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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Svante, an industrial carbon capture developer based outside Vancouver, British Columbia, is the latest carbon capture unicorn following its $318 million Series E, Alan reports.

Why it matters: Svante says its modular system brings together two types of emissions tech: carbon capture from heavy industry, and carbon removal from the air. 

Driving the news: OGCI Climate Investments announced this morning that the Series E pushed Svante’s valuation past $1 billion.

The fund was among the dozen-plus investors that participated in the Series E, which closed Dec. 15. 

Chevron led. Existing investors Temasek, Delek and Hesta participated.

New investors included 3M Ventures, Full Circle Capital, GE Vernova, Japan Energy Fund, Liberty Media, M&G Catalyst, Samsung Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures and United Airlines Ventures.

How it works: Svante manufactures filters and "rotary contactor machines," which capture CO2 from both industrial emissions and the air.

Context: There are just a handful of carbon capture and/or removal unicorns.

The short list includes LanzaTech, Climeworks, Prometheus and South Pole.

Meanwhile: It's already crunch time for scaling nascent methods of pulling CO2 from the atmosphere, our colleague Ben Geman wrote this morning in Generate. 

A new report led by Oxford University found a yawning gap between what nations are planning and what's needed to meet Paris Agreement goals.

What's next: Svante plans to build a commercial-scale factory in Vancouver to supply filters modules for "hundreds of large-scale carbon capture and storage facilities," the company said.

1 big thing: 🦄 Another carbon capture unicorn

SunRoof, a Swedish startup that makes energy-producing solar roofing, raised €13.5 million (~$14.6 million) in extension funding, Megan reports.

Why it's the BFD: Falling costs and increasing government incentives are pushing investors to rethink the residential solar market, which has been dominated by a handful of incumbents. 

Details: World Fund, Nordic Alpha Partners and L&G Capital participated in the all-equity round and will join the company's advisory board. L&G Capital will also get a board observer seat, SunRoof CEO Lech Kaniuk tells Megan.

Klima Energy Transition led the initial €15 million raise in September. 

State of play: Costs associated with photovoltaic solar panels have decreased rapidly in the past five years, which has contributed to an increase in demand for residential installations.

Most installations in the U.S. and Europe are mounted on top of existing roofs, which helps keep the panels cool, but comes with a set of limitations for where and how they can be installed that can lead to less energy generation.

World Fund, a European climate-focused fund, calculated that SunRoof will contribute to 53% of all solar-installation deployments in its markets, with a cannibalization rate of 47%, meaning every other installation goes to a customer that would have chosen not to install solar panels.

How it works: Kaniuk's brother, a construction engineer, started SunRoof when his customers started requesting more aesthetically pleasing solar installations that could also support EV charging and heat pumps. 

The result was roofing material made out of traditional solar panels that can be installed during renovations or new construction without the need for specialty PV panel installers.

Over time, SunRoof will also offer customers software to track their energy use and generation with the goal of developing a virtual power plant market for homeowners to trade excess energy, Kaniuk says. 

He expects the VPP market to begin operating in Germany, Sweden and Poland in 2024.

2. The BFD: SunRoof raises €13.5M extension funding

Illustration of a house made completely out of solar panels. 

Get ready to start hearing plenty more about "GDIP." The head of the European Commission this week shared an outline of a "Green Deal Industrial Plan" to boost climate-tech investment in the EU, Alan reports. 

Why it matters: Investors and executives in Europe have mounted an intense campaign for EU leaders to match the incentives included in America's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

The debut of GDIP was light on particulars — but it should mollify industry leaders in Europe as the details get hammered out. 

Catch up fast: Manufacturers in Europe have been warning that they'll take their business to the U.S. unless European leaders introduce incentives to rival the IRA.

“It makes a lot of sense to invest in the U.S.," Moritz Borgmann, chief commercial officer at Meyer Burger, a Swiss solar PV manufacturer, said at an event in October. 

It's "simply not attractive, comparatively, to invest in Europe.”

What's happening: GDIP includes four "pillars" — regulations, financing, skills and trade. 

They'll generally aim to accelerate companies' transition to net-zero, incentivize investment, expand minerals mining and processing, and further boost R&D.

The intrigue: The European Commission is apparently also seeking to counter Chinese dominance in renewables manufacturing, especially solar.

“We’ll need to get Europe’s 2030 solar manufacturing targets right, reflecting the strategic role of solar as the kingpin of the energy transition," Dries Acke, policy director of trade body SolarPower Europe, told PV Tech, which reported on the plan.

That ambition should sound familiar to U.S. industry watchers. 

Meanwhile, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry this week challenged the political leaders gathered at Davos to stop simply griping about the IRA's incentives.

"The reaction of other countries shouldn't be, 'oh my god, you shouldn't be doing that, that's putting us in an unfair position.' Do it, too," he said.

3. EU to U.S.: Hold our bier

Illustrated collage of the American flag, the EU stars, an oil drum and a wind turbine. 

✈️ Boeing struts to the bank: The aircraft maker is receiving a $425 million investment from NASA to develop greener commercial jets, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick reports in What's Next.

The "Transonic Truss-Braced Wing" would reduce drag and therefore fuel burn by adding long, thin wings supported by struts. Each looks like an A-frame riveted to the side of the plane. 

🌲 Sure, but what's nature's wOBA?: The White House plans to formally stitch the value of nature into national economic statistics, Ben Geman writes in Generate.

The move could influence federal decision-making and policy on climate and energy across many agencies.

🚕 Uber's own "Taxi of Tomorrow": Uber is pushing automakers to design cheaper EVs designed specifically for ride-hailing and delivery, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at a WSJ event in Davos.

“I do think that top speeds, for example, that many cars have are not necessary for city driving that’s associated with ride-share,”  Khosrowshahi said. 

🇫🇷 Renault eyes U.S. expansion: The French automaker plans to bring an electric crossover and SUV to the U.S. market by 2027 or 2028, per Automotive News.

The vehicles will be part of Renault's performance brand, Alpine. “The U.S. is the main destination for these cars,”  CEO Laurent Rossi said during a press call.

Meanwhile, Renault and Nissan are nearing a deal to reset their alliance, Reuters reports.

🎣 Consider ordering the chicken: "Eating one freshwater fish caught in a river or lake in the United States is the equivalent of drinking a month's worth of water contaminated with toxic 'forever chemicals.'" 

That's the lede from CBS News, reporting on a new study about the extent of cancer-causing PFAS pollution in the U.S.

♨️ What gas stoves have to do with plastic straws: "The plastic straw conversation was never supposed to be entirely about straws. It was supposed to raise awareness about the quiet prevalence of non-recyclable, single-use plastics in our lives, and the harms those plastics cause people and the planet. The plastic straw was merely the gateway," Emily Atkin writes in her newsletter, Heated.

"The main importance of the gas stove conversation, from a climate perspective, is raising awareness of the quiet prevalence of methane leaks in our lives, and the harm those leaks cause people and the planet. If we’re not doing that, we’re missing the forest for the trees."

4. 🌡️ Temperature check

Illustration of an earth emoji combined with a sick face emoji.

• Outrider, a Golden, Colo.-based developer of autonomous electric yard trucks, raised $73m in Series C funding. FM Capital led, and was joined by ADIA, Nvidia, B37 Ventures, Lineage Ventures, Presidio Ventures, Sumitomo Corp., ROBO Global Ventures and insiders Koch Disruptive Technologies and NEA. https://axios.link/3J0HlBs

• KV Power, an Andrews, Texas-based electrical infrastructure provider, completed a recapitalization and partnership with Warren Equity Partners, a Jacksonville Beach, Fla.-based PE firm. https://axios.link/3QOAAob 

Following the recapitalization, KV Power acquired Station Electric, an Irvine, Calif.-based engineering contractor for transmission, distribution and generation assets.

• Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, a subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based utility Duke Energy, acquired Pike Solar, a 175 MW solar plant being built to supply Colorado Springs Utilities, from Juwi, a Germany-based energy developer. https://axios.link/3Wo5qF9 

• Onward Energy, a Denver-based independent power producer, closed on its acquisition of a 1,171 MW operating solar portfolio from Global Atlantic Financial. https://axios.link/3R62KeB 

• TerraSource, a St. Louis-based manufacturer of material sizing equipment, acquired Elgin Separation Solutions, a materials processing parts manufacturer for mining, energy production, recycling and waste management. https://axios.link/3iTburB 

• Nanotech Energy, a Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.-based battery manufacturer, is considering seven sites in the U.K. for a potential £1b gigafactory. https://axios.link/3WlygWL 

• Grounded People, a listed Canadian sustainable startup footwear brand, raised $2.5m from Right Season Investments. https://axios.link/3XozwcS 

• Yara Clean Ammonia, an Oslo-based ammonia supplier, and JERA, the Japan-based electricity provider, plan to develop a blue-hydrogen production plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast, part of their MOU to supply ammonia to a coal-fired power plant Japan. https://axios.link/3iUbzv0

• RMK Marine, a Turkey-based shipbuilder, signed a contract with Neoline Armateurs, a French developer of sail-powered cargo ships, to build a mostly sail-powered vessel. https://axios.link/3iQ2N1e 

• ESS, the Wilsonville, Ore.-based long-duration energy storage developer for the utility and commercial sectors, expects to deliver an iron-flow battery for a pilot program at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol by the end of Q1. https://axios.link/3WszI9H 

5. Hot deals

• Reactivate, a Chicago-based renewables developer that’s a joint venture between Invenergy and Lafayette Square, promoted Utopia Hill to CEO. Hill was previously head of engineering, procurement and construction. https://axios.link/3QNL7Qt 

• 6K, a North Andover, Mass.-based engineered materials manufacturer, hired Dennis Fehr as CFO of 6K and Rob Davies as COO of 6K Energy, its battery production division. https://axios.link/3Xlf2C7 

• Pollination, the London-based climate investment and advisory firm, welcomed back John Morton as managing director and global head of advisory. Morton spent the past two years as climate counselor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. https://axios.link/3Hg8PBz 

• Femto Green Hydrogen, an India-based hydrogen fuel tech provider for the mobility sector, appointed Albert John Allen to its board of directors. Allen is a senior adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative. https://axios.link/3wdgWbI 

• Energy Vault, the Westlake Village, Calif.-based energy storage developer, named Theresa Fariello to its board of directors effective Feb. 1, replacing Henry Elkus. Fariello is SVP of government affairs for United Airlines. https://axios.link/3WhU1H7 

• Exelon named Jane Park as SVP of federal governmental and regulatory affairs and public policy. Park was previously SVP of Exelon’s business investments organization. https://axios.link/3iJ0u05 

• Candela Renewables, a SF-based utility-scale solar developer, hired Jim Woodruff as VP of public affairs. https://axios.link/3kqAjLW 

• Rain Enhancement Technologies, an Austin-based “rainfall generation technology” developer working to boost rainfall in arid regions, nominated Jim Yong Kim to its board of directors upon close of its SPAC merger with DMY Technology Group. https://axios.link/3D0onHe 

• Omnitrax, a Denver-based railroad and transportation logistics provider, promoted Lucy Grasso to VP of business strategy, a role which includes overseeing ESG initiatives. https://axios.link/3Xp3lKo 

6. It's personnel

Data: 2022 Menino Survey of Mayors. Note: Respondents were able to select two options. Chart: Alice Feng/Axios

The 2022 Menino Survey of Mayors, named for former Boston Mayor Tom Menino, found broad consensus that humans are contributing to climate  change — nine out of 10 respondents agreed — but partisan differences in what to do about it.

7. Chart o' the day: what a mayor wants

🥳 Megan is rounding the corner on the last week of her 20s. Any advice for the new decade?

👴🏻 Alan, who is 35, has no particular advice. Only that being in your 30s is, with the exception of hangovers, generally way better than being in your 20s. 

Thanks to Michael Flaherty and Phoebe Neidl for today's edits.

And thank you for reading Climate Deals! Please share with your friends, family and exterior designers.

January 19, 2023

1 big thing: 🦄 Another carbon capture unicorn