'Camp' with us

KEEPING COOL WITH

Hi there,

Thanks to all who came out to Brooklyn yesterday for the first edition of our climate tech run club. We had a ton of fun and hope you did too. See y’all at the next one, whether you made this one or not.

If you missed it, don't fret, we have big ambitions for Keep Cool gatherings on the horizon. Meet Camp Keep Cool, a flagship event we're planning for this September in the Rocky Mountains outside Aspen, Colorado. Our vision for 'Camp' is a 3 day retreat for our favorite climate and energy entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and operators in the KC community. 

We want to build 'Camp' because we're confident the best way to overcome a whole host of climate and business-building challenges — ranging from under-discussed environmental challenges to the operations grind and straight-up loneliness — is to learn from and surround yourself with others who are working through the same. Whether you’re in the thick of decarbonization or you’re a biodiversity founder, finding and meaningfully connecting with your people isn't always easy. But when you do, it’s life changing. That's what Camp is for.

If this sounds cool - let us know and drop us a line. We'd love to build this with and for you, so we need to know if you’re interested and want your input! Respond to this email, check out our landing page, or apply to join today. 

In today’s email:

• One story in a chart and a sentence

• Climate tech and energy headlines from the week

• Climate tech fundraising announcements

SPONSORED BY ADAPT UNBOUND

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Want to sponsor Keep Cool? Click here.

THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE TECH & ENERGY

One story in a sentence (and a chart)

• Here’s one on the agriculture and water beat: Growing alfalfa and hay, used predominantly for cows, draws almost twice as much water from the Colorado River than cities and towns as well as C&I applications do. Link.

17 headlines

• As we covered on Thursday, the DOE opened up $6B in funding for more than thirty industrial and manufacturing decarbonization projects nationwide, spanning sectors from cement and steel to glass, aluminum, chemical manufacturing, thermal energy storage, steam, and more. Industrial processes account for a quarter to a third of all U.S. emissions, and lots of 'shots on goal' are needed to accelerate both domestic and global industrial decarbonization. Independently, Electra, based out of Boulder, CO, also announced it plans to build a pilot plant to manufacture low-carbon iron. Link. Link. Link. Link.

• Germany also unveiled supportive funding for its steel, cement, and other heavier industrial sectors to transition to lower-carbon technologies and techniques. The funding comes in the form of "climate protection contracts" designed to protect domestic manufacturers and industrial producers against international price competition as they explore novel lower-carbon approaches. Up to ~$54B could be made available to Germany's industrial and manufacturing sector long-term. Link.

• More in global industrial decarbonization: A massive green hydrogen plant in Xinjiang, operated by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., was noted to have upped its utilization rate to 50%. Previously, it faced difficulties with utilization. At full scale, the plant can produce 20,000 tons of green hydrogen annually. It's an important bellwether for the scale-up of green H2 in general. Link.

• One step closer to back online: The DOE's Loan Programs Office announced $1.5B in conditional loan guarantees for Holtec to reopen the 800 MW Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Link.

• The DOE also announced $4B in tax credits for 100+ projects across 35 states to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing via 48C tax credits while the OCED issued a $50M award from DAC Hubs funding to Project Cypress, a direct air capture project in Louisiana that, once fully operational, aims to capture 1M tons of CO2 per year. Link. Link.

• The shipping industry may be the first to institute a global carbon tax. The International Maritime Organization moved towards instituting a tax by 2027 in discussions this week, though the shape and format of the tax is tbd. Link.

• Walmart announced this week that it's amplifying clean energy procurement efforts and expects to add 1 GW of new renewable and community solar projects across the U.S. to its portfolio. Link.

• AESC, a battery manufacturer that partners with BMW, is investing another $1.5B to expand an EV battery factory that it's building in South Carolina. AESC initially announced the Florence County factory in late 2022 and has upped its investment in the plant twice, now having committed more than $3B to the plant. Link.

• Greenlane, a commercial EV charging company, announced plans to build a 280-mile "EV corridor" for commercial EV trucks between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Link.

• We’ve seen reports this year that methane emissions from coal mining and oil and gas are higher than previously reported. Now, there’s reporting that methane emissions from U.S. landfills are up to 40% higher than previously thought, too. Link.

• The world wastes the equivalent of 1B meals daily, the predominance of which actually comes from households. Link.

• Legislators in New York are trying to get The NY HEAT Act passed before the end of the quarter. The legislation would reverse a requirement that utilities always offer new gas hookups to customers who ask for them and live within 100 feet of existing gas infrastructure. Link. Link.

• Fisker, the EV manufacturer, will likely declare bankruptcy after rescue financing efforts failed and the stock got delisted from public markets. Lucid is fairing somewhat better, as it secured another $1B from a majority investor. Link. Link.

• Ørsted received approval from the Department of the Interior for a 924 MW offshore wind farm on Long Island's coast. That's a spot of good news for the offshore wind industry, which has had a rough couple years. Link. Link.

• Permitting and siting continue to dog low-carbon energy infrastructure deployment in the U.S., as a federal judge temporarily blocked a land swap developers need to build a $650M high-voltage transmission line in the northern Midwest. Three environmental groups brought the challenge to the project, which is nearly complete. Link.

• Georgia Power plans to onboard more natural gas plants to reduce customer rates and meet demand growth forecasts. If many utilities lock in more long-lived fossil-fired infrastructure in coming years, it will significantly complicate deeper energy transition scenarios. Link.

• Indian state-run coal miner Coal India supplied 5% more coal to Indian power plants in its most recent fiscal year than it did previously, underscoring continued coal demand growth in Asia. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the last coal power plants in New England are now slated to close. Link. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds

🔌 Lucid Motors, based out of Newark, CA, raised another $1B from Ayar Third Investment for its electric vehicle manufacturing business. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

🔋 Lightshift Energy, based out of Arlington, VA, raised $100 million in growth equity from Greenbacker Renewable Energy and Greenbacker Development Opportunities Fund for its utility-scale battery energy storage development business. More here. (U.S., Energy)

Medium-sized funding rounds

🥩 Profluent, based out of Berkeley, CA, raised $35M in equity funding for its protein design startup. Spark Capital led. More here. (U.S., Food & Agriculture)

⚡️💦 EvolOH, based out of Santa Clara, CA, raised $20M in Series A funding for its electrolyzer manufacturing business. Engine Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Industry)

📊 Gather AI, based out of Pittsburgh, raised $17M for its AI and drone-based warehouse monitoring systems. Bain Capital Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Data Applications)

🚌 Ember, based out of Edinburgh, raised ~$13.9M in Series A funding to offer electric bus intercity routes in the U.K. Inven Capital, 2150, and AENU led. More here. (Scotland, Transportation)

♨️ Watttron, based out of Freital, Germany, raised ~$13M in Series B funding to design digital heating systems for the packaging industry. The Circular Innovation Fund led. More here. (Germany, Industry)

🖥️ Oriole Networks, based out of London, raised ~$12.5M in seed funding to manage efficiency and reduce data center energy demand. UCL Technology Fund led. More here. (U.K., Industry)

💦 WASE, based out of Bristol, U.K., raised ~$10.7M across both equity and non-dilutive funding to make biogas from wastewater via waste-to-energy conversion. Extantia Capital led. More here. (U.K., Energy)

🧱 CemVision, based out of Nybro, Sweden, raised $10.8M in seed funding to make lower-carbon cement using recycled industrial waste from the steel and mining industries. Polar Structure, BackingMinds, and Zacua Ventures led. More here. (Sweden, Industry)

♻️ Circular.co, based out of San Francisco, raised $10.5M in equity funding for its recycled material marketplace. Maniv, Oxygea, and Eclipse invested. More here. (U.S., Materials)

🚚 Iron Sheepdog, based out of Williamsburg, VA, raised $10M in Series B funding for its short-haul trucking optimization software. SJF Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

💸 Oka, based out of Park City, UT, raised $10m for its carbon market insurance solutions. Aquiline Capital Partners led. More here. (U.S., Carbon Markets)

Smaller funding rounds

♨️ Evari, based out of Peterborough, NH, raised $7.5M in seed funding to make efficient heat pump compressors. Clean Energy Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Built Environment)

🌱 Arevo AB, based out of Umeå, Sweden, raised ~$7.1M in equity funding from Industrifonden and existing investors for its biotech platform focused on plant growth and mitigating nitrogen waste from fertilizer overapplication. More here. (Sweden, Food & Agriculture)

📦 Bambrew, based out of Bengaluru, India, raised ~$7M in a mix of debt and Series A funding for its sustainable packaging solutions. Blume Ventures led. More here. (India, Materials)

✈️ Terragia Biofuel, based out of Hanover, NH, raised $6M in seed funding to make ethanol for SAF from waste biomass. Engine Ventures and Energy Impact Partners led. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

🔌 Pelikan Mobility, based out of Paris, raised ~$4.3M in seed funding to help commercial customers lease and manage EV fleets. Pale Blue Dot, Frst, and Seedcamp invested. More here. (France, Transportation)

🔋 Ionobell, based out of San Francisco, raised $3.9M in extended seed funding for its silicon battery technologies. Dynamo Ventures and Trucks VC led. More here. (U.S., Industry)

🔥 umagrauemeio, based out of umagrauemeio, Brazil, raised $3.7M in venture funding to build software and data solutions to mitigate forest fires. Indicator Capital, Baraúna Investimentos, and others invested. More here. (Brazil, Adaptation)

🚂 SP Tech Solutions, based out of Toruń, Poland, raised ~$3.2M in equity funding for its software for rail transportation optimization. The Vinci HiTech fund led. More here. (Poland, Transportation)

🔌 Amber, based out of San Francisco, raised $3.2M in seed funding to offer extended warranty plans for EVs. Era and Primer Sazze co-led. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

🫒 Clean Food Group, based out of London, raised ~$3.2M in equity funding to develop sustainable oil and fat alternatives. Clean Growth Fund led. More here. (U.K., Food & Agriculture)

⚛️ MiRESSO, based out of Misawa City, Japan, raised ~$1.6M for its nuclear fusion startup focused on securing necessary minerals for fusion companies. Genesia Ventures led. More here. (Japan, Energy)

🐄 Agteria Biotech, based out of Stockholm, raised ~$1.5M in pre-seed funding for its enzyme-blocking molecule designed to reduce livestock methane emissions. Norrsken Launcher led. More here. (Sweden, Food & Agriculture)

⚛️ LIS Technologies, based out of New York City, raised $1.3M in seed funding to develop lasers for uranium enrichment. More here. (U.S, Energy)

📊 Ascend Analytics, based out of Boulder, CO, raised an undisclosed amount of money for its energy transition analytics platform. Rubicon Technology Partners led. More here. (U.S., Data Applications)

Other funding rounds

⬇️ Oilfield giant Schlumberger, based out of Houston, will pay ~$382M to buy 80% of Aker Carbon Capture, based out of Norway, ‘s carbon capture business. More here. (Norway, Carbon Management)

🥩 Aloha, based out of Littleton, CO, raised $68M from Semcap for its plant-based protein production business. Semcap will take a minority stake in the business. More here. (U.S., Food & Agriculture)

🚁 TCab Tech, based out of Shanghai, raised $20M from an undisclosed Middle Eastern investor to manufacture eVTOL air taxis. More here. (China, Transportation)

New funds

💵 The Oman Investment Authority, based out of Muscat, Oman, launched a new $5.2B ‘Future Fund Oman,’ with which it will invest in large-scale projects in Oman across manufacturing, green energy, agriculture, and more. More here. (Oman, Funds)

💸 Orano, a nuclear fuel producer based out of Châtillon, France, will commit ~$54M to a corporate venture vehicle to invest in early-stage industrial startups. More here. (France, Funds)

PARTING BRAIN TEASER

Have a great week ahead,

– Nick