Latest news with #cleantech
Entrepreneur
a day ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
The Concrete Edge
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Once seen as second fiddle to Silicon Valley, the UK start-up scene is quietly enjoying a moment. Ask Liz Gilligan, CEO and co-founder of Middlesbrough based Material Evolution, a company that uses AI and industrial waste to create eco-friendly cement with low CO2 emissions, what's different in 2025, and she doesn't hesitate: "Being UK-focused has become a real superpower." For years, founders were peppered with one recurring question: when are you going to the US? Not anymore. "Instead, we're being asked how we'll expand across Europe and beyond. That mindset shift has unlocked new opportunities and put the UK in a much stronger position globally." It's not just geography that's shifted. So has the founder mindset. Gilligan, who is building a cleantech hardware company, now views focus as its own form of scale. "I've stopped saying yes to every event invitation... there are way too many events you could attend, and most of them don't deliver any immediate value to the business." The payoff has been both personal and strategic: "That simple change has freed up so much headspace and time – time that now goes into product, customers, and team. Ironically, by being less 'out there,' the company is moving faster." If there's a theme to her reflections, it's one of clarity. That extends to capital, too. "I used to think that raising capital was just about getting the money in, but I've realised that finding the right investors and building the right capital stack is absolutely critical to scaling a company." Especially, she adds, in sectors like hardware where "VC capital... is hard, and that's due to many factors – but the biggest one is education." Education, in this case, is a two-way street. "It's not a one-way pitch; it's a two-way process that requires both sides to lean in, learn, and build conviction together." Gilligan is also bullish on one founder profile that's often overlooked: the technical CEO. "A founder who can dive deep into the product, sell to customers, and pitch with conviction to investors is a true Swiss Army knife." Yet that versatility, she argues, is frequently undervalued in UK venture. "Many still prioritise financial or commercial backgrounds when backing founding teams. I believe this is a mistake." Her vision for the UK start-up ecosystem? Bold and unapologetic: "That the UK and Europe have the grants, capital, and policy frameworks needed to truly compete with the US ecosystem." But it won't happen with policy tweaks alone. "We need to move away from a culture of minimising downside and toward one that embraces risk and ambition." The UK must get comfortable swinging for the fences: "We should be backing founders who are swinging for the fences, not just optimising for safe returns." In Gilligan's view, the next decade belongs to those willing to think bigger - and more bravely. That, she insists, is how "the UK [becomes] the place to be for start-up ecosystems."
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
BlackWood Ventures Announces Final Close of Debut Fund at More Than $25 Million to Back Europe's Next Generation of Founders
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 28, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- BlackWood Ventures, opens new tab, a network- and technology-driven early-stage fund focused on European founders, announces today the final close of its debut $25 million (USD) fund. Since its first close in April 2023, BlackWood has made 19 investments spanning nine countries, with a plan to build a portfolio of around 30 fintech, cleantech, and Web3 companies. 'Europe is not short on talent; it's short on conviction capital. That's the gap we're here to fill,' said Bastian Larsen, founder and CEO of BlackWood Ventures. 'We built BlackWood to be truly European in scope and disciplined in approach, seeing hundreds of opportunities each month and backing founders whose ambition and focus stand out.' Investments include: Matthew Ford, founder and CEO of Sidekick: "BlackWood backed us early last year and has been fantastic to work with. They invest with conviction and it's refreshing how fast and efficient they were throughout. Their fintech-experienced team has been hands-on at every turn and supported us throughout. Whether that's in fundraising processes, helping with sales, or general support and guidance. It's been a great partnership!" BlackWood's sourcing model combines a network of over 1,000 angel investors with systematic screening of hundreds of opportunities each month, increasingly supported by tech-enabled sourcing platforms. Frequent co-investments with leading firms such as LocalGlobe, Y Combinator, Seedcamp, Northzone, Octopus Ventures, Firstminute Capital, RTP Global, Giant Ventures, Norrsken and others demonstrate the fund's ability to identify and back high-quality opportunities. 'I continue to be impressed by the clarity of the strategy and intensity of execution this team has demonstrated,' said Steffen Saltofte, a limited partner and board member at BlackWood, and CEO of Zentiva, a multinational pharmaceutical company with more than 5,000 employees. 'BlackWood has built a strong European footprint, moves quickly, and is backing companies many Nordic VCs overlook due to geographic constraints. This ambition and focused execution is exactly what we aimed for with Fund I, and I'm excited to see it continue.' About BlackWood Ventures BlackWood Ventures is a network- and technology-driven early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Copenhagen with team members across Europe. The firm backs visionary fintech, cleantech, and Web3 founders from pre-seed to seed with a disciplined, pan-European approach. For more information, visit opens new tab. Media Contact Rasmus Holtrh@ ### SOURCE: BlackWood Ventures Copyright 2025 EZ Newswire See release on EZ Newswire
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Cleantech Innovator BioLargo's Hard Work Is Coming To Fruition
By Meg Flippin DETROIT, MICHIGAN - July 23, 2025 ( NEWMEDIAWIRE ) - Dennis Calvert, president and CEO of BioLargo Inc. (OTC: BLGO), was recently a guest on Benzinga's All-Access. BioLargo is a cleantech and life sciences company that invents, develops and commercializes innovative platform technologies to solve challenging environmental problems. The company creates subsidiaries and is currently focused on four areas: odor and VOC controls, PFAS groundwater remediation and treatment, battery storage technology and medical devices. 'All of these have had long development cycles, lots of R&D, big vision, huge competition and barriers to entry,' Calvert told Benzinga during the interview. 'Now we're at that point that it's all starting to pay off, find the channel, make the deal, reap the harvest. We've been planting seeds for a long time.' Among the businesses BioLargo is focused on, Calvert said he is excited about the company's battery storage unit Cellinity, which recently received third-party validation. Cellinity is used in grid-scale battery energy storage applications. Calvert said battery storage is a hot market right now as it supports AI expansion, given that the energy available today is inefficient to meet the growing demand. As for the company's future growth, Calvert says Biolargo is one of those companies that takes patience, but that long view is now starting to pay off. Watch the full interview here: Featured image fromShutterstock. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. This content was originallypublished on Benzinga. Read further disclosureshere.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Enbridge Announces 600-Megawatt Solar Project to Support Meta Platforms, Inc. Data Center Operations
CALGARY, AB, July 22, 2025 /CNW/ - Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge or the Company) announced that it has reached a final investment decision on Clear Fork, a 600 MW solar project in Texas. Clear Fork will be a utility scale solar facility located near San Antonio, with 600 MW of capacity. Construction is underway, and the facility is expected to enter in service during the summer of 2027. Meta Platforms, Inc., has signed a long-term contract for 100% of the renewable output of the project. Enbridge's estimated project cost is US$0.9b and the project is expected to be accretive to cash flow and earnings per share starting in 2027. "Clear Fork demonstrates the growing demand for renewable power across North America from blue-chip companies who are involved in technology and data center operations," said Matthew Akman, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy, & President, Power. "Enbridge continues to advance its world-class renewables development portfolio using our financial strength, supply chain reach and construction expertise under a low-risk commercial model that delivers strong competitive returns." "We are thrilled to partner with Enbridge to bring new renewable energy to Texas and help support our operations with 100% clean energy," Urvi Parekh, Head of Global Energy, Meta. Forward-Looking Statements Forward-looking statements have been included in this news release to provide readers with information about Enbridge and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including management's assessment of Enbridge's and its subsidiaries' future plans and operations. This information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as ''anticipate'', ''expect'', ''project'', ''estimate'', ''forecast'', ''plan'', ''intend'', ''target'', ''believe'', "likely", and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements included or incorporated by reference in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to Clear Fork Solar, including the expected costs, benefits and construction and in-service dates of Clear Fork Solar, and other related matters. Although Enbridge believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available on the date such statements are made and processes used to prepare the information, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Material assumptions include assumptions about the following: the expected supply of, demand for, export of and prices of crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable energy; anticipated utilization of assets; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; tariffs and trade policies; availability and price of labor and construction materials; the stability of our supply chain; operational reliability; maintenance of support and regulatory approvals for our projects and transactions; anticipated in-service dates; weather; the timing, terms and closing of acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions; the realization of anticipated benefits of transactions; governmental legislation; litigation; estimated future dividends and impact of our dividend policy on our future cash flows; our credit ratings; capital project funding; hedging program; expected earnings before interest, income taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA); expected earnings/(loss); expected future cash flows; and expected distributable cash flow. Assumptions regarding the expected supply of and demand for crude oil, natural gas, NGL, LNG, RNG and renewable energy, and the prices of these commodities, are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements, as they may impact current and future levels of demand for our services. Similarly, exchange rates, inflation, interest rates and tariffs impact the economies and business environments in which we operate and may impact levels of demand for our services and cost of inputs, and are therefore inherent in all forward-looking statements. The most relevant assumptions associated with forward-looking statements regarding announced projects and projects under construction, including estimated completion dates and expected capital expenditures, include the following: the availability and price of labor and construction materials; the stability of our supply chain; the effects of inflation and foreign exchange rates on labor and material costs; the effects of interest rates on borrowing costs; the impact of weather and customer, government, court and regulatory approvals on construction and in-service schedules and cost recovery regimes. Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to the successful execution of our strategic priorities; operating performance; legislative and regulatory parameters; litigation; acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions and the realization of anticipated benefits therefrom; evolving government trade policies, including potential and announced tariffs, duties, fees, economic sanctions or other trade measures; operational dependence on third parties; dividend policy; project approval and support; renewals of rights-of-way; weather; economic and competitive conditions; public opinion; changes in tax laws and tax rates; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; commodity prices; access to and cost of capital; our ability to maintain adequate insurance in the future at commercially reasonable rates and terms; political decisions; global geopolitical conditions; and the supply of, demand for and prices of commodities and other alternative energy, including but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties discussed in this news release and in our filings with Canadian and US securities regulators. The impact of any one assumption, risk, uncertainty or factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as these are interdependent and our future course of action depends on management's assessment of all information available at the relevant time. Except to the extent required by applicable law, Enbridge assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement made in this news release or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. About Enbridge Inc. At Enbridge, we safely connect millions of people to the energy they rely on every day, fueling quality of life through our North American natural gas, oil and renewable power networks and our growing European offshore wind portfolio. We're investing in modern energy delivery infrastructure to sustain access to secure, affordable energy and building on more than a century of operating conventional energy infrastructure and two decades of experience in renewable power to advance new technologies including hydrogen, renewable natural gas and carbon capture and storage. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Enbridge's common shares trade under the symbol ENB on the Toronto (TSX) and New York (NYSE) stock exchanges. To learn more, visit us at FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Media Investment Community Toll Free: (888) 992-0997 Toll Free: (800) 481-2804 Email: media@ Email: View original content: SOURCE Enbridge Inc. View original content: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Jaguar Land Rover-backed battery recycling project gets UK government funding
July 17 (Reuters) - An EV battery recycling project backed by Jaguar Land Rover has received British government funding to recover critical minerals from end-of-life batteries, startup Mint Innovation said on Thursday. The project to recover lithium, nickel and cobalt from used batteries is part of the 2.5-billion-pound ($3.35 billion) DRIVE35 programme that the UK Department for Business and Trade launched on Sunday to support the transition to electric cars. Britain plans to phase out sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. But globally demand for EVs has fallen behind expectations, with consumers citing high upfront costs as the main barrier. The lithium-ion battery project will be in Britain's West Midlands and run for three years, Mint Innovation said in a statement. The cleantech company's project is backed by Tata Motors' ( opens new tab unit Jaguar Land Rover, LiBatt Recycling and the Warwick Manufacturing Group department of the University of Warwick. It has secured 8.1 million pounds in funding, including 4.05 million from the government's Advanced Propulsion Centre UK. Britain's DRIVE35 will commit 2 billion pounds in funding to 2030 and an additional 500 million pounds for research and development to 2035 to support job creation and EV innovation, the Department for Business and Trade said on Sunday. "Our advanced processes aim to not only deliver high-quality materials ... but also help to reduce our reliance on virgin materials," said Beth Johnston, Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick. In April, Britain softened its demands on automakers to shift to EV production, seeking to alleviate pressure on an industry already reeling from U.S. import tariffs. In June, Jaguar Land Rover trimmed its fiscal 2026 margin forecast due to slowing global auto demand, months after shelving plans to build EVs at a new $1 billion Tata factory in southern India. ($1 = 0.7460 pounds)
