Humongous haulers

Hi there,

Just like that, Climate Week is over. While frenetic, it was a great time and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting / remeeting many of you. Besides our own event, Overview Capital’s Methane Reduction Intensive was my favorite. I learned a ton and will type up notes soon.

ON TO THE NEXT EVENT →→→

If you’re prepping for the rest of the year, then may I humbly suggest you consider making plans to come to DERVOS (a play on DERs + Davos) in New York City in late October. My friends at the DER task force are hosting, and I’ll be moderating this panel, which should be an exceptional conversation.

In today’s email:

• One story in a chart and a sentence

• Climate and energy headlines from the week

• Climate tech fundraising announcements

Like the way this newsletter looks? You can build your own on beehiiv. Start here.

THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE TECH & ENERGY

One story in a sentence (and a chart)

• I enjoyed this graphic from the NYT last week, which visualizes the unpriced costs of beef, as livestock operations and cows themselves drive a lot of negative environmental externalities that accelerate global warming, deforestation, and more. Link.

15+ headlines

The good

• Andrew Forrest, the former CEO of Fortescue Metals, will buy ~$2.8 billion worth of electrified construction equipment from Liebherr, a German-Swiss manufacturing provider. The purchase order includes 360 autonomous battery electric haul trucks, 55 electric excavators, 60 new battery electric dozers, and more. Fortescue Metals, the company Forrest made billions running, also unveiled a massive 6 MW charger to charge the new (also massive) battery electric haul trucks the company has designed for iron ore mines. The humongous haulers use 1.9 megawatt-hour batteries. Link. Link. Link.

• India has a new public-private partnership to build 40 to 50 small modular nuclear reactors for heavy industries like steel and cement. The reactors will be a version of the 220 MW Bharat Small Reactors India has operated since the early 1980s. Tata Consulting Engineers will work with the Department of Atomic Energy on deployment. Link.

• There were a series of important updates on the permitting legislation front in the U.S. this week: Reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) were made with respect to forest management to fight wildfires, a new exemption to NEPA for semiconductor fabrication plants passed the House after already passing the Senate, and categorical exclusions to NEPA under certain circumstances were extended to geothermal power projects. Further, Kamala Harris has now publicly endorsed the need for permitting reform, and the Manchin-Barrasso permitting reform proposal in Congress is making more progress than many (including me) thought. Link. Link. Link.

• 14 of the world’s largest financial institutions pledged their support to new nuclear fission projects. Shoutout Isodope and others for their influencing work on that front. Link.

• Oklo, a small modular nuclear reactor developer, received approval to start site investigation work for a microreactor in Idaho, which the company aims to have online by 2027. Link.

• Here are three more big BESS projects this week (probably more I’m missing): Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners helped Strata Clean Energy acquire a 255 MW / 1,020 MWh project in Maricopa County, Arizona. Elsewhere, BrightNight revealed a 200 MW / 800 MWh project in Washington state and Hecate Energy is in permitting for 1.2 GWh of BESS in Massachusetts. Link. Link.

• Funded with $129 million in grant funding from the EPA (a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, to be specific), Colorado is launching a first-of-its-kind and large-scale project to monitor methane emissions from 80 landfills across the state. Link.

• At New York Climate Week, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and Clean Air Task Force launched a new Fossil Fuel Regulatory Programme to support low- and middle-income governments in reducing methane emissions from their oil, gas, and coal sectors. Link.

• Amogy debuted its first (and the world’s first) carbon-free, ammonia-powered maritime vessel. The “NH3 Kraken,” a tugboat retrofitted with Amogy’s ammonia-cracking engine, made its maiden voyage on a tributary of the Hudson River this week. Link.

• The TripleHelix Institute released a worthwhile report on how ‘AgTech’ can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture (and beyond). Link.

• Dozens of green banks—i.e., banks that help finance climate and cleaner energy projects—across all 50 states are banding together to form the Green Bank 50. Link. Link.

The inbetweens

• Drax, a biomass plant operator based in the U.K., plans to invest $12.5 billion to break into the U.S. market and build new biomass power plants with CCS over the next decade, taking advantage of generous subsidies. The company has come under scrutiny in the past for where it sources its biomass. Link. Link.

• The U.S. Commerce Department proposed banning certain Chinese and Russian-made car parts from the U.S. The rule would go into effect in 2027 to curb national security risks. Link.

• On the geoengineering front, Saudi Arabia plans to expand its cloud seeding program. Link.

• Copper prices are surging again on the back of Chinese federal stimulus, which makes almost everything on the hardware side of electrification a touch more expensive. Link.

The bad

• Tyson Foods is coming under considerable scrutiny for marketing “climate smart” beef without rigorously backing up its sustainability claims. Link.

• California sued Exxon, accusing the oil major of running a deceptive campaign to promote plastic recycling. California contests Exxon misled the public into thinking many plastic products are more recyclable than they are. Link. Link.

• We’ve covered the evolving challenges at Northvolt for weeks now, but this week, the company solidified plans to lay off 20% of its employees alongside a revised (and reduced) “scope of operations.” Link.

• Shell scrapped plans for a low-carbon hydrogen plant in Norway, citing a lack of demand, while Equinor shelved “blue” hydrogen exports to Germany for the same reason. Link. Link.

• There are always more supply chain constraints lurking on the horizon than one could possibly account for. The latest? A possible strike of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), which wants a raise (80% over six years, to be exact). There hasn’t been an East Coast-wide longshoreman strike since 1977. Since then, the amount of tonnage shipped by sea globally has at least tripled, although there’s a lot of variance based on the exact measure. Link. Link. Link.

• The inside climate week whispers are that Frontier, one of the biggest deployers of capital in carbon removal, is struggling mightily amidst Meta’s departure from the funding side and as removal projects fail to deliver promised tonnage on time. Link.

• Hurricane Helene knocked out power for nearly 2 million customers across Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, as far north as Asheville, hitting a region that’s becoming harder and harder to insure. Damages could range up to $100 billion. Link. Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

• A new Sacred Heart University poll finds that half of “U.S. youth” respond affirmatively to the statement: “My level of concern for climate change causes psychological distress that impacts my daily life.” Link.

• The U.S. is falling behind on its 2030 decarbonization goals… as is almost everyone. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds

⚛️ Zap Energy, based out of Everett, WA, raised $130 million in equity funding to develop fusion energy with its ‘z pinch’ approach. Soros Fund Management led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

🚚 AtoB, based out of San Francisco, raised $130 million in Series C funding across equity and debt to help truck drivers and fleet managers manage fuel and other expenses more efficiently with its payment platform. General Catalyst and Bloomberg Beta co-led. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

🧱 Sublime Systems, based out of Somerville, MA, raised $75 million in equity funding and multi-year pre-paid offtake agreements for its low-carbon cement. CRH and Holcim invested and made offtakes. More here. (U.S., Built Environment)

⚛️ Marvel Fusion, based out of Munich, Germany, raised ~$70 million in Series B funding for its inertial confinement and laser-based fusion technology. HV Capital led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

⛏️ Cyclic Materials, based out of Toronto, raised $53 million in Series B funding to recycle rare earth metals. ArcTern Ventures led. More here. (Canada, Industry)

🔩 Utility Global, based out of Houston, raised $53 million in Series C funding (the round remains open) to make hydrogen from steel off-gas. OPG Pension Plan led. More here. (U.S., Industry)

Medium-sized funding rounds

🔬 Helaina, based out of New York, raised $45 million in Series B funding to use precision fermentation to make bioactive proteins for the food and nutrition industry. Avidity Partners led. More here. (U.S., Food & Agriculture)

🚢 VELA, based out of Bourgogne, France, raised ~$44.8 million in equity funding to make wind-powered cargo ships. Crédit Mutuel Impact, 11th Hour Racing, and BPI co-led. More here. (France, Transportation)

♨️ Dandelion Energy, based out of Peekskill, NY, raised $40 million in Series C funding for its residential geothermal energy business. GV (Google Ventures) led. More here. (U.S., Energy / Built Environment)

✈️ Pyka, based out of Alameda, CA, raised $40 million in Series B funding to make autonomous electric planes. Obvious Ventures led. More here. (U.S., Transportation / Data Applications)

🍄 Ecovative, based out of Green Island, NY, raised $28M in equity financing to grow its MyBacon product, a mycelium-based bacon alternative, alongside its alt-leather material. More here. (U.S., Food & Agriculture / Materials)

🌿 Notpla, based out of England, raised $26.8 million in Series A funding for its seaweed-based sustainable packaging business. UB Forest Industry Green Growth Fund led. More here. (U.K., Materials)

⚡ MetOx, based out of Houston, raised $25 million in extended Series B funding for its high-temperature superconducting (HTS) transmission wires with applications at both the power grid level and perhaps also in nuclear fusion. Centaurus Capital and System Ventures invested. More here. (U.S., Energy)

⚡ David Energy, based out of Brooklyn, raised $23 million in Series A-1 funding for its retail clean energy business. Cathay Innovation led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

🚚 Bot Auto, based out of Houston, raised $20 million in "pre-A" funding to make autonomous trucks. Brightway Future Venture, Cherubic Venture, EnvisionX Venture, and others invested. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

🏢 GEOX, based out of Givatayim, Israel, raised $19 million in Series A funding to analyze climate-related real estate risks. Flashpoint Venture Capital led. More here. (Israel, Built Environment / Data Applications)

🔬 PACT, based out of Cambridge, U.K., raised ~$12 million in seed funding to produce industrial-scale collagen biomaterials for use in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food production, and more. Hoxton Ventures, ReGen Ventures, and others invested. More here. (U.K., Industry / Food & Agriculture)

🌱 Micropep, based out of Auzeville-Tolosane, France, raised an additional $11 million in Series B funding to use micropeptides to control weeds and diseases in crops without altering plant DNA. The round total netted out at $40 million. Corteva and Sparkfood invested. More here. (France, Food & Agriculture)

⬇️ FluoRok, based out of Oxford, U.K., raised ~$10.3 million in equity funding to make less environmentally harmful fluorochemicals. BGF led. More here. (U.K., Industry)

Smaller funding rounds

⚡💦 Ayrton Energy, based out of Calgary, raised $6.8 million in seed funding for its Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology for hydrogen transport applications. Clean Energy Ventures and BDC Capital led. More here. (Canada, Transportation / Industry)

🏭 ÄIO, based out of Tallinn, raised ~$6.8 million in equity funding to build a demo plant in Estonia to make fats and oils from wood waste and agricultural residues. Voima Ventures, 2C Ventures, Nordic Foodtech VC, and others invested. More here. (Estonia, Food & Agriculture / Industry)

🛰️ Reflect Orbital, based out of Los Angeles, raised $6.5 million in seed funding to reflect sunlight from space onto solar panels to increase their capacity factor. Sequoia Capital led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

💰 Two Point O Capital, based out of India, raised $6.3 million in seed funding to help finance residential solar, energy efficiency upgrades, and other clean energy projects. Omnivore led. More here. (India, Financing)

✏️ La Solive, based out of Paris, raised $4.4 million in Series A funding to provide career training for "energy renovation" professionals. Partech led. More here. (France, Built Environment)

🪨 Eion, based out of Princeton, NJ, raised $3 million in extended series A funding for its enhanced rock weathering and MRV business.  Growmark, AgFunder, and others invested. More here. (U.S., Carbon Removal)

📦 BIOVOX, based out of Darmstadt, Germany, raised ~$2.4 million in seed funding to make sustainable medical-grade bioplastics. High-Tech Gründerfonds led. More here. (Germany, Industry)

🌱 Qarbotech, based out of Puchong, Malaysia, raised $1.5 million in extended seed funding for its photosynthesis enhancement technology. More here. (Malaysia, Food & Agriculture)

🔌 Cariqa, based out of Berlin, raised ~$1.1 million in pre-seed funding for its EV charging pricing software built for EV charging station operators. Anthemis, Vento Ventures, and others invested. More here. (Germany, Transportation)

Other funding rounds

🔩 Stegra, née H2 Green Steel, based out of Stockholm, raised ~$111 million in grant funding from the Swedish Energy Agency’s Industrial Leap program to decarbonize steelmaking with green hydrogen. The company also changed its name to Stegra. More here. (Sweden, Industry)

🌊 Frontier agreed to buy 55,442 tons of carbon removal credits from Nova Scotia-based CarbonRun for $25.4 million. CarbonRun focuses on adding alkalinity to rivers to deacidify waterways and the ocean and will deliver the credits between 2025 and 2029. More here. (U.S., Carbon Removal)

New funds

💰 The Indigenous Power & Light Fund for Energy Sovereignty, a $100 million revolving fund for tribal clean energy, launched at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting this week. The fund is supported by philanthropies including the MacArthur Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, and more. More here. (U.S., 

💸 Pangea Ventures, based out of Vancouver, Canada, raised ~$85.7 million for its fourth fund to invest in sustainability and hard-tech-focused startups. More here. (Canada, Funds)

Bye,

– Nick