2025 Circular Ventures Announced

Having completed a competitive recruitment process, Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) is delighted to announce the sixth cohort of ventures joining CIRCULÉIRE’s 2025 Circular Venture Accelerator. 

Established in 2020, the Programme is Ireland’s 1st dedicated late-stage circular venture accelerator and has so far supported 26 ventures over 5 years with a total of €130k equity free funding.  

Alan Dillon TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) with special responsibility for Small Businesses and Retail and the Department of Climate Energy & Environment (DCEE) with special responsibility for Circular Economy, said, 

“Reflecting on the programme, the cohort and the impact of alumni since 2020, I am delighted to see that CIRCULÉIRE has expanded its venture accelerator intake in 2025.  The cohort represents a cross sectoral group of start-ups that can help Ireland to move the dial on circularity, and we are very proud to support this endeavour through the Circular Economy Fund and the scale-up of companies in the emerging circular economy sector”.  

Driving circular innovation in MedTech, BioTech, Food, Consumer goods and the Automotive sectors, IMR welcomes the 2025 cohort: 

Anaula:  ‘transforming distillery wastewater into algae-based fertiliser and feed ‘. 

Bean Around: ‘transforming used coffee grounds into high value-added cosmetics products’. 

Circular Food Co: ‘transforming food manufacturing waste into high-value ingredients’. 

EcoRoots: ‘combining biology with digital optimisation to deliver mycelium-based circular packaging solutions’.  

Hibra Design: ‘re-engineering fossil-fuel powered vehicles with battery-electric powertrains extending product lifecycles’ 

HomePerk: ‘embedding circular household practices through shared access and recirculation in residential properties’. 

Kinset: ‘driving circularity in fashion and beyond through a Digital Product Passport and supply-chain traceability platform’. 

Mesh BioPlastics: ‘developing plant-based alternatives to single-use medical plastics’. 

In the spirit of collaborative innovation and networking, the Ventures took part in CIRCULÉIRE’s Q2 Member Network Meeting on the 11th of June 2025. Hosted at The Rediscovery Centre, a hotbed of creative upcycling and circularity in practice, this session was dedicated to enhancing members’ ability to work on circular innovation opportunities and introduced the ventures to the collaborative opportunities from membership.   

Dr Geraldine Brennan, Director of Circular Economy Innovation at IMR, said, “This programme is an integral part of the CIRCULÉIRE offering and positions our members at the forefront of circular innovation”. 

 Agnese Metitieri, IMR Ventures Lead, said, “IMR is partnering with the crème de le crème of internal, national and international circular economy pioneers who have been advising and guiding circular ventures and innovators to scale businesses over the last decade. From systems thinking to storytelling and pitching, to advanced technologies, business models, finance and investment, IMR curate and provide hands-on experiences to accelerate our venture’s business growth’.

We look forward to working with the 2025 founders and have an excellent track record in supporting our ventures’ success. 

Success Stories of CIRCULÉIRE Venture Accelerator Alumni 

In 2024, BladeBridge, rezero and The ZeroNet  were supported by IMR to apply and won 3 of 13 grants awarded by the 2024 Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme.   

In 2025 HaPPE Earth won the 2025 RDS CE Awards (Emerging Business Category) and a Green Tech Health Innovation Ireland grant to fund their full cycle healthcare bio-digestion system that turns bio-PPE and food waste into nutrient-rich fertiliser with advanced decontamination technology. 

IFF Plastics met CIRCULÉIRE Founding Member Freefoam Plastics through the network and subsequently established a formal collaboration. 

The ZeroNet and KnowCarbon met through the CIRCULÉIRE network and have subsequently partnered with Founding Member IQuTech to collaborate on a multi- product take-back scheme (MedTech, ICT and Textiles).