January 25, 2025
💡 In the Spotlight
The energy transition continues to prove unstoppable, driven by innovation, investment, and global demand for clean solutions. Despite the new U.S. administration’s focus on fossil fuels, renewable energy and sustainable technologies are achieving record-breaking milestones. This week, funding surged into sectors like EV battery recycling, sustainable aviation fuel production, and geothermal HVAC systems, reflecting how transformative solutions are scaling to meet critical energy and material challenges. These developments underscore that even amidst political shifts, the clean energy economy is advancing with resilience and urgency, reshaping the future of sustainability.
⚡️ Energy Transition
- Stargate, the $100B AI joint venture by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, will utilize solar and battery installations from SB Energy to power new data centers, addressing rising energy demands as U.S. data center power consumption climbs to 12% by 2028.
- Amazon commits $1B to electrify its European logistics network with 200 Mercedes-Benz eActros trucks, transporting 350M packages annually and cutting Scope 3 emissions, advancing its Climate Pledge to achieve net-zero carbon by 2040.
- ecoplanet raises €16M Series A led by EQT Ventures with HV Capital support to expand its AI-powered energy management platform, enabling businesses to cut energy costs by 20% while aligning consumption with green, affordable electricity.
- Amperesand raises $12.5M seed funding to scale silicon carbide-based solid-state transformers, enabling efficient integration of solar, nuclear, and grid power for data centers, as global demand for 185 GW of data center capacity by 2028 drives innovation.
- Bedrock Energy raises $12M Series A led by Titanium Ventures to scale deep geothermal HVAC systems for offices and data centers, offering twice the cooling efficiency of air-based systems while cutting land use by up to 67% in space-constrained areas.
- Boeing invests in Norsk e-Fuel to scale Europe’s first industrial Power-to-Liquids plant producing e-SAF from green hydrogen and recycled CO2, aiming to cut aviation emissions by 90%, as SAF adoption accelerates under EU mandates and industry net-zero goals for 2050.
- BlackRock and Temasek’s Decarbonization Partners lead Orennia’s Series C round, boosting its AI-powered platform Ion_AI, which optimizes energy transition investments across renewables, storage, and clean fuels, as capital demand surges for net-zero economy solutions by 2050.
♻️ Circular Economy & Novel Materials
- Circunomics secures €8M in Series A funding led by GET Fund and Schaeffler to expand its AI-powered battery lifecycle marketplace globally, targeting the growing market for second-life EV batteries and sustainable energy storage solutions by 2030.
☁️ Carbon-Tech
- Microsoft expands its re.green partnership, adding 17,500 hectares of forest restoration in Brazil and securing 3.5M tons of carbon removal credits, advancing its 2030 carbon-negative goal as demand surges for scalable nature-based decarbonization solutions.
- LRQA acquires RESET Carbon, expanding its supply chain carbon management services to global markets after supporting 300 facilities across 11 countries, as Scope 3 reporting mandates and ESG compliance pressures rise across sectors like consumer goods and retail.
- Origen Power secures $13M Series A funding led by Barclays Climate Ventures, with Shell Ventures and others, to scale its limestone-based direct air capture (DAC) technology, targeting global carbon removal and advancing a 1,000 tpa project in North Dakota.
🌳 Other Climate News
- AllianzGI and EIB close €450M Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund, leveraging KfW’s €20M contribution to mobilize up to €7.5B for 150 renewable, efficiency, and resiliency projects, as public-private partnerships drive climate finance in developing nations.
- Colorado State University secures $326M from DOE and EPA to enhance oil and gas operations, cut methane emissions by up to 90%, and build a national emissions inventory, marking its largest-ever federal award to advance climate goals and workforce development.
- BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund closes at €172M, exceeding its €150M target, to back 15 startups in Europe and North America focused on energy transition, sustainable agriculture, and biodiversity.
📈 Market Monitor
📝 Omer Agadi, Data Analyst, Firstime Ventures
