🌏 See you at NYCW #215

Happy Monday, and happy official start to Autumn!

It’s that magical time of year again: New York Climate Week is upon us, bringing its signature whirlwind of events, meetings, networking, and happy hours. For the climate tech community, it’s the busiest — and hopefully, the best — week on the calendar. Whether you're still juggling event waitlists or have your schedule locked in, we hope you’ve solidified your plan of action.

We're keeping this newsletter edition light ahead of this jam-packed week. We also hope to connect with you over the next few days — the CTVC team is on the ground, and come say hi if you see us. Plus, you can expect our usual NYCW recap in your inbox on Friday. But don’t worry, we’ve still got climate tech deals, news stories, jobs, and opportunities for you today.

In deals, $645m for e-SAFs, $165m for consumer goods reuse, and $69m for CO2 utilization.

In other news, what the Fed’s rate cut means for clean energy projects, the DOE announced $3bn in investments to strengthen domestic battery manufacturing supply chains, and Constellation is reopening Pennsylvania’s nuclear plant.

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Deals of the Week (9/16 - 9/22)

Late-Stage / Growth

⚡ Twelve, a Berkeley, CA-based e-SAFs and CO2 to products developer, raised $645m in Project finance and Series C funding from TPG Rise Climate, Capricorn Investment Group, Pulse Fund, Alaska Star Ventures, Carbon Direct Capital, and other investors.

💨 Air Company, a Brooklyn, NY-based CO2 utilization developer, raised $69m in Series B funding from Avfuel, Alaska Airlines, Carbon Direct Capital, Connecticut Innovations, Lowercarbon Capital, and other investors.

🌾 Pairwise, a Durham, NC-based genetic engineering platform for food and agriculture, raised $40m in Series C funding from Deerfield Management, Aliment Capital, Corteva, and Leaps by Bayer.

🚗 DeepDrive, a Munich, Germany-based electric motor manufacturer, raised $34m in Series B funding from Leitmotif, BMW i Ventures, Bayern Kapital, UVC Partners, Continental, and co-pace.

🌱 Datamaran, a London, UK-based ESG risk management platform, raised $33m in Series C funding from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital.

👕 Ecovative Design, a Green Island, NY-based mycelium technology platform, raised $28m in Growth funding.

Early-Stage

🐄 MiAlgae, an Edinburgh, Scotland-based microalgae production technology platform, raised $18m in Series A funding from Ananke, Ascension Ventures, Clay Capital, Equity Gap, Old College Capital, and other investors.

💨 Phlair, a Munich, Germany-based modular DAC platform, raised $16m in Seed and Grant funding from Extantia, Atlantic Labs, Counteract, Planet A Ventures, UnternehmerTUM, and other investors.

🛰 Brightband, a San Francisco, CA-based AI weather forecasting platform, raised $10m in Series A funding from Prelude Ventures, CLAI Ventures, Future Back Ventures, and Starshot Capital.

🌱 Smalt, a Berlin, Germany-based green talent development platform, raised $9m in Seed funding from noa, APX, General Catalyst, and Owl Ventures.

🔋 Safire, a Tysons Corner, VA-based battery safety technology developer, raised $8m in Seed funding from Canaan Partners, Automotive Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Higher Life Ventures, Potomac Angel Capital, and other investors.

🏠 Lightium, a Zürich, Switzerland-based thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) developer, raised $7m in Seed funding from Lakestar and Vsquared Ventures.

🌱 Zevero, a London, UK-based carbon accounting platform, raised $7m in Seed funding from Spiral Capital and East Ventures.

☔ Dunya Analytics, a Wilmington, DE-based science-based risk analytics service, raised $1m in Pre-Seed funding from Synovia Capital, KDX, and Persei Venture.

Other

📦 Raylo, a London, UK-based consumer goods reuse platform, raised $165m in Debt funding from NatWest Group and Quilam.

🛵 Stark Future, a Barcelona, Spain-based electric motorcycle technology manufacturer, raised $45m in Debt funding from European Investment Bank (EIB).

⚡ Nomad Solar Energy, a Madrid, Spain-based mobile solar generators manufacturer, raised $17m from Tilt Capital Partners.

🌾 Nitricity, a Fremont, CA-based renewable nitrogen fertilizer developer, raised $4m in Grant funding from the US Department of Agriculture.

⚡ 8 Rivers, a Durham, CA-based net-zero solutions provider, raised an undisclosed amount in Corporate Strategic funding from JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation.

🧱 Sublime Systems, Somerville, MA-based low-carbon cement developer, raised an undisclosed amount in Corporate Strategic funding from Holcim.

Exits

🏠 Planon, a Nijmegen, Netherlands-based building management software, was acquired by Schneider Electric for an undisclosed amount.

🌾 EnGeniousAg, an Ames, IA-based nitrogen sensing technology platform, was acquired by CropX for an undisclosed amount.

🏗 ENVI-met, an Essen, Germany-based 3D microclimate modeling software, was acquired by One Click LCA for an undisclosed amount.

New Funds

BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Microsoft, and MGX, announced a new partnership to invest up to $100bn in critical infrastructure for AI-driven power demand.

Elemental Impact, a Honolulu, HI-based investment firm, announced a $100m funding program through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) that will invest in companies scaling climate technologies.

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In the News

The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point, marking the first rate cut since 2020. Historically, lower interest rates have made it easier to finance capital-intensive projects like wind, solar, and battery storage. The rate cut lowers debt servicing costs, making clean energy developments more financially attractive, but broader economic and political uncertainty may still temper investments.

Meanwhile, the US DOE announced deployments of over $3bn to support domestic battery materials processing and recycling for 25 selected projects across 14 states. The funding will help strengthen US supply chains for critical components like lithium and cobalt, key to expanding renewable energy and electric vehicle adoption.

In nuclear news, Constellation Energy plans to open the Crane Clean Energy Center in Illinois, amid renewed interest in nuclear power as part of the US' clean energy strategy. The project will add 800 MW of nuclear power to the grid and create 1,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent positions. Additionally, Constellation announced it will reopen Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear plant, potentially adding 837 MW by 2028. In a strong demand signal, Microsoft signed on as an offtaker in its push to power data centers with clean power.

Elemental Impact, formerly Elemental Excelerator, has opened applications for a $100m initiative under the US EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). This funding aims to support early-stage climate startups focused on reducing emissions. The initiative will provide grants and loans, helping startups scale technologies in areas such as renewables, energy efficiency, and carbon capture.

A major lithium mine shutdown is raising hopes of stabilizing the struggling market. Driven by oversupply, lithium prices have dropped by nearly 50% from their peak in 2022. The mine’s closure, which affects around 8% of global supply, may help rebalance the market, offering relief to lithium producers and battery manufacturers grappling with tightening margins.

Multilateral development banks have pledged $125 billion in climate finance in 2023, up by 25% since 2022. Climate finance for high income economies increased nearly 50%, while low and middle income economies grew by only 23%. Critics have argued that more funding needs to flow to climate adaptation technologies to help combat natural disasters and climate change in low- to middle-income communities.

Pop-up

Heavy hitters RMI, Third Derivative, Deep Science Ventures, and Builders Vision are swinging for the fences with the launch of Mark1, a developer-as-a-service for capital-intensive climate FOAK projects.

Frontier is leading the charge with a new round of $4.5m in pre-purchase CDR deals.

The science behind why we love baby hippo Moo Deng.

Geoengineering’s day in the sun continues as the UK earmarks $75m for more research.

McKinsey’s new report, Global Energy Perspective 2024, gives a roadmap to drive toward the future of energy.

Hannah Ritchie’s latest piece dives into desalinization.

A new climate change emoji is on the way, and we can't wait.

The Hague is the first city to enact a law banning fossil fuel ads, putting emitters in the hot seat.

Opportunities & Events

📅 CTVC X NYCW Event Tracker: Check out our public-facing New York Climate Week events tracker, to help climate tech founders, funders, and supporters to find one another and forge a best-laid plan amidst the decentralized chaos.

📅 Engine x Boost VC Competition Happy Hour: RSVP to join the Tough Tech Startup Competition kickoff on September 30th to learn about the opportunity to win a $50K SAFE for your climate tech startup and meet like-minded investors and founders.

📅 Energy Transition Europe: Register to attend the 2024 Energy Transition Europe conference from September 30-October 1 to network with leading experts in energy, utilities, government, and finance who are executing cost-effective low-carbon strategies.

💡 Brains Research Accelerator: Apply to be a part of the Brains Research Accelerator by October 21st for mentorship and support in pursuing your pre-commercial climate solutions that don’t fit within an academic lab, but are too research-intensive for a startup.

💡 TechX Clean Energy Accelerator: Apply to the TechX Clean Energy Accelerator program by October 27th for a chance to be one of 10 innovative clean energy startups working to accelerate the transition to an affordable, net-zero energy industry.