startups and corporates so pilots can scale into industrial deployments. Strategic corporate investors meanwhile view traceability platforms as both tools to de-risk supply chains and potential enablers of new circular business models.

At the same time, investors and corporates face a crowded landscape of traceability offerings. Different technical architectures, competing data models and the choice between private and public ledgers pose interoperability risks. The success of any platform will depend on the ability to reach industry-level agreements on data schemas, verification practices and governance that align suppliers, brands, certifiers and regulators.

Practical takeaways for companies and policymakers

For startups: partnerships with large corporates accelerate access to pilots, data and scale but require clarity on value exchange and willingness to adapt to longer procurement cycles. For corporates: using neutral digital infrastructure and clear commercial models helps onboard suppliers who fear exposing sensitive data. For policymakers: harmonised standards and clear rules for digital product passports, mass balance accounting and third-party verification reduce fragmentation and increase trust.

Risks and open questions to watch

Will industry converge on interoperable standards for DPPs and mass balance reporting? Can privacy-preserving mechanisms be convincing enough to overcome supplier reluctance to share data? How will certifiers, regulators and market players reconcile allocation-based claims with demands for end-to-end physical traceability? And finally, how will buyers, especially in cost-sensitive markets, internalise the premium for verified recycled or renewable content?

Closing note

The Nesta–Circularise story illustrates how curated corporate-startup matchmaking can progress from first meeting to pilots and to significant follow-on funding. It also highlights the dual nature of traceability projects: they are technically feasible and commercially promising but require pragmatic governance, standardisation and aligned incentives to scale across complex industrial value chains. The EIC continues to promote those connections knowing that technical pilots are only one step on the path to systemic change.

Further information and resources

For background on the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme and its activity statistics, see the EIC programme materials. Circularise and Neste published press releases and case material around the partnership, the ISCC pilot and the Series A financing in late 2022. Readers should consult those primary releases for company-level details and the formal investment notices.