Merger creates Europe's first full-stack platform for forest carbon offset projects and positions it for growth in the expanding market for nature-based solutions
Munich / Dornbirn, July 2025 - The European ClimateTech companies Pina Earth and Tree.ly are joining forces to become the leading project developer for forest carbon offset projects in Europe. Both companies develop high-quality climate protection projects in cooperation with forest owners and enable companies to invest in certified, regional CO₂ certificates. The new entity combines strengths in software, project development and sales, creating greater scalability, transparency and regional impact for forest owners and companies looking to achieve their climate goals.
The new organization will cover projects in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Hungary :
This will make the merged company the largest technology-supported developer of forest carbon offset projects in Europe and the clear market leader in the DACH region - with five-fold sales growth per year.
Companies can now invest in a much broader portfolio of nature-based projects covering different methodologies, standards and regions. They benefit from high available volumes, transparent project implementation and a continued strong focus on biodiversity and regionality.
For forest owners, the new unit simplifies the certification of different project types and regions under a single, trusted partner and opens up access to a larger network of long-term buyers.
"We founded Pina Earth to preserve Europe's forests for future generations," says Dr. Gesa Biermann, co-founder of Pina Earth. "I'm delighted to be working with Tree.ly to scale our impact even faster - and offer companies the regional, high-quality climate protection projects they are looking for."
Both companies share the belief that software and automation are critical to implementing nature-based solutions at scale. Pina Earth's proprietary forest simulation software will be integrated into Tree.ly's tech platform to improve efficiency, transparency and the application of different methodologies. In the future, projects can be developed under different standards (e.g. ISO, WKS) and with different methods such as Improved Forest Management (IFM), afforestation (ARR), set-aside and forest conversion. This will make it possible for forest owners of any size and regardless of location to implement certified climate protection projects.
"Technology is the only way to achieve climate targets at the necessary scale," says Jodok Batlogg, co-founder and CEO of Tree.ly about the merger. "By joining forces, we are bringing together the best technologies and teams in the market to implement forest carbon offset projects faster, easier and more reliably - for forest owners and for buyers."
Asclimate change progresses, the pressure on Europe's forests is increasing. The need for scalable, high-quality nature-based solutions has never been more urgent. The merger strengthens the joint mission of both companies: to close the financing gap in forest protection and biodiversity and to make it easier for companies to access certified, regional climate protection projects.
Together, the two companies are strengthening their role in the dynamically growing European market for CO₂ removal. This enables them to proactively shape and implement new regulations such as the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF). At the same time, these political developments illustrate how crucial quality-oriented, European solutions are becoming for climate protection.
Nadja Bresous Mehigan, Partner at XAnge and lead investor in Pina Earth: "This is a pivotal moment for the European forest carbon market. The merger is a strategic step towards a future market leader that combines scalable technology, methodological excellence and the trust of forest owners and buyers."
In future, the company will operate under the Pina Earth brand and will be managed by Tree.ly founders Jodok Batlogg and Christian Lutz. Both are experienced entrepreneurs with a successful history of building tech start-ups. Jodok brings his many years of expertise from international deep tech projects to European climate protection. For Christian, this role is the culmination of numerous start-ups and leads him to his central mission: advancing nature-based solutions at scale.
Pina Earth founders Dr. Gesa Biermann and Florian Fincke are moving into strategic advisory roles to support the integration and help shape the long-term vision. Following the successful establishment of Pina Earth, both will remain closely involved to ensure that values, quality and impact remain at the heart of the company going forward.
Dr. Gesa Biermann on the change in leadership: "After the intensive build-up phase, now is the right time to hand over operational management. The merger opens up a new phase of growth and I look forward to providing strategic support - with a focus on impact, partnerships and governance."
The new company has offices in Munich, Berlin and Dornbirn. In the coming months, the focus will be on integrating the two companies, expanding sales activities, further developing the technology and preparing for the Series A financing round.
Together, Pina Earth and Tree.ly are setting a new standard for carbon project integrity, regional impact and technology-enabled scaling in the European carbon market.
Press contact: press@pina.earth
Pina Earth develops scientifically sound, certified climate protection projects that sustainably convert threatened forest areas and strengthen their biodiversity. By converting endangered monocultures into biodiverse, climate-resilient ecosystems, these projects store additional CO₂ and strengthen the forests against heat, storms and droughts. With over 30 million square meters of forest already being converted, Pina Earth is the market leader for forest climate projects in Germany. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) named Pina Earth "Digital Start-up of the Year" in 2024.
Current information on Pina Earth can be found at: https://www.pina.earth/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/pina-de/.
Press contact Pina Earth:
Dr. Christine Rzepka
Pina Technologies GmbH
E-Mail: press@pina.earth
Tree.ly develops certified forest climate projects with a focus on the DACH region and additional projects in Italy, Hungary and Switzerland - further countries are being planned. As a link between forest owners and companies, Tree.ly ensures that climate contributions have a measurable impact in local forests. The company combines scientifically sound methods, regional partnerships and digital tools to support forest owners in implementing climate-relevant measures such as natural regeneration, reforestation or improvements to forest infrastructure. In turn, companies can achieve their climate targets through high-quality CO₂ certificates. All Tree.ly projects are verified by TÜV in accordance with ISO 14064-2 and cover over 60,000 hectares of forest.
Press contact Tree.ly:
Tobias Sutterlüty
Tree.ly FlexCo
E-Mail: press@tree.ly
Dr. Gesa Biermann is co-founder and CEO of Pina Earth. Before founding the company, she completed her doctorate in sustainability at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and was part of the management team at the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) - a joint research and educational institution of LMU and TU Munich. She gained her first start-up experience during her studies with the development and successful exit of a fashion brand and by co-founding the student non-profit consultancy 180 Degrees Consulting Munich e.V..
Florian Fincke is co-founder and CTO of Pina Earth and is responsible for the development of scalable software for the quantification and certification of forest carbon offset projects. Before founding Pina Earth, he was Lead Frontend Developer at Alasco and worked in other early-stage startups. He holds a Masters in Human-Computer Interaction, a B.Sc. in Human-Machine Interaction and an Honors Degree in Technology Management from the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM).
Jodok Batlogg is co-founder and CEO of Tree.ly and brings extensive experience in technology and entrepreneurship to the climate sector. Prior to founding Tree.ly in 2021, he founded and led Crate.io, a data infrastructure company, and was previously CTO at StudiVZ and Sevenload. After exiting Crate.io, he dedicated himself to climate protection and founded Tree.ly to unlock the ecological and economic value of forests. His experience in building distributed tech teams and scalable platforms today supports the development of digital infrastructure for forest climate projects across Europe.
ChristianLutz is co-founder and CCO of Tree.ly. He has extensive experience in building and scaling five successful tech companies, including Crate.io (distributed databases), Impossible (revival of the Polaroid brand) and UCP (a pioneer of mobile internet in Europe). Christian has led over 20 venture capital rounds and successfully built several companies to exit. He has also been a member of the board of the TGW Future Foundation for over 15 years.
Dr. Gesa Biermann is co-founder and CEO of the ClimateTech start-up Pina Earth. Pina Earth enables forest owners to finance forest conversion and thus create climate-resilient forests throughout Germany. Before founding the company, Gesa completed her doctorate in sustainability at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, was part of the management team at the Center of Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) and founded a non-profit consultancy for social enterprises (180 Degrees Consulting Munich e.V.).
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