Climate Scale-Up’s Deal Day

Connecting Innovators with Investors

Dates: January 21, 2026

Location: Davos-Klosters, Switzerland

Time: 10am-5pm

Venue: Hotel Schatzalp, Main Ballroom, Davos 7270 Switzerland

Climate Scale-Up's Deal Day is your premier opportunity to meet, engage, and secure strategic investments and partnerships with leading climate tech companies and visionary investors from around the globe. Join us in the heart of Davos for an intensive, action-packed day dedicated to driving impactful climate solutions.

Partners:

What to Expect

Highlights from 2025

Panel Discussions

Irina Gorbounova, Head of ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® Innovation Fund - manages over $160 million committed to developing breakthrough technologies for decarbonizing steel production. XCarb® Innovation Fund is accelerating the steel industry's transition to sustainable practices by supporting innovative solutions across various domains.

Helen Zhang, Deputy Chief of Staff, Schmidt Futures – Advancing strategic initiatives that bridge emerging technologies and global sustainability goals, driving innovative solutions to critical environmental and geopolitical challenges in alignment with Eric Schmidt’s sustainability vision.

Shashank Samala, co-founder and CEO, Heirloom, XPRIZE Finalist and Climate Scale-Up’s cohort - advancing Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology to combat climate change. Under his leadership, Heirloom secured over $200 million aiming to capture over 1 million tons of CO₂ annually. These initiatives position Heirloom as a leader in scalable carbon removal solutions.

Fireside Chats

Jay Lipman, cofounder of Ethic - instrumental in managing over $6 billion in assets through sustainable and climate-focused portfolios. Additionally, Jay Lipman co-founded Nature2, a collaborative initiative aiming to bridge the $830 billion annual funding gap in nature conservation by mobilizing the finance and investment communities to allocate 2%of managed assets toward nature-based solutions.

Networking

Nikki Batchelor, Executive Director, XPRIZE – Leading $100 million prize competition to accelerate breakthrough climate innovations, including carbon removal and sustainable energy solutions.

Jason Aramburu, co-founder and CEO, Applied Carbon, XPRIZE Finalist and Climate Scale-Up’s cohort – Pioneering biochar-based carbon removal solutions, scaling decarbonization efforts through nature-based technology.

Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer, Google – Spearheading Google's ambitious sustainability initiatives, including the goal to operate entirely on carbon-free energy by 2030, and leading efforts in circular economy practices and environmental innovation.

Previously, she served as the first Federal Chief Sustainability Officer of the United States.

Artistic Performances

World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed a short concert to raise awareness about climate change, at the top of the mountains above Davos

Vildwerk, a non-profit foundation, performed Damaged Skin choreographed by Jason Kittelberger and performed by himself and Anais Turaet

Deal Day Program Details

MORNING SESSION

NETWORKNG

10:00 - 10:45 AM

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Foreword: Rising to the Climate Challenge

10:45 - 10:50 AM

Jason Jay, Director of Sustainability, MIT

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Welcome Address: Uniting for Impact

10:50 - 11:00 AM

Seema Gupta, Tod Hynes, Co-Founders, Climate Scale-Up

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

From Space to Earth: Innovation Lessons Learned

11:00 - 11:10 AM

Bianca Lins, Lead, Space Department, Liechtenstein

PANEL

Transforming Industries: Innovating with Incumbents

11:15 - 11:40 AM

Philip Kessler, CEO, Turn2x, electric natural gas, e-NG, Laureen Meroueh, PhD, CEO, Hertha Metals, green steel

Irina Gorbounova, VP M&A and Head of XCarb Innovation Fund, ArcelorMittal, Rajesh Swaminathan, Partner, Khosla Ventures

PANEL

Direct Air Capture: Scaling and the Cost Curve

11:40 AM - 12:05 PM

Shashank Samala, CEO, Heirloom, DAC, Rory Brown, CEO, Airhive, DAC, Malte Feucht, CEO, Phlair, DAC

Nikki Batchelor, Executive Director, XPRIZE Carbon Removal

PANEL

Ocean Innovation: Investing in Systems Change

12:05 - 12:30 PM

Daniella Zakon and Alexandra Dowling, Upwell, marine bio-materials

Helen Zhang, Office of Eric Schmidt, Dominic Hofstetter, Executive Director, TransCap Initiative

PERFORMANCE

The Human Side of Climate Impact: Damaged Skin

12:40 - 12:50 PM

Choreographed by: Jason Kittelberger, Vildwerk

Jason Kittelberger and Anais Turaet

AFTERNOON SESSION

FIRESIDE CHAT

From AI to Infrastructure - Google’s Path to Achieving Net Zero

1:00 - 1:20 PM

Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer, Google

PANEL

Green Leapfrogging: Infrastructure for the Global South

1:20 - 1:45 PM

Troy Helming, CEO, Earthgrid, plasma tunneling for infrastructure

Dr. Kajal, IAS, Director, Department for Promotion of Industry and International Trade (DPIIT), Govt of India (Nodal Officer), Ricardo Hausmann, Director, Harvard Growth Lab; Renowned expert on economic growth and development, Ujjwal Kumar, MC/MPA Mason Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, specialist in private-public relations

PANEL

Harnessing AI for Climate Resilience

1:45 - 2:10 PM

Raviv Turner, NatureXRMS, AI agents for earth observation, Russ Wilcox, ArtifexAI, AI finding opportunity zones for energy and infrastructure

Jennifer Turliuk, Practice Leader, Climate and Energy AI, Oliver, Breakthrough Energy Venture Business Fellow, Tod Hynes, Co-CEO, Maigent, personal AI

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Human Costs of Climate: The California Lens

2:10 - 2:20 PM

Jay Lipman, Co-Founder, Ethic

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Staying Honest About Climate

2:20 - 2:30 PM

Jacqueline Bourke, Getty Images

PANEL

Nature’s Role in Restoring Climate Balance

2:30 - 2:55 PM

Marie-Noelle Keijzer, Weforest, restoring forests for people, climate and nature, Thiago Picolo, Re.Green, large-scale forest restoration, Jason Aramburu, Applied Carbon, distributed biochar production

Kevin Webb, Co-founder, Superorganism

PANEL

Carbon Markets: Incentivizing Climate Innovation

2:55 - 3:20 PM

Saman Baghestani, CEO, S3 Markets, accelerating zero-carbon modes of production

Heather Taylor, Partner, EY Climate Change & Sustainability Services, Filipe Blackwood Oliveira, Senior Advisor, TPG, Thomas Annicq, Co-founder, Oneshot.earth, Jean-Baptiste, Head of Business Development, Deme

CLOSING KEYNOTES

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Family Businesses: Leading Private Climate Action

3:20 - 3:30 PM

Chavalit Frederick Tsao, Chairman, TPC

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Climate Pioneers: Inspiration for the Road Ahead

3:30 - 3:40 PM

Alysia Helming, US Clean Energy Pioneer, Unicorn & Bestselling Author

FIRESIDE CHAT

Countdown to COP 30 – The Path Forward

3:40 - 4:05 PM

Maria E. Netto de A. C. Schneider, Executive Director, iCS, Jorge Hargrave, Co-Founder, Brazil Climate Institute, Tony Lent, Co-founder, Capital for Climate, Renata Piazzon, Director General, Arapyaú Institute, Marina Cançado, Co-Founder, Brazil Climate Institute; Founder, Converge Capital