As the climate crisis intensifies, innovation leaders now face a pivotal question: how can we decarbonize at scale and build resilient, future-ready infrastructure? Three emerging players in Solarock, Terra CO₂, and AssetCool offer compelling models that blend investment potential with real-world impact. Their stories are signs of a seismic shift in how organizations can lead the transition to sustainable energy and materials.
1. Solarock: Scaling solar through local franchises
In early July 2025, Paris‑based Solarock announced a €7 million Series A round, led by Pale Blue Dot, Noa, Ring Capital, and Kima Ventures, aimed at rolling out a nationwide solar franchise network across France.
What struck me was their hybrid ‘local‑plus‑central’ structure: local franchisees rooted in community trust and combines forces with a centralized headquarters offering advanced technical tools, admin support, and vetted equipment. It’s a model that accelerates deployment while upholding quality and operational excellence.
As FounderNest works with innovation leaders daily, this approach resonates deeply with me. Too often, sustainable tech thrives in labs or prototypes, but stalls during the rollout phase. Solarock’s model shows how franchising, which is typically seen in retail or food can drive exponential growth in solar adoption. Less complexity for homeowners, faster scaling and a greater energy autonomy.
What does this mean for enterprise businesses? Generally, solar can now be deployed in a similar way to a fast-food franchise, reducing barriers to entry and increase speed to adoption.
2. Terra CO₂: Reinventing industrial materials with carbon in mind
Meanwhile, Terra CO₂ is quietly revolutionizing another critical front: green industrial materials. Imagine the billions of tonnes of concrete, plastics, and steel produced annually, but reimagined using captured CO₂ as a core feedstock. The circular economy isn’t a buzzword, it’s intrinsic to these materials’ DNA.
This is about more than reducing emissions but closer to creating new supply chains where carbon itself is a valuable input. So what’s the allure for corporate innovation teams? There is potential to reshape procurement, reduce Scope 3 emissions, and embed sustainability into existing product lifecycles.
The opportunity extends beyond regulatory compliance. Sustainable materials can unlock cost efficiency once scaled, open up new market segments, and align with ESG mandates, and not to mention the reputational upside for being at the forefront of ‘planet‑positive’ supply chains… Let’s face it, which is a hot topic currently.
3. AssetCool: Smart, efficient energy distribution
Then there’s AssetCool who are actively tackling the thorny problem of energy distribution. As the grid becomes increasingly decentralized, with solar rooftops, batteries, and smart homes proliferating, the biggest untapped resource is the infrastructure that manages it all.
AssetCool’s platform integrates real‑time data analytics, dynamic load balancing, and AI‑driven optimization to minimize waste, reduce strain on the grid, and deliver energy where and when it matters most.
Emerging trends and strategic insights
Across these three companies a clear patterns emerges. If you’re leading innovation in a large organization, here are the trends worth exploring:
A personal take: From pilot to scale
I remember working with an early solar pilot a few years back where optimism was high. But soon challenges came consisting of inconsistent installers, paperwork chaos and unclear ROI - they stalled. Fast forward to today, and seeing Solarock succeed by professionalizing every link in the solar chain, it’s a powerful reminder that good technology alone isn’t enough. Scaling sustainability requires engineering the delivery model too.
The lesson I learned: invest not just in innovation, but in the full ecosystem including the operations, training, quality assurance, and local engagement. That holistic lens separates pilots from enterprise transformation.
What this means for innovation leaders
- Prioritize high-leverage models – Seek ventures with both impact and scalability baked into their DNA, like Solarock’s franchise model or Terra CO₂’s supply chain reinvention.
- Expand your lens – Think beyond generation. Energy distribution and industrial inputs offer equally rich nets for decarbonization.
- Invest in ecosystems – Technology doesn’t scale in isolation. It needs networks, standards, and local champions.
- Own the transition – Early adoption of these models via partnerships, pilots, or internal ventures positions your organisation as a sustainability pioneer, not a slow follower.
Closing thoughts
Sustainability isn’t just a project, it’s becoming a movement. And movements gain momentum when bold models hit real markets with operational thoroughness. Solarock proves that solar can scale like a franchise. Terra CO₂ shows that materials can be carbon-positive. AssetCool demonstrates that infrastructure and intelligence go hand in hand.
For innovation leaders at enterprise companies, these aren’t just feel-good anecdotes but more akin to guardrails. When you back solutions designed for scale, resilience, and ecosystem-level change, you do more than reduce emissions: you future-proof your organization and shape industries.
So here’s my invitation: look at these companies not as external trends, but as internal playbooks. What might a franchised sustainability model look like in your sector? How could carbon-as-feedstock redefine your supply chain? How might smarter infrastructure transform your operations?
The answers you find won’t just transform your carbon numbers, they’ll remake your organization for the green revolution already unfolding.
