⛏️ Vol 152: 99.9% pure magnesium pilot

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Despite years of initiatives aimed at increasing diversity, a significant gender gap remains. Both among the investors making funding decisions and the founders receiving that capital.

Although there is no silver bullet to close this gap, one powerful step is to spotlight those who have broken through barriers, despite the odds to shape and inspire the next generation.

Starting with the US, we’re doing just that as we recognise and celebrate 80+ Women Founders and CEOs working across US Climate Tech.

With many of them already tipped to join the HackSummit in New York, including:

🦠 Liz Dennett – Founder and CEO of Endolith, harnessing microbes for sustainable critical mineral extraction
⛏️ Laureen Meroueh – Founder and CEO of Hertha Metals, forging the future of steel to redefine how we build our world
🛥️ Sampriti Bhattacharyya – Founder and CEO of Navier, creating electric hydrofoiling boats that make water transport clean and efficient.

In this week’s edition:

🇮🇳 Theia Ventures achieved the first close of its $30 million fund
🇺🇸 Base Power raised $1 billion to accelerate expansion of home battery leasing
🇰🇪 BIOSORRA secured new investment to expand its biochar production in Kenya

Digest x Climate

📉 What’s down? The US Department of Energy has cancelled 321 clean energy awards worth $7.56 billion, affecting projects such as hydrogen hubs and direct air capture initiatives across multiple states. It also plans to cut over $500 million in clean energy grants, potentially impacting startups and major automakers like Ford, GM, and Stellantis.

☀️ A University of Surrey study finds that solar energy is now the world’s cheapest power source, costing as little as £0.02 per kWh in sunny regions.

🇨🇭ClimateHack Zurich are looking for an Ambassador to join their team. Apply here

🇿🇦 Join ClimateHack Cape Town to discuss Africa’s blue economy future on 21st October

AgriFood x Climate

🧬 Paris-based biotech Phagos closed its Series A funding round with €25 million from investors including CapAgro, Hoxton Ventures, CapHorn, and Demeter. It will use the funds to expand its AI-powered bacteriophage therapy platform for treating bacterial diseases in animals and eventually humans, offering a sustainable alternative to antibiotics amid rising antimicrobial resistance.

🧫 Asterix Foods emerged from stealth with $4.2 million in funding led by CPT Capital to scale its low-cost plant cell culture platform for producing complex animal proteins like dairy and egg glycoproteins, which it says offers a faster, cheaper alternative to microbial precision fermentation.

🇨🇦 Vancouver-based Maia Farms received $1.75 million from Genome British Columbia’s Industry Innovation Fund to advance its fermentation-based mushroom mycelium ingredients, which upcycle agricultural byproducts into sustainable, protein-rich food components.

❌ The EU Parliament has voted to ban meat-like terms such as “beef,” “burger,” and “sausage” on plant-based product labels, advancing the proposal to trilogue negotiations despite criticism that it restricts consumer choice and undermines sustainable food innovation.

Carbon x Climate

💦 Vycarb raised $5 million seed funding to scale its technology that captures and stores carbon dioxide in oceans and rivers, aiming to offer a lower-cost, scalable alternative to conventional carbon removal solutions.

🇰🇪 BIOSORRA secured new investment from atmosfair and Fondo Nimbus to expand its biochar production in Kenya, advancing regenerative agriculture, durable carbon removal, and clean energy generation while scaling its waste-to-value model to support farmers and decarbonisation across the tropics.

🔢 HowGood launched a Global Carbon Database, an audit-ready emissions library for the food and agriculture industry that enables companies of all sizes to easily access credible carbon data for reporting and reduction planning.

🪨 Interesting: What does a tonne of carbon look like?

🧪 Infographic: A key component of Direct Air Capture and CCS, metal organic frameworks (MOF) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Energy x Climate

🪫 Austin-based Base Power raised $1 billion in a Series C funding round led by Addition, valuing the company at $3 billion, to accelerate expansion of its home battery leasing business after rapidly building one of Texas’s largest battery storage networks since its founding in 2023.

☀️ OpenSolar, an Australian-founded, US-based solar design and sales platform, secured $20 million from Titanium Ventures, 2150 Sustainability Fund, Google, and others to enhance its AI-powered OpenSolar 3.0 platform and expand global operations.

📈 Dutch startup OpusFlow raised €3.8 million in growth funding from Move Energy, Rise PropTech, and Peak, bringing its total funding to €5.5 million in just 15 months, to accelerate the European expansion and AI integration of its automation platform for renewable energy installers.

🌍 Spain’s Clevergy secured €3.2 million in a funding round led by Racine² and Axon Partners, with participation from Satgana and Wayra, to scale its smart energy platform across Europe.

🏭 Mars and Cargill have signed five virtual power purchase agreements with GoldenPeaks Capital to add 224MW of new solar capacity in Poland by 2027, marking the largest multi-buyer renewable energy deal in Central and Eastern Europe.

Funds x Climate

🇮🇳 Theia Ventures, one of India’s first early-stage funds focused on energy transition, deep tech, and decarbonisation, achieved the first close of its $30 million fund backed by British International Investment and global investors, aiming to support 18–20 startups developing technologies to decarbonise heavy industry, manufacturing, and mobility.

💸 Paris-based investment club Keenest raised €10 million to finance startups in the sustainable economy through community-driven impact investing.

⚡️ Energy Impact Partners closed its $1.36 billion Flagship Fund III, its largest to date, to invest in growth-stage clean energy and AI-powered technologies that address soaring global power demand and accelerate the energy transition.

📈 The European Institute of Innovation and Technology has approved a record €978 million package for 2026–2028 to boost innovation, entrepreneurship, and skills development across Europe, supporting initiatives across sectors including climate change, sustainable energy, and food systems.

☄️ Former SpaceX engineer Jamie Gull launched Wave Function Ventures, a new $15.1 million deep tech fund backing early-stage startups in sectors like nuclear energy, robotics, and aerospace.

🎯 Former Generation Investment Management partners have launched Resolution Investors, a new global equity fund targeting $1 billion that focuses on companies driving or enabling the climate transition, positioning decarbonisation as its core investment strategy.

Materials x Climate

⛏️ The TLDR of producing over 99.9% pure magnesium pilot.

🔬 Researchers have developed MXene-based catalytic materials that efficiently convert polyethylene waste into valuable liquid hydrocarbons, offering a promising, sustainable method to recycle plastics while minimising methane emissions.

🪶 At Paris Fashion Week, British designer Stella McCartney unveiled her Spring/Summer 2026 collection featuring plant-based feathers created in partnership with UK startup Fevvers.

🧵 Genomatica has partnered with Sojitz Corporation to accelerate the commercialisation of the world’s first 100% plant-based nylon-6, combining Genomatica’s biomanufacturing technology with Sojitz’s investment and global expertise.

🔋 MIT researchers have developed an electron-conducting carbon concrete (ec³) that can store and release electrical energy, transforming everyday structures like walls and roads into long-lasting “concrete batteries” capable of powering homes and enabling self-monitoring, energy-storing infrastructure.

🎙️ Podcast: Ahead of joining us at the HackSummit, Ted Feldmann of Durin spoke to CleanTechies on how they use robotic drills to solve the critical mineral supply crisis.

Mobility x Climate

🛬 OXCCU, an Oxford University spin-out developing a one-step process to convert waste carbon into sustainable aviation fuel, raised £20.75 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round led by Orlen VC, Safran Corporate Ventures, IAG, Hostplus, and TCVC, to accelerate commercialisation and scale its technology.

🚙 Madrid-based carpooling startup TRIBBU secured over €2 million in a round led by Iberdrola and Grupo Ruiz to expand its sustainable, incentive-based commuting platform across Spain, enabling drivers to earn money through Energy Savings Certificates while reducing traffic and emissions.

🛞 Scottish startup Munro, which makes electric four-by-four vehicles, secured £2 million from Elbow Beach Capital and others to scale production of its M-Series electric all-terrain vehicles.

🚚 Sydney-based New Energy Transport successfully completed a zero-emission heavy freight trial with Who Gives A Crap, using an electric Volvo truck for a full port-to-warehouse delivery.

Tinder x Climate

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Editorial by Laura, Curation by Nicola