Climate-Tech Startup Closes Series A to Scale Waste-to-Energy Pilot
Climate-Tech Startup Vital Cycle Energy Closes $18M Series A to Scale Waste-to-Renewable Natural Gas Pilot
SAN FRANCISCO, California – November 28, 2025 – Vital Cycle Energy, a San Francisco-based climate technology company converting organic waste into renewable natural gas (RNG), today announced the closing of an $18 million Series A funding round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures with participation from Energy Impact Partners and lowercarbon Capital. The capital will accelerate commercialization of the company’s proprietary anaerobic digestion system and expand its pilot facility in California’s Central Valley to process 50,000 tons of agricultural waste annually.
The Series A proceeds will fund equipment scaling, feedstock partnerships, and regulatory certification for Vital Cycle’s modular waste-to-energy platform, which transforms agricultural residues and food waste into pipeline-grade RNG. The financing follows 18 months of successful pilot operations demonstrating 40% higher methane capture efficiency than conventional anaerobic digestion systems, according to third-party validation by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global waste-to-energy market reached $45.6 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8.3% through 2030, driven by increasing waste generation and decarbonization mandates . V ital Cycle’s technology directly addresses this opportunity by targeting the 75 million tons of organic waste generated annually in California alone, less than 15% of which currently gets converted to energy.
“The urgency to divert organic waste from landfills while producing clean fuel has never been greater,” said Dr. Mara Chen, CEO and co-founder of Vital Cycle Energy. “This funding validates our engineering approach and enables us to scale from pilot to commercial operations in 18 months, positioning us to capture a significant share of the industrial decarbonization market that received 19.3% of all U.S. climate tech funding in 2025.”
Vital Cycle’s Series A arrives as climate-tech investment shows signs of maturation. According to Net Zero Insights, the sector secured $23.5 billion in equity funding during the first half of 2025, with investors increasingly concentrating capital on later-stage, technology-ready companies. Series A rounds declined 12% year-over-year while average deal sizes grew, reflecting investor selectivity for platforms with demonstrated commercial viability.
The company’s technology integrates AI-driven process controls with advanced biogas upgrading membranes to produce RNG exceeding California’s stringent LCFS carbon intensity standards. The expanded pilot will serve as a commercial demonstration site, processing waste from three major agricultural partners and delivering fuel to a contracted offtaker under a 10-year agreement. The facility is projected to produce 500,000 MMBtu of RNG annually while preventing 25,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions from landfill decomposition.
Industrial decarbonization funding surged in 2025, comprising nearly one-fifth of all climate tech investment as data center power demand and manufacturing emissions reduction targets drive market growth. Vital Cycle’s RNG provides a drop-in replacement for fossil natural gas in hard-to-electrify applications, including industrial heating and heavy-duty transportation.
The company has secured letters of intent representing $45 million in contracted revenue across three facilities planned for 2026-2027 deployment. Strategic partnerships with Central Valley wastewater treatment plants provide guaranteed feedstock supply while generating tipped fee revenue, creating a dual revenue stream that improves project economics.
About Vital Cycle Energy
Founded in 2022 by Dr. Mara Chen and CTO James Rodriguez, Vital Cycle Energy develops modular anaerobic digestion systems that convert organic waste into renewable natural gas. The company’s AI-optimized platform achieves industry-leading methane capture rates while reducing capital costs by 30% compared to conventional systems. Vital Cycle is headquartered in San Francisco with pilot operations in Fresno County, California. The company employs 28 engineers, scientists, and operations specialists.
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