Swedish cleantech company Mimbly bags €3M – Silicon Canals

Report on Mimbly’s €3M Funding Round and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

This report details the recent €3 million funding acquisition by Mimbly, a cleantech company based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The analysis focuses on the strategic importance of this investment in advancing the company’s sustainable laundry technology and its direct contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

1.0 Executive Summary

Mimbly has successfully secured €3 million in a recent funding round. The capital is designated for the enhancement of its innovative laundry technology and to facilitate strategic market expansion. The company’s core technology is fundamentally aligned with global sustainability objectives, positioning it as a key contributor to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly in the areas of water conservation, responsible consumption, and climate action.

2.0 Funding and Strategic Objectives

The allocation of the €3 million investment will be directed towards two primary areas:

• Technological Advancement: Further research and development to improve the efficiency and impact of their laundry solutions.
• Market Expansion: Scaling operations to increase the adoption of sustainable laundry practices across new geographical markets.

3.0 Technological Impact on Sustainable Development

Mimbly’s technology addresses critical environmental challenges associated with conventional laundry processes. By focusing on resource efficiency, the company’s solutions offer significant contributions to sustainability. Key technological impacts include:

• Reduction in water consumption.
• Decreased energy usage per laundry cycle.
• Filtration of microplastics and other pollutants from wastewater.
• Promotion of a circular economy model for water usage.

4.0 Direct Contributions to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The company’s mission and technological solutions directly support the achievement of several key SDGs. The primary contributions are outlined below:

1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   Mimbly’s technology promotes the efficient use of water resources (Target 6.4) and improves water quality by reducing the release of pollutants, such as microplastics, into waterways (Target 6.3).

2. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   The solution fosters sustainable production patterns by fundamentally altering the resource intensity of laundry operations. It supports the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources (Target 12.2) and helps reduce waste generation (Target 12.5).

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   As a cleantech innovator, Mimbly contributes to building resilient infrastructure and promoting sustainable industrialization (Target 9.4) by retrofitting existing industries with clean and environmentally sound technologies.

4. SDG 13: Climate Action

   By significantly lowering the energy required for laundry, the technology helps reduce the carbon footprint of its users, thereby contributing to measures to combat climate change and its impacts.

5. SDG 14: Life Below Water

   Through the filtration of microplastics from laundry effluent, Mimbly’s system directly addresses a major source of marine pollution, contributing to the prevention and significant reduction of marine pollution of all kinds (Target 14.1).

5.0 Conclusion

The €3 million investment in Mimbly is a significant development for the cleantech sector. It not only validates the company’s business model but also accelerates the deployment of a technology with measurable positive impacts on critical Sustainable Development Goals. The expansion of Mimbly’s operations represents a tangible step towards more responsible resource management and a sustainable global future.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on the cleantech company Mimbly and its laundry technology connects to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focused on environmental sustainability, resource management, and innovation.

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  Laundry is a water-intensive process. A “cleantech” company developing “laundry technology” is highly likely to be focused on reducing water consumption and preventing water pollution, which directly aligns with ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  Mimbly is presented as a “Gothenburg-based cleantech company” that has raised “€3M in funding to support its laundry technology.” This highlights innovation in industrial processes (laundry), investment in clean technology, and the development of sustainable infrastructure.

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  The development of technology to make laundry more sustainable addresses the need for more responsible consumption patterns. This involves promoting resource and energy efficiency, which is a core principle of cleantech solutions like the one Mimbly is developing.

• SDG 14: Life Below Water

  Conventional laundry processes release microplastics from synthetic textiles and chemical pollutants from detergents into wastewater, which ultimately harms marine ecosystems. A cleantech laundry solution would likely aim to mitigate this, thus contributing to the reduction of marine pollution from land-based activities.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the nature of a “cleantech laundry technology,” several specific SDG targets can be identified:

1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   • Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution. Mimbly’s technology likely includes filtration systems to capture microplastics and other pollutants before they enter the wastewater system.
   • Target 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors. A primary goal of a cleantech laundry system would be to use significantly less water per cycle compared to traditional machines.

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies. Mimbly’s solution is a direct example of a clean technology designed to make the laundry industry more sustainable.

3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. The technology aims to reduce the consumption of water and likely energy, which are key natural resources.
   • Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. The technology could involve recycling and reusing water within the laundry cycle, thereby reducing water waste.

4. SDG 14: Life Below Water

   • Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities. By filtering microplastics from laundry effluent, Mimbly’s technology directly addresses a major source of marine plastic pollution.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article does not explicitly mention any quantitative indicators. However, several indicators are implied by the context of the company and its funding:

• Implied Financial Indicator:

  The article states that Mimbly “has raised €3M in funding.” This amount serves as an indicator of private financial flows towards the development and promotion of sustainable technologies (relevant to Target 9.4). It measures investment in innovation for sustainability.

• Implied Performance Indicators:

  While no specific numbers are given, the description “cleantech laundry technology” implies the existence of performance metrics that would be used to measure its impact. These would include:

  • Water Savings: The volume or percentage of water saved per laundry load compared to conventional systems (Indicator for Target 6.4).
  • Pollutant Reduction: The amount or percentage of microplastics and other harmful substances captured and prevented from entering the water system (Indicator for Targets 6.3 and 14.1).
  • Energy Efficiency: The reduction in energy consumption (kWh) per laundry cycle (Indicator for Target 12.2).

4. SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Table

Source: siliconcanals.com