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☆ Climate tech startups Montinutra, Harvest Thermal, Bisly, and Twig recently raised a combined $13.6 million. We got a look at the pitch decks they used to raise the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Climate tech startups Montinutra, Harvest Thermal, Bisly, and Twig have recently raised a collective $13.6 million between them as early-stage deals continue to dominate the venture capital industry. Biochemicals startup Montinutra, founded in 2018, raised 2 million euros, $2.1 million, in October to convert forestry sidestreams into sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals. Check out the 18-slide pitch deck below:MontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraMontinutraHeat pump startup Harvest Thermal raised $4 millionCalifornia-based Harvest Thermal raised a $4 million round for its heat pump and thermal storage combination in October. It is riding political tailwinds amid the US' recent commitment to install 20 million heat pumps by 2030. Check out the redacted pitch deck that it used to raise the funds below:Harvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest Thermal Harvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalHarvest ThermalBuilding energy management startup Bisly secured $3.8 millionEstonian startup Bisly, which wants to make it cheaper to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, just raised 3.6 million euros, $3.8 million, in seed funding in October.

Persons: Twig, Pajunen, Portfolia, Russ Tucker Organizations: Metsä, Earth Foundry, Climate Partners, Starshot, National Science Foundation, California Energy Commission, International Energy Agency, Aconterra, Second Century Ventures, SmartCap, Fund, Pinorena, Innovation, Seed Fund Locations: California, London

Lawmakers have sent him bills aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, help schools adapt to the changing climate and ease the cost to taxpayers for the cleanup of orphan oil and gas wells. Newsom said he would sign a bill requiring companies making more than $1 billion in annual revenue to disclose a wide range of greenhouse gas emissions. BUILDING EMISSIONSLawmakers sent a bill to Newsom’s desk requiring state regulators to find an approach to reduce planet-warming emissions from buildings. The sector makes up about a quarter of California's greenhouse gas emissions, the state estimates. Another bill requiring the California Energy Commission to create a plan to help schools adapt to climate change effects reached Newsom's desk this year.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, Newsom, ”, Ann Alexander, Alexander, Sen, Lena A, Gonzalez, didn't, ___ Sophie Austin, @sophieadanna Organizations: —, Lawmakers, United, Natural Resources Defense Council, California Department of Conservation, Western States Petroleum Association, U.S . Energy Information Administration, California Energy Commission, Assembly, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, — California, United Nations, New York, In California, California, Los Angeles County

The Energy Department has announced a $325 million investment in new battery types that can help turn solar and wind energy into 24-hour power. Batteries are increasingly being used to store surplus renewable energy so that it can be used later, during times when there is no sunlight or wind. The department says the projects will protect more communities from blackouts and make energy more reliable and affordable. “Long-duration battery storage is like a rainy-day savings account for energy storage,” said Jodie Lutkenhaus, professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University. This one is led by the California Energy Commission in collaboration with Faraday Microgrids.

Persons: ”, Christopher Rahn, “, Jodie Lutkenhaus, ” Lutkenhaus, Amanda Smith, Faraday, Rejoule, Infrastructure David Crane, Elisabeth Moyer, ” Rahn Organizations: Energy Department, Pennsylvania State University, Texas, M University, “, Law, Xcel Energy, Energy, Children's, California Energy Commission, Smart Systems, EV, Canada . Energy, Infrastructure, University of Chicago, AP Locations: Lake, American, Minnesota, U.S, California , New York, Hawaii, Becker , Minnesota, Pueblo , Colorado, California's, Madera, Georgia , California, South Carolina, Louisiana, Petaluma , California, Santa Fe , New Mexico, Canada

☆ Electric cars are breaking sales records, but here’s why they’re not replacing gas cars anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Christopher Hickey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

More shoppers are choosing electric vehicles so far this year than ever, according to vehicle sales data from Cox Automotive. While EV sales have been growing healthily for the past couple of years, that trend has accelerated this year. The electric vehicle market is entering into a transition period, she said. The average electric vehicle price in July was $53,469, according to Kelley Blue Book, versus an average price of $48,334 across all vehicles. But the number of charging stations still lags behind what is needed to support a wider-scale adoption of electric vehicles.

Persons: Cox, That’s, ”, Stephanie Valdez, Streaty, Chevrolet Bolt, Rivian, BEV, “ We’ve, ” Valdez, Price, Kelley, “ Organizations: Cox Automotive, EV, Streaty, CNN, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Tesla, Volkswagen, Valdez, US Energy, Ford, EV considerers, US Department of Energy, Alliance, Automotive, Quarterly, California Energy Commission, AAI, District of Columbia, California Air Resources Board Locations: Valdez, California

☆ Tesla's California market share tumbles despite aggressive price cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN FRANCISCO, April 21 (Reuters) - Tesla's market share in its key California market tumbled in the first quarter of the year despite aggressive price cuts as rivals stepped up, data showed on Friday. Tesla's sales in California accounted for 16% of the automaker's global deliveries last year, according to Reuters calculation. Tesla CEO Elon Musk's pursuit of Twitter and embrace of Republicans has sparked concerns about Tesla's brand, especially in liberal states like California. Globally, Tesla posted record quarterly vehicle deliveries for the quarter, but quarter-on-quarter sales growth was modest despite price cuts as rising competition, especially in China, and a bleak economic outlook weighed. The price cuts hit Tesla's first-quarter margins, pushing its shares down nearly 10% on Thursday.

☆ Tesla's market share in California plunged despite slashing prices this year, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla's market share in California plunged in California despite big price cuts, a report says. Data reviewed by Reuters found Tesla's market share in the state fell from 72.7% to 59.6% in a year. Tesla's profits have also plunged since the cuts after Elon Musk promised to focus on market share. The price cuts helped send Tesla's profits down 24% in the first quarter as the company made less on each car sold. While Musk said he planned to prioritize market share over profits, the scale of the decline still spooked investors.

Meanwhile, BlackRock is part of another group investing $650 million to build chargers along freight routes. Because port real estate is at a premium, most early drayage charging projects will be "behind the fence" on trucking company property, experts said. Electric trucks cannot operate without chargers, but it does not make sense to build chargers if drivers are not using electric trucks. Prologis, the biggest U.S. warehouse owner, created its mobility business to install electric truck chargers and solar panels. "A marriage between real estate and energy infrastructure" will be needed to accelerate the transition to electric-powered trucking, Prologis Mobility's Holland said.

☆ California governor signs bill giving energy commission oversight power on oil companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Taylor Romine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Tuesday that gives the state’s energy commission oversight power on oil companies to determine potential price gouging and impose corresponding penalties. If their office determines price gouging occurred, they will be able to impose a penalty on oil companies. The law will give needed transparency into the state’s petroleum market and how the oil companies are coming up with pricing, according to state legislators who worked on the bill. “California has sent a clear message to the oil industry – open your books and prove that you’re not price gouging. Last November, Newsom called a special session on a potential “price gouging penalty” after previously calling on the legislature to enact a windfall tax on oil companies.

☆ California approves $2.9 bln investment to double car chargers in state
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonDec 14 (Reuters) - The California Energy Commission on Wednesday approved a $2.9 billion investment plan to accelerate the state's 2025 electric vehicle (EV) charging and hydrogen refueling goals. The investment will result in 90,000 new EV chargers across the state, more than double the 80,000 chargers already installed, the energy commission said. The $1 trillion infrastructure bill provides $5 billion to help states install EV chargers along interstate highways over five years. States now have access to more than $1.5 billion to help build EV chargers. California, in August, moved to require all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 to be either electric or plug-in electric hybrids.

☆ EVs and crypto mining seen as emerging risks for U.S. power reliability
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Laila Kearney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The adoption of electric vehicles and rise of cryptocurrency mining pose emerging challenges to U.S. power reliability in upcoming years, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said on Thursday. The potential growth of cryptocurrency miners, which use supercomputers to power their operations, can also "have a significant effect on demand and resource projections," NERC said. Earlier this month, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced a voluntary curtailment program for customers, including bitcoin mining facilities, to reduce power during peak demand periods. Non-EV energy transition measures, which rely heavily on the electrification of businesses and residences, will also add grid pressures, NERC said. That increase comes as the shutdown of coal, nuclear and natural-gas power plants outpaces the replacement of new power generation capacity.

☆ California invested an enormous amount of money into getting EVs on the road, but practically nothing when it comes to dealing with the waste: 'It's totally like the Wild West.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

"It's totally like the Wild West," said Zora Chung, co-founder of ReJoule, Inc., a startup project based in Signal Hill that is exploring repurposing used batteries from EVs. However, there are no EV battery recycling plants that exist in California, nor tried-and-true recycling programs in place to deal with the fallout. Currently, the company has used batteries deployed at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, where solar panels feed electricity into the used battery storage units. Charging station for electric and hybrid cars using solar panels to generate electricity to charge car batteries. "Imagine if it just took you one full work week to qualify one used battery," Chung said.

☆ California Looks to Ban Diesel Trucks at Ports by 2035
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

An ambitious California plan to require trucking fleets in the state to switch from diesel to electric power faces a potential backup at charging stations. Requiring that dealers and truckers make the switch should give companies confidence to invest in charging stations, Mr. Brasil said. The trucks tend to cost two or three times as much as diesel trucks, which retail for about $150,000. State officials say they have funded 200 charging stations for medium- and heavy-duty trucks so far and that many more are being funded by private companies. Write to Paul Berger at paul.berger@wsj.comCorrections & AmplificationsThe Port of Los Angeles expects to install a small number of charging stations for electric trucks.

☆ Tesla's California EV market share slips as rivals step up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Tesla vehicles are shown at a sales and service center in Vista, California, U.S., June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Mike BlakeSAN FRANCISCO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Tesla's (TSLA.O) dominant market share of the electric vehicle market in California slipped again this year, according to Reuters' calculations based on government data from January to September, as rivals up their game. Tesla controlled 73% of the battery electric market in California from January to September, the lowest level since 2018, according to new vehicle registration data from the California Energy Commission. "We are reaching a saturation point for Tesla market share in California," said Ed Kim, president of AutoPacific. He expected rivals to continue to take away market share, while also expecting Tesla sales would still grow.

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