Dire wolves for dire times

Hi,

Twas’ another week. I skipped sending on Thursday because, well, I didn’t feel entirely up to it.

Consistency, above all, has long been a drumbeat of content publishing, athletics, or whatever other craft or the benefits of consistency might call to mind for you. There’s a lot of value to consistency, whether in honing one’s craft, building trust with an audience, creating guardrails for oneself, what have you. But, particularly in a media environment that is, at a minimum, by my estimation, predominantly not in service of your best interest and what’s most worthy of your precious time and attention (to say nothing of how little ‘big media’ has learned in the past decade about how Trump’s day-to-day histrionics are a strategy, to which their breathless coverage of which lends more power), as far as the evolution of these pages is concerned, I increasingly reserve the right to take a break whenever I please. Don’t worry, you’ll still hear from me plenty.

Let that suffice on that front for now; here’s the stuff I did pay attention to in climate and energy tech policy, fundraising, and more this week.

ONE STORY IN A SENTENCE AND A CHART

• Apropos all the tariff tantrums of late, it’s worth noting (and simply knowing) that domestic U.S. manufacturing output (inflation-adjusted) is not far off from all-time highs as is… Link.

LEAD STORY: WALKING THE WALK

In my last (long) opinion piece, I spent a good amount of time expounding on the importance of “knowing when to fold em.’”

The best-laid plans of mice and men, as they say. So, having seen firsthand how destructive it can be when founders cling to long-foundering dreams (or delusions), I wanted to call out and applaud what the team at Bedrock Materials did this week.

In short, Bedrock Materials, a sodium-ion battery startup, announced it will shut down and return a good portion of its $9 million seed funding to investors. Bedrock CEO Spencer Gore cited ever-cheaper prices for lithium-ion batteries, as well as Chinese domination of battery supply chains and Chinese companies’ leads in sodium-ion, as material factors that weakened what Bedrock originally saw as a strong space to compete in. Link.

As noted by Gore in a Heatmap News piece with respect to hopes for a domestic U.S. sodium-ion supply chain:

This is walking the walk, folks. There is no shame in admitting when the world around you has changed in highly material ways you couldn’t predict, or that your original vision no longer pencils, and that you perhaps have neither the desire nor a credible vision for how to iteratively pivot your business, even if there’s still money in the coffers. It’s OK to change your mind. To take a break. And start over later. More than OK! I, for one, while empathizing with the team and employees deeply and, of course, still hoping the U.S. can build a sodium-ion battery supply chain, think the team’s courage and leadership here is fucking cool.

MORE STORIES ACROSS CLIMATE AND ENERGY TECH

THE GOOD

• U.S. EV sales increased more than 10% year over year in Q1 2025, with nearly 300,000 new EVs sold despite market challenges. EVs now represent 7.5% of total new-vehicle sales, up from 7% a year earlier. GM saw meaningful market share gains, while Tesla sales slipped. Mind you, overall, that’s meaningful EV growth in the face of countless headwinds. Link.

• Lower-emission generation sources accounted for 41% of global electricity generation in 2024, up from 39.4% in 2023, according to Ember's Global Electricity Review. Renewables added a record 858 terawatt hours, nearly 50% more than 2022 additions. Link.

• Lithium Americas and General Motors approved the final investment decision for Phase 1 of the Thacker Pass lithium project. The project is presently fully funded by a $250M investment from Orion Resource Partners and a $2.26B DOE loan. The project is targeting completion by late 2027 to strengthen the domestic lithium supply chain. Link.

• The Nature Conservancy and Willis launched a first-of-its-kind wildfire resilience insurance solution for the Tahoe Donner Association that aims to extend coverage in wildfire-prone areas by integrating more sophisticated actuarial accounting for proactive wildfire risk mitigation work. At present, the policy touts a 39% lower premium and a 89% lower deductible than comparable policies. If successful, it could offer a new model for more resilient insurance and efforts to incentivize wildfire prevention efforts. Link.

• Colossal Biosciences has successfully created three wolf pups with traits of extinct dire wolves by editing 20 genes of gray wolves. While not a complete resurrection, this represents a significant step in de-extinction technology with potential applications for conserving endangered species like the red wolf. Longer-term, some of the company’s ambitions have clear links to climate efforts, such as ‘resurrecting’ Wooly Mammoths, whose reintroduction to Arctic environments and tundra landscapes could slow natural methane releases from thawing permafrost. Link.

• Countries at the U.N. shipping agency struck a deal on a global fuel emissions standard that will impose fees on non-compliant ships while rewarding vessels with lower emissions. Starting in 2028, ships will be charged $380 per metric ton of excess CO₂ plus $100 per ton above stricter limits, potentially generating $40 billion in fees by 2030 to help fund cleaner fuels. The U.S. pulled out of the talks and threatened "reciprocal measures" against any fees charged on U.S. ships (lol). There aren’t too many forward-looking emissions pricing schemes out there, so if this comes to fruition, it’d be well worth the attention as a model for other industries to adopt (for another reference point, Denmark plans to price methane emissions from livestock starting in 2030). Link.

• Redwood Materials expects up to 50% growth in revenue and batteries recycled this year, according to CTO Colin Campbell. Despite policy and market headwinds, the battery recycling startup is seeing major demand and plans to start recycling batteries at its South Carolina facility in mid-2025. Link.

THE INBETWEENS

• Chinese auto giant BYD reported its first-quarter profit may more than double this year after vehicle sales topped 1 million. It expects its net income to jump between 86% and 119% to $1.2-$1.4 billion. The company recently unveiled an EV battery system that can charge in just five minutes as well. As I’ve been saying for months, I’m not sure there’s any stopping Chinese domination of all things EV, from mineral and metal processing to battery and automobile manufacturing (and even charging infrastructure). Good for the world and the environment? Probably. Good for the rest of the world’s auto manufacturing companies and supply chain. Probably not so much. Link.

• A Gallup survey shows 48% of Americans would consider buying an EV, down from 55% in 2023. That said, the totals here still exceed EVs' current share of the sales mix, with 40% "might" considering and 8% "seriously considering" an electric vehicle. Link.

• The British government is tempering its 2030 target to end the sale of new internal combustion engine cars. It will now allow hybrid sales through 2035 and is carving out exemptions for luxury supercar brands (of which the U.K. has several). Normally, I’d harp on the Brits here for green larping, but the response comes as a response to Trump's proposed 25% auto tariffs, so I’ll grant some grace in light of the global macroeconomic and supply chain uncertainty the last week has catalyzed and crystallized. Link.

THE BAD

• The Trump administration is considering closing the Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, according to Bloomberg. The OCED was created in 2021 to test and scale climate and energy technologies ranging from carbon capture, advanced nuclear, and long-duration storage to cleaner hydrogen. Link.

• Trump also signed executive orders aimed at "reinvigorating" the U.S. coal sector, including designating coal as a "critical mineral," identifying coal resources on federal lands, removing "barriers" to mining, and allowing coal plants scheduled for retirement to continue operating. The White House claims the move will help meet power demand from data centers, AI, and electric vehicles. The overwhelming, decadal shift away from coal and the drivers behind it - including renewable energy growth but really hinging on the surge of natural gas-fired power generation - suggest this is all pretty foolhardy (to say nothing of the environmental downsides to burning coal). Link.

• Wood Mackenzie's annual U.S. wind energy report finds that 2024 marked the worst year for new onshore wind capacity in the past decade (pre-Trump, mind you), with just 3.9 gigawatts installed in the U.S. Wood Mac also cut its five-year outlook for wind 40% from previous projections, now that Trump and all the ensuant "uncertainty" he and his administration have introduced factored in. Link.

• Microsoft announced it is "slowing or pausing" some of its data center construction, including a $1 billion project in Ohio. The tech giant had been executing "the largest and most ambitious infrastructure scaling project" in its history to meet demand for cloud and AI services. Gee, I sure wish someone had wondered whether all the AI / data center hype was overblown back in December… Link.

• Vistra is withdrawing its application for a proposed 600MW battery energy storage system facility at an old Morro Bay power plant. The company previously paused the application, citing lengthy municipal review processes and the devastating fires at its Moss Landing battery energy storage facility. Link. Link.

• The number of used Tesla vehicles listed for sale on Autotrader surged 67% year-over-year in March, with more than 13,000 used Teslas listed during the final week of the month. Additionally, Tesla has halted new orders for its Model S and Model X in China in response to the escalating trade war and new tariffs. Tesla’s brand is suffering even more in Europe due in no small part to Elon Musk’s political antics. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds:

• Base Power, based out of Austin, TX, raised $200 million in Series B funding co-led by Addition, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Valor Equity Partners to scale residential battery energy storage systems and to manage them to reduce customers’ electricity bills while trading in electricity markets and selling ancillary services. Link to the news here. I also wrote about the business in detail almost a year ago here.

• Enpal, based out of Berlin, raised €110 million ($125.4 million) led by private equity firm TPG to move into new markets and roll out a new energy trading platform. The German startup has historically focused on residential climate and energy tech, ranging from facilitating residential solar installations to battery energy storage systems, EV chargers, and the electricity infrastructure upgrades they can require. Link.

• Jeff Bezos is funding a secretive EV startup called Slate Auto that's developing an affordable two-seat electric pickup truck for around $25,000. The Michigan-based company has raised at least $111 million in a Series A round and hopes to begin production by late 2026. Link.

• Nuro, based out of Mountain View, raised $106 million in Series E funding at a $6 billion post-money valuation from unnamed strategic investors to develop self-driving technology for robotaxis and personally owned autonomous vehicles. Link.

• nEye Systems, based out of Berkeley, raised a $58 million Series B round led by CapitalG for its optical switches that use light to transmit data, improving speed and reducing power consumption of data centers and AI computing systems. Link.

Medium-sized funding rounds:

• First Water, based out of Kópavogur, Iceland, raised €39 million (~$44.6 million) in equity funding from Stodir, FW Horn, Framherji, Líra, and LSR. The company specializes in sustainable salmon farming. Link.

• Parallel Systems, based out of Los Angeles, raised $38 million in Series B funding led by Anthos Capital to develop autonomous, battery-electric rail vehicles for short-distance freight. Link.

• Corinex, based out of Vancouver, raised $30 million in a funding round led by Energy Growth Momentum. The company will use the funds to scale its broadband over power lines (BPL)-based grid visibility and flexibility solutions. Link.

• Arena, based out of New York, raised $30 million in Series B funding led by previous investors Fifth Down Capital, Initialized Capital, and Goldcrest Capital for its AI-powered platform designed to assist hardware engineers in testing and optimizing electronics. Link.

• Blue Water Autonomy, based out of Boston, came out of stealth with $14 million in seed funding to develop fully autonomous, uncrewed naval ships for the U.S. Navy and commercial clients. Eclipse, Riot, and Impatient Ventures invested. Link.

• Sourgum, based out of Jersey City, raised a $12.5 million Series A round led by Spark Capital to make an AI-powered platform to streamline waste and recycling operations for multi-location businesses. Link.

• Remedy Scientific, based out of Oakland, raised $11 million in seed funding from Eclipse, Refactor, Cantos, and Box Group to remove toxins from contaminated land with an automated system that detects pollutants and applies targeted treatments to break them down. Link (paywall).

• Zero Industrial, based out of Charleston, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Evok Innovations to develop thermal energy storage systems to help industrial facilities reduce reliance on fossil fuels for heat and steam production. Link.

Smaller funding rounds:

• INTAKE, based out of South Korea, raised $9.2 million in Series C funding for its yeast-based precision fermentation platform. It aims to scale high-protein alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs, including by entering the North American market by 2026. Link.

• Nowos, based out of Utrecht, Netherlands, raised €6 million (~$6.8 million) led by Shift4Good for its lithium-ion battery repair and maintenance business. In 2024, it repaired 90,000 batteries across Europe for micro-mobility companies. Link.

• Plug, based out of Santa Monica, raised $6.7 million in seed funding co-led by Floodgate, Autotech Ventures, and A* for its startup that facilitates the buying and selling of used EVs for dealerships and fleet operators. Link.

• Podfather, based out of Edinburgh, raised £3.4 million (~$4.5 million) from investors including Maven Capital Partners for its fleet management software solutions. Link.

• Grid Edge, based out of Birmingham, U.K., raised over €3.3 million (~$3.8 million) from investors, including BP Ventures and Centrica, for its AI platform, which purportedly helps commercial buildings cut energy use and emissions by an average of 20%. Link.

Other funding rounds

• TCab Tech, based out of Shanghai, completed an undisclosed amount of Series B+ funding round led by Grand Neobay Venture Capital and Chifortune Venture Capital. The Chinese developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has secured six rounds of financing exceeding $100 million in total and has completed the maiden flight of its E20 aircraft. It has now set its sights on a future IPO, with certification and mass production expected by 2027. Link.

• Lucid Motors, based out of Newark, CA, won a bankruptcy auction for the Arizona factory and other assets of bankrupt electric truckmaker Nikola, offering $30 million and extending job offers to over 300 Nikola employees. Link.

• Up Catalyst, based out of Tallinn, Estonia, raised €18 million (~$20.5 million) in venture debt from the European Investment Bank to make climate-neutral carbon nanomaterials and graphite with upcycled CO₂. Link.

• Nuada, based out of Belfast, secured €2.5 million (~$2.9 million) as the first Northern Irish recipient of the EU's EIC Accelerator prize. The carbon capture startup is building CO₂ filtration technologies to help decarbonize heavy industries like cement, steel, and energy with carbon capture technologies. Link.

Funds

• J.P. Morgan's Campbell Global Forest & Climate Solutions Fund II closed at $1.5 billion—$500 million over its initial target. The fund integrates timberland investments with carbon removal, biodiversity, water protection, and conservation priorities across 212,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest and South. Link.

• FM Capital, based out of Boulder, closed its fourth fund with $240 million in capital commitments (its largest fund yet) from investors across the automotive ecosystem, including dealers, distributors, OEMs, suppliers, insurers, and other industry-related entities. The venture firm focuses on early-to-mid-stage automotive and transportation startups. Link.

• Carbon Equity, based out of Amsterdam, closed its Climate Tech Portfolio Fund III with €107 million ($122 million). The fund aims to invest in at least 150 climate tech companies ranging from green steel producers to geothermal energy and battery makers. Link.

• Revent, based out of Berlin, raised €100 million (~$114 million) to support "planetary and social health" startups working on technologies to support energy transition, industrial decarbonization, healthcare, climate, economic empowerment, and reskilling. Link.

• Northern Gritstone, based out of Manchester, U.K., raised £50 million (~$65.8 million) to support university spin-outs that "help power innovation, drive tangible real-world impact, and support the UK to get ready for the future." Link.

• The Bezos Earth Fund and the Global Methane Hub launched a $27 million initiative to fund research into selectively breeding for livestock to reduce the rate at which they produce methane. Mind you, cattle have been bred selectively for 10,000 years to optimize for meat and milk (among other things, like docility). Adding a third “M” to the equation is not novel; it’s been a subject of considerable study for decades, as lowered methanogenesis in cattle could yield higher ‘feed conversion efficiency,’ i.e., the rate at which calories are turned into meat and milk, rather than methane. The Bezos fund is providing $19.3 million, while the Global Methane Hub is providing $8.1 million to support research and breeding programs across five continents. Link.

• SE Ventures, based out of Menlo Park, has launched its first accelerator program for startups developing climate and industrial tech. The Schneider Electric-backed venture firm plans to make $100,000 SAFE investments in three to five startups for its 12-week program starting in June. It will focus on companies working on electrification and digitization. Link.

OTHER ‘COOL’ STUFF

Looking for something completely different to think about? Consider the Berry paradox:

A tech / business-focused piece on a cool company is coming your way this Thursday. Back to my roots, as they say.

Ciao,

– Nick