Sheesh

Hello,

Well, that was a week. I'm still not going to opine much on the U.S. election yet, though there are plenty of election news-related tidbits included in here. A more comprehensive opinion piece will take some time. I might even skip it altogether.

For what it’s worth, I am confident the work I cover here and that you all already help advance, or, at minimum, train your curiosity towards in these pages occasionally is as important if not more so than ever. For my part, I’ll continue to try to home in on and articulate where, how, and why 'real,' positive impact is being made (and how to help).

As always, this newsletter includes plenty of good news and fundraising announcements for cool companies and funds. It also includes plenty of not-so-good news. If you don't need more of that right now, feel free to skip those sections. Or throw your phone in a river!

More thoughts, election-related and not, coming soon. FYI: I curated a lot of info today as there's a) a lot going on and b) it made me feel a bit a touch more agentic.

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)

• It’s the economy, silly: While often not even presented as an option in polling, climate change was not a defining issue for voters in most recent U.S. elections, especially at the national / presidential level (true whether you look at pre or post-election polling). Link.

25+ headlines

The good

• The Federal Reserve cut interest rates in the U.S. again. While this could spur more inflation, which can hamper the energy transition in many ways, it makes financing infrastructure needed for the energy transition cheaper. Lower rates also help lower-emission infrastructure projects—whether massive solar farms or individual EV charging stations—more than fossil-fuel-fired ones. Wood Mackenzie estimates that a 2% increase in interest rates raises the cost of energy produced by a modal renewables project close to 20%, compared to roughly 10% for other types of power plants (second link). Link. Link.

• The EU's climate commissioner reaffirmed plans to end sales of combustion engines by 2035 and to tighten carbon dioxide emissions limits on light-duty vehicles next year. Some EU national governments and auto manufacturers have pushed back considerably on these planned policies, but so far, they seem set to hold. Link. Link.

• Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down ~31% year-over-year. Link.

• Mitsubishi and Nissan launched a joint venture to advance their autonomous driving and vehicle-to-grid (using electric vehicle batteries as storage batteries) capacities. Link.

• Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia, a sister company to Hanwha Q Cells, started producing encapsulate and backsheet for solar panels at its new factory in Georgia in August, it announced this week in Axios. Link.

• There were plenty of specific climate-focused initiatives across U.S. states that offered bright spots in Tuesday's U.S. election results. For instance, Minnesotans approved a constitutional amendment to allocate a minimum of 40% of state lottery revenues to an environment and natural resources trust fund through 2050. The fund was first established in 1988 and provides capital to conservation. Link.

• New York Governor Kathy Hochul wants to revive a congestion pricing rule for Manhattan before President-elect Trump is inaugurated, though the rule should already be in effect had Hochul not wobbled and whiffed on implementing it back in the summer. Link. Link.

• Avina Clean Hydrogen broke ground on a green hydrogen project in the City of Vernon (near the Port of Long Beach). The facility aims to produce up to 4 metric tons per day of compressed green hydrogen through electrolysis, which could make it one of the larger electrolytic hydrogen production sites globally. Link.

• Archer Aviation inked an agreement with Soracle Corp., a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corp that grants Soracle the right to purchase up to 100 eVTOLs from Archer. Link.

• "LingoSat," the world's first wooden satellite, is now orbiting the Earth as part of a project spearheaded by Japanese scientists to prove wood 'works' in space and can offer sustainability advantages versus aluminum. Aluminum burns up in the atmosphere when satellites reach the end of their useful life and plummet back to Earth. That burning aluminum reentering the Earth's atmosphere can damage the ozone layer, whereas wood is likely more innocuous in this regard and not emissions-intensive to produce in the first place. These are small steps, on the whole, but it's kinda neat. Link.

The inbetweens

• Regarding the U.S. election, it is worth noting that certain Democratic candidates in Senate and House races outperformed Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign dramatically. Take Rashida Tlaib, who outperformed Karris almost twofold in a successful Michigan House of Representatives campaign, likely to some extant thanks to her distancing herself from Biden / Harris Admin policies (or the absence of policies/stances). Link (paywall).

• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (‘FERC’) rejected a proposal for Amazon to co-locate a data center with an existing nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Further, a plan from Meta to power data centers with nuclear energy was also apparently derailed by conflicts with environmental permitting and protections for a rare bee species. As much as the world is awash in headlines about renewed enthusiasm and investment in nuclear power, decisions like this one, piled on top of existing regulatory, time-to-build, and cost-over-run challenges that have plagued nuclear for decades, tinge the comprehensive picture of how much additional impact nuclear fission power will drive in the U.S., at least in the short-term. Link. Link. Link.

I put the above in the ‘inbetweens’ section because I’m far from sufficiently informed to tell you whether these regulatory and permitting restrictions are ‘appropriate’ or examples of government overreach and bureaucracy hamstringing the energy transition, though I tend to imagine it’s more the latter than the former.

The bad

• After Trump was elected as the 47th President of the U.S. and the GOP performed well in Senate and House races, too—effectively receiving a strong mandate to govern with a broad ‘range of motion’ from 2025 to 2029—publicly traded stocks of global companies ranging from wind turbine manufacturers to solar developers and more dropped precipitously even as the rest of U.S. public markets rallied massively. Offshore wind-exposed companies, in particular, like Orsted and Vestas, cratered, even as they’ve already dramatically underperformed in recent years (how low can you go?). Link. Link.

• Climate change does not appear to have been a particularly motivating factor for voters in U.S. elections, at least not at the federal level, as issues like the economy, inflation, immigration, and others dominated. To be sure, climate does matter to many people, and exit polls often don’t even ask folks whether they care about climate change as a voting consideration. Still, based on national results, on the whole, there’s a lot of reflection I reckon we can all do and contribute to around how best to communicate climate challenges (and opportunities) in a way that resonates with people more. It probably also means not using broad, amorphous, ambiguous terms like “climate” to subsume a host of complicated things in general. More thoughts on that soon. Link. Link. Link.

• 2024 will likely be the hottest year on record since the Industrial Revolution again. It’s expected to be more than 1.5°C (2.7°F) warmer than pre-industrial levels, though one year does not the long-term average make. Link. Link. Link.

• Swedish battery maker Northvolt needs to raise ~$900 million plus in capital over the next year to have a shot at solvency, reports Sifted and Dagens (a Swedish news site). As highlighted last week, I highly recommend the deep dive from Intercalation Station (second link) on why battery manufacturing is so hard and details on the ongoing unraveling of Northvolt. The company may survive, but it will serve as a cautionary tale regardless of what happens next. Link. Link.

• Swiss solar panel manufacturer Meyer Burger noted its ability to continue operating “cannot be assured” given dire financial straights amidst low solar PV prices and Chinese competition. Link.

• Chinese tariffs are starting to seriously bite in the U.S. For instance, America’s largest drone manufacturer (not ‘climate tech,’ but illustrative) is now unable to source sufficient batteries from Chinese manufacturers. While this underscores the importance of building out more U.S. battery manufacturing, factories being built today will take time to get to full operational capacity and even longer before there’s any semblance of a domestic battery manufacturing industry with any of China’s comparable scale. Similarly, if the Trump Administration wades into more tariffs in 2025, it could intensify the ‘trade war’ dynamics here. Link.

• Amidst all that’s afoot in the U.S., the German government is disintegrating, as Chancellor Scholz announced he will no longer attend the COP29 climate summit as domestic matters are his chief concern at the moment. The EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, will also skip COP29. Germany’s challenges right now include industrial productivity losses, fracturing political coalitions, high energy prices (still exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine), industrial and manufacturing abroad (China), and similar right vs. left political struggles metastasizing around the world. This all matters as Germany is the biggest economy in the EU and has tried to position itself as a leader in the energy transition. A new government could bring benefits, though, including a push by some parties to restart recently shuttered nuclear reactors. Link. Link. Link. Link.

• Oil majors are boosting their output, a fact that’s entirely at odds with effectively any international and national targets to hold global warming to certain levels. Exxon’s oil output rose by 24% year-over-year, though much of that stems from a $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. Chevron increased production by 7% year-over-year, while Shell and BP buoyed output by 4% and 2%, respectively year-over-year. Exxon’s oil production costs in Guyana and the Permian are also purportedly under $35 per barrel (roughly half the current oil price, yielding juicy margins). OPEC is also considering increasing its oil supply, even as oil prices have been down over recent months. Link. Link. Link. Link. Link. 

• In a recent filing, BP also noted it has dropped 18 early-stage hydrogen projects, which is a pretty significant blow to the (very nascent and potentially fragile) green hydrogen industry. Mind you, BP rebranded as “Beyond Petroleum” some ~20 years ago but has refocused on its core oil and gas business substantially in recent years, selling down renewable assets, too. Link. Link.

• Bowery Farming, a New York-based indoor farming startup once valued at $2.3 billion, is shutting down. Link.

• Monarch Tractor, a Livermore, CA-based company developing electric, autonomous tractors that raised $220 million, is laying off 10% of its employees (following a 15% layoff in July). Link.

• Pakistani cities are struggling with record-breaking air pollution, hospitalizing hundreds and highlighting the evergreen risks of coal combustion and diesel combustion in combustion cars in general, as well as those posed by farmers burning crop residues post-harvest. Link. Link.

• New York City, of all places, has declared drought conditions. October was an extremely dry month, both in the U.S. and across other parts of the world in general. In Brooklyn, Prospect Park was on fire over the weekend, and New Jersey wildfires rendered the air quality across the city poor (quite noticeably so for me). Link. Link. Link. Link. Link.

• Valencia, Spain, devastated by recent flooding, has asked the Spanish government for ~$34 billion to fund flood recovery efforts. Link.

P.S.: I won’t cover COP29 (happening soon) that much. I’m sure good work will be done there. Still, it’s not really my beat and I’m increasingly skeptical of voluntary global pledges, which are often not met with the requisite and oft-promised action and investment after their announcements. It’s being hosted in Azerbaijan, a country that hasn’t really tried to curtail massive methane emissions from its oil and gas operations and that launched a military offensive into the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region last year, displacing 100,000+ ethnic Armenians. Link. Link. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds

Missed this one last week, but also want to pen a few extra words on it:

⚡ Crusoe Energy, based out of Denver, CO, raised $500 million in equity funding at a $3 billion valuation for its waste-to-value business that takes stranded methane assets and uses them as fuel for data center power generation or prop bitcoin mining. While burning methane emits carbon dioxide, more complete combustion in a generator is preferable to flaring or venting methane, which is otherwise commonplace on oil and gas extraction sites. Flaring and venting together are responsible for 70%+ of the direct methane emissions attributable to the oil and gas sector; a significantly larger methane emissions source than midstream pipeline leaks.

Here’s the link for the fundraising announcement, and here’s a link to an article I wrote about this business based on an interview with CEO and co-founder Chase Lochmiller almost four years ago. I have covered plenty of businesses that folded or aren’t doing so hot, but sometimes, I get it right.

Medium-sized funding rounds

🪱 Tebrio, based out of Salamanca, Spain, raised ~$32.4 million in equity funding to breed and process mealworms for animal feed, bioplastics, and more. Banco de Santander, Sodical Instituto Financiero de Castilla y León, and others invested. Link.

🔋 Ampd Energy, based out of Hong Kong, raised $27.3 million in Series B funding to develop battery energy storage for heavy industry applications, including to replace diesel generators on construction sites. Kibo Invest and Openspace Ventures led. Link.

⚡ MetOx, based out of Houston, raised $15 million in additional Series B funding (raising the round from $25 million to $40 million) to develop high-temperature superconducting (HTS) electricity transmission and distribution wires. Centaurus Capital and New System Ventures invested. Link.

Smaller funding rounds

🛰️ Delos Insurance Solutions, based out of San Francisco, raised $9 million in Series A funding to leverage satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to assess wildfire risks. HSBC Asset Management led. Link.

📊 Xavveo, based out of Berlin, raised $8.6 million in seed funding to make distributed radar sensors for autonomous vehicles and factory automation. Vsquared Ventures and imec.xpand led. Link.

❌🗑️ Kanpla, based out of Aarhus, Denmark, raised ~$8.6 million in Series A funding for its cafeteria-management software developer that helps reduce food waste. HenQ led. Link.

🧊 Transaera, based out of Somerville, MA, raised $8.2 million in seed funding to make more efficient air conditioning and cooling systems. Clean Energy Ventures led. Link.

🌞 Glint Solar, based out of Oslo, raised $8 million in Series A funding for its software that helps companies identify and evaluate sites for large-scale solar energy projects in Europe. Smedvig Ventures led. Link.

🏭 Advex AI, based out of San Francisco, raised $3.5 million in seed funding to improve production-grade AI Vision models for manufacturing companies. Construct Capital led. Link.

🌊 SeaO2, based out of Amsterdam, raised ~$2.1 million in equity funding for its ocean-based carbon removal business that leverages an electrochemical process powered by renewable energy. Doen Participaties, Future Tech Ventures, CarbonFix, and others invested. Link.

🌿 Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering, based out of San Francisco, raised $2 million in pre-seed funding to use automated technologies to restore marine ecosystems, starting with seagrass meadow ecosystems, which often act as significant carbon sequestration sites. Lowercarbon Capital led with Regen Ventures and Superorganism participating. Link.

Other funding rounds

🔋 Freyr Battery, based out of Newnan, GA, will purchase a 5 GW solar panel assembly facility in Wilmer, TX, from Trina Solar, a Chinese solar manufacturer, for $340 million, as U.S. scrutiny over Chinese companies operating on U.S. soil and imports of materials from China tighten (both driven by U.S. and Chinese policy). Link. 

🌞 Primergy Solar, based out of Oakland, raised $225 million in project financing, including $100 million in a revolving credit facility from Rabobank, to expand its solar and storage project portfolio across North America. Link.

🔋 Iontra, based out of Centennial, CO, received $2.2 million in ARPA-E grant funding for its battery technologies focused on extending battery life. Link.

⚡💦 Advanced Ionics, based out of New Berlin, WI, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Lummus Venture Capital to make electrolyzers. Link.

🔍 Puloli, based out of San Francisco, raised an undisclosed amount of funding for its IoT methane monitoring technologies for the oil and gas sector. Link.

🍫 Nukoko, based out of Guildford, U.K., raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Döhler to make cocoa-free chocolate from fava beans. Link.

New funds

💰 Pelican Energy Partners, based out of Houston, raised $450 million for a new fund to invest $20 million to $35 million in ‘platform companies’ providing nuclear energy services or equipment providers. Link.

💰 Energize Capital, based out of Chicago, raised $265.8 million (so far) for its third fund to invest in climate-focused software. It expects to close the fund in early 2025. Link (paywall).

💰 Axeleo Capital, based out of Paris, raised ~$133.8 million as part of an ongoing fundraising effort to invest in climate startups building first-of-a-kind (‘FOAK’) plants. Investors in the fund included Révolution Environnementale et Solidaire fund, Bpifrance, and Veolia. Link.

💸 4impact Capital, based out of The Hague, Netherlands, raised $72.7 million for its second fund to invest in “companies that focus on sustainable and financial returns.” Link.

OTHER COOL STUFF

To end on a fun note, allow me to introduce you to Quilt’s new heat pump merch, which I’m obsessed with. I have often opined climate and energy work would benefit from being sexier and more ‘fashion.’ It’s like they read my mind. Check em’ out—I’ll be rocking the socks on the Brooklyn dance floors this winter for sure.

I’m not getting paid for this; no affiliate links. I just enjoy the vibe & vision (& heat pumps).

Take care,

– Nick