Wildfires are a fast-growing global threatthreat. From 2025 Los Angeles mega fires to Europe’s
>1m ha burned, lives are lost, tens of thousands of homes and buildings are destroyed, and
billions in economic damage are incurred every year. At the same time, wildfires release
worldwide CO₂ emissions comparable to those of a major country, reinforcing the climate
crisis that also fueled and accelerated them in the first place.

At Tau20, we were excited to connect with CAURUS Technologies GmbH, a Munich-
based startup, developing a promising technology for ultra-efficient aerial firefighting.
Focused on digital analysis and smarter water dispersion in aerial operations, their
solution aims to increase water drop precision and efficiency, helping to contain fires much
better and faster. The key question quickly became: how can this technical potential be
translated into impact evidence that investors and public funders can rely on?

“The technology will not only save lives, property, and ecosystems, it will also massively reduce carbon emissions from wildfires.”

Resist.vc
Investor in Caurus Technologies

Confirming SDGs and impact potential

First, Tau20’s AI researched and pre-structured information on the company and we iterated with our expert and the founders to map CAURUS Technologies’ environmental benefits to SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land), with co-benefits in SDG 6 (Clean Water). Then we structured a “impact-logic of change”: better suppression → less burned area → avoided CO₂ + protected ecosystems + less water used per outcome.

Building on IRIS+ metrics to getting AI-enhanced metrics matching the product

Tau20 uses the well-established IRIS+ framework and additionally AI to add to the framework, thus offering a tight set of metrics which startups like CAURUS can actually report:

  • GHG emissions avoided (tCO₂e) (linked to burn area + emissions factors)
  • Water saved (liters) (efficiency vs. baseline aerial drops)
  • Forest/land area protected (hectares) (burn scar + counterfactual scenarios)

Based on scenarios CAURUS Technologies’ impact potential comes in a range between 2-5 million tons of CO₂ emissions avoided per year with life, property, and water saved while forest protected.

Curious to go deeper? Explore the Tau20 whitepaper together with CAURUS, which shows the suggested “Tau20 impact assessment framework”.

Getting IRX and impact management plan

Finally, Tau20 issued an Impact Readiness Index (IRX) result (Caurus: Seed), packaged with a draft metrics plan and evidence roadmap—usable for impact VC diligence and impact-supporting public funding applications.

Want the same clarity for your startup? Get your assessment and IRX at get.tau20.com.