Elemental Impact
Elemental Impact is a Honolulu-based nonprofit climate investor, formerly Elemental Excelerator, that backs early-stage startups across energy, industry, food and agriculture, nature, transportation, and water. It pairs catalytic philanthropic, government, and private capital with hands-on project deployment in real communities. As of 2026, (don't) Waste Water tracks seven water companies in its portfolio.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Elemental Impact is not a venture fund chasing returns, and that is the point. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that began life on the islands of Hawaii as Elemental Excelerator, built to test climate technology in real communities rather than in a lab. It invests philanthropic, government, and private money side by side, using catalytic capital (money that accepts more risk to unlock a project others would not touch) to push a technology across the gap between a promising pilot and a deployed system. In September 2024 it dropped the Excelerator name and became Elemental Impact, signalling its move from accelerator to a full investing platform.
Elemental Impact spreads its bets across six sectors: energy, industry, food and agriculture, nature, transportation, and water. It is a climate investor with a water practice, not a water-only fund. Its water work runs through one person, Kimberley Baker, who leads the water and circular-economy portfolios and was the voice on (don't) Waste Water back in 2021. In my Leviathan database I track seven of its water companies: Verdi retrofitting in-field irrigation valves, DigitalPaani putting Indian wastewater plants on software, Hohonu floating cheap solar water-level sensors, and Cambrian Innovation treating industrial wastewater with electrically active microbes.
What ties Elemental Impact's water deals together is not a technology but a place. Every cheque is meant to land a project in a specific community (an island, a neighbourhood, a farm town) where clean water, health, and local jobs arrive together rather than as an afterthought. For a nonprofit most water investors have never heard of, run out of Honolulu and writing early cheques alongside Echo River Capital and SVG Ventures, Elemental Impact keeps turning up exactly where the water problem is also a community problem.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 7 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Elemental Impact invest in?
- Elemental Impact backs early-stage climate startups across six sectors: energy, industry, food and agriculture, nature, transportation, and water. In water it has funded companies working on irrigation efficiency, wastewater treatment, water-level sensing, and industrial water reuse, including Verdi, DigitalPaani, Hohonu, and Cambrian Innovation.
- Who runs Elemental Impact?
- Elemental Impact was founded and is led by CEO Dawn Lippert, who also runs its for-profit sister fund Earthshot Ventures. Its water and circular-economy work is led by Kimberley Baker, Senior Director of Innovation, and Mitch Rubin serves as Managing Director of Portfolio and Investments.
- Is Elemental Impact the same as Elemental Excelerator?
- Yes. Elemental Impact is the new name for Elemental Excelerator, the Honolulu nonprofit that rebranded in September 2024 to reflect its growth into a broader climate-investing platform. It should not be confused with Earthshot Ventures, the separate for-profit venture fund founded by the same CEO.
- Where is Elemental Impact based?
- Elemental Impact is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, where it began as a place-based accelerator for climate technology. Its investing and deployment work now reaches communities across the United States and beyond, but its roots and community-first thesis stay tied to the Hawaiian islands.
- How many water companies has Elemental Impact backed?
- (don't) Waste Water tracks seven water companies in Elemental Impact's portfolio across seven funding rounds, including Verdi, Capture6, DigitalPaani, Hohonu, Cambrian Innovation, Transcend Software, and NEER. Water is one of six sectors the nonprofit invests in, so its full climate portfolio is far larger.