JW

Johanna Wolfson

General Partner at Azolla Ventures

Greater Boston

Overview 

Johanna Wolfson is a Co-founder and General Partner at Azolla Ventures, specializing in ClimateTech/CleanTech, Impact, and EnergyTech sectors, with expertise in renewable energy and energy efficiency. With a Ph.D. from MIT and a background in physical chemistry, she has held leadership roles at Prime Impact Fund and the U.S. Department of Energy, driving strategic initiatives and evaluating technology in the field. Noteworthy career highlights include co-founding Azolla Ventures and serving as a Managing Director at Prime Impact Fund, showcasing a strong track record in investing in early-stage companies and advancing impactful technologies in the clean energy sector.

Work Experience 

  • Co-founder and General Partner

    2021 - Current

    Azolla Ventures, created by Prime Coalition, invests in early-stage technology companies with the potential for gigaton-scale climate impact.

Azolla Ventures is an early stage investor in climate breakthroughs that could avert catastrophic climate change.

  • Managing Director

    2021

    Prime Impact Fund, an initiative of Prime Coalition, invests in transformative technology companies with the potential for gigaton-scale climate impact. Drawing on catalytic capital with a long-term lens, the fund is purpose-built to support high-risk, high-reward ventures at the earliest stages. The management company of Azolla Ventures, the successor fund to Prime Impact Fund, manages the Prime Impact Fund portfolio of companies.

  • Principal

    2018 - 2021

Prime Impact Fund invests in transformative technology companies with the potential for gigaton-scale climate impact.

  • Board Member

    2021

Tynt Technologies is a developer of a smart window to prevent glare while maintaining views and save energy.

Raised $17,067,979.00 from Starlight Ventures, Buff Gold Ventures, Prime Impact Fund, KOMPAS VC, Starlight Ventures, KOMPAS VC and Prime Impact Fund.

  • Board Member

    2020

    Decarbonizing cement, currently responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions

Sublime Systems develops technology to decarbonize cement-making.

Raised $115,000,000.00 from Holcim and CRH Ventures.

  • Board Member

    2019

    Sustainability company developing a powerful new technology for reversing climate change

Verdox develops an electric carbon removal technology designed to eliminate emissions from aluminum production.

Raised $100,315,010.00 from Musk Foundation, XPRIZE, BloombergNEF and National Science Foundation.

  • Board Observer

    2019

    Platform for rapid domestication of novel bacteria strains

MicroByre is a biotechnology company that specializes in microbiology, synthetic biology, molecular biology, and machine learning..

Raised $20,210,332.00 from Azolla Ventures, Impact Science Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Earthshot Ventures, Safar Partners, The House Fund, Climate Capital, Zero Carbon Capital, Grantham Foundation and Systemiq capital.

  • Board Member

    2019

    Commercializing the next generation of electric motors

C-Motive Technologies is a venture-backed cleantech startup that develops electrostatic motor technology.

Raised $14,527,217.00 from PRIME Coalition and Prime Impact Fund.

  • Board Observer

    2018 - 2020

    Mining technology company enabling lithium extraction through ion exchange

  • Director, Technology-to-Market

    2016 - 2017

    Tech-to-Market is focused on strengthening the innovation ecosystem by eliminating common barriers that prevent market exploration of new energy technologies. More information at energy.gov/eere/technology-to-market

US Department of Energy is a government administration that regulates energy policy, research, and development.

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