Cloud seeding enters mainstream

Heyyy,

Hope you have a nice week ahead. Here’s the news on energy, climate, and sustainability from last week that I found most notable. LMK if any questions or things you’d like to add. Heads up that I may well skip this coming Thursday’s email as I’ll be in Europe.

ONE STORY IN A SENTENCE AND A CHART

• In light of the news from two weeks ago that Fervo is going public soon, opening the IPO window for climate tech companies in general (ideally, at least), I figured I’d resurface this chart of enhanced geothermal drilling rate improvements as per IEA reporting. Link.

NEWS, DATA, AND HEADLINES

• Pure EVs reached 22.6% of EU auto sales last month, inching ahead of fully petro-powered cars for the first time, per the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. Link.

• A U.S. District Court ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully withheld federal funding for the NEVI program, which Congress authorized under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help states build a nationwide EV charging network. The ruling bars the government from withholding or cancelling the program's roughly $5 billion in appropriated funds, and orders the immediate release of approximately $1 billion previously withheld from states including Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, and Arizona. Link.

• The U.S. public fast-charging network expanded by 30% in 2025, adding 18k ports (up from 14k in 2024 and 5.3k in 2021) while reliability averaged 93% and charging sessions grew roughly 30% year-over-year to 141 million, according to a new report from data analytics firm Paren. California led utilization, followed by Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, and Nevada, with the fastest growth occurring in Arizona, Georgia, and Texas. Link.

• Tesla unveiled a new rooftop solar panel, its first fully in-house designed and manufactured panel, distinct from its existing Solar Roof tile product, at an event in Los Angeles. The all-black, low-profile panel is already in production at Tesla's Buffalo factory, which has a line capable of producing more than 300 MW of panels annually. Link.

• Tesla is also (apparently) ending production of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV, with final versions to be built next quarter. CEO Elon Musk said the Fremont factory space will be repurposed to build Optimus robots, while production of the Cybertruck will continue at the Austin facility. Link.

• Tesla robotaxis are consistently the cheapest ride-hailing option in San Francisco, averaging $8.17 per trip compared to Lyft at $15.47, Uber at $17.47, and Waymo at $19.69, according to a study by pricing comparison app Obi. On a per-kilometer basis, Tesla averages $1.99, roughly one-third the cost of competitors, though customers face longer wait times due to its smaller fleet. Link.

• Gatik signed a deal with a major consumer-goods company that will double its contracted revenue to $600 million over five years, claiming it is the first company in North America to deploy fully driverless trucks at scale. The autonomous trucking startup currently operates 10 revenue-generating trucks in its middle-mile network, with plans to expand to 60 in the coming weeks and hundreds by year-end. Link.

• Electrified Thermal Solutions, based out of Boston, unveiled its first commercial-scale thermal battery at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The MIT spin-off's firebrick-based system can store 20 megawatt-hours of heat at temperatures up to 1,800°C, hot enough to replace fossil fuels in cement, steel, glass, and food processing applications. The company is partnering with ArcelorMittal to test the technology at a steelmaking R&D facility in Spain. Link.

• Noon completed a successful demonstration of its 100-plus-hour carbon-oxygen battery, partially funded by the California Energy Commission. The system uses reversible solid-oxide fuel cells to charge by breaking down CO₂ into solid carbon and discharge by recombining it with oxygen. Link.

• China began operating the world's largest compressed-air energy storage plant, which pumps compressed air into underground caverns at night and releases it during the day to spin turbines. Link.

• NEO Battery Materials, a Canadian-headquartered battery manufacturer, announced that its drone batteries have achieved a 50% capacity improvement over comparable products from Chinese competitors. Link.

• Rye Development secured a federal license from FERC to build a 1.2 GW pumped hydro energy storage facility near Goldendale, Washington, which would be the first new pumped hydro megaproject constructed in the U.S. since 1995. The project will excavate two 60-acre reservoirs separated by 2,000 feet of vertical gain, capable of discharging power for up to 12 hours, and sits on a 680-acre site that formerly housed a decommissioned aluminum smelter. Link.

• DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Type One Energy, and the University of Tennessee are partnering to build a high-heat flux facility at TVA's Bull Run Energy Complex in East Tennessee to test materials under the extreme conditions present inside fusion reactors. The facility is slated for completion at the end of 2027 and will be the most powerful of its kind in the U.S. Link.

• The Trump administration overhauled a set of nuclear safety directives for a new generation of experimental reactors without making the changes public, according to documents obtained by NPR. The revisions cut over 750 pages from earlier versions of departmental orders, slashing security requirements, loosening environmental protections, eliminating at least one key safety role, and raising the radiation exposure threshold before an official accident investigation is triggered. Link.•

• The Trump administration also plans to provide USA Rare Earth with $1.6 billion in (mostly) loan financing, including $1.3 billion in Commerce Department loans and $277 million in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, to extract and process rare earth materials and manufacture magnets domestically. The agreement will give the U.S. government an 8–16% stake in the Oklahoma-based firm. Link.

• Electric and gas utilities requested almost $31 billion in rate increases last year, more than double the $15 billion requested in 2024, according to a new analysis by energy policy nonprofit PowerLines. Electricity prices rose 6.7% over the past year, outpacing overall inflation, and are now 37% more expensive than five years ago, with many of the pending increases yet to hit consumers' bills. Link.

• Copper prices surged as much as 11% to above $14,500 per ton — the biggest move in more than 16 years before retracing the move somewhat to end the week. Link.

• Reflective, a nonprofit focused on sunlight reflection research, launched its Uncertainty Database to provide scientists, funders, and policymakers with a roadmap for prioritizing solar radiation management technologies and research. The launch comes as geoengineering research goes increasingly mainstream, with U.S. firm Stardust Solutions having already raised $60 million in private capital to commercialize aerosol-based atmospheric cooling technology. Link.

• Ski resorts across the American West are doubling down on cloud seeding to combat poor snowfall, with Utah paying startup Rainmaker Technology $7.5 million this year as part of a broader state-funded blitz that includes at least $5 million annually for operations and $12 million to expand a fleet of nearly 200 ground-based machines. Some scientists remain skeptical of the technology's effectiveness at scale, though Winter Park Resort claims its seeding efforts produced 12 inches of snow during a late December storm, triple what fell on nearby Vail. As I discussed in this piece months ago, attribution for cloud seeding efforts and efficacy will be essential for this industry. Link.

• Forgent Power Solutions, a data center electrical equipment maker that designs and manufactures transformers, switchboards, and power distribution units, is seeking up to $1.62 billion in its IPO at a roughly $8.8 billion valuation. Link.

• Waabi, based out of Toronto, raised a $750 million Series C round co-led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, with Uber, Nvidia, Volvo, Porsche Automobil Holding, and BlackRock also participating. The deal also includes a $250 million milestone-based commitment from Uber tied to a robotaxi partnership, under which Waabi will deploy at least 25,000 robotaxis on Uber's global network. Waabi is the first company to develop a shared AI system capable of operating both trucks and robotaxis. Link.

• Redwood Materials, based out of Carson City, Nevada, raised a $425 million Series E round at a $6+ billion post-money valuation, led by Eclipse, with Google, NVentures, Capricorn, and Goldman Sachs also participating. The battery recycling and cathode materials company has now raised a total of $4.9 billion. Link.

• Obvious Ventures raised its fifth fund at $360,360,360, continuing its tradition of symbolic fund sizes while backing early-stage startups across planetary, human, and economic health, with investments spanning geothermal energy, AI-driven drug discovery, and robotics. Link.

• Voyager Ventures closed its $275 million Fund II to back startups in energy, materials, industrial software, mobility, built environment, and carbon management across Europe and the U.S. Link.

• daphni, based out of Paris, completed a €260 million (~$309 million) final close for its Blue fund to back deeptech startups across Europe focused on societal and environmental challenges. Link.

• 2150, based out of London, raised €210 million (~$250 million) for its second fund to scale Series A companies that make cities and heavy industry more sustainable. Link.

• Standard Nuclear, based out of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, raised $140 million in Series A funding led by Decisive Point, with first-time backing from Chevron Technology Ventures, StepStone Group, and XTX Ventures. The startup produces TRISO atomic fuel required by several leading small modular reactor designs and plans to expand production to over 2 metric tons per year at multiple sites by mid-2026. Link.

• The Footprint Firm, based out of Copenhagen, closed its €76 million (~$90 million) Footprint Fund I, backed by investors including Novo Holdings and EIFO, to invest in around 30 early-stage deeptech startups across Northern Europe focused on scalable energy transition technologies. Link.

• Cyclic Materials, based out of Toronto, raised a $75 million Series C round led by T. Rowe Price for its rare earth element recycling business. Link.

• GlassPoint, based out of New York, raised a $20 million round led by N.I.S. New Investment Solutions, with previous investor MIG Capital also participating. The 17-year-old company provides solar thermal systems for industrial process heat. Link.

OPPORTUNITIES

The Data Center World Innovation Challenge, powered by ABB, will showcase the most exciting and impactful data center technologies currently on the market with a strong focus on decarbonization and efficiency. 

Through this innovation challenge, 25 selected startups will have the opportunity to pitch directly to venture capitalists, accelerators, utilities, hyperscalers, and ABB executives, gaining valuable exposure to key decision-makers across the data center ecosystem.

The opportunities for startups include:

• One full-access conference pass for teams

• A dedicated booth to showcase your technology throughout the entire conference

• The opportunity to gain visibility in front of industry leaders and experts in global data center development; Start-ups will showcase their solutions to thousands of data center professionals via our dedicated exhibit space.

• Dedicated Networking Reception: Mix and mingle with the movers and shakers in the industry.

• Keynote Level Exposure: Winners will be announced at the Thursday DCW keynote

Apply here: https://datacenterworld.com/innovation-challenge/ 

Take it easy,

— Nick