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Momentum is gaining around technology built to check for methane leaks as consensus grows around the need to stop the potent greenhouse gas from escaping, writes Katie.

Why it matters: Methane, the largest component of natural gas, makes up 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and can be up to 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide for heating the atmosphere.

Driving the news: On Friday, the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office awarded a conditional commitment for a $189 million loan guarantee to methane detection company LongPath Technologies.

Boulder, Colo.-based LongPath builds towers across oil and gas infrastructure that use laser beams to pinpoint where methane is leaking and charges customers a subscription fee.

The tech — funded early on by the DOE's ARPA-E program — is supposed to be lower cost compared with traditional tech and able to deliver close to real-time data on leak detection to companies.

The loan commitment is for helping LongPath deploy 1,000 of its towers across 25 million acres of land across states, which it says will be able to prevent methane emissions equivalent to at least six million tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Catch up quick: Because methane is colorless and odorless, many oil and gas companies have long been ignorant of how much has been leaking.

Companies typically scan new facilities a few times a year using optical gas imaging cameras operated by people on the ground.

Newer tech uses those cameras and sensors overhead via planes and satellites. There's a group of methane-sensing satellites that are being launched by companies like GHGSat and nonprofit Carbon Mapper.

Another set of companies, like NevadaNano and SLB, are riding the wave of connected devices and using small sensors placed on oil and gas infrastructure to send continuous data about leaks to customers.

What they're saying: Environmentalists and policymakers are advocating real-time detection to eliminate leaks.

"If you let even a small leak go for weeks or months, a huge amount of gas is lost," Greg Rieker, Chief Technology Officer of LongPath told Axios.

Shortly after the news of the conditional loan award on Friday, New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich said via X: "We need real time monitoring to rein in fossil fuel pollution."

Big picture: Governments are in rare consensus to collectively reduce global methane emissions 30% by 2030.

At COP28, the Biden administration announced mandates for the fossil fuel industry to replace leaky gear and routinely search for escaped emissions.

Oil and gas companies are also interested in deploying the technology because the gas saved from leaks saves them money.

What's next: Expect to see more startups working on methane monitoring software and hardware, and investors scrambling to fund them.

1 big thing: Real-time leak tech 

Photo illustration of a pipeline with abstract shapes.

Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photo: Ashley Cooper/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images

Advanced nuclear reactor developer NuScale Power says it's laying off close to a third of its full time staff, writes Katie.

Why it matters: The news follows the company's abrupt cancellation of what would have been the first small modular reactor in the U.S., illustrating the challenges ahead for the nascent sector.

Details: Portland, Oregon-based NuScale, which went public via a SPAC in 2022, says the reduction of 154 employees would result in annualized savings of $50 to $60 million.

The company says the layoffs will help it transition from R&D to commercialization.

The idea behind small modular reactors, or SMRs, is that they can be built in factories and shipped to sites, potentially avoiding the cost overruns that have plagued conventional large nuclear plants.

In November, NuScale agreed to terminate its small modular reactor project with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, a wholesale energy services provider, as construction costs climbed from $5.3 billion to $9.3 billion.

Of note: NuScale's stock dropped more than 5% in morning trading on the cost-cutting move.

Big picture: SMRs have been under development for years but haven't been deployed commercially.

What we're watching: GE Hitachi is spearheading an effort with Ontario Power Generation to build an SMR outside Toronto. Meanwhile Holtec is moving ahead with a four-reactor project.

2. The BFD: NuScale layoffs

Illustration of a question mark with a nuclear symbol as the dot on the bottom. 

EV battery data startup Recurrent has raised a $16 million Series A round to expand its used EV battery reports, the company tells Axios.

Why it matters: The funding comes as the market for used EVs is set to soar this year at a time when the nascent ecosystem requires more transparency and standards.

Details: Seattle-based Recurrent raised the funds from lead investor ArcTern Ventures. The funding also included Automotive Ventures, Goodyear Ventures, Wireframe Ventures, and Pioneer Square Labs.

Recurrent CEO Scott Case told Axios that the company currently runs battery condition reports on about a third of all used EVs that are for sale by dealers in the U.S.

The company will use the funding to expand its footprint to cover over half of all used EV sales.

About 40% of the costs of an electric vehicle are in the battery. As batteries are charged and discharged, they degrade over time.

Big picture: According to Recurrent's quarterly used EV battery report, sales of used EVs will increase this year by 40% — 100% from 2022.

Starting late 2024, "a used electric vehicle will be sold every minute in the U.S.," says Recurrent.

More, longer-range EVs are being sold in the used market, like Tesla's Model 3. Buyers can take advantage of a new $4,000 rebate for used EVs that cost less than $25,000.

Of note: The used EV market is growing far faster than the market for new ones, Case notes.

Used Tesla Model 3s hitting the market means consumers could be able to buy an EV with good range for around $25,000.

3. Exclusive $16M for EV battery analytics

Animated illustration of a charging battery stylied as a neon light.

The small reactor startup Oklo has formally registered lobbyists for the first time, Ben Geman writes in Axios Generate.

Driving the news: The firm has retained Cassidy & Associates.
Lobbyists working with Oklo are former aides to late Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and former Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), a filing shows.

What they're saying: "Our focus is on ensuring that advanced fission takes center stage in legislative considerations, playing a pivotal role in shaping the policies that will drive the future of the clean energy sector," Oklo spokesperson Bonita Chester tells Axios.

State of play: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is board chair. And it's going public via SPAC deal by merging with AltC Acquisition Corp., which Altman co-founded.

Its strategy also merges reactor development with entering the energy market directly by offering long-term power purchase agreements.

The bottom line: Oklo is intriguing even as next-wave small reactor companies face hurdles commercializing their tech.

4. Sam Altman-backed Oklo adds D.C. muscle

Illustration of a hardhat with an atom on the front.

🍄 Seed alt protein round: Mush Foods, a food tech company, raised a $6.2 million seed to scale its hybrid protein blends in the U.S., CEO Shalom Daniel tells Axios Pro's Kimberly Chin.

Mush Foods offers a 50% meat, 50% mushroom product, combining mushroom root blends with ground beef and other meat.

The round was led by Israel's Viola Ventures, with participation from food tech incubator TKH, Siddhi Capital, and Arc Impact.

Plant-based meat and meat alternatives as a category have experienced a decline in sales, but there is still investor appetite for innovation in the food space.

🇮🇳 VinFast aims at India, founder back: Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast has signed a deal in India to set up an EV plant and invest $2 billion to make 150,000 EVs a year.

Meanwhile, the founder of VinFast's parent company has taken over as CEO.

The company will be at the Consumer Electronics Show unveiling two new models.

☀️ Huge Qcells, Microsoft deal: South Korean solar panel maker Qcells said it's supplying Microsoft with 12 GW of American-made solar panels through 2032.

The companies say it's one of the largest ever deals of its kind.

🍽️ Home food waste: Massachusetts let 1.6 million tons of food go to waste in 2022 — most of it from residential households, per data from the nonprofit ReFED, reports Axios Boston's Steph Solis.

Massachusetts saw a nearly 5% increase in food uneaten or unsold between 2016 and 2022, per ReFED.

5. Temperature check

a box of matches that pictures a small outline of the earth and text that reads "Temperature Check"

• Vortexa, a London-based energy and freight software company, has raised a $34 million Series C round led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and including Notion Capital, Monashees, Metaplanet, FJ Labs and Communitas Capital. https://axios.link/3vz0CF7

• XING Mobility, a Taipei-based mobile company, is showing off an immersion cooling battery tech at CES in Las Vegas. https://axios.link/3OhPtzp

• Caterpillar, the Texas-based construction company, says it's working with construction aggregates company CRH to collaborate on deploying battery electric off-highway trucks and charging depots. https://axios.link/48KmU5b

6. Hot deals

• Angel Salinas has joined electric car company Fisker as Chief Accounting Officer. Salinas was previously an Assurance Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

• Pham Nhat Vuong will become the CEO of VinFast Auto. Nhat Vuong is founder and Chairman of Vingroup Joint Stock Company, VinFast's parent company. https://axios.link/3SalKKQ

7. It's personnel

Hope your weekend was better than Katie's (more on that below). 😷

🫠 Katie is starting off 2024 with a house of viruses and a Monday morning blackout. Send good vibes into the ether.

Thank you to Michael Flaherty and Chris Speckhard for today's edits.

And thank you for reading Climate Deals! Please share with your friends, family and methane leak trackers.

January 08, 2024

1 big thing: Real-time leak tech