Archives: Sessions

It’s technically challenging to manufacture lithium-ion EV batteries in high volumes, and just six incumbents – CATL, BYD in China, Panasonic in Japan, and LG Energy, Samsung SDI, SK On in South Korea – produce 80% of the world’s supply. Several battery startups aiming to challenge the Big Six legacy with better technology stumbled badly

At 7-8% each, steel and cement production are responsible for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and in the past 4.5 years investors have funded dozens of startups – $2.8 billion for steel and $925 million for cement – aiming to decarbonize these indispensable industrial sectors. Compared to energy, where winning renewable technologies are well

Nuclear fusion’s promise of limitless power is the holy grail of the energy sector, but containing the nuclear reactions that power the sun is one of mankind’s greatest technical challenges. So how close are we? Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinout, has raised $2 billion and built the novel REBCO magnets required to contain super-heated

In August, Terrapower’s lead investor, Bill Gates, was in Kemmerer, Wyoming to break ground for Terrapower’s Natrium nuclear power plant, the first in the US to use liquid sodium as a coolant (instead of water) and also the recipient of the largest single federal commitment ever to a private project – 50% of the $4

Growth investors may have slowed the pace, but a few relatively new startups have nonetheless succeeded in raising huge rounds clearly designed to vault them very quickly into meaningful commercial deployment. The founders at geo-thermal power leader Fervo Energy, home heat-pump champion Aira, and industrial heat innovator Antora have raised more than $1.1 billion in

Like every other stage of climate investing, the growth stage declined year-on-year in the first of 2024, down 33% with 13% fewer deals, according to Sightline Climate. On the face of it, that’s a surprise considering the rapid progress of key firms across many categories, many with powerful tailwinds thanks to the IRA and other

Given that global temperatures have hit record highs 13 months in a row, it’s reasonable to ask whether decarbonization can move fast enough. What if extreme weather events produce huge death tolls? One response could be to pump sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere to cool the planet by reflecting the sun’s energy away from earth.