Coal hog

Hey there,

Hope you’re having a great weekend. I enjoyed a 3 hour marathon set by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard last night, complete with many songs about the spectre of ecological devastation. I recommend em’ if you’re unfamiliar.

In today’s email:

• One story in a chart and a sentence

• Climate tech and energy headlines from the week

• Climate tech fundraising announcements

THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE TECH & ENERGY

One story in a sentence (and a chart)

• India now consumes more coal than Europe and North America combined, underscoring how some energy transition dynamics are becoming increasingly centralized geographically (h/t Nat Bullard) Link.

15 headlines

The good

• South Korea recycles 98% of its food waste, up from 2% twenty ago and impressive compared to the U.S., where 60% or so of food waste goes unrecycled. Food waste is a significant driver of methane emissions in landfills and wastewater treatment. Link.

• Chinese utility State Grid finished construction on a 3.6 GW / 40 GWh pumped hydro project, the largest such plant in the world. It cost roughly $2.6 billion. Link.

• Natron Energy announced it will invest $1.4 billion to build a sodium-ion battery factory in North Carolina. Link.

• AES Indiana, a subsidiary of the utility AES Corporation, announced it will invest $1.1 billion to undertake a coal-to-gas conversion on two units of its Petersburg Generating Station and to build more renewable projects in Pike County, Indiana. Link.

• Ebon Solar announced plans to invest close to $1 billion to build a solar cell manufacturing facility in New Mexico. Link.

• Ukraine approved a new $20 billion package to build out renewable energy both for energy security and decarbonization purposes. Russia has often targeted centralized energy assets in Ukraine; distributed renewable energy is harder to take offline in one fell swoop. Link.

• The DOE rolled out $775 million in funding to help plug old oil wells, which continue to leak methane even when no longer in operation. This is a critical area for government funding as there aren’t many private sector or regulatory functions to incentivize this work. Link.

• SpaceX launched its own satellite to track methane emissions, adding to a growing constellation of satellites from both the public and private sectors that aim to do the same. SpaceX’s new satellite can pinpoint methane sources to within 50 meters and will publish its data later this year. Link.

• The U.S.’s largest direct air capture facility opened in northern Oklahoma this week. Developed by Heimdal, the “Bantam” project has the capacity to remove 5,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. Link.

The inbetweens

• The European Commission approved a €700 million initiative from the Dutch government to compensate farmers who voluntarily shut down livestock farming operations to help the Netherlands meet decarbonization targets. While certainly a viable strategy to reduce emissions, whether reducing food production, in general, is the best path to achieve that will undoubtedly split opinions depending on whom you ask. Link.

The bad

• The FT found that some 40% of clean energy manufacturing projects announced domestically since the Inflation Reduction Act passed are delayed. Link

• The U.S. got its first all-electric commuter trains, which CalTrain in California unveiled and will operate. While that’s good news, whereas almost all trains in India are electric and most in China are, these are the first fully electric trains on a major transit corridor in the U.S. Link.

• Energy interdependence catch 22: Amidst their war against one another, if nothing else, Russia and Ukraine make sure natural gas keeps flowing. Link.

• Ørsted canceled its flagship e-methanol project, the FlagshipONE, which was supposed to become one of the largest such projects in the world, citing failure to find offtakers for its methanol production. Ørsted also booked a new $575 million impairment charge for Q2 on construction delays at offshore U.S. projects. Link. Link.

• Germany issued arrest warrants for Ukrainian nationals believed to be behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline two years ago. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds

🔨 Re:Build Manufacturing, based out of Cambridge, MA, raised $120 million in equity funding for its domestic industrial manufacturing business that combines traditional manufacturing methods with more automation, digitization, and 3D printing. General Catalyst led. More here (paywall). (U.S., Industry)

Medium-sized funding rounds

🖥️ Guidewheel, based out of San Pedro Garza García, Mexico, raised $31 million in Series B funding to develop AI-powered software to improve efficiency in industrial and factory environments. Decarbonization Partners led. More here. (Mexico, Industry)

⚡ Flower, based out of Stockholm, Sweden, raised ~$27.5 million in Series A funding for its grid management software. Northzone partner PJ Pärson led. More here. (Sweden, Energy)

⚛️ Aalo Atomics, based out of Austin, TX, raised $27 million in Series A funding to “make nuclear reactor deployment highly predictable and economical” with modular microreactors. 50Y and Valor Equity Partners led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

🪟 Miru Smart Technologies, based out of Vancouver, raised $20 million in Series A funding for its electrochromic window technology that helps enhance energy efficiency. BDC Capital and Angelo Paletta of TNG Capital Corp. co-led. More here. (Canada, Built Environment / Transportation)

🔎 ITpipes, based out of Seattle, raised $20 million in equity funding led by Trilogy Search Partners and Miramar Equity Partners for its pipeline inspection software. More here. (U.S., Infrastructure)

🔎 CruxOCM, based out of Calgary, raised $17 million in Series A funding to make automation and optimization software for control room operations across industries like energy, utilities, and more. M12 led. More here. (Canada, Energy / Industry)

🚂 Intramotev, based out of St. Louis, MO, raised $14 million in Series A funding for its battery-powered autonomous railcars. Flybridge Capital Partners and Alpaca VC led. More here (paywall). (U.S., Transportation)

🔌 Gaussion, based out of London, raised ~$12 million in Series A funding to make EV fast-charging technology. Autotech Ventures led. More here. (U.K., Transportation)

⬇️ Promethean Particles, based out of Nottingham, U.K., raised ~$10.3 million in Series A funding to make advanced nanomaterials for carbon capture and storage. Mercia Ventures and Aramco Ventures co-led. More here. (U.K., Materials)

♻️ Ambercycle, based out of Los Angeles, raised $10 million in equity funding from Shinkong Synthetic Fibers for its material recycling technologies. More here. (U.S., Materials)

🥩 Ever After Foods, based out of Haifa, Israel, raised $10 million in equity funding from Pluri Inc. to further scale its cultivated meat technologies. More here. (Israel, Food & Agriculture)

Smaller funding rounds

🪵 InventWood, based out of Frederick, MD, raised $8 million in equity funding to make advanced wood-based materials to serve as more sustainable building materials. Grantham Foundation, Builders Vision, and Echelon invested. More here. (U.S., Built Environment)

🔌 Kazam, based out of Bengaluru, India, raised $8 million in Series A3 funding to expand its EV charging business into new markets in Southeast Asia. Avaana Capital and Alteria Capital invested. More here. (India, Transportation)

🚢 DRIFT Energy, based out of Hertford, U.K., raised ~$6.5 million in equity funding from Octopus Ventures and Blue Action Accelerator for its ships that make and transport green hydrogen while in transit. More here. (U.K., Energy / Transportation)

🐄 Collo, based out of Tampere, Finland, raised ~$5.5 million in equity funding for its advanced process control sensors that help optimize industrial liquid processes, which has implications for dairy decarbonization. SEB Greentech Venture Capital and Forward.one led. More here. (Finland, Food & Agriculture)

📊 Clearly, based out of London, raised $4.3 million in seed funding to make EV fleet management software. Pace Ventures and Nine Realms co-led. More here. (U.K., Transportation)

🥩 Adamo Foods, based out of London, raised $2.5 million in seed funding to make alternative steak from fungi. UK Innovation Science and Seed Fund led. More here. (U.K., Food & Agriculture)

🔎 Hedera-22, based out of Liege, Belgium, raised ~$2.2 million in equity funding for its biomolecule for bio-pesticide development platform. More here. (Belgium, Food & Agriculture)

🤖 EyeRov, based out of Kochi, India, raised ~$1.2 million in pre-Series A funding for its underwater robotics technologies. Unicorn India Ventures led. More here. (India, Infrastructure)

✈️ JetZero, based out of Long Beach, CA, raised an undisclosed amount of equity funding from Alaska Airlines to make a more efficient blended-wing aircraft. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

🖥️ Rowan Digital Infrastructure, based out of Denver, raised an undisclosed amount of equity funding from Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and University Pension Plan Ontario for its sustainable data center development business. More here. (U.S., Infrastructure)

⬇️ CarbonQuest, based out of Spokane, WA, raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Riverbend Energy to make modular DAC technology. More here. (U.S., Carbon Removal)

⛽️ DeCarice, based out of Sydney, Australia, raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from Investible’s Climate Tech Fund for its hydrogen injection and engine technology designed for use alongside diesel-fired heavy-duty transport and industrial machinery. More here. (Australia, Transportation / Industry)

Other financing rounds

🔋 Atlas Renewable Energy, based out of Miami, raised $289 million in debt financing to build one of Latin America’s largest energy storage projects in Chile. More here. (Chile, Energy)

🔌 Powerdot, based out of Lisbon, Portugal, raised ~$181.5 million in debt financing for its EV charging network. More here. (Portugal, Transportation) 

🔌 Voltera, based out of Waterloo, Canada, raised $100 million in debt financing to expand its EV charging network. More here. (Canada, Transportation)

☕ Phuc Sinh Corp, a Vietnamese coffee and pepper producer, raised up to $25 million in debt funding from the &Green Fund to make sure its entire supply chain is deforestation-free. More here. (Vietnam, Food & Agriculture)

New funds

💰  Mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto committed ~$52.7 million to a new Australian carbon credit fund managed by Silva Capital—itself a joint venture between Roc Partners and C6 Investment Management— that will invest in land reforestation. More here. (Australia, Carbon Removal)

Bye,

– Nick