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Radar · Environment in Kentucky

Best Environment Companies in Kentucky, United States

The 34 best Environment companies in Kentucky, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Charah Solutions.

34companies tracked
$298.1Mdisclosed funding
0unicorns
7have raised
FLIAR INTELLIGENCE · ENVIRONMENT × KENTUCKY

Our analysis of 90 Environment companies

$38.2b in tracked funding; 89% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.

90companies analysed
89%cloud-native stacks
2025funding peak (by rounds)
3unicorns
2015median founding year

Ranked: Best Environment companies in Kentucky

#CompanyDisclosed fundingLast roundStageFounderFoundedTech stackPatents & IP focusRecent signals
1Charah Solutions
Provider of environmental services and byproduct recycling to the power generation industry
$280M97 mo agoAcquired—1987WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+2917 patents
Synthetic gypsum fertilizer production and ash management technologies for agricultural applications
—
2CRS Reprocessing Services
Provider of fluid water management services
$12M202 mo agoAcquiredScott Massie
CEO
1981———
3Greenway Innovations
Provider of medical waste management services
$2M32 mo agoSeedAlison Connor
Co-Founder
2022———
4QRS Recycling
Provider of waste plastic recycling services
$2M133 mo agoAcquiredMatt Janson
Co-Founder
1974———
5Wind Energy Corporation
Manufacturer of wind energy turbines
$2M186 mo agoSeedJack Phillips
Founder and COO
2007———
6Rwra
Operator of water reclamation facilities providing sanitary sewer service information
$426K150 mo agoFunding Raised—1995TypeScriptBootstrapFullCalendar+13——
7Wasteology Group
Provider of customized waste and recycling program management
—11 mo agoLate Stage—2014NginxSendgridMicrosoft 365+5——
8Parallel Products
Provider of recycling solution for beverage companies
—20 mo agoFunding RaisedGene Kiesel
CEO
1987WordPressMySQLPHP+17——

Top 9 Environment companies in Kentucky

#1
Acquired · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1987 · 477 employees
$280Mraised
▾

Charah Solutions is a Louisville-based company that specializes in providing remediation and compliance services to the utility industry. The company offers expertise in ash pond management, structural fill projects, and landfill services. Charah Solutions is known for its sustainable solutions and superior service.

Funding rounds
  • Sep 2018Conventional Debt$280M
Investors
Cyprium, Bernhard Capital Partners
Tech stack
AkismetApple Icloud MailAppnexusBootstrapCloudflareCore-Js
#2
Seed · Florence, Kentucky · founded 2022
$2.2Mraised
▾

Provider of medical waste management services. It provides collection devices for regulated medical waste pickup. It also provides streamlined billing for medical waste pickup and disposal services.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 532 LinkedIn followers — 2.7% of this cohort's audience
Funding rounds
  • Feb 2024Seed$2.2M
Founders & team
Alison ConnorCo-FounderJoseph MayernikCEO
#3
Acquired · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1981 · 44 employees
$12Mraised
▾

Provider of fluid reprocessing management services for the semiconductor, industrial manufacturing, oil and gas service, and metal industries. The company specializes in converting industrial fluids into reusable products and offers on-site reprocessing, customized process engineering, tough ultrafiltration, distillation, dehydration and distillation, centrifuge and filter press solutions as well as lab analysis services, helping clients with their waste disposal needs to reduce the risk of material spillage or emission.

Funding rounds
  • Dec 2009Venture Debt$12M
Founders & team
Scott MassieCEO
Investors
Harvest Capital Credit Corporation, Argosy Capital, Turmeric Capital, Hudson Pacific Capital, Nassau Point
Tech stack
WordpressMysqlPhpOceanwpElementorYoast Seo
#4
Acquired · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1974 · 43 employees
$2Mraised
▾

Provider of waste management services intended to maximize recycling potential. The company utilizes latest techniques and technology of recycling offer complete recycling services by processing mixed, pre-picked containers into source separated whole bottle bales, clean plastic flake and pellets, thereby enabling customers to find domestic processing solutions for incidental tons generated and build by sustainable recycling programs keeping the resources out of the landfill or from being exported where the material ends up in the oceans.

Founders & team
Matt JansonCo-Founder
Investors
Closed Loop Partners
#5
Seed · Elizabethtown, Kentucky · founded 2007 · 64 employees
$1.5Mraised
▾

Manufacturer of wind energy turbines

Funding rounds
  • Apr 2011Seed$1.5M
Founders & team
Jack PhillipsFounder and COO
#6
Funding Raised · Owensboro, Kentucky · founded 1995 · 35 employees
$426Kraised
▾

Operator of water reclamation facilities providing sanitary sewer service information. The agency handles billing and rates, service area management, and construction and demolition permitting. It also manages pretreatment and industrial waste, downspout disconnection, and storm water information. The agency engages in contracting, bid awards, and handles concerns related to employment.

Funding rounds
  • Apr 2014Grant (prize money)$213K
  • Apr 2012Grant (prize money)$213K
Investors
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Tech stack
BootstrapCdnjsCloudflareFont AwesomeFullcalendarHsts
#7
Late Stage · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 2014 · 44 employees
—raised
▾

Provider of customized waste and recycling program management. This company offers personalized service, focusing on sustainability and ESG goal attainment. They assist clients in tracking environmental impact, building improved waste management systems, and providing data-driven insights. The programs are tailored to individual client needs, ensuring efficient and consistent service. They help clients develop strong sustainability platforms and achieve their environmental objectives.

Funding rounds
  • Nov 2025PE—
Investors
SkyKnight Capital
Tech stack
GodaddyHstsJqueryJquery CdnMicrosoft 365Nginx
#8
Funding Raised · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1987 · 133 employees
—raised
▾

Provider of recycling services and waste processing based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company offers secure destruction and ethanol recycling of unsaleable products and waste streams for the beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, health and beauty sectors.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 8k LinkedIn followers — 39.9% of this cohort's audience
Activity: 1 expansions announced in 12 mo
Funding rounds
  • Feb 2025Grant (prize money)—
  • 2003PE—
Founders & team
Gene KieselCEO
Investors
TCR, United States Department of Agriculture
Tech stack
AddthisAosApache Http ServerCivicthemeCloudflareCloudflare Bot Management
#9
Acquired · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1954 · 83 employees
—raised
▾

Provider of metal scarp recycling services

Investors
MidCap Business Credit

Funding & investor landscape

$298.1Mtotal disclosed funding
6companies funded
6disclosed rounds
0rounds last 90 days
Most active investors
Advantage Capital1 rounds
Argosy Capital1 rounds
Bernhard Capital Partners1 rounds
Closed Loop Partners1 rounds
Connecticut Innovations1 rounds
Cyprium1 rounds
Harvest Capital Credit Corporation1 rounds
Hudson Pacific Capital1 rounds
Imagine H2O1 rounds
Keyhorse Capital1 rounds

Notable founders

Alison Connor
Co-Founder · Greenway Innovations
Joseph Mayernik
CEO · Greenway Innovations
Scott Massie
CEO · CRS Reprocessing Services
Matt Janson
Co-Founder · QRS Recycling
Jack Phillips
Founder and COO · Wind Energy Corporation
Gene Kiesel
CEO · Parallel Products
Prism market signals · United States · country-scoped Prism corpus, 6,440,608 docs

Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage

Share of Environment coverage by sub-theme.

Regulatory-risk over time rising

Funding & growth over time

funding rising · growth rising

RESEARCH SIGNALS · United States

How research on Environmental Monitoring is moving in the United States

A read on the academic research around Environmental Monitoring — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 3,039 United States-affiliated papers.

research sentiment over time
200820172026
enthusiastic · positive · guarded tone
Tone is overwhelmingly optimistic and softening — the enthusiastic (strongly-positive) share moved 41% → 38% across 2008–2026.
top research entities
  • United States Geological Survey157
  • Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies112
  • Environmental Protection Agency84
  • National Research Council79
  • National Park Service76
leading researchers
Kelly, Vicky · Kelly, Victoria · Catalyst Cooperative · U.S. DOE EM · McIntyre, Cheryl · Stocker-Waldhuber, Martin · Seiser, Bernd · Hartl, Lea
▲ Breakthroughs481 · 16%
▲ 12%→18% share
▲1.5× share momentum0 median citations77% since 2021mostly methods-led
Breakthroughs are rising (12%→18% of field), led by Software deployment.
rising sub-themes (early→recent)
  • Software deployment2→31
  • Pollution3→27
  • Air quality index1→25
  • Water quality10→34
  • Air pollution3→25
Newly emergingScalability 0→21 · Biodiversity 0→18 · Climate change 0→14
Landmark Environmental sensor networks in ecological research · 165 cites
◆ Advancements804 · 26%
▼ 31%→24% share
▼0.8× share momentum0 median citations64% since 2021mostly methods-led
Advancements are cooling (31%→24% of field), led by Air quality index.
rising sub-themes (early→recent)
  • Air quality index14→60
  • Air pollution8→51
  • Pollutant4→32
  • Sampling (signal processing)14→42
  • Water quality23→48
Newly emergingKey (lock) 0→17 · Range (aeronautics) 0→10 · Microplastics 0→10
Landmark Tracking complex mixtures of chemicals in our changing environment · 716 cites
▼ Concerns626 · 21%
▼ 21%→20% share
▲1.0× share momentum0 median citations68% since 2021mostly empirical
Concerns are cooling (21%→20% of field), led by Human health.
rising sub-themes (early→recent)
  • Human health1→32
  • Pollution4→33
  • Air quality index6→31
  • Pollutant6→28
  • Biodiversity1→22
Newly emergingMicroplastics 0→19 · Agriculture 0→18 · Marine debris 0→14
Landmark Past, present, and future perspectives of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding: A systematic review in methods, monito · 1,184 cites
RESEARCH HOTSPOTS · United States

Where environmental monitoring is researched across United States

Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.

SF Bay Area80 · +0.27
Hot · Wireless sensor networkAdvancing · Environmental DNAOpportunity · Environmental pollutionConcern · Environmental planning
Boston61 · +0.43
Hot · Exposure assessmentAdvancing · Environmental dataOpportunity · Software deployment
New York54 · +0.35
Hot · BiodiversityAdvancing · HabitatOpportunity · Geospatial analysis
Seattle53 · +0.24
Hot · Air pollutionAdvancing · Environmental epidemiologyOpportunity · Citizen scienceConcern · Estuary
Los Angeles37 · +0.39
Hot · Wireless sensor networkAdvancing · Air monitoringOpportunity · GroundwaterConcern · Contamination
San Diego33 · +0.26
Hot · SustainabilityAdvancing · Citizen scienceOpportunity · ContaminationConcern · Environmental quality
Atlanta32 · +0.25
Hot · Human healthOpportunity · Ozone
Ann Arbor22 · +0.24
Advancing · WorkflowOpportunity · Water quality
Pittsburgh19 · +0.37
Hot · Software deploymentOpportunity · Embedded system
Philadelphia19 · +0.41
Hot · Air quality indexAdvancing · Software deploymentOpportunity · Climate change
PATENT SIGNAL · United States

Who's filing environmental monitoring patents in the United States

United States environmental monitoring patent filing is accelerating — 450 filings from 343 assignees (2016–2025), led by LEEO, Valencell, United Parcel Service; annual filings 47→49.

450 filings343 assigneespeak 60/yr2016–2025
filing momentum (YoY 2016–2025)
top patent filers
  • LEEO41
  • Valencell25
  • United Parcel Service21
  • Honeywell INT20
  • Apple18
  • Venturedyne18
  • Pillar TECH17
  • IND Scient16

Common questions

How many Environment companies are there in Kentucky, United States?
Radar tracks 34 indexable Environment companies headquartered in Kentucky, United States that meet our profile-completeness bar.
What is the total funding raised by Environment companies in Kentucky, United States?
The Environment companies in Kentucky, United States on this list have raised a combined $298.1M in disclosed equity funding across 6 funded companies.
Which is the highest-funded Environment company in Kentucky, United States?
Charah Solutions is the highest-funded Environment company in Kentucky, United States, with $280M in disclosed equity funding.
How many Environment companies in Kentucky, United States are funded?
6 of the 34 Environment companies in Kentucky, United States on this list have disclosed at least one equity funding round.
How many Environment unicorns are there in Kentucky, United States?
None of the Environment companies in Kentucky, United States on this list currently has a disclosed valuation of $1B or more.
Who are the top investors in Kentucky, United States Environment companies?
The most active investors in Kentucky, United States Environment companies on this list include Advantage Capital, Argosy Capital, Bernhard Capital Partners, Closed Loop Partners, Connecticut Innovations.
Rohit KhannaTrends & Stories

Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.

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