- Keep Cool
- Posts
- All eyes on robotaxis (and the BBB)
All eyes on robotaxis (and the BBB)
The future of transportation and U.S. climate policy at a pivotal moment
Nick van Osdol
June 16, 2025
Hi,
Shit show out there, geopolitically at minimum. Take care of you and yours. Here’s the sustainability news and deal flow that I kept up with last week, with a sprinkle and splash of my own analysis.
On a lighter note, I now have a no-cadence, no-commitments newsletter for my film photos here, too. Enjoy.
Also, I messed around with the formatting a bit today. LMK if you hate it.
♡ If you find this work valuable, please support it here. You can do so for $1. The more of you who do, the more I write/ I put a lot of thought, time, and heart into these, either way. ♡
Learn AI in 5 minutes a day
What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join 1,000,000+ early adopters reading The Rundown AI — the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.
ONE STORY IN A SENTENCE AND A CHART
• Polling from the inimitable Data for Progress finds most voters oppose the BBB, making clear some of the arguments I laid out about common knowledge formation last week. Link.
AROUND THE HORN
The Lead Story
• All eyes are on the imminent launch of Tesla's robotaxi in Austin, which has been a long time coming, given the care and judiciousness the company has put into the launch. The company follows in the footsteps of Waymo, which has proven that autonomous, all-electric driving is viable here and is scaling, as I’ve written about at length this year. The two companies take very different approaches; however, Waymo has scaled by mapping cities, whereas Tesla aims to operate its robotaxis without the need for manned mapping of terrain. That said, Tesla aims to replace the current "Supervised Full Self-Driving" (Level 2) with "FSD Unsupervised" (Level 4), removing the need for human intervention. This requires improving neural networks to handle edge cases without teleoperation support, though initial deployments will still rely on remote monitoring.
RIP to the 5M+ Uber and Lyft drivers (to say nothing of Doordash, et al). Further, with falling car sales market share, if you’re on Tesla’s cap table, you're betting on its energy storage business and robotaxi business at this point, bar none. Food for thought; still a lot to prove. Link. Link. Link. Link.
OTHER HEADLINES AND NEWS
 | • Both China and India are doubling down on new coal-fired plants for energy resilience and optionality, even as capacity factors and usage potentially top. The twain account for some 60% of global coal consumption, and as coal consumption elsewhere falls quickly, I wouldn’t be surprised if that number is 70% soon. Not great, on the whole. Link. Link. |
 | • Tesla hasn’t launched its robotaxi services in Austin. Still, it’s mait's significant headway, having filed the requisite legal paperwork, and some keen-eyed viewers have spotted autonomous, all-electric robotaxis on the road. In 10-15 years, light-duty transport will be on its way to deep decarbonization, and we'll think about it, like the iPhones in our pockets. Some reconciliation after Trump and Musk’s reconciliation last week seemed to have helped. It’s all about the money, baby. Elon Musk also noted, "… we're being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift…" with the 22nd as the current target. Link. Link. Link. |
 | • Rolling WWIII three concerns as Iran and Israel gleefully dive headlong into a head-on hot war, have oil prices spiking, which will intensify inflation, though it should also support sputtering rig counts in the U.S., if sustained. More specifically, Israel launched massive strikes on Iran targeting nuclear facilities, military sites, and leaders, with oil prices jumping 7% as broader Middle East conflict could disrupt energy supplies. Crude oil prices have risen from approximately $60 a barrel to $75, a more attractive breakeven point for all types of drilling, not just in the U.S. Link. Link. |
• Year-over-year, U.S. crude oil production hit a record 13.2 million barrels per day in 2024, up just 2% from the previous year and natural gas production showed no significant increase from 2023 levels despite accounting for 38% of total energy production. Link.
 | • President Trump confirmed his administration "won’t approve windmills unless something happens that's an emergency," with the Fish and Wildlife Service and Army Corps of Engineers stopping wind project permit processing, impacting over $2 billion in capital investments in New York alone. That said, Energy Secretary Chris Wright defended allowing the Empire Wind project to move forward while calling offshore wind in general a "train wreck," noting billions of dollars had already been spent on the development. Link. Link. Link. |
 | • The EPA moved to weaken power plant emission regulations, proposing that fossil fuel plants don't contribute "significantly" to air pollution and therefore don't require Clean Air Act regulation, calling power plant pollution a "small and decreasing part of global emissions." Link. • The Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest U.S. utility, also reversed its 2021 commitment to phase out fossil fuels by 2035, announcing it will instead extend the lifespan of existing coal plants in Kentucky and Tennessee. Link. |
 | • Here’s another electric transportation trend that’s quite well underway and that I’ve been covering extensively: eVTOL startup Archer has now started pilot test flights, as highlighted last week. This clears a more straightforward pathway to commercialization, which I anticipate will really take off as early as 2026. In another five years, there’ll be eVTOLs galore in the sky. Granted, we can’t prevent commercial airlines from crashing right now either… so something will have to give. In the U.S., the recent executive order from President Trump to accelerate the deployment of eVTOLs, drone delivery, and supersonic aircraft made a tangible difference. Link. |
 | • Color me traditionally skeptical on the utility of humanoid robots. Much more so on eVTOLs and full self-driving taxis. But maybe I’m wrong and humanoid robots will join the tech, replacing all human drivers in time. They’ll replace all human warehouse workers, dishwashers, welders, and so on, in time. Seems like society will be ~super~ well addressed to support those out of work (serious /s). Driving this news is that Amazon is “reportedly” training humanoid robots to deliver packages, though it will indubitably pursue warehouse applications as well. Link. |
 | • On the resilience beat, Indonesia will begin construction of a giant sea wall stretching hundreds of kilometers along Java island to prevent flooding and coastal erosion, with flood control identified as a strategic priority, given more than 70% of Indonesians are expected to live in urban areas threated by sea level rise by 2045. Link. |
BEYOND THE TOP 8
• General Motors quietly abandoned its goal to make only electric vehicles by 2035, announcing a $4 billion investment in mostly gasoline-powered vehicles as the company shifts away from EV-only plans. Insurance giant Munich Re has also become the latest financial heavyweight to exit climate coalitions, leaving the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, Climate Action 100+, and other groups, citing "increasing ambiguity" and "legal uncertainty" across jurisdictions. More greenlarping! Link. Link.
• It ain’t just the U.S.: EV sales in Canada fell sharply in Q1 2025 after federal and provincial governments cut rebate programs, representing the steepest drop in zero-emission vehicle sales since pandemic lockdowns. Link.
• After Sunnova did last week, Solar Mosaic, a fintech platform for residential solar financing, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company stopped installer payments earlier this month, and stands as another big domino to fall in the solar industry. Link.
• While Energy Secretary Chris Wright is negotiating with Congress to preserve the DOE's Loan Programs Office, calling it the "best way to get shovels in the ground" for nuclear power, despite House budget reconciliation bill proposals to gut its funding, the Senate Energy Committee proposed rescinding $50 billion from the DOE's Loan Programs Office while adding $660 million back for an "Energy Dominance Financing" program. It would also require quarterly oil and gas lease sales in nine Western states for the next decade and decreasing royalties for fossil fuel operations. Link.
• BYD launched its cheapest electric vehicles in Europe, namely the Dolphin Surf hatchback, which retails for $25,000 in the U.K. and E.U. That’s 3x the Chinese price (tariffs) but still pretty cheap for Western buyers. Which tells you something. Link.
• More on autonomous, electric driving: Uber and the U.K. autonomous driving startup Wayve have announced plans to launch fully autonomous vehicle trials in London, marking Uber's first major Level 4 autonomous driving pilot without safety drivers. Link.
• Windfall Bio, a company we’ve featured on the Keep Cool podcast (see here), completed a pilot project with Straus Family Creamery and California-based Correia Family Dairy where its microbes, “mems,” short for methanotrophic organisms, removed more than 85% of the methane from the farm's manure lagoon. If commercializable, this could be a major winner in methane mitigation and a boon for short-term warming mitigation. Link.
• More on the agriculture front: Color me a bit skeptical, but Danone, the big milk and yogurt producer, claims it has already reduce methane emissions from its operations by a quarter since 2020 by leveraging herd, feed, and manure management practices (vague) and anaerobic digestors (makes sense but you need a lot. Milk accounts for more than half of Danone’s agricultural carbon footprint and more than 70% of its methane emissions. Link. Link.
• Meta partnered with geothermal startup XGS Energy to advance development of a 150-megawatt power plant in New Mexico. Link.
• The U.S. and China reached a tentative trade deal where China will issue six-month export licenses for rare earth minerals critical to EVs and electronics, while the U.S. eased export controls on jet engines and ethane. Tariffs on China remain high in general overall, though. Link.
• Senate Minority Leader Schumer says Democrats are talking to 16 Republican senators who may be able to corral support to oppose the budget bill's rollback of (some) of the BBB’s erasure of the IRA. Link.
• Chime Financial priced its IPO at $27 per share, raising $700 million and valuing the neobank at $11.5 billion, marking one of the largest U.S. fintech IPOs since 2021. Not sustainability per se, but it signals hope yet for a re-opening of the IPO window. Link.
CURATED DEALS
Larger funding rounds:
• Scale Microgrids announced its latest $275 million in project financing, bringing its total funding to over $1 billion. KeyBanc Capital Markets led the round to support Scale as it builds 140+ megawatts of distributed generation projects. Absolute legends, rock on, Duncan, and co! Link.
• Fervo Energy, based out of Utah, secured $206 million in financing for its 400-megawatt Cape Station geothermal project, with $100 million from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, following other successful drilling, scoring its hottest 520°F well at 15,000 feet in just 16 days. Link.
• Proxima Fusion, based out of Munich, Germany, raised ~$150.5 million (~€130 million) in Series A funding co-led by Balderton Capital and Cherry Ventures for advanced magnetic fusion power plants that leverage stellarator technology, marking the largest European fusion startup funding round. More fusion! Catch up with our past general fusion write-up here. Link.
• Gecko Robotics, based out of Pittsburgh, raised $125 million in Series D funding at $1.25 billion valuation led by Cox Enterprises for robots and software that inspect critical infrastructure for energy, defense, and manufacturing companies. Link.
• Coco Robotics, based out of Los Angeles, raised $80 million to scale its zero-emission last-mile delivery robots, which have completed over 500,000 deliveries and now operate in partnership with OpenAI to provide real-world data for AI model training. Link. Side note: the way I’d die for one of these cuties:
• Nominal, based out of Los Angeles, raised $75 million in equity funding led by Sequoia Capital for software that helps defense, aerospace, and energy companies test and monitor complex systems like satellites and drones. Link.
• Wandercraft, based out of Paris, France, raised $75 million in Series D funding and will partner with Renault to deploy humanoid robots for manufacturing applications. Link.
• AIM Intelligent Machines, based out of Redmond, Washington, raised $50 million in equity funding from Khosla Ventures and others to transform heavy machinery like bulldozers into fully autonomous vehicles for construction and mining sites. Link.
Medium-sized funding rounds:
• Standard Nuclear, based out of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, raised $42 million led by Decisive Point for advanced nuclear fuel pellets for next-generation nuclear reactors. The company is built on the ashes of assets acquired at auction after the bankruptcy of the failed Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) for $28 million. Link.
• Sojo Industries, based out of Bristol, Pennsylvania, closed $40 million from S2G Investments for automated packaging systems deploying mobile manufacturing lines in truck trailers. Link.
• Bedrock Ocean, based out of Richmond, California, raised $25 million Series A-2 led by Primary and Northzone for autonomous underwater robots that map the seafloor for offshore wind and undersea cable projects. Link.
• Voltfang, based out of Germany, raised €15 million (~$17.3 million) in Series B funding led by FORWARD.One to scale production of its battery energy storage systems that are made using reclaimed EV batteries. Link.
• Mitra Chem, based out of Mountain View, California, raised $15.6 million of a planned $50 million equity round to advance lithium-iron-phosphate battery technology as demand grows for cost-effective EV batteries amid intensifying political headwinds. Link.
• RootWave, based out of Kineton, England, raised $15 million in a funding round led by Clay Capital to expand its tractor-mounted electric weed-killing technology internationally beyond the UK's tree crop market. Link.
• Q5D, based out of Bristol, U.K., raised $13.5 million co-led by Lockheed Martin Ventures for robotic systems that automate wiring harness assembly for vehicle manufacturers. Link.
Smaller Funding Rounds
• Co-Power, based out of Munich, Germany, raised €6.4 million in equity (~$7.4 million) in equity funding led by Cherry Ventures for on-site solar and battery systems for European industrial companies. Link.
• Impact Recycling, based out of the UK, secured €3.8 million (~$4.2 million) from IW Capital for its patented water-based density separation technology to recover high-purity polyethylene and polypropylene from mixed post-consumer plastic waste. Link.
• Sorcerer, based out of Y Combinator, raised $3.9 million in seed funding led by FCVC for weather balloon technology that provides better atmospheric data collection for forecasting and climate monitoring purposes. Link (paywall).
• PFx Biotech, based out of Portugal, raised €2.5 million (~$2.9M) in seed funding led by Buenavista Equity Partners and matching EU grant funding for its precision fermentation process that produces human milk proteins. Link.
• Polysense, based out of Belgium, raised €2 million (~$2.3 million) in seed funding to scale its AI-powered waste-reducing technology for food manufacturing. Link.
• nuuEnergy, based out of Munich, raised a “seven-figure pre-seed funding round” to scale its hybrid software-hardware and install-focused heat pump model. Link.
Other Funding Notes
• Believ, based out of London, secured a £300 million (~$406 million) investment facility to install at least 30,000 EV charge points across the U.K., contributing to national infrastructure goals and expanding EV sales. Link.
• Amazon Web Services signed a deal to buy 1.9 GW of power from the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania as part of its plan to spend $20 billion in the state expanding its AI infrastructure. Link.
• The U.K. unveiled $19 billion in funding for its Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, England, which could create up to 10,000 jobs, rated at 3200 MWe. Link.
• Texas finalized $1.8 billion in funding for solar, battery, and gas-powered microgrids at hospitals, nursing homes, and critical facilities, while the state grid operator projects less than 1% chance of rolling blackouts given recent BESS capacity growth. Link.
• The World Bank ended its longtime ban on financing nuclear energy projects, with President Ajay Banga announcing support for extending reactor lifespans and grid upgrades, while also reconsidering its 2017 ban on oil and gas project funding. How much does this really matter? Je ne sais pas, someone let me know! Link.
Funds
• Felicis, based out of Palo Alto, CA, closed $900 million for its tenth fund, envisioning "dozens" of $100B+ AI companies will emerge this decade”" as artificial intelligence reshapes multiple industries, including energy and climate tech. Link.
• Ecosystem Integrity Fund, based out of San Francisco, closed its fifth early-stage fund with $225 million, short of its $300 million target, reflecting broader challenges in climate tech venture fundraising amid LP skepticism. Link.
Goodbye and good luck.
Plus! Exciting new platform feature soon 😉 - stay tuned!
— Nick
Reply