Methane mapping

Hi,

Finally feels firmly like fall in my neck of the woods. What am I look forward to this fall? For one, friendly reminder that in less than two weeks, I’ll be moderating an all-star panel of leaders, tinkerers, and thinkers in climate tech at DERVOS in NYC. Come through and listen if you’re around (or make plans to visit).

In today’s email:

• One story in a chart and a sentence

• Climate and energy headlines from the week

• Climate tech fundraising announcements

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THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE TECH & ENERGY

One story in a sentence (and a chart)

• Chinese steel production has ballooned since the turn of the century, so much so that it now makes more than half the steel in the world (and most of it with a high emissions factor). Link.

15 headlines

The good

• Tanager-1, a methane monitoring satellite launched recently, has started tracking methane releases across the world & publishing its data publicly. Link. Link.

• Ørsted and Salt River Project, a Tempe, Arizona-based utility, energized their Eleven Mile Solar Center, a 300 MW solar project with a 300 MW / 1200 MWh battery energy storage system, in Pinal County, Arizona. Link.

• The DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office selected 16 projects to participate in $38 million in grant funding for what it calls “cross-sector” emissions-reduction technologies. Link.

• GM unveiled a competitor to Tesla’s Powerwall for the residential battery energy storage market. Its ‘PowerBank’ starts at $10,999 for a 10.6 kWh version, which includes a power inversion system. Link.

• Here’s one that’s especially relevant to those of you in New Yorker: Joby says it’s in the final stages of approval to open an electric helicopter route from Manhattan to JFK. Link.

The inbetweens

• Mining major Rio Tinto finally finalized a deal to get in on the lithium mining boom, acquiring Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion. Previously, many mining giants haven’t had significant lithium exposure. Link.

• Tesla debuted its ‘Cybercab,’ an autonomous electric taxi it aims to produce by 2027. Tesla shares fell the day after the event, indicating some investor skepticism. Link.

• ExxonMobil secured rights to the largest offshore carbon dioxide storage site in the U.S. so far. Whether and to what extent CCS can play a significant role in the energy transition is TBD. Link.

The bad

• While Hurricane Milton softened before making landfall in Florida from a category 5 storm to category 3, it’s still expected to leave more than $60 billion in damages in its wake. The storm also killed 10+ and knocked power out for 3 million plus for days. Link. Link.

• Home insurers in North Carolina are pushing for a substantial rate hike in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Link.

• Trump noted he will gut EV subsidies on ‘Day 1’ of his presidency, if elected. Link.

• BP scrapped plans to cut oil and gas output by 25% by 2030, citing stubbornly strong demand. Link.

• Lilium, an eVTOL developer that just raised $114 million in equity funding in May, is in financial distress. Link.

• The liquidity crisis at Northvolt, which we’ve been tracking, seems to be getting worse. Link.

• An updated analysis of the ‘The Living Planet Index (LPI),’ which is maintained by the Zoological Society of London and tracks population trends for 5,495 species from 1970-2020, found an average 73% decline in monitored vertebrate wildlife populations (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish), with freshwater populations suffering the heaviest declines at 85%. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds

⛏️ Kobold Metals, based out of Berkeley, CA, raised $491 million in equity funding for its algorithmic approach to identifying critical mineral deposits around the world. Link.

💰 Form Energy, based out of Somerville, MA, raised $405 million in Series F funding for its iron-air batteries designed for long-duration energy storage. T. Rowe Price led. Link.

🪵 Gropyus, based out of Vienna, Austria, raised $110 million in equity funding to use robots to build homes faster and more sustainably with automated timber-hybrid construction. Semapa and Practical Venture Capital led. Link.

⛏️ EnergyX, based out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, raised $75 million in crowdfunding from retail investors (a rather unorthodox approach at this stage) for its lithium extraction technology. Link.

🔬 Basecamp Research, based out of London, raised $60 million in Series B funding for its protein-discovery and advanced materials discovery technologies. Singular led. Link.

Medium-sized funding rounds

⚛️ Blue Energy, based out of Washington, D.C., raised a $45 million Series A to build small modular nuclear reactors underwater to make keeping the reactors cool easier. Engine Ventures and At One Ventures led. Link.

🚜 Xfarm Technologies, based out of Manno, Switzerland, raised ~$40 million in Series C funding for its sustainable farm-management software. Partech led. Link.

🥩 La Vie, based out of Paris, raised ~$27.5 million in equity crowdfunding to make plant-based meat products, like vegan meatballs. Zintinus, Sparkfood, and others invested. Link.

🧱 Paebbl, based out of Rotterdam, Netherlands, raised $25 million in Series A funding to store CO2 in concrete and other building materials. Capnamic led. Link.

📊 Scope3, based out of New York, raised $25 million in equity funding to help companies measure and reduce emissions from digital advertising and AI operations. GV led. Link.

🏢 Purpose Green, based out of Berlin, raised $15 million in seed funding for its “one-stop-shop” for energy-efficient renovations for multifamily residential and commercial buildings with an approach that blends consulting, software development, and construction management. Fifth Wall led. Link.

🌬️ Airloom Energy, based out of Laramie, WY, raised $13.75 million in equity funding for its next-generation wind turbines. Lowercarbon Capital and Breakthrough Energy Ventures led. Link.

🌳 AirForestry, based out of Uppsala, Sweden, raised ~$11.3 million in seed funding for its electric aerial tree harvesting drones. Cutting out ground-based harvesting machines could help disrupt biodiversity less. Northzone led. Link.

🧪 Emvolon, based in Woburn, MA, emerged from stealth with $10.5 million in equity and grant funding for its modular container-sized systems, which can turn methane into renewable fuels and chemicals, like methanol, on-site. Link.

⛏️ Lithios, based out of Medford, MA, raised $10 million in seed funding to develop advanced lithium extraction technology. Clean Energy Ventures led. Link.

Smaller funding rounds

🔋 Voltfang, based out of Aachen, Germany, raised ~$8.8 million in Series A funding for its battery storage systems and energy management system. FORWARD.One led. Link.

⚡ SuperNode, based out of Dublin, Ireland, raised ~$8.8 million in equity funding for its superconducting electricity transmission technologies. Volnay and Aker Horizons. Link.

🤖 Molg, based out of Sterling, VA, raised $5.5 million in seed funding for its robotic disassembling factories that facilitate more circular manufacturing. Closed Loop Partners led. Link.

🍈 The JackFruit Company, based out of Boulder, CO, raised $5 million in extended Series B funding to make jackfruit-based meat alternatives. InvestEco, Creadev, and Grosvenor Food & AgTech led. Link.

🧊 Windmill, based out of New York, raised $5 million in Series A funding to make energy-efficient air conditioners and air purifiers. Yeti Capital and Pentland Ventures. Link.

📊 Forward Earth, based out of Berlin, Germany, raised ~$5 million in seed funding for its carbon management software solutions. Mosaic Ventures led. Link.

🦠 BaCta, based out of Paris, raised ~$3.6 million in pre-seed funding to use engineered E.coli bacteria to ‘grow’ rubber in vitro. OVNI Capital led. Link.

🔌 Grounded, based out of Detroit, raised $3.5 million in pre-seed to make “smart and modular” electric camper vans. Also Capital and The 81 Collection led. Link.

🏭 Planetary SA, based out of Cologny, Switzerland, raised CHF ~$3.5 million in equity funding from Cosun to make food ingredients made via fermentation. Link.

⚡ Synergi, based out of Helsinki, Finland, raised ~$2.2 million in seed funding for its software that helps consumers and utilities participate in flexible electricity markets. Greencode Ventures led. Link.

🔩 Fortius Metals, based out of Lafayette, CO, raised $2 million in additional “seed+” funding from Finindus for its additive metals manufacturing business. Link. 

📊 Quixotic, based out of Madrid, raised ~$1.4 million in seed funding for its energy management software. Demium and Bynd Venture Capital led. Link.

📊 Vested Impact, based out of London, raised ~$1.4 million in seed funding to help companies and asset managers measure their environmental and social impact for regulatory purposes. Impact Shakers Ventures led. Link.

📊 In Bold Print, based out of Chicago, raised $1 million in pre-seed funding for its carbon accounting business. VC 414 led. Link.

Other funding rounds

⚡ BrightNight, based out of New York City, raised $440 million in equity funding from Goldman Sachs Alternatives for its utility-scale renewables development and operations business. Link.

🧪 Monolith Materials, based out of Lincoln, NE, raised an undisclosed amount in equity funding from TPG Rise Climate, Decarbonization Partners, and others to make cleaner hydrogen and carbon black. Link to the funding here and more on Monolith Materials on our podcast here.

✈️ New Frontier Aerospace, based out of Tukwila, WA, raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Pacific Bays Capital to manufacture advanced rocket engines for more sustainable aviation. Link.

🔋 Altris, based out of Uppsala, Sweden, raised an undisclosed amount of equity funding from Clarios to make sodium-ion battery technologies. Link.

🍫 California Cultured, based out of Davis, CA, raised what it noted was a “significant investment” from Sparkalis to use plant cell cultures to produce flavanol-rich cocoa. Link.

🌾 Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network, based out of Norwich, U.K., received ~$3.9 million in grant funding from the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs to help develop more pest and disease-resilient legumes. Link.

New funds

💵 Ember Infrastructure, based out of New York, raised $500 million for its second fund, out of which it will make investments in sustainability-focused infrastructure. Link (paywall).

💰 Diagram, based out of Montreal, raised ~$58 million for its first climate tech venture fund. Link.

Bye,

– Nick