Big eclipse energy

Hi there,

Hope you all have grand eclipse-watching plans for tomorrow. How audacious of the little moon to endeavor to blot out the entire sun. Good reminder that you can do things that feeler bigger than you.

As always, lots of vital climate tech news this week, ranging from $20B for green banks to more notes on Chinese battery and energy dominance. Before we get into that, in last week’s poll, which asked how many researchers battery giant CATL has on staff, a plurality of you answered 1,000 to 5,000. The right answer was 10,000+ (18,000). Congrats to the 7 of you that got that right.

In today’s email:

• One story in a chart and a sentence

• Climate tech and energy headlines from the week

• Climate tech fundraising announcements

CAMP WITH US

The un-conference for the coolest folks in Climate Tech

We’ve been sharing our first flagship event, Camp Keep Cool. ‘Camp’ is a highly vetted retreat for climate and energy entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and operators taking place in the heart of the Rocky Mountain Wilderness. Starting and operating a company is lonely. You have to make difficult decisions with imperfect information on problems you’ve likely never faced before. We’re hosting Camp because we know the best way to overcome these challenges is to learn from the wins and mistakes of others, and to surround yourself with those who’ve been there, done that.

Whether you’re in the thick of it in decarbonization or you’re a biodiversity founder, finding and connecting with your people is tough. But when you do, it’s life changing. And that's what Camp is for.

We’ve enjoyed an overwhelming response (thank you!) so far and we’re stoked on those of you planning to attend. If you want in to, make sure to apply soon.

Want to sponsor Keep Cool? Click here.

THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE TECH & ENERGY

One story in a sentence (and a chart)

• This chart from the Volta Foundation’s latest report illustrates Chinese dominance in battery cell manufacturing, with CATL and BYD claiming more than 50% market share combined. Link.

12 headlines

• Chinese PV manufacturer Jinko Solar broke ground on a 56 GW solar panel factory in Shanxi, China, with a $7.8B investment. For scale context, at full capacity, that's more manufacturing capacity for solar PVs than the U.S. installed in 2023. Link. Link.

• Another big week for the Biden Administration: This time, the EPA awarded $20B in grants to eight nonprofits to help create a network of national green banks that will finance clean energy projects and climate solutions for countless communities (especially low-income ones). Link. Link.

• Terraform Industries noted it can make synthetic methane by pulling carbon out of air and green hydrogen via electrolysis at a cost of $2.50 per kilogram of H2 and $250 per ton of CO2. If replicable and scalable, these represent breakthrough prices for both H2 and DAC. Link.

• Scientists in South Korea at the KSTAR Research Center sustained a nuclear fusion reaction at 100M°C for 48 seconds in a Tokamak, a new record. Link.

• Tesla deliveries fell short of consensus estimates; the biggest delivery miss sent shares lower on Tuesday and raises questions about whether Tesla is losing market share. That said, battery energy storage sales continue to be a bright spot for Tesla. Globally, EV sales now represent more than 5% of all car sales in 31 countries. Link. Link. Link. Link.

• The Department of the Interior approved New England Wind, a 2.6 GW offshore wind project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. More than 10 GW of offshore wind are now approved in the U.S. Link.

• The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced $392M awards to 130 projects across the country to patch pipeline leaks and reduce methane emissions. The projects will aim to repair or replace ~500 miles of pipeline across 26 states. Link.

• U.S. Steel signed a 20-year agreement with CarbonFree to build capture carbon dioxide infrastructure on the largest integrated steel mill in the country. The project will cost $150M and will feature capacity to capture 50,000 tons of CO2 from the plant annually. This is the first carbon capture project at a commercial American steel plant. All that said, it's also only roughly 1% of the steel plant's emissions, making some analysts call the move "deeply unserious." Link. Link.

• The SEC has paused the roll-out of its new emissions disclosure rules amidst as a slew of litigation. Link.

• Climate feedback loops: India anticipates a dramatically hot summer will increase demand for coal to power air conditioning. Link.

• Scientists took some first swings at marine cloud brightening geoengineering experiments outside San Francisco this week. Link.

• Qatar continues to double and triple down on LNG, signing new deals for 19 LNG carriers this week. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration isn't backing down on its moratorium on signing off on new LNG export infrastructure. Link. Link.

• Oil prices are on the higher side amidst Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions. While high oil prices may be a boon for EVs and renewables, they're also quite restrictive on the broader macroeconomic environment and underscore continued demand for oil globally. Link. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds

🔌 EV Realty, based out of San Francisco, will form a JV with Greenpoint Partners, a private equity firm, to develop EV chargers commercial vehicles. GreenPoint is investing a majority of the $200M both companies will put into the endeavor. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

Medium-sized funding rounds

🔋 Alsym Energy, based out of Woburn, MA, raised $78M in Series C funding to make non-flammable batteries with a water-based electrolyte. Tata and General Catalyst led. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

🔋 Torus, based out of Lehi, UT, raised $67M in equity and debt to make energy storage and energy management devices. Origin Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

⬇️ Ion Clean Energy, based out of Boulder, CO, raised $45M in Series A funding for its carbon capture technology. Chevron New Energies led. More here. (U.S., Industry)

🥚 Onego Bio, based out of Helsinki, Finland, raised $40M in Series A funding to make animal-free egg protein. NordicNinja led. More here. (Finland, Food & Agriculture)

🔋 Exoes, based out of Gradignan, France, raised ~$37.8M in equity funding to make battery cooling technology. BpiFrance and Meridiam Green Impact Growth Fund invested. More here. (France, Industry)

🔥 BurnBot, based out of San Francisco, raised $20M in Series A funding for its mechanized fuel treatment and wildfire prevention technologies. ReGen Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Adaptation)

🌱 BioConsortia, based out of Davis, CA, raised $15M in equity financing for its microbial products designed to improve crop yields without negative environmental impacts. Otter Capital led. More here. (U.S., Food & Agriculture)

⛽ Raven SR, based out of Pinedale, WY, raised $15m in equity funding for its fuel cell and renewable transportation fuels development business. Ascent Funds led. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

📊 Iceberg Data Lab, based out of Paris, raised ~$10M in Series A funding for its environmental data startup designed to serve financial institutions. Beringea led. More here. (France, Data Applications)

🔬 NobleAI, based out of San Francisco, raised $10M in extended Series A funding to use AI to accelerate novel chemical and material development. Sway Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Materials)

Smaller funding rounds

♨️ Polar Night Energy, based out of Tampere, Finland, raised ~$8.2M in seed funding for its thermal energy storage technologies. Jonathan Oppenheimer, Stephen Industries, Holdix, and others invested. More here. (Finland, Energy) 

🍎 Reduced, based out of Copenhagen, raised ~$6.5M in equity funding to use fermentation technology to turn food and agriculture waste streams into food ingredients. Novo Holdings and Einar Willumsen invested. More here. (Denmark, Food & Agriculture)

🧪 Ammobia, based out of San Francisco, raised $4.2M in seed funding to build a demonstration project to make green ammonia. Starlight Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Industry)

🌱 Orchard Robotics, based out of Seattle, raised $3.8M in seed funding for its precision farming startup. General Catalyst, Contrary, Humba Ventures, and others invested. More here. (U.S., Food & Agriculture)

🎨 Sparxell, based out of Cambridge, U.K., raised ~$3.2M in equity funding to make sustainable plant-based pigments. Circular Innovation Fund, L'Oréal, and others invested. More here. (U.K., Industry)

🥩 Innocent Meat, based out of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, raised ~$3.2M in equity funding for its cell-based protein startup. Venture Capital Fonds MV and another undisclosed investor invested. More here. (Germany, Food & Agriculture)

🔎 Ailytics, based out of Singapore, raised $2.7M in Pre-Series A funding for its heavy industry monitoring business. Tin Men Capital led. More here. (Singapore, Industry)

⏳ Alternō, based out of Singapore, raised $1.5M for its sand-based battery technology targeted at agricultural energy and heating needs. The Radical Fund and Touchstone Partners led. More here. (Singapore, Food & Agriculture)

🔩 Ironic Biotech, based out of Lund, Sweden, raised ~$1.1M in pre-seed funding to make plant-based proteins to help customers with anemia. Nordic Foodtech VC led. More here. (Sweden, Food & Agriculture)

🏗️ Alrik, based out of Stockholm, raised ~$1.1M in seed funding for its construction emissions reduction software. Pi Labs led. More here. (Sweden, Industry)

Other funding rounds

⛏️ MP Materials, based out of Las Vegas, NV, received $58.5M in funding via 48C tax credits to build America’s first rare earth magnet manufacturing facility. More here. (U.S., Industry)

⚡️ Ballard Power Systems, based out of Burnaby, Canada, raised $54M in 48C tax credits from the IRS to build a new fuel cell Gigafactory in Rockwall, TX. More here. (Canada, Industry)

⚡️ MN8 Energy, based out of New York City, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Ridgewood Infrastructure for its solar, storage, and EV charging development business. More here. (U.S., Energy)

New funds

💰 Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, based out of New York, raised $600M for its ‘Quinbrook Valley Fire Fund’ to invest in solar-plus-storage projects. More here. (U.S., Energy)

💰 Maniv, based out of Tel Aviv, Israel, raised $140M for an early-stage fund to invest in mobility and energy. More here. (Israel, Funds)

💸 Empirical Ventures, based out of Bristol, U.K., raised ~$10.4M for an early-stage ‘deep science’ fund to invest in advanced materials, automation, deeptech, and more. More here. (U.K., Funds)

OTHER COOL SH*T

The latest in dope climate docs from Pique Action: 

Can the world's most vulnerable communities become its greatest climate innovators? Reinventing Tomorrow highlights stories of innovators globally who are coming together to find solutions to our planet's most pressing challenges across food, water, and energy. From arid landscapes to food insecurity to communities harnessing the power of nature for water and energy, witness the spark of collaboration igniting a brighter future. Watch the trailer.

tschüss,

– Nick