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☆ Tesla Leads Surge in Battered Clean-Energy Stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Ford Venture Gets Record $9.2 Billion Government Loan for EV Batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Nora Eckert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ford-venture-gets-record-9-2-billion-government-loan-for-ev-batteries-b0ed8445

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This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/company-insiders-made-billions-before-spac-bust-4607a869

☆ Carbon Markets Get Boost From Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Money is a sticking point in climate-change negotiations around the world. As economists warn that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will cost many more trillions than anticipated, WSJ looks at how the funds could be spent, and who would pay. Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJThe booming market for carbon credits could go mainstream under a plan to make it easier for financial firms to create products such as exchange-traded funds. State Street will begin providing its back-office services to clients that want to invest in carbon credits. The giant custody bank and fund administrator says the move will make it easier for big investors to trade the products, a key step toward making them a mainstream investment accessible to individuals.

☆ SPACs Delivered Easy Money, but Now Companies Are Running Out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Shane Shifflett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Ali LarkinThe SPAC boom took hundreds of risky companies to the stock market. The next stop for many is bankruptcy court. Dozens of companies that merged with SPACs are running out of cash, joining at least 12 that have already gone bankrupt after combining with special-purpose acquisition companies.

☆ Small Towns Chase America’s $3 Trillion Climate Gold Rush
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Phred Dvorak | Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WALTERBORO, S.C.—Colleton County in South Carolina is a quiet rural district best known for its hunting, fishing and, recently, a sensational murder trial. Now it is also a player in America’s new gold rush: a scramble for $1 trillion in federal tax incentives and loans for green energy that is fueling a flood of corporate investments and reshaping local economies.

☆ Energy Department Commits $3 Billion to Expand Rooftop Solar Access
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Scott Patterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJThe Energy Department will guarantee up to $3 billion in debt securities issued to fund rooftop solar installations, hoping to expand access to renewable energy by making the deal a no-lose proposition for many investors. The backstop is part of the Biden administration’s green financing effort, which includes hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and loans for clean energy, climate tech startups and other green businesses.

☆ Fossil-Fuel Veterans Find Next Act With Green Hydrogen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Lithium Prices Are Down, Cheaper Batteries and EVs Could Follow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Scott Patterson | Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lithium prices are reversing after a two-year tear, a potential boost for consumers and auto makers that got hit by rising battery costs last year. Prices for lithium are down more than 30% this year, ending the two-year run that pushed up the value of the key battery material by a factor of 12, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. The drop takes prices back to more sustainable levels after their epic run, traders say.

☆ Climate Funding Gets Squeezed by Volatile Markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The interest-rate increases and market volatility that hit risky investments last year have finally caught up with green startups. The sector, which includes everything from renewable energy to speculative climate technology, had steadily drawn in cash through last year during a record-breaking streak of fundraising. In the first quarter, funding for these companies has fallen almost as much as total venture-equity funding.

☆ U.S. Faces Electrician Shortage as It Tries to Go Green
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Photographs Dan Lyon For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The current total of more than 700,000 electricians in the U.S. is expected to grow about 7% over the next decade, slightly faster than the nationwide average of 5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The shift to renewable energy and the need to update electrical systems is expected to drive that growth.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank’s Failure Threatens California Winemakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Silicon Valley Bank rode the growth of California’s wine business. California’s wine industry is facing a potential short-term cash crunch and long-term loss of funding from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which was a significant lender to vineyards and winemakers. Hundreds of wine producers borrowed from the bank and deposited their cash there, including some small, midsize and privately held businesses that are trying to make payroll or loan payments.

☆ America Is Trying to Electrify. There Aren’t Enough Electricians.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Photographs Dan Lyon For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Electricians, the essential workers in the transition to renewable energy, are in increasingly short supply. They are needed to install the electric-car chargers, heat pumps and other gear deemed essential to address climate change. Electricians say they are booked several months out and struggling to find enough workers to keep up with demand. Many are raising wages and prices and worried that they won’t be able to keep up as government climate incentives kick in.

☆ Ancient Farming Practice Draws Cash From Carbon Credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Photographs Alexandra Hootnick For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Forget whiz-bang technologies that are supposed to solve climate change. An ancient agricultural practice that removes carbon from the atmosphere is getting fresh attention and game-changing cash from big companies. Biochar is a black substance similar to charcoal that when buried underground sequesters carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas that causes climate change. It has long been used to improve soil. Now it has suddenly become a lucrative business thanks to carbon credits that companies use to offset their own emissions.

☆ United Airlines Creates Fund for Sustainable Aviation Fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

United Airlines has been one of the most aggressive airlines in acting on climate change. United Airlines Holdings Inc. is launching a fund backed by several big-name aerospace and financial companies to invest in startups aiming to produce sustainable aviation fuel, in one of the largest efforts yet to lower emissions from air travel. Created through United’s venture investing arm, the new fund will start with more than $100 million from the company and partners including Air Canada , Boeing Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Honeywell International Inc. and General Electric Co., United said Tuesday.

☆ The Fight to Define Green Hydrogen, With Billions of Dollars at Stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Katherine Blunt | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some of the world’s biggest companies are fighting over what qualifies as green energy. At stake are tax credits worth billions of dollars under the new U.S. climate law for one of the most-hyped clean-energy technologies. Industry leaders such as BP PLC and NextEra Energy Inc. are arguing against renewable-energy companies including Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Intersect Power LLC over tax credits for hydrogen, a fuel that when made from renewable energy could reduce carbon emissions from transportation and other industrial sectors by replacing oil and gas.

☆ Shift to Mined vs. Man-Made Graphite Raises Shortage Risk for EVs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Scott Patterson | Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rising demand for batteries is expected to fuel a shortage of graphite in the coming years. Mining companies are ramping up supplies of critical minerals for rechargeable batteries such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. Graphite, a key battery component, has largely been overlooked. Some of the world’s biggest auto and battery makers and the U.S. government are racing to secure graphite supplies amid looming signs of shortages of the mineral suitable for batteries. So far graphite prices haven’t reflected the tight supply.

☆ SPAC Deals Shrink After Speculation Wanes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some of Wall Street’s most speculative investors are scaling back their ambitions, doing deals that are a 10th the size of their flashy, top-of-market acquisitions. Creators of special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are valuing companies they seek to take public at the lowest levels since the boom began nearly three years ago, figures from Dealogic show. The average announced SPAC merger value has fallen to about $200 million so far in January, down from more than $2 billion for much of 2021 during the sector’s peak.

☆ Washington Bets on Green Hydrogen and Companies Line Up to Cash In
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Photographs Todd Anderson For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

KINGSLAND, Georgia— Andy Marsh tried for 14 years to make a profit running Plug Power Inc. Last summer he went to Washington and came away with a potential windfall. While senators battled over the climate, tax and spending bill, there was surprising agreement that hydrogen, Plug Power’s business, needed a big dose of support. “My biggest concern that I have right now is that we have not invested the money that we needed to invest in hydrogen,” West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said at a hearing in July when he was blocking the overall package.

☆ Climate Startup Removes Carbon From Open Air in Industry First
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Climeworks direct-air capture facility in Iceland is one of the world’s only operational carbon-removal projects and is capable of removing about 4,000 metric tons per year. One of the most important technologies to address climate change got a boost Thursday when a startup said it pulled carbon dioxide from the open air and stored it underground. The company has cashed in on the effort, potentially creating a viable business model that could kick-start a new industry. Climeworks AG is a leader in the race to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, using a process known as direct-air capture. Customers, including Microsoft Corp., paid a significant premium to buy carbon credits generated by Climeworks, allowing them to effectively offset their own emissions.

☆ Good News on Taxes Came Too Late for Many SPACs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A rare bit of good news came too late for battered SPACs that were liquidating at a record pace last month. With the market essentially frozen and the possibility of a new tax worsening their losses, creators of special-purpose acquisition companies closed roughly 85 SPACs in December, taking nearly $750 million in losses.

☆ Clean-Energy Funding Stayed Strong in Weak Market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Volatile markets and big selloffs for speculative stocks hardly slowed funding for clean-energy projects this year. Some investors are betting on a boost in 2023 as Washington’s climate and spending legislation kicks in. After a record-setting period for green finance, fundraising has slowed slightly but is still well ahead of levels from a few years ago. Big companies have raised about $1.15 trillion in green and sustainability-linked bonds and loans in 2022, down from 2021’s record of $1.3 trillion but more than double the 2019 and 2020 figures, Dealogic data show.

☆ SPAC Boom Ends in Frenzy of Liquidation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

During the boom in blank-check companies, their creators couldn’t launch them fast enough. Now they are rushing to liquidate their creations before the end of the year, marking an ugly conclusion to the SPAC frenzy. With few prospects for deals soon and a surprise tax bill looming next year, special-purpose acquisition companies are closing at a rate of about four a day this month, nearly the same pace they were being launched when the sector peaked early last year.

☆ Palantir’s SPAC Bets Backfire, Hitting Company’s Growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | Eliot Brown | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/palantirs-spac-bets-backfire-hitting-companys-growth-11671511333

☆ Microsoft Invests in Silicon-Battery Material Upstart
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Amrith Ramkumar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Group14 says its silicon anode material is more efficient than existing graphite technology. Microsoft Corp.’s $1 billion climate innovation fund is betting on a battery startup valued at more than $3 billion that is trying to dramatically improve power and charging time of electric vehicles. Group14 Technologies is getting $214 million from investors—just a slice of billions in private and government cash going to make better batteries, which are essential for EVs and renewable energy, company officials said. Other investors include Oman’s sovereign-wealth fund and a climate fund backed by private-equity firm Lightrock. Microsoft declined to disclose the size of its investment.

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