Latest news with #climatetech
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia's NRN secures $47.3m series A funding for climate tech
National Renewable Network (NRN), an Australian distributed energy infrastructure provider, has closed a A$67.2m ($47.3m) series A funding round, marking one of the largest investments in Australian climate technology to date. The funding round comprises both equity and debt, with significant backing from a superannuation-linked fund. This milestone reflects an increasing interest in solar and battery solutions across the nation, driven by government incentives for renewable installations. The capital injection is supported by Australian climate tech investors such as Investible, Virescent Ventures and Electrifi Ventures, alongside Ecotone Partners' newly launched Planet Fund. Infradebt [a specialist boutique fund manager focused on originating, structuring and managing private debt investments for infrastructure projects]-managed funds have also made a significant debt commitment through vehicles such as the Australian Ethical Infrastructure Debt Fund. Throughout this process, Neu Capital has served as NRN's debt advisor. This financial boost arrives amid an unprecedented boom in demand for solar power systems, batteries and virtual power plant (VPP) schemes within Australia. NRN CEO and founder Alan Hunter said: "Millions of Australian homeowners want solar, but the costs are prohibitive, and every energy retailer wants to scale up their solar energy generation. "Our platform integrates tech, data, capital, compliance and market access to neatly solve the problem at both ends. For customers, it's access to solar with no upfront fees. For energy retailers, NRN can instantly establish or scale distributed energy businesses without capital-intensive balance sheet burdens, while maintaining complete ownership of the customer experience. Our unique model is intentionally structured around empowering partners, never competing with them." Since 2023NRN's network has grown more than sixfold, with more than $12m worth of renewable assets under management and almost 10 megawatt hours of installed battery capacity, according to the company's news release. NRN plans to utilise this new capital to fast-track its national platform expansion and enhance its pivotal role connecting industry players with government bodies and regulators. The company aims to facilitate broader access to renewable resources while supporting partner businesses and delivering cost savings for consumers. Australia has installed more than four million rooftop solar systems, transforming its energy market. But while this decentralisation benefits renewables, it has also led to rising energy prices and market instability as retailers face declining demand and fluctuating supply. NRN addresses these challenges by serving as an independent infrastructure layer between the solar industry and energy retailers. This stabilises the grid, reduces costs for households, and enables access to solar and battery systems without upfront payments, making clean energy more affordable for everyone. Infradebt co-founder Chin-Lee Yu stated: "Infradebt is pleased to provide a bespoke debt financing solution to support the rapid growth of the NRN platform. The build-out of residential battery storage and VPPs will be a key next step in the energy transition." "Australia's NRN secures $47.3m series A funding for climate tech" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. 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
Geek Wire
08-07-2025
- Science
- Geek Wire
Concrete goes green: UW and Microsoft use seaweed to create novel carbon-trapping cement
Sustainability: News about the rapidly growing climate tech sector and other areas of innovation to protect our planet. SEE MORE Meng-Yen Lin, a member of Eleftheria Roumeli's lab at the University of Washington, mixes up seaweed-containing batter for making cement. (UW Photo) Researchers have developed a novel solution for trapping carbon in concrete by blending a sustainable, easy-to-grow green seaweed into the industrial batter that makes cement, all without reducing its strength. Scientists from the University of Washington and Microsoft Research used machine learning to expedite their experimentation, coming up with a solution that lowered the cement's global warming impacts by 21% A study on their work is publishing online today in Matter, a science journal focused on materials science. The research was led by Eleftheria Roumeli, a UW assistant professor in materials science and engineering, and Kristen Severson, a senior researcher with Microsoft Research. Roumeli previously developed an algae-based plastic that biodegrades in nature as quick as a banana peel. The scientists wanted to tackle concrete given that it's responsible for between 8-11% of global carbon emissions. Cement, the key component of concrete, contributes to nearly all of that climate burden. There are efforts worldwide to curb concrete's carbon footprint by using clean energy in generating the heat needed to product cement and by swapping in different ingredients to bind the cement such as industrial wastes like fly ash and furnace slag. Scientists with the University of Washington and Microsoft Research used dehydrated seaweed to make a high-performing, lower-carbon cement. (UW Photo) Roumeli and Severson turned to the seaweed given that it pulls carbon from the air and locks it away during photosynthesis. Others have tested the use of smaller algae, but the researchers were the first to choose a macroalgae called Ulva as their material because it has a more robust cellular structure they suspected could help reinforce the cement. The scientists dehydrated the seaweed before incorporating it and were able to successfully use much higher amounts in the cement than previous demonstrations. One of the difficulties in developing lower-carbon cement is the time required to make sure it's strong enough to be used in the construction of buildings, bridges and other infrastructure. Concrete gains strength over time, leading researchers to typically test the material after 28 days. To speed up that process, the scientists developed a machine learning model that could predict how much stronger a sample would get over four weeks, allowing them to abandon underperforming strategies earlier in the process. The approach shaved 112 days off of experiment time. The model is adaptable and can be applied to other solutions for making greener cement. '[T]his work establishes a framework with the potential to accelerate the design of sustainable cement with feasible experimental resources while satisfying critical performance requirements,' the authors wrote. Other authors of the paper were Meng-Yen Lin and Paul Grandgeorge, who did the research as a graduate student and a post-doc, respectively, in Roumeli's lab. The publication is titled 'Closed-loop optimization using machine learning for the accelerated design of sustainable cements incorporating algal biomatter.'
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Final GOP bill kneecaps renewables and hydrogen but lifts nuclear and geothermal
Republican legislators Thursday passed a reconciliation act that, among other things, unwinds much of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bill, which passed 218-214 with two Republicans voting no, now awaits President Donald Trump's signature. Trump is expected to sign it. Solar, wind, and clean hydrogen will all lose incentives under the new bill, while nuclear and geothermal see some IRA benefits preserved. The final bill is largely what emerged from the Senate Finance Committee in mid-June, though the current version offers slightly longer timelines to claim clean energy tax credits than the committee draft. Solar and wind developers, to gain access to tax credits, will have to either connect to the grid by the end of 2027 or break ground on new projects within 12 months of the bill's passage. The data center sector may suffer the most under the new bill. For the last several years, solar, wind, and batteries have been an easy way for hyperscalers and developers to get inexpensive power quickly. Solar farms, for example, can typically be completed in 12 to 18 months, whereas backlogs for new natural gas turbines stretches into the early 2030s. Climate tech startups are certain to feel some pain, too. Green hydrogen startups may feel it most acutely; tax credits worth up to $3 per kilogram of hydrogen look likely to expire at the end of 2027, five years earlier than when they were scheduled to begin phasing out under the IRA. Geothermal, nuclear, and battery storage were spared somewhat, with their tax incentives surviving through the end of 2033. But new rules pertaining to 'foreign entities of concern' could make tax credits much harder to obtain.
Reuters
02-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Dutch climate tech firm Dexter Energy raises 23 million euros
July 2 (Reuters) - Dexter Energy, an Amsterdam-based climate tech firm, has raised 23 million euros ($27.1 million) via a funding round to expand its AI-driven services for renewable energy and batteries, the company said on Wednesday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: The investment reflects the growing reliance on AI technologies to navigate Europe's volatile renewable energy markets and accelerate the clean energy transition. KEY QUOTES: "We're excited to welcome Klima and Mirova aboard. They share our belief that AI is now essential infrastructure for an electricity grid increasingly powered by renewables and storage," said Luuk Veeken, CEO and founder of Dexter Energy. BY THE NUMBERS: Dexter Energy's AI-backed trading solutions can increase wholesale market revenues by up to 30% for renewable energy producers, the company said. Its latest funding round was led by financial services firm Alantra. Other investment firms involved in the funding included France's Mirova, ETF Partners and Newion. WHAT'S NEXT: Dexter plans to expand its services in the Netherlands and other European markets. The company was founded in 2017, and it uses AI technology and data for trading on power markets. It says its underlying price forecasting models draw from more than 12 external sources, including weather models and market data. ($1 = 0.8490 euros)
Bloomberg
26-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Former Meta CTO Says AI Will Prompt a New Wave of Energy Innovation
Climate tech is not the hot investor thesis it once was a couple of years ago. After several record breaking years, and billions of dollars being poured into climate startups, venture capital investments are way down. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi speaks with Mike Schroepfer, who runs Gigascale Capital, a venture firm focusing on climate investments, and used to be Meta's chief technology officer.
