Methane misestamations

Hi all,

Congrats to Gabe, who got married this weekend!! We spent the whole weekend celebrating and will likely spend the next week recovering. Save for the fact that Nick’s en route to the airport to head out to SF Climate Week. See you there?

In today’s email:

• One story in a chart and a sentence

• Climate tech and energy headlines from the week

• Climate tech fundraising announcements

A MESSAGE FROM NEWLAB

What do three startups working on self-driving shipping technology, seaweed removal for carbon capture, and EV retrofitting have in common? 

They will all debut their tech at Newlab’s Pilot Showcase on May 7th. 

Join Newlab on livestream as these trailblazing companies (and 5 others) unveil their groundbreaking technologies and real-world pilot projects with major corporate partners like Ford’s Michigan Central, NYC DOT, and Invest PR. 

Register here to view the showcase virtually.

Want to sponsor Keep Cool? Click here.

THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE TECH & ENERGY

One story in a sentence (and a chart)

• Facepalm for the issuer of my second passport: New analysis by Ember suggests that German coal mines emit 184x (!) more methane than what Germany has previously reported to the United Nations. Link.

13 headlines

• For a brief moment this week, batteries were the largest single source of power on California's grid. That would have been wholly inconceivable a few years ago, even. Link.

• The Bureau of Land Management will grant categorical exclusions from environmental review processes to geothermal energy exploration projects in the U.S., which should accelerate development. Link.

• Tepco, a Japanese power company, is loading fuel into the world's biggest nuclear power plant for the first time since 2011. The plant was shuttered after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster; changing sentiment for nuclear energy has seen Japan recommit to existing assets. Link.

• Natural gas certified as lower in methane emissions from upstream production has rapidly been gaining traction in U.S. markets. While methane and natural gas are a commodity, there are still many distinctions between methane, ranging from low-emission to ultra-high-purity and more. Link.

• In surprising news to me, the world installed a record amount of wind energy capacity last year (117 GW). Granted, China accounted for wholly 65% of capacity additions. Link.

• ACEN Corporation and The Rockefeller Foundation announced a pilot project to try to retire a coal plant in the Philippines on an accelerated timeline by leveraging carbon credit finance and replacing the generation capacity with solar and battery energy storage. Link.

• The Dutch government earmarked €100M in subsidies for solar-plus-storage projects in 2025. Link.

• New York City’s first all-electric skyscraper, a 44-story apartment building in Brooklyn named ‘Alloy Block’ opened this week. Link.

• The Biden Administration plans to triple existing tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports, a move similar to Europe's CBAM that could shelter domestic industries as they decarbonize. Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior plans to protect over 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, banning new oil and gas leases on at least 10.6 million acres. Link. Link.

• Ecuador has begun rationing electricity as a Latin America-wide drought linked to El Niño has depleted reservoirs at hydroelectric plants. Link.

• Tesla is preparing to lay off 10% of its workforce and also saw a number of key executive departures this week, none of which is a stellar sign for one of the world's biggest EV sellers & manufacturers. Rivian also started its third round of layoffs in a year. Link. Link. Link.

• Pachama, a climate startup focused on nature-based solutions that has raised $88M, laid off 30% of its staff last week. Lion Electric, a Canadian electric truck manufacturer, is also cutting 9% of staff. Link.

• Scotland acknowledged its goal to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030 is untenable. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds

🚁 Skyports, based out of London, raised $110M in Series C funding to develop infrastructure for advanced electric air mobility. ACS Group led. More here. (U.K., Transportation)

🚚 Windrose Technology, based out of Hefei, China, raised $100M in Series B funding for its electric heavy-duty trucks. HSBC, HITE Hedge Asset Management, and Goodman Group invested. More here. (China, Transportation)

🛰️ Iceye, based out of Espoo, Finland, raised $93M in equity funding for its microsatellite manufacturing business and Earth-observation solutions. Solidium Oy led. More here. (Finland, Data Applications)

🔩 Magnus Metal, based out of Tel Aviv, raised $74M in Series B funding to make more efficient industrial metal castings. Entrée Capital and Target Global led. More here. (Israel, Industry)

⚡ GridBeyond, based out of Dublin, raised ~$55M in Series C funding for its energy management software that helps large businesses manage and optimize their energy use, storage, and generation. Klima led. More here. (Ireland, Energy)

Medium-sized funding rounds

🥩 Mosa Meat, based out of Maastricht, Netherlands, raised ~$42.6M in equity funding to make cultivated beef. Lowercarbon Capital led. More here. (Netherlands, Food & Agriculture)

🚗 Bcomp, based out of Fribourg, Switzerland, raised $40M in Series C funding to make high-performance, sustainable materials from natural fibers (like flax) for automotive interiors and other industries. EGS Beteiligungen led. More here. (Switzerland, Industry)

🏠 Quilt, based out of Redwood City, CA, raised $33M in Series A funding to make advanced heat pumps for home heating and cooling. Energy Impact Partners led. More here. (U.S., Built Environment)

🔌 Swtch Energy, based out of Toronto, raised $27.2M in Series B funding to install EV chargers in apartments and condos. Blue Earth Capital led. More here. (Canada, Transportation)

🌬️ Eocycle Technologies, based out of Montreal, Canada, raised $25M to expand production of its smaller wind turbines into the U.S. and Europe. Export Development Canada led. More here. (Canada, Energy)

🌱 Greeneye Technology, based out of Tel Aviv, Israel, raised $20M in equity funding for its precision agriculture startup. Deep Insight led. More here. (Israel, Food & Agriculture)

🧑‍🌾 Pula, based out of Nairobi, raised $20M in Series B funding to provide agricultural insurance and digital solutions to small farm operations. BlueOrchard led. More here. (Kenya, Food & Agriculture)

🌞 Ivy Energy, based out of San Diego, raised $18M in Series A funding to simplify solar billing for multifamily properties. SolarEdge led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

⚛️ Curio, based out of Washington, DC, raised $14M in seed funding to develop a closed fuel cycle for nuclear fusion applications. Synergos Holdings led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

🧱 Partanna, based out of the Bahamas, has raised $12M+ in equity funding to make green concrete. Matt Cheng of Cherubic Ventures has led so far. More here. (Bahamas, Materials)

⚡  Found Energy, based out of Boston, raised $12M in seed funding to make aluminum-coated fuel packs that generate hydrogen and heat when exposed to water. KOMPAS VC, Munich Re Ventures, Good Growth Capital, and others invested. More here. (U.S., Industry)

🔥 Fotokite, based out of Zürich, Switzerland, raised ~$11M in Series B funding to make autonomous tethered drones for firefighting and other applications. Carbyne Equity Partners led. More here. (Switzerland, Adaptation)

📊 Halcyon, a new startup co-founded by Nat Bullard and based out of San Francisco, raised $10.8M in seed funding to build a new data intelligence and AI-powered search service for energy transition work. The platform is designed to, for instance, sort through unstructured information like public utility commissions and energy regulators releases. More here (paywall). (U.S., Energy)

♻️ Breaking, based out of Boston, raised $10.5M in seed funding to engineer microorganisms to degrade plastic waste. Builders VC, Animal Capital, and Climate Capital invested. More here. (U.S., Materials)

Smaller funding rounds

🍎 AIPERIA, based out of Würzburg, Germany, raised $8M in Series A funding to manage supermarket, restaurant, and other food service providers’ inventories with an eye for reducing food waste. ETF Partners and LBBW VC co-led. More here. (Germany, Food & Agriculture)

📊 Cozero, based out of Berlin, raised ~$6.9M in Series A funding for its carbon management software. Kvanted Ventures and EnBW New Ventures led. More here. (Germany, Data Applications)

🔎 Momentick, based out of Tel Aviv, raised $6.5M in seed funding to build software to interpret emissions tracking data from satellites. Chartered Group Japan and TAU Ventures. More here. (Israel, Data Applications)

🧴 AmphiStar, based out of Ghent, Belgium, raised ~$6.4M in equity funding to make more environmentally friendly surfactants for shampoo, cosmetics, and cleaning products. European Circular Bioeconomy Fund led. More here. (Belgium, Industry)

♨️ MGA Thermal, based out of Tomago, Australia, raised $5.7M in equity funding for its thermal energy storage technology. Main Sequence, Melt Ventures, and others invested. More here. (Australia, Energy)

📊 Sumday, based out of Burnie, Australia, raised $5.3M in seed funding for its carbon accounting startup. Planeteer led. More here. (Australia, Data Applications)

👷 Condoit, based out of Birmingham, AL, raised $4.25M in seed funding to make software for electricians to manage electrical data on job sites. The Westly Group led. More here. (U.S., Energy)

⚡ HyLight, based out of Paris, raised $4M in equity funding to use hydrogen-powered airship drones to inspect power lines and other energy infrastructure. Y Combinator, Ring Capital, Kima Ventures, and Collaborative Fund invested. More here. (U.S., Infrastructure)

🪨 Metalplant, based out of the Bay Area, raised $3.7M in equity funding for its enhanced rock weathering carbon removal startup that also yields nickel production. Carbon Removal Partners, Carbon Drawdown Initiative, Climate Capital and others invested. More here and here. (U.S., Carbon Removal)

💸 Unwritten, based out of London, raised $3.5M in seed funding to provide investors with climate risk intelligence and data. Connect Ventures led. More here. (U.K., Finance)

🌾 OlsAro, based out of Goteborg, Sweden, raised ~$2.7M in seed funding for its more resilient wheat crop varieties. Future Food Fund and PINC led. More here. (Sweden, Food & Agriculture)

💦 NPHarvest, based out of Espoo, Finland, raised ~$2.3M in equity funding to recycle wastewater nutrients for fertilizer. Nordic Foodtech VC led. More here. (Finland, Food & Agriculture)

🥕 Saveggy, based out of Lund, Sweden, raised ~$1.9M in equity funding to make plant-based packaging for vegetables. Unconventional Ventures led. More here. (Sweden, Materials) 

⚡💦 Verne, based out of San Francisco, raised an undisclosed amount of strategic funding for its hydrogen storage systems from Trucks Venture Capital, United Airlines Ventures, and others. More here. (U.S., Transportation)

New funds

💰 Chevron, based out of West Babylon, TX, launched its third clean energy fund, for which it garnered $500M. It plans to focus on industrial decarbonization, mobility, and “circular carbon economy" applications. More here. (U.S., Funds)

💰 Wellington Management, based out of Boston, MA, raised $385M for its first fund focused exclusively on making climate investments. For context, Wellington has more than $1T in assets under management. More here (paywall). (U.S., Funds)

💰 SOSV, based out of Princeton, New Jersey, raised its fifth fund to the tune of $306M to invest in early stage climate tech startups, especially those focused on energy decarbonization. More here. (U.S., Funds)

💰 Magnesium Capital, based out of London, raised ~$144M for its debut buyout fund focused on the energy transition. More here. (U.K., Funds)

🖥️ The Bezos Earth Fund announced a multi-year, $100M pledge for AI solutions that help address climate and environmental problems. More here. (U.S., Funds)

OTHER COOL STUFF

The HackSummit, Europe’s largest gathering of ClimateTech builders and investors is coming to Lausanne, Switzerland on June 13-14. And you’re invited!

1,500 of the brightest minds in climate will convene for the summit, including Daria Saharova of World Fund, Ginger Dosier of Biomason, Lubomila Jordanova of Plan A, Kevin Webb of Superorganism, Keely Anson of Collaborative Fund and more. I won’t be able to make it personally, but I wish I could! 

Ready to join? Use the code KEEPCOOL20 to save 20% on your pass.

MEME OF THE WEEK

Best,

– Nick