⚡️ ClimateHack Vol 112: Lightning in a bottle

Hi There,

Hope Climate Week NY was a blast for those who attended. For those of you feeling the fomo (including myself) or already missing the city of bagels and biomanufacturing. We have good news.

The HackSummit is coming to New York this December 12-13th. 500+ curated attendees across Climate Deep Tech for two days of discovery and deal making.

The current attendee list is 😮‍💨 including some of the most active seed stage investors up to the largest growth stage financiers across the US.

Grab an early bird ticket here and use code NYBLUES for a cheeky discount.

In Today’s Edition;

🛩 Autonomous aviation startup Pyka raised $40M for its electric self-flying cargo planes.
🔌 NYC-based David Energy raised $23M to get the energy grid to run entirely on clean energy.
🌿 UK startup Notpla secured £20M to scale manufacturing of its seaweed-based sustainable packaging.

Digest x Climate

👚 100+ new materials startups to watch. From biodegradable fibers, carbon-capturing cement, seaweed-based bioplastics and mycelium-grown leather - the future of new materials is here.

To better understand the landscape, we mapped 100 leading pioneers and put together this growing list of 200+ startups at the forefront of a new era for materials.

→ “Fun fact”: Combined, the buildings and construction, fashion and plastics sector account for a staggering 51% of GHG emissions.

📈 What’s up? Norrsken has released its Impact/100 list. And the Earthshot Prize unveiled its 2024 finalists.

📉 What’s down? Northvolt has halted its factory expansion and laid off 1,600 workers, as a result of lower-than-expected demand growth.

🥤 Researchers from Kyushu University have determined that a minimum 32% reduction in plastic littering by 2035 is necessary to prevent further harm to marine ecosystems.

👀 Good Read: Sifted shared its list of the 49 most promising impact startups in Europe, according to investors.

AgriFood x Climate

🥓 Dutch cultivated meat startup Meatable has been awarded €7.6 million under the Netherlands Enterprise Agency’s ‘Innovation Credit’ programme. It will use the funds to further improve productivity and reduce costs as it works towards commercialisation.

🏭 ÄIO, based in Tallinn, raised €6.1 million from venture capital funds to build a demo plant in Estonia, where it will produce eco-friendly oils and fats from wood and agricultural residues.

🌱 Malaysian startup Qarbotech raised $1.5 million in a seed extension round for its photosynthesis enhancement technology, which uses advanced carbon quantum dots material to help plants absorb carbon dioxide and boost yields by 60%.

🍓 Plenty opened the ‘world’s first’ vertical berry farm in Richmond, Virginia, capable of producing over four million pounds of strawberries annually in under 40,000 square feet.

🧪 Scientists at the University of Türbingen have discovered a way to turn carbon dioxide, oxygen and hydrogen into yeast that contains more protein than beef and enough folate to meet daily nutritional requirements.

Biodiversity x Climate

👀 Rivian revealed the 41 organisations receiving the first $10 million worth of grants from the Rivian Foundation, including the Ocean Resilience Climate Alliance and The Nature Conservancy.

🐠 Researchers at the UH Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology have found that eight common Indo-Pacific coral species can adapt to ocean warming and acidification in a "low climate change scenario" with reduced carbon emissions, but cannot survive under "business as usual" emissions.

Carbon x Climate

🪨 Eion, a startup specialising in measuring CO2 removal through enhanced rock weathering on farmland, raised a $3 million series A extension and signed a contract with Microsoft to deliver 8,000 tons of permanent CO2 removal by deploying its optimised olivine mineral on Mid-Atlantic farmland later this year.

🤝 Blusky Carbon secured a $105 million biochar sales agreement, starting with 22,200 tonnes in the first year of a ten-year term.

🔎 Nature Focus is set to deploy Hyphen Global’s real-time greenhouse gas monitoring solution across one million acres of its global improved land management and conservation projects, starting early next year.

Construction x Climate

🧱 CarbonBuilt^® is joining forces with Meta to accelerate the adoption of its Reversa® binder technology, which reacts with and permanently stores carbon during the cement curing process.

Energy x Climate

⚡️ Zap Energy, based in the US, raised $130 million for its “lightning in a bottle” approach to fusion energy. Its "sheared flow stabilised Z-pinch" technique uses an electric current to compress plasma with a magnetic field, allowing fusion to occur without the need for costly magnets or lasers.

🔋 Forge Battery, a subsidiary of Forge Nano, Inc., has been selected for up to $100 million in non-dilutive funding from the Department of Energy to expand its North Carolina lithium-ion battery gigafactory production capacity to 3 GWh per year.

💫 German nuclear fusion startup Marvel Fusion secured €62.8 million Series B funding to improve its lasers’ power and efficiency, and will soon build a demonstration facility in collaboration with Colorado State University.

🔌 NYC-based David Energy raised $23 million in a Series A-1 funding round led by Cathay Innovation to support its goal of getting the energy grid to run entirely on clean energy in the next 10 years.

⛽️ Ayrton Energy secured $6.8 million seed funding, in a round led by Clean Energy Ventures and BDC Capital, for its liquid organic hydrogen carrier that mimics margarine. Its hydrogenation process means that the LOHC can be transported and processed at room temperature and pressure.

💰 Two Point O Capital raised $6.3 million in a seed funding round led by Omnivore. It offers financing solutions, including leasing, capex financing, and other financial services, for projects in the energy transition sectors, focusing on solar rooftops, energy efficiency, and wastewater treatment.

👷‍♂️ France’s La Solive raised €4 million in a Series A funding round led by Partech. An “energy renovation school”, it offers intensive, hands-on training to those who want to retrain in energy renovation, with a view to addressing talent shortages.

ESG x Climate

🏢 Norway’s Ei Solutions secured €1.2 million to help commercial real estate owners maximise their properties’ green potential, through simplification and automation of EU-taxonomy due diligence.

Materials x Climate

🏗 Stockholm-based H2 Green Steel, which aims to decarbonise the steel industry using green hydrogen, raised €100 million in grant funding from the Swedish Energy Agency and changed its name to Stegra. 

🌿 UK startup Notpla secured £20 million Series A funding to scale manufacturing of its seaweed-based sustainable packaging, with the aim of expanding to the US and selling 100 million plastic-free units in the next two years.

👜 PACT, based in Cambridge, raised €10.7 million seed funding to scale production of its groundbreaking collagen-based biomaterial, Oval, and further develop innovative biomaterials for use in fashion, luxury, and other industries.

📦 Germany’s BIOVOX closed its seed funding round with €2.2 million to advance development of the world's first sustainable medical-grade bioplastics for devices and packaging.

💡 These are the 10 pitfalls and possibilities to scaling new materials according to 10 top industry experts (including Syre, Kubik, MycoFuture, ECBF and more). From regulatory challenges to heavy capEx funding needs.

Mobility x Climate

🛩 Autonomous aviation startup Pyka raised $40 million Series B funding, including support from the US Department of Defense, for its electric self-flying cargo planes.

🔌 Berlin-based Cariqa closed its pre-seed funding round with €1 million to develop the first consumer-facing EV charging marketplace, designed to address market inefficiencies by improving price transparency for drivers and control for charge point operators.

⛴ Amogy announced the successful maiden voyage of the NH₃ Kraken, the world's first carbon-free, ammonia-powered maritime vessel. The 1957 tugboat sailed on a Hudson River tributary after being retrofitted with Amogy's ammonia-to-power system.

Quality Memes

🥲 What its like to log into linkedin these days

How did you like today's email?

Love it😁 Meh 😐 Hate it🙁

Editorial by Arman, Curation by Nicola