Battery boom: Still goin' strong

Hey there,

The summer in the Northern Hemisphere is rolling right along, just like this funny-looking autonomous truck spotted in China this week. Hope you’ve got good plans to make the “best of the rest” of it.

Today, we’ll start with a focus on how the battery energy storage deployment story remains strong globally, and then we’ll get into more news, nuance, and deals from there. Right this way…

ONE STORY IN A SENTENCE AND A CHART

• California set a new record for battery output at 11.17 GW, meeting 28.2% of grid power demand at 7:15 PM as grid-scale batteries enable increasingly more substantial “peak shaving,” whereby midday solar power is stored to reduce natural gas consumption in the evening as the sun sets. Link.

NEWS, DATA, AND HEADLINES

Sticking with batteries for the first few bullets here, Ore Energy connected the world's first grid-ready iron-air long-duration battery in Delft, offering 100-hour energy storage designed to reduce curtailment and replace fossil backup power. The Dutch startup beat Form Energy to the punch, from whom we still haven’t heard in a while. Link.

• One of the largest solar + battery energy storage projects in the U.S. is now fully online in California; Arevon Energy's Eland Project combines 758 MW of solar with 300 MW/1,200 MWh of lithium iron phosphate battery storage and cost ~$2 billion. Link.

• Australia's Waratah Super Battery began partial operations; at full capacity, it will be the world's largest grid-connected battery energy storage station by power output at 850 MW/1,690 MWh, capable of supplying nearly one million homes with power for an hour. Link.

• U.S. battery storage discharge hit 2,013,359 MWh in May, up 114% year-over-year, with the last 12 months totaling 17.75 GWh of discharge, demonstrating massive grid-scale storage growth. Link.

• California's PG&E conducted the largest-ever virtual power plant test, drawing 535 MW from over 100,000 residential batteries during peak demand, equivalent to adding a major hydro dam (for a short but strategic amount of time). Link.

• AES Andes started construction on two renewable projects in Chile, combining 1.3 GW of solar, wind, and 2.2 GWH of battery storage capacity in the northern Antofagasta region. Link.

• General Motors plans to import batteries from Chinese manufacturer CATL despite tariffs, outlining the plan as a two-year stopgap until domestic LG Energy Solution manufacturing comes online for the new Chevrolet Bolt. Link.

• U.S. electricity demand broke records twice in July, peaking at 759,180 MW on July 29th as air conditioning and data center growth pushed consumption nearly 2% above previous records. Link.

• San Francisco's Board of Supervisors completed first approval of an All-Electric Major Renovations Ordinance, which will require substantial building renovations to be all-electric, racing to pass it before California's October building code moratorium. • In parallel, however, California enacted a six-year pause on building code updates through AB 130, potentially slowing climate progress by preventing local jurisdictions from advancing electrification requirements until 2031. Link. Link.

• Sunrun stock lifted 30%+ this week after reporting surprise Q2 profits and record 70% battery attachment rates, with storage-equipped customer additions growing 50% annually as the company outstripped Wall Street expectations. Link.

• Wildtype received FDA approval to sell lab-grown salmon in restaurants across Oregon, California, Washington, and Texas, making it the second cultivated seafood company with approved products for commercial sale in the U.S. Link.

• Savor, based out of Batavia, IL, showed off dairy-identical butter made with a purely chemical process that combines carbon dioxide and hydrogen, without using animals, plants, farmland, or greenhouse gas emissions, to make fat molecules. Link.

• Lyft plans to launch robotaxis in Europe next year in partnership with Chinese tech giant Baidu, marking the ride-hailing company's expansion into autonomous vehicles on the continent. Link.

• Wall Street's top six banks reduced fossil fuel financing 25% to $73 billion year-over-year, with Morgan Stanley leading the decline at 54% as market forces drive decarbonization. Link.

• Ohio eliminated coal plant subsidies that cost utility customers over $683 million since 2017, ending ratepayer support for two 1950s-era plants that often rank among the most polluting (and expensive) power generation options. Longer-term studies also showed that emergency room visits for pediatric asthma dropped 40% immediately after a coal processing plant outside Pittsburgh shut down in 2016, with continued declines showing direct health benefits from plant closures. Link. Link.

• Chemical giants Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva agreed to pay $875 million over 25 years to New Jersey for PFAS "forever chemicals" pollution cleanup in the largest single-state environmental settlement. Link.

• Over one-third of Tuvalu's population entered Australia's climate visa lottery, with 4,000+ people applying for 280 annual permanent residency slots as sea levels threaten the Pacific island nation. Link.

• Hawaii's largest cargo company Matson suspended all electric vehicle shipments to the state "effective immediately" over battery fire safety concerns. Link.

• Augmenta unveiled the first American building constructed with an AI-designed electrical system at Mt. Hope Elementary School in Michigan, claiming 15% less material waste and 25% faster design timelines. Link.

• Graymont and Fortera announced a strategic partnership to produce low-carbon cement using Fortera's ReAct™ technology at Graymont's existing lime production facilities globally. Link.

• Amazon signed a first-of-a-kind commercial deal with Brimstone to supply low-carbon Portland cement from the startup's upcoming plant, targeting deeply decarbonized data center construction materials. Link.

• EV charging stations became the highest-converting feature on Hilton.com; travelers who searched for EV charging were more likely to complete bookings than those searching for pools, free breakfast, or other amenities. Link.

• California EV registrations remained sluggish in Q2 at 100,671 units, with zero-emission vehicle market share dropping to 21.6% from 25.1% in Q4 2024 as federal tax credits approach expiration. Link.

• China tightened rare earth export controls affecting U.S. defense manufacturers, who now face two-month delays for drone magnets and 60-fold price increases for materials like samarium. Link.

• EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the termination of the $7 billion Solar for All program, stating the One Big Beautiful Bill eliminates authority and funding for the low-income solar initiative. Link.

• The Interior Department revoked approval of Idaho's 231-turbine Lava Ridge Wind Project, which covered 57,000 acres, reversing the Biden administration's December approval following Idaho Governor Brad Little's opposition. Link.

• The Interior Department also launched a full review of offshore wind regulations to ensure "alignment with America's energy priorities," targeting financial requirements and decommissioning costs for projects. Further, the Interior Department rescinded the Biden-era designation opening millions of acres offshore to wind development, separate from its broader regulatory review of the offshore wind industry. Offshore wind has already been under tremendous pressure in the U.S., so in practice, this might not reduce feasible deployment that much. Still, it’s hard and confusing to try to understand precisely what the Trump Admin has against wind. I remember when the U.S. Republican party was pro-free markets… Link. Link.

• The Trump administration also ordered NASA to destroy the OCO-2 satellite and decommission OCO-3, which were the only dedicated U.S. government satellites monitoring Earth's carbon emissions from space. Another head-scratcher. Or not, if you track things back to baseline incentives… Link.

• In a precedent-setting case, a Florida jury ordered Tesla to pay $243 million after finding the company partially responsible for a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash, marking the first verdict to hold Tesla liable alongside driver negligence. Link.

• Finland is going through one of its longest recorded heatwaves, at least since 1961, as it clocked 22 consecutive days above 30°C, notably causing significant reindeer deaths in Lapland as the animals struggle to regulate body temperature in extreme heat. Of all the places on the planet, Northern Europe is one of the fastest-warming. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds:

• Lyten, based out of San Jose, CA, recently raised $200 million in growth funding for its lithium-sulfur battery manufacturing technology. This week, it acquired the remaining European assets of the insolvent Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt. Link. Link.

Medium-sized funding rounds:

• DISA Technologies, based out of Casper, WY, raised $30 million in Series A2 funding for its dry mineral separation systems that recover metals without using water or chemicals. Evok Innovations and Constellation Technology Ventures led. Link.

• AIR, based out of Haifa, Israel, raised $23 million in Series A funding led by Entrée Capital for its shared-architecture eVTOL aircraft development. Link.

• Still Bright, based out of Newark, NJ, raised $18.7 million in seed funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures and others for its vanadium-based copper extraction technology. Link.

• BioConsortia, based out of Davis, California, raised $15 million led by Otter Capital to scale its nitrogen-fixing corn seed treatment technology. Link.

• Tanso, based out of Munich, Germany, raised €12 million (~$14 million) in Series A from HenQ and Fortino Capital for its environmental data management platform for industrial companies. Link.

• MobyFly, based out of Port-Valais, Switzerland, raised CHF 10.1 million (~$12.4 million) in Series A funding from Crédit Mutiel Impact for its zero-emission electric hydrofoil ferry technology. Link.

Smaller funding rounds

• Orbital Operations, based out of Huntington Beach, California, raised $8.8 million in seed funding led by Initialized Capital to make hydrogen-fueled spacecraft development. Link.

• FloVision Solutions, based out of South Bend, Indiana, raised $8.7 million in Series A led by Insight Partners for its AI-based food production analytics software. Link.

• Raise Robotics, based out of San Francisco, California, raised $7.8 million in seed funding led by MaC Ventures to make autonomous robots to enhance safety and efficiency in construction. Link.

• Wattch, based out of Atlanta, Georgia, raised $6 million in seed funding led by Spero Ventures for its solar management and monitoring sensors and control systems. Link.

• EVeez, based out of Gurgaon, India, raised $5.4 million in Series A led by The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation for its eBike fleet subscription rental service. Link.

• HydroLeap, based out of Singapore, raised $4.8 million in Series A led by Antares Ventures for its “next-generation” electrochemical wastewater treatment technologies. Link.

• AlterEco Pulp, based out of Rome, Italy, raised €3.5 million (~$4.1 million) in seed funding led by Eureka! Fund to make more sustainable packaging from plant-based fibers. Link.

• Pearl Edison, based out of Detroit, Michigan, raised $3.3 million in seed funding from New System Ventures and Commonweal Ventures for its home electrification software and contractor services. Link.

• Hylenr, based out of Hyderabad, India, raised $3 million in pre-Series A funding led by Valour Capital to make modular clean fuel generation systems via Low Energy Nuclear (fusion) Reactions. Link.

• Solidec, based out of Houston, Texas, raised $2 million in pre-seed funding led by New Climate Ventures to make modular reactors for cleaner chemical manufacturing. Link.

• Maxi Mobility, based out of Milan, Italy, raised €1.2 million (~$1.4 million) from UniCredit Bank and others for its electric fleet-as-a-service business. Link.

• Flox, based out of Stockholm, Sweden, raised $1 million in seed funding led by Unconventional Ventures for its AI-powered wildlife deterrence systems. Link.

Other funding notes

• Joby Aviation, based out of Santa Cruz, California, acquired Blade Air Mobility's urban air taxi business for up to $125 million, gaining immediate market access and 100,000 annual passengers as it prepares eVTOL launches. Link.

• Sunly, based out of Tallinn, Estonia, raised €85 million (~$99 million) in debt financing from European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and SEB to develop renewable energy projects in Latvia. Link.

• Thermondo, based out of Berlin, raised €50 million (~$58.3 million) in debt funding to expand its flex financing program for heat pump installations across the country. Link.

• Solynta, based out of Gelderland, Netherlands, raised €20 million (~$23.3 million) in venture debt from the European Investment Bank for its non-GMO hybrid potato breeding technology. Link.

• Mewery, based out of Brno, Czech Republic, raised €2.9 million (~$3.4 million) in grant funding from Horizon Europe to scale its cultivated pork production. Link.

Funds

• Activate Capital, based out of San Francisco, closed nearly half of its targeted $500 million Fund III, expanding investment activity in Europe for climate-focused growth-stage ventures. Link.

• Smart Infrastructure Ventures, based out of Leipzig, Germany, launched SIVentures II with €30 million (~$35 million) to invest in early-stage B2B startups in AI, IT infrastructure, and energy across the DACH region. Link.

One shot

Here’s a film photo I am pleased with from recent time spent on the California coast:

Have a great week ahead,

— Nick