No slowdown yet in solar

Hey there,

Hope the week’s off to a good start. Here’s all the news from last week that’s fit to print.

ONE STORY IN A SENTENCE AND A CHART

• Despite policy headwinds, the U.S. remains on track to build a record 33 GW of new solar generation capacity this year, with roughly 12 GW added in the first half and 21 GW more slated for completion by year-end, making solar more than half of all new utility-scale power projects. Link.

NEWS, DATA, AND HEADLINES

• Ford and SK On began producing EV batteries at their joint $5.8 billion BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky, launching operations one week before workers vote on United Auto Workers unionization. Link.

• Updated analysis of a California test of over 100,000 residential batteries coordinated as a virtual power plant found it demonstrated output rivaling a mid-size gas plant and significant peak demand reduction capabilities. Link.

• Xiaomi, based out of Beijing, transformed its business from making smartphones to add EVs in less than four years, with expected deliveries of 350,000 units this fiscal year. That milestone took Tesla over a decade. Xiaomi’s smart EV segment generated ~$3 billion in revenue last year. Link.

• Nio, the Chinese EV maker based out of Shanghai, saw its shares rise 10% in public markets after unveiling its new ES8 electric SUV at a sticker price of ~$58,000, about 25% cheaper than the previous model and positioned to compete directly with Tesla's Model Y in China's competitive midsize SUV market. Link.

• Hitachi Energy will invest $106 million to build North America's largest electrical transformer component factory, addressing chronic shortages of power and distribution transformers as grid expansion accelerates and aging infrastructure requires replacements. Link.

• Peak Energy, based out of Burlingame, California, shipped its first sodium-ion grid battery system for installation in Colorado, using imported Chinese cells in a new U.S.-designed enclosure that eliminates temperature control equipment due to the chemistry's ability to operate from -20°C to 45°C. Link.

• Ambient Carbon, based out of Copenhagen, successfully trialed its Methane Eradication Photochemical System (MEPS) at a Danish dairy barn, eliminating up to 90% of methane emissions from concentrations of 4.3 to 44 ppm using a patented photochemical process that mimics natural atmospheric methane destruction in seconds rather than decades. Link.

• Deep Sky, based out of Calgary, opened North America's first direct air capture plant paired with underground storage in Alberta, piloting 10 carbon removal technologies with combined capacity to remove 3,000 metric tons of CO2 annually for Microsoft and Royal Bank of Canada. Link.

• European oil majors Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies achieved the first CO2 injection through their Northern Lights joint venture in the North Sea, storing captured carbon from a Heidelberg Materials cement factory in Norway. Link.

• Google and advanced nuclear startup Kairos Power signed a first-of-its-kind power purchase agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority to deploy a 50 MW fourth-generation nuclear fission reactor using pebble fuel and molten salt coolant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee by 2030. Link.

• Google's Waymo, based out of San Francisco, received the first permit to test autonomous vehicles in New York City neighborhoods, requiring a trained specialist behind the wheel at all times for now. NYC Mayor Adams called it "responsible innovation" to move the city "further into the 21st century." Link.

• Joby Aviation, based out of Santa Cruz, California, completed its first test flight between two U.S. airports, traveling from Marina to Monterey in 12 minutes, including air traffic holds, as the company races toward FAA certification for commercial air taxi services. Link.

• Household power bills have risen 10% since President Trump entered office, according to Climate Power advocacy group analysis, with pro-fossil fuel policies expected to continue driving electricity costs higher for consumers nationwide. Link.

• U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the leading Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor, promises to build a new nuclear plant if elected, joining a growing bipartisan momentum for nuclear power expansion. Link.

• The Trump administration ordered Danish wind developer Ørsted to halt construction on the ~80% complete Revolution Wind offshore project off Massachusetts and Rhode Island, citing "national security interests." That’s the second such stop-work order this year from the Trump admin, after a similar pause on New York's Empire Wind project. Link. Ørsted shares plunged 17% to record lows on the heels of the news, compounding troubles for the Danish offshore wind giant, which was already seeking to raise about half its market value in new cash after struggling to sell stakes in existing projects. Link. Link.

• Duke Energy also announced it will not proceed with offshore wind projects off the North Carolina coast after an independent review concluded they are too expensive compared to other generation options, prioritizing customer bill protection over clean energy mandates. Link.

• Arctic sea ice melting has slowed dramatically over the past 20 years, with no statistically significant decline since 2005, likely due to natural ocean current variations temporarily balancing rising global temperatures, not an absence of global warming. Scientists expect accelerated melting to resume within 5-10 years. Concerns about Antarctic sea ice, meanwhile, are rising to the fore now too. Comprehensively, this goes to show that uncertainty is a bigger risk than certainty with respect to climate change, as we’ve discussed more of late. Link. Link.

CURATED DEALS

Larger funding rounds:

• Group14, based out of Woodinville, Washington, raised $463 million in Series D funding led by SK Inc. and took full ownership of a battery active materials factory in South Korea, as the silicon battery materials startup expands manufacturing overseas amid U.S. trade and policy uncertainty. Link.

• Aalo Atomics, based out of Austin, Texas, raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Valor Equity Partners to build its first nuclear power plant, the Aalo-X small modular reactor, which the company aims to turn on next summer to power data centers. Link.

• Nuro, based out of Mountain View, California, raised $97 million in Series E extension funding from Icehouse Ventures, Kindred Ventures, NVIDIA, and others, including previous investors Uber and Baillie Gifford, bringing total funding to $2.3 billion for its self-driving software platform. Link.

Medium-sized funding rounds:

• The Better Meat Co., based out of Sacramento, California, raised $31 million in Series A funding co-led by Future Ventures and Resilience Reserve to scale commercial production of its Rhiza mycoprotein ingredient that can replace or be blended with meat in various food products. Link.

• General Fusion, based out of Richmond, Canada, raised $22 million in a pro-rata rights offering from existing investors, including Segra Capital and PenderFund, to stay afloat through next year. The fusion energy startup publicly pleaded for investment this spring following a 25% workforce reduction. Link.

Smaller funding rounds

• ChemFinity, based out of Berkeley, California, raised $7 million in seed funding led by Overture Ventures and At One Ventures to develop selective filters that recover critical minerals and metals from wastewater and waste streams, adding to $6 million in grants it has received since spinning out of UC-Berkeley in 2022. Link.

• Hades Mining, based out of Munich, Germany, raised €5.5 million (~$6.4 million) in pre-seed funding led by Project A to develop breakthrough drilling systems for ultra-deep geothermal energy and critical mineral extraction, with CEO Max Werner calling it "an extension of a defense project" for European energy independence. Link.

• One Stop Warehouse, based out of Queensland, Australia, raised $5.5 million in strategic funding from Shanghai-based SparkEdge Capital to accelerate international expansion of its solar design platform and wholesale solar panel sales operations. The company is Australia’s largest solar distributor. Link.

• Soil Action, a U.S. agricultural intelligence startup, raised $5.25 million in seed funding led by R7 Partners to deploy its AI-powered real-time soil chemistry analysis platform for farmers across agricultural markets. Link.

• RenewCO2, based out of New Jersey, raised $5 million in seed funding with $4 million in equity provided by Japanese printing company DNP to scale its electrolyzer technology that converts CO2 into carbon-negative chemicals and sustainable aviation fuel using new catalysts. Link (paywall).

• Wallround, based out of Berlin, Germany, raised €4.2 million (~$4.9 million) in seed funding led by Revent to scale its software platform that calculates costs and carbon savings for residential building energy efficiency renovations while managing the construction process for landlords. Link.

• Singrow, based out of Singapore, raised $4.5 million in Series A funding from Finc Pte. Ltd., Cyanhill Capital, and others to expand its plant genomics and precision agriculture platform for seedlings, vertical farming, and genetics across Asia. Link.

• Oway, based out of San Francisco, raised $4 million in seed funding from Y Combinator, General Catalyst, and others for its AI platform that matches shippers with empty truck space using electronic logging data to optimize freight efficiency. Link.

• SugaROx, based out of Oxford, UK, raised £1 million (~$1.35 million) in seed funding from Mosaic Co., UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, and Regenerate Ventures to accelerate development of its crop-enhancing biostimulants that help plants grow more efficiently and withstand environmental stressors. Link.

Funds

• Norrsken Foundation, based out of Stockholm, launched Norrsken Evolve, a €57 million (~$66 million) pre-seed fund to back early-stage European startups in sustainability, deeptech, and resilience. First portfolio companies include FION Energy (smart industrial battery storage), Bubble Robotics (underwater robotics for climate resilience), and New Dawn Bio (fast-growing wood alternatives). Link.

• Clean Growth Fund, based out of London, raised £49 million (~$66 million) toward its £150 million second fund target from pension funds including Strathclyde and Islington to invest in early-stage startups with decarbonization and net-zero objectives. Link.

Jobs

• Strobe Power is building the modern power plant—distributed, intelligent, and located where energy is needed most. I think very highly of this team and they’re hiring for a Software Engineer and a Chief of Staff. On the Chief of Staff front, specifically, they’re looking for legal and regulatory experience in electricity markets (think ISO and RTO filings, as one example). For the Software Engineer role, one sample bullet of qualifications includes “Shipped production code in Rust/Go/C++ and comfortable in Python or TypeScript.” Both roles are based out of New York City. See here and here for the position descriptions. Full disclosure: I’m an investor in this one via Climate Capital.

• Calectra is on a mission to electrify and decarbonize high-temperature industrial heat and is hiring an Electrical Engineer in Oakland, California, to “source and test the electrical components of the thermal storage system, then implement those components in a laboratory-scale system with an eye toward industrial-scale operation.” Link here.

One shot

Here’s a photo from where I’m at in Joshua Tree presently that made me smile:

Have a great week ahead,

— Nick