The European VC (EUVC)
The New European Sovereignty Stack: Energy, Minerals, Compute
The European VC (EUVC)
•February 18, 2026•43 min
0
The European VC (EUVC)•Feb 18, 2026
Why It Matters
As Europe strives for climate neutrality and economic resilience, its dependence on external tech and mineral supplies threatens strategic autonomy. Understanding and addressing these supply‑chain gaps is crucial for policymakers, investors, and innovators seeking to build a self‑sufficient, industrially robust Europe in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.
Key Takeaways
- •Europe imports >90% critical minerals, risking strategic dependence.
- •Europe raises 7x less VC than US since 2015.
- •Cylip, IQM, Planet A Foods exemplify European sovereignty startups.
- •Trust scorecard adds brand, values, impact to performance.
- •Microbial bio‑mining could sustainably unlock critical minerals.
Pulse Analysis
Europe’s post‑war story of turning crisis into collaboration resurfaces amid today’s polycrisis. From the 1951 coal‑steel treaty to the rapid cut of Russian gas dependence, the continent repeatedly leveraged collective action to rebuild strategic sectors. Now, with less than 10% of the semiconductors it consumes and a heavy reliance on imported rare earths, lithium, and solar panels, Europe faces a sovereignty gap in energy, minerals, and compute. The urgency is amplified by climate imperatives, geopolitical tensions, and a fragmented global order, making resilient, home‑grown supply chains a competitive necessity.
The venture capital landscape starkly reflects this challenge. Europe raises roughly seven times less capital than the United States, and only 15% of climate‑tech startups reach Series B versus 25% in the U.S., creating a €2.7 billion annual funding shortfall. Yet pioneering firms like Cylip, which recycles battery waste into critical minerals, Finland’s IQM, a leader in quantum computing, and Germany’s Planet A Foods, reshaping cacao supply chains, demonstrate the continent’s capacity for sovereign innovation. Industry leaders argue that financial returns alone no longer define success; a new trust scorecard—combining brand reputation, core values, and measurable impact—must accompany performance metrics to attract mission‑aligned LPs and sustain long‑term growth.
A promising frontier lies in bio‑mining, where microbes naturally extract rare earths and other critical minerals with minimal environmental damage. Historical precedents, such as ancient Chinese bacterial copper extraction, hint at the scalability of this approach. For investors, microbial mining offers a pathway to secure critical inputs while meeting ESG criteria, potentially reshaping the supply chain economics of batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. As Europe seeks to close its strategic gaps, aligning policy, capital, and cutting‑edge biotech will be essential to transform the continent from a spectator into a global industrial leader.
Episode Description
Sovereignty Is a Supply Chain
Europe is not facing a crisis of ideas.
It is facing a crisis of industrial depth.
In this episode, Danijel Višević, Heidi Lindvall, Narina Mnatsakanian, Dr. Isabella Fandrych, Jordan Billiald, and Moritz explore what sovereignty actually means in 2025.
It is no longer about flags.
It is about semiconductors.
Rare earths.
Lithium.
Base load energy.
Grid orchestration.
Capital allocation.
Share
Danijel Višević opens with 1951.
Coal and steel were the backbone of war.
Europe integrated them.
That was radical innovation — political, economic, cultural.
And Europe has repeated this pattern:
After the Berlin Wall.
During COVID.
After Russian gas dependency.
Europe does not collapse under pressure.
It coordinates.
But coordination must now extend to capital and industry.
Because today’s sovereignty is industrial.
Europe produces less than 10% of the semiconductors it consumes.
Imports 98% of rare earths.
Raises dramatically less venture capital than the US.
Only 15% of European climate tech startups reach Series B.
The scale-up gap since 2015 amounts to billions annually.
Europe can invent.
It struggles to industrialize.
Heidi Lindvall reframes venture success.
Performance is necessary.
But performance alone is insufficient.
Capital shapes society.
Every check is a vote for what the future looks like.
Her framework:
Success = Performance × Trust
Trust includes:
Brand.
Values.
Impact.
Low performance kills funds.
High performance without trust produces one-cycle wonders.
Enduring firms compound both.
Venture does not just fund companies.
It allocates the future.
Nina reinforces the LP perspective:
Pension funds want returns.
But pensioners also want a livable planet.
Capital allocation is no longer purely financial.
It is systemic.
Dr. Isabella Fandrych introduces an overlooked truth:
The green transition depends on minerals.
Copper.
Lithium.
Nickel.
Manganese.
Current extraction methods are extractive, geopolitically concentrated, and environmentally destructive.
Biology offers alternatives:
Microbes separating metal from rock
Engineered proteins extracting minerals from waste streams
Plants accumulating nickel for harvest
Industrial decarbonisation is not just energy.
It is chemistry.
Jordan Billiald makes a pragmatic case:
Europe has reduced domestic emissions largely by deindustrializing and outsourcing production.
If Europe wants
Manufacturing
AI data centres
Electrified transport
Economic resilience
It needs base load energy.
Renewables are intermittent.
Nuclear is dispatchable, dense, and sovereign.
The debate should not be ideological.
It should be practical:
Can we operate nuclear safely and at scale?
Because if Europe wants reindustrialization and net zero, nuclear remains one of the few scalable levers available.
Moritz shifts the discussion from generation to infrastructure.
Europe has built renewable capacity at an impressive speed.
The constraint is not energy production.
It is grid orchestration.
Europe is shifting from a centralized energy model to a decentralized one.
Distribution system operators were not designed to manage volatile, distributed flows.
The opportunity is software.
Orchestration.
Optimization.
Dynamic throughput management.
Energy sovereignty is not just generation.
It is system design.
Europe does not lack:
Talent.
Science.
Ambition.
It lacks:
Capital depth.
Industrial coordination.
Infrastructure velocity.
Sovereignty in 2025 is not a slogan.
It is an investment strategy.
Show Notes
Sovereignty Is a Supply Chain
Europe is not facing a crisis of ideas.
It is facing a crisis of industrial depth.
In this episode, Danijel Višević, Heidi Lindvall, Narina Mnatsakanian, Dr. Isabella Fandrych, Jordan Billiald, and Moritz explore what sovereignty actually means in 2025.
It is no longer about flags.
It is about semiconductors.
Rare earths.
Lithium.
Base load energy.
Grid orchestration.
Capital allocation.
Danijel Višević opens with 1951.
Coal and steel were the backbone of war.
Europe integrated them.
That was radical innovation — political, economic, cultural.
And Europe has repeated this pattern:
After the Berlin Wall.
During COVID.
After Russian gas dependency.
Europe does not collapse under pressure.
It coordinates.
But coordination must now extend to capital and industry.
Because today’s sovereignty is industrial.
Europe produces less than 10% of the semiconductors it consumes.
Imports 98% of rare earths.
Raises dramatically less venture capital than the US.
Only 15% of European climate tech startups reach Series B.
The scale-up gap since 2015 amounts to billions annually.
Europe can invent.
It struggles to industrialize.
Heidi Lindvall reframes venture success.
Performance is necessary.
But performance alone is insufficient.
Capital shapes society.
Every check is a vote for what the future looks like.
Her framework:
Success = Performance × Trust
Trust includes:
Brand.
Values.
Impact.
Low performance kills funds.
High performance without trust produces one-cycle wonders.
Enduring firms compound both.
Venture does not just fund companies.
It allocates the future.
Nina reinforces the LP perspective:
Pension funds want returns.
But pensioners also want a livable planet.
Capital allocation is no longer purely financial.
It is systemic.
[Dr. Isabella Fandrych](http://Dr. Isabella Fandrych) introduces an overlooked truth:
The green transition depends on minerals.
Copper.
Lithium.
Nickel.
Manganese.
Current extraction methods are extractive, geopolitically concentrated, and environmentally destructive.
Biology offers alternatives:
-
Microbes separating metal from rock
-
Engineered proteins extracting minerals from waste streams
-
Plants accumulating nickel for harvest
Industrial decarbonisation is not just energy.
It is chemistry.
[Jordan Billiald](http://Jordan Billiald) makes a pragmatic case:
Europe has reduced domestic emissions largely by deindustrializing and outsourcing production.
If Europe wants
-
Manufacturing
-
AI data centres
-
Electrified transport
-
Economic resilience
It needs base load energy.
Renewables are intermittent.
Nuclear is dispatchable, dense, and sovereign.
The debate should not be ideological.
It should be practical:
Can we operate nuclear safely and at scale?
Because if Europe wants reindustrialization and net zero, nuclear remains one of the few scalable levers available.
Moritz shifts the discussion from generation to infrastructure.
Europe has built renewable capacity at an impressive speed.
The constraint is not energy production.
It is grid orchestration.
Europe is shifting from a centralized energy model to a decentralized one.
Distribution system operators were not designed to manage volatile, distributed flows.
The opportunity is software.
Orchestration.
Optimization.
Dynamic throughput management.
Energy sovereignty is not just generation.
It is system design.
Europe does not lack:
Talent.
Science.
Ambition.
It lacks:
Capital depth.
Industrial coordination.
Infrastructure velocity.
Sovereignty in 2025 is not a slogan.
It is an investment strategy.
0
Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Loading comments...