Massive mines & much, much more

Hi there,

Absolutely massive week in climate tech, mobility, and energy fundraising, news and more. Here’s everything I could wrap my arms (if not my head) around. Also, quick plug that DERVOS in Brooklyn was an AMAZING event on Friday. Much obliged to the DER Task Force for trusting me to moderate a panel on the tech and business trends behind distributed energy resources (DERs). If there’s a recording I’ll share it–if not I’ll find time to type up my notes and send them here at some point.

Anywho, big updates on U.S.-based lithium deposits & mines as well as billions of dollars for autonomous, all-electric transport this week! $10 billion in new climate funds!! More companies going out of business!!! & much more.

In today’s email:

• One story in a chart and a sentence

• Climate and energy headlines from the week

• Climate tech fundraising announcements

♡ If you find this work valuable, you can support it here. I put a lot of time into it. ♡

THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE TECH & ENERGY

One story in a sentence (and a chart)

• In case I haven’t hit this point hard enough, greenhouse gas emissions (on the whole, not just CO2) globally continue to rise, as highlighted by a new UN environment programme report. Link. Link.

25+ headlines

The good

• Mining: The US Department of the Interior provided more clarity on a massive lithium brine deposit recently found in Arkansas. The Smackover Formation may hold between 5.1 and 19 million tons of lithium (up to 100%+ of all other U.S. lithium resources). ExxonMobil could be a big winner here, as they purchased the rights to start lithium production in Arkansas by 2027. New technologies may be needed to access the reserves effectively. Elsewhere, for instance in Argentina, other producers are slowing down because lithium prices are down. Link. Link. Link. Link.

• More mining: The US Department of the Interior also approved the Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine, developed by Ioneer in Nevada, which alone could quadruple US lithium output. The DOE is adding $700 million in funding support and Sibanye Stillwater invested $490 million in equity funding in 2021. Link. Link. Link. Link.

• & more for mining: The Treasury Department updated and finalized its 45X production tax credit rules so they include mineral mining and processing costs to be eligible for IRA tax credits. This benefits the domestic mining industry and electric vehicle manufacturers. Link. Link.

• Openings and groundbreakings: Verdagy, a Moss Landing, CA-based electrolyzer manufacturer, opened its first large-scale factory in Newark, CA, to (ideally) make several gigawatts of electrolyzers per year. Evonik broke ground on an expansion of a Charleston, SC-based plant where it makes precipitated silica. Elsewhere, Avantium N.V. opened a plant in the Netherlands to make more circular polymers. Link. Link. Link.

• Government funding (the next five bullets): The German Federal Network Agency approved plans to build a €19 billion (~$20.5 billion) 5,617-mile hydrogen network to bring hydrogen to industrial sites by 2032. Link.

• Singapore's Energy Market Authority conditionally approved a $20 billion project to build transmission to connect 1.75 GW of new renewable electricity generation capacity in Australia to Singapore via a 2,670-mile subsea cable. I'm still skeptical this gets built, but I would love to be proven wrong. Link.

• The DOE closed a $162 million loan guarantee for LongPath Technologies to expand its methane monitoring for oil and gas-producing basins. The capital will help LongPath deploy more than 1,000 remote monitoring towers for real-time tracking across basins in Texas, Colorado, and more. I interviewed the CEO of LongPath and Jigar Shah, the head of the DOE's LPO, earlier this year if you're interested in this topic. The DOE also granted funds to Bridgestone Innovation to make non-fossil-fuel -based synthetic rubber for tires. Link. Link.

• The DOE also awarded $428 million in grant funding to 14 projects to develop cleaner • energy manufacturing sites in 15 former coal communities across the country. Link. Link.

• The European Commission also approved €128 million (~$139 million) in Swedish state grant funding to support steelmaker SSAB in its decarbonization efforts. Specifically, SSAB is working on initiatives from building electric arc furnaces and using more recycled steel to integrating green hydrogen. Further, the EU Innovation Fund granted €157 million to support a CO2 capture project at Cemex's 'Rüdersdorf Cement Plant' in Germany. Cemex and Linde will work on it together. These two deals are part of a broader European Commission roll-out of €4.8 billion ($5.2 billion) for 85 net-zero projects from the EU Innovation Fund. Link. Link. Link. Link.

• Global EV sales were up ~30% in September, year-over-year. The U.S. also overtook Europe in terms of EV sales last quarter. Link. Link.

• Tesla delivered a strong financial quarter, beating analyst estimates, as its energy storage business, in particular, grows. Link.

• On the EV beat, congrats to Electric Era, a company I love and have covered deeply, for launching new battery-back EV charging stations with major customers like Costco and MTE this week. Link.

• California-based SB Energy launched a large solar project (875 MW targeted) to provide electricity to Google as its data center electricity demand grows. The Orion Solar Belt project includes over 1.3 million solar modules in Buckholts, Texas. Google signed its largest-ever solar power purchase agreement for the project. Elsewhere, Gridstor, a battery energy storage developer based out of Portland, OR, and backed by Goldman Sachs, started construction on its first project in ERCOT. The Hidden Lakes Reliability Project aims to bring a 220 MW / 440 MWh standalone battery energy storage system online in Galveston County. Link. Link.

• Climeworks, a leading direct air capture developer, announced a long-term offtake agreement with Morgan Stanley to supply 40,000 tons of CO2 removal. This marks Climeworks' second largest agreement to date. Microsoft also inked the biggest deal in ocean carbon dioxide removal so far, committing to purchase 350,000 tonnes of CO2 from Ebb Carbon over the following 10 years. The initial deal is only for 1,333 tonnes with an option to exnted to 350,000. • The DOE also allocated $58.5 million in grant funding for 11 carbon removal projects to build pilot projects and testing facilities to scale their removal technologies. Link. Link. Link.

• Terraset, a 501(c)3 for carbon removal and a friend of Keep Cool's, also made its largest quarterly carbon removal purchase to the tune of $3 million to remove more than 5,000 tons of CO2. Terraset's purchase supported 11 organizations: Andes, Capture6, Charm Industrial, Climeworks, Frontier, Graphyte, Heirloom, Octavia Carbon, Planetary, Spiritus and TerraFixing. Link.

• Amidst the surge in interest and attention paid to nuclear fission, NextEra is evaluating whether it can efficiently restart the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa (plant is 601 MWe and shut down in 2020). The CEO also noted he's less bullish on SMRs. Link.

• The FAA issued new rules for electric air taxis, creating a new aircraft category named "powered-lift." It's the first addition of a category to civil aviation in almost 80 years. We're going to be taking rides in these bad boys before you know it, mark my words. Probably next year. Link.

• Looking for some great visual content versus my writing? Check out Pique Action's latest series on "Where the Internet Lives," a series that's highly germane right now as data centers are a hot topic in climate and energy circles. Link.

The inbetweens

• Bloomberg put out a piece on geoengineering a day after we did. As always, read here to be ahead of the rest of the climate media beat. Sorry not sorry (and the more the merrier, to be sure). Link.

The bad

• Another one bites the dust: While Joby Aviation seems to be doing well, having raised more funds and progressing towards a commercial launch, German eVTOL and electric aircraft Lilium is shutting down its primary operations, as it ran out of money and will file for insolvency. The company raised more than $1 billion in financing, which it has now run through. Link. Link. Link.

• The U.S. President of FREYR Battery left the company this week, which is rarely a good sign when the business is already struggling (the company laid off a significant portion of staff in August and ceased battery production operations). That said, it did recently secure $131 million in grant funding from the European Union Innovation Fund to prolong its runway. Link. Link. Link.

• Redflow, an Australian zinc-bromide flow battery manufacturer, has also ceased operations. Link.

• GE Vernova continues to find maintenance problems with its wind turbines, and wind energy, in general, continues to struggle. We've been on that beat for the better part of a year, too. Link.

• Australian electricity prices aren't falling as projected, offering an interesting window into the fact that renewables do not always reduce prices despite often being championed as the cheapest option. The dynamics of why are quite complex. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds

🚗 Waymo, based out of Mountain View, CA (my hometown!), raised $5.6 billion in Series C funding for its autonomous (all electric) robotaxi service. For those of you unaware, Waymo already does 100k+ autonomous rides per week in San Francisco alone. Alphabet (Google, the majority) owner, led, and Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price, and other major names in investing all participated. Link. Link.

⚛️ Pacific Fusion Corp., based out of Fremont, CA, raised over $900 million in Series A funding, though the equity is tranched contingent on performance. General Catalyst led. Link.

⚡ Redaptive, based out of San Francisco, raised $100 million in equity funding for its integrated hardware and software business that helps customers take advantage of energy-efficiency opportunities. The company provides financing to building owners to install efficiency upgrades. It also offers a SaaS business energy management solution. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) led. Link.

🤖 Carbon Robotics, based out of Seattle, raised $70 million in Series D funding to make robots for use in agricultural production. Bond Capital led. Link.

Medium-sized funding rounds

🔎 Urbint, based out of Miami, raised $35 million in equity funding to build an AI-powered risk management tool to help utilities and infrastructure companies manage storms and extreme weather events. S2G Ventures provided all the funding. Link.

⬇️ Cool Planet Technologies, based out of Guildford, U.K., raised ~$25.8.million in Series A2 funding to make membranes for carbon capture from industrial flue stacks. Taranis Carbon Ventures led. Link.

🔋 Adden Energy, based out of Waltham, MA, raised $15 million in Series A funding to that develop solid-state batteries. At One Ventures led. Link.

🔍 FiberSense, based out of Sydney, raised $14 million in equity funding to use distributed fiber optic sensing tech to monitor and detect physical threats to infrastructure in real-time. Prosus Ventures led. Link.

🔩 Freeform, based out of Hawthorne, CA, raised $14 million in equity funding for its 3D metals printing startup. Nvidia and Boeing's AE Ventures invested. Link.

🔬 Dunia.ai, based out of Berlin startup, raised $11.5 million in equity funding to use robotics and generative AI to accelerate sustainable material discovery. Elaia and redalpine co-led. Link.

🤖 FarmDroid, based out of Vejen, Denmark, raised ~$11.3 million to make solar-powered agriculture robots. Convent Capital led. Link.

♨️ Conflux Technology, based out of Waurn Ponds, Australia, raised $11 million in Series B funding for its heat exchanger and additive manufacturing business. Breakthrough Victoria led. Link.

🛰️ Lumen Orbit, based out of Redmond, WA, raised $10+ million in equity funding round from an undisclosed set of investors to build space-based data centers for easier / passive cooling in orbit. Link.

Smaller funding rounds

⬇️ Carbon Ridge, based out of Los Angeles, raised $9.5 million in equity funding to make modular CCS systems for maritime shipping. Crosscut Ventures and Western Technology Investment led. Link.

📦 Paccurate, based out of New York, raised $8.1 million in Series A funding to help optimize shipping and packaging to reduce material usage. High Alpha led. Link.

📦 Recyda, based out of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, raised ~$6.8 million in Series A funding for its sustainable packaging management software. Cusp Capital led. Link.

🔌 Measurable Energy, based out of Reading, U.K., raised ~$5.2 million in equity funding to make smart outlets for more dynamic energy management. Vertex Exploratory Fund and Clean Growth Fund led. Link.

💊 MicroLub, based out of Leeds, U.K., raised $4.5 million in equity funding to make more sustainable plant-based microgels for food products. Link.

🫧 Hydrosome Labs, based out of the Chicago area, raised $3.7 million in seed funding from undisclosed investors to make ultrafine bubble technology used in precision fermentation and for other applications. Link.

🚚 Nevoya, based out of Santa Monica, CA, raised $3 million in seed funding to provide electric truck fleet operation and management services. Third Sphere and RedBlue Capital led. Link.

✈️ Universal Fuel Technologies, based out of Los Altos, CA, raised $3 million in seed funding for its methanol to sustainable aviation fuel startup. TO VC led. Link.

⚡💧 Calicat (fka H2U Technologies), based out of Chatsworth, CA, raised $3 million in extended Series A funding to make alternative materials to stand-in for the rare element iridium, which is in short supply and is needed for green hydrogen production. Volo Earth Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, Freeflow Ventures, Acario Innovation, MOL Switch, and others invested. Link.

🔥 Dryad Networks, based out of Berlin, raised ~$2.7 million in equity funding from First Imagine! and received ~$4.1 million in grant funding from the European Regional Development Fund to make wildfire detection technologies. Link.

🚢 Smart Green Shipping, based out of Dumfries, Scotland, raised ~$2.6 million (total) in equity funding from Drax Group and grant funding from the U.K. Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition to make wing sails for ships. Link.

♻️ Autarkize, based out of Pfronten, Germany, raised ~$2.5 million in seed funding to develop pyrolysis plants to make biogas and biochar from organic waste. High-Tech Gründerfonds led. Link.

🌞 Aether, based out of San Francisco, raised $2.5 million in seed funding to build an AI-powered platform to streamline the design, sale, and management of rooftop solar installations Noa led. Climate Capital, where I work, also participated. Link.

🔬 ExoMatter, based out of Munich, raised ~$1.8 million in pre-seed funding for its sustainable materials development platform. Vanagon Ventures led. Link.

🏠 Starflow, based out of Stavanger, Norway, raised ~$1.8 million in pre-seed funding for its home energy management business. Skyfall Ventures led. Link.

🧪 Turnover Labs, based out of New York, raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding to make green chemicals. Pace Ventures and GC Ventures led. Link.

🛵 Rabbit Mobility, based out of Egypt, raised $1.3 million in equity funding for its electric micro-mobility network. 500 Global and Untapped Global led. Link.

Other funding rounds

🔋 Northvolt, based out of Stockholm, closed an undisclosed amount of short-term working capital funding to keep its battery manufacturing business alive amidst deep liquidity issues. Link.

⚡ Pine Gate Renewables, based out of Asheville, NC, is raising $288 million in preferred equity funding from Blackstone for its solar and energy storage development and operation business. Pine Gate Renewables finances development and also operates plants on its own or with partners. The funding will accelerate six solar projects across two states expected to total 780 MW. Link.

💸 GoodLeap, based out of Roseville, CA, raised an undisclosed amount of financing from Atlas SP Partners to finance $1.5 billion of home solar panels and battery storage systems. Link.

🚁 Joby Aviation, based out of Santa Cruz, CA, launched a $200 million offering of common stock on public markets to fund its eVTOL business as it gears up for a 2025 commercial launch. Link.

🏭 Anthro Energy, based out of San Jose, CA, received $24.9 million in grant funding from the DOE to build a 25 GWh advanced electrolyte production facility. Link.

🔋 Moment Energy, based out of Coquitlam, Canada, will receive $20.3 million from the DOE to open a U.S. factory to recycle EV batteries for stationary energy storage. Link.

🧱 Furno, based out of Mountain View, CA (my hometown!), received a $20 million DOE grant to build micro-kilns at a Chicago concrete plant for more sustainable cement production. Link.

💸 Energetic Capital, based out of Boston, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Greensoil PropTech Ventures, SE Ventures, Congruent Ventures, and others to finance renewable deployment in commercial and industrial settings. Link.

🍯 MeliBio, based out of Oakland, raised an undisclosed amount of Pre-Series A funding from Future Food Fund to make bee-free honey. Link.

🧑‍🌾 Agtonomy, based out of San Francisco, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Allison Ventures to develop autonomous agriculture and industrial software. Link.

♻️ Alterra, based out of Akron, Ohio, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Infinity Recycling, LyondellBasell, and Chevron Phillips Chemical for its plastic recycling technology. Link.

🏭 Formic Technologies, based out of Chicago, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Mitsubishi Electric to make industrial robots. Link.

🔋 Unigrid, based out of San Diego, received an undisclosed investment from LG Technology Ventures to make sodium-ion batteries. Link.

♻️ Recyclops, based out of Salt Lake City, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from BDev Ventures for its recycling and waste management business. Link.

🔍 Novitech, based out of Ontario, Canada, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from BP Energy Partners for its pipeline inspection and data analytics business. Link.

New funds

💵 TPG, the private equity giant based out of New York and San Francisco, raised ~$4.4 billion (so far) for its second climate-focused fund, 'Climate Fund II,' to invest in "energy transition, green mobility, sustainable fuels, sustainable products and materials, and carbon solutions."  TPG expects commitments to reach ~$5 billion. It raised $7.3 billion in 2022 for its first 'Rise Climate' fund. Hassana Investment Company, an arm of Saudi Arabia's pension and social insurance fund, and Altérra invested. TPG is also raising a climate-focused infrastructure fund. Link.

💵 General Catalyst, based out of Cambridge, MA, raised $4.5 billion in new funds to make seed and growth equity deals, as well as $1.5 billion for repeat / "proven" founders. It has backed several climate and cleaner energy tech companies. Link.

💰 Morgan Stanley, based out of New York, raised $750 million for its private equity fund to invest in growth-stage investments in carbon removal and reduction companies. Link.

💰 The NAACP launched a new $200 million 'fund of funds' vehicle to back fund managers focused on issues that impact people of color, which should include climate-related ones. Link.

💰 CRH Ventures, the investment arm of CRH, a building materials manufacturer, launched a "Sustainable Building Materials" accelerator aimed to back climate tech startups in the built environment sector. It noted it has $250 million from its 'Venturing and Innovation Fund' to invest in climate tech and construction businesses. Link.

Tschüss,

– Nick