What climate tech founders need to know about going after government grants
Happy Tuesday!
With the summer officially drawing to a close, it’s the perfect time for climate tech founders to start ticking off their own back-to-school checklists, if you will. ICYMI, our guide to winning government grants walks teams through the steps—from registration to writing—necessary to prepare competitive proposals for funding opportunities.
In headlines this week, offshore wind developers are dealing with supply chain struggles and the intricacies of US power markets. Texas fires up VPPs and the US government puts $12B toward the EV transition.
Deals include big checks for recycling. Redwood raises another $1B for battery recycling and metal alloy recycling attracts $31M. And cow-burp reduction tech is back to tackle methane emissions with a $29M round.
We’ve updated our NY climate week events tracker! Submit other events CTVC readers should know about here and keep an eye out for fresh dry powder analysis later this week.
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Our guide to winning government grants includes steps to set you up for success the rest of this year and into 2024 as funding opportunities from climate legislation in the US begin rolling out and companies line up to snag this source of additive, non-dilutive capital.
Grants are an important slice of the climate capital stack, allowing startups to directly access federal support for climate tech solutions, unlike mechanisms like tax credits that help shift the market.
We teamed up with Elemental Excelerator to offer some tips from years of experience supporting startups that could help newcomers to competitive grant applications avoid freshman blunders. One thing to keep in mind when embarking on this process: some steps will take longer than you expect.
Register: Before getting started, companies need to register for a Unique Entity ID (UEI) on the website SAM.gov. While the process is relatively straightforward, it can take over a month to complete. Find a checklist of necessary documentation here to put this step in motion well in advance.
Identify: With funding for climate tech across three major pieces of legislation, it takes time to find the right grants. Below are a few resources to get an overview of climate tech opportunities. Check out the full guide for additional details on new or expanded programs.
Assess: Make sure to thoroughly review eligibility criteria and be strategic about devoting internal capacity to developing high-quality applications. Not every opportunity is worth chasing for every company.
Prepare: Use this information to create a grant funding roadmap to track eligible grants and deadlines and outline an engagement strategy in the lead-up to applying. Collect the materials that tell your company’s story and identify where you’ll need to establish partnerships with other types of organizations for the best chance of success.
Build relationships: Strong collaboration with community partners, consultants, and government agencies themselves can help your company’s proposal stand out, so don’t wait to begin building those relationships.
Find much more detail on the terms to know, sites to bookmark, and timelines to keep in mind in the full guide.
🔋 Redwood Materials, a Carson City, NV-based lithium-ion battery recycler, raised $1B in Series D funding from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Capricorn Investment Group, T. Rowe Price, OMERS, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, and Deepwater Asset Management.
♻️ Sortera Alloys, a Fort Wayne, IN-based metal alloy recycling platform, raised $31M in Series C funding from RA Capital Management, T. Rowe Price, Mineral Resources Group, Macquarie Capital, Assembly Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Chrysalix Venture Capital.
🐄 CH4 Global, a Henderson, NV-based methane reduction feed supplement developer, raised $29M in Series B funding from DCVC, DCVC Bio, and Cleveland Avenue.
☀️ UrbanVolt, a Dublin, Ireland-based solar-as-a-service developer, raised $28M from Verdane.
📦 Paptic, an Espoo, Finland-based wood-fiber based packaging developer, raised $25M in Series A funding from European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, Ecolab, and Itochu Fibre.
🛰️ SatSure, a Bangalore, India-based earth observation platform, raised $15M in Series A funding from Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP), India and Promus Ventures, Omidyar Network India, xto10X, Force Ventures, and other investors.
⚡ Wirelane, a Munich, Germany-based EV charging provider, raised $12M in Series B funding from CD-Venture and existing investors.
🌱 Redex, a Singapore, Singapore-based Renewable Energy Certificates marketplace, raised $8M from Aramco Ventures.
⚡ Novatron, a Stockholm, Sweden-based commercial nuclear fusion reactor developer, raised $5M in Seed funding from Climentum Capital, Industrifonden, Santander InnoEnergy Climate Fund, KTH Holding, and EIT InnoEnergy.
♻️ Refiberd, a Cupertino, CA-based textile recycling platform, raised $3M in Seed funding from the H&M Foundation.
🛵 Kite Mobility, a Thornhill, Canada-based EV ridesharing platform, raised $3M in Seed funding from Alberta Eco Trust, Enlighted, Good & Well, Greater Montreal Climate Fund and The Atmospheric Fund.
📦 MadeRight, a Rehovot, Israel-based fungi-based sustainable packaging developer, raised $2M in Seed funding from the Fresh Start FoodTech Incubator, Arc Impact, and Arkin Holdings.
⚡ SNERPA Power, a Reykjavík, Iceland-based energy management system provider, raised $2M in Seed funding from BackingMinds and Crowberry Capital.
☀️ Allume Energy, a Melbourne, Australia-based solar sharing solution for multi-family dwellings, raised $2M from Elemental Excelerator and Schmidt Family Foundation.
🥩 UMAMI Bioworks, a Singapore, Singapore-based lab-cultured seafood platform, raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding from Maruha Nichiro.
🐄 Terreva Renewables, an Atlanta, GA-based RNG developer, raised $419M from undisclosed investors.
🔋 Eos Energy Enterprises, an Edison, NJ-based energy storage, raised $399M in a Conditional Commitment from the US DOE Loan Programs Office.
⚡ Sunfire, a Dresden, Germany-based industrial electrolyzer manufacturer, raised $185M in Grant funding from the European Commission.
⚡ zepp.solutions, a Delft, Netherlands-based hydrogen fuel cell system developer, raised $2M in Grant funding from Europe’s Just Transition Fund.
Greencode Ventures, a Helsinki, Finland-based investment firm, announced a first close of $43M for its fund focused on European startups accelerating the green transition.
KKR Global Climate Fund, a climate infrastructure fund, launched with a focus on deploying existing solutions, scaling new industries, and enabling brown-to-green opportunities to help industries decarbonize.
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The U.S. Energy Department has allocated $12 billion in grants and loans to support automakers in transitioning their facilities to produce hybrid and electric vehicles.
Texas opened up its grid to virtual power plants by giving Tesla Powerwall owners in Houston and Dallas the ability to provide power to the grid and get compensation.
Orsted, a Danish renewable energy company, announced that it may write-off over $2 billion due to supply chain issues at offshore wind installations along the East Coast. The company’s New Jersey wind farm, originally expected to come online in 2025, will be delayed until 2026.
The Biden administration auctioned the rights to develop offshore wind projects in three sites off Texas and Louisiana. Unlike the auction for development rights off the coast of New York and New Jersey last year that drew a record $4.4B in bids, the administration received tepid interest for this first auction in the Gulf of Mexico due to factors like local energy market prices, with only two bids total for the Louisiana site.
U.S. groundwater is rapidly diminishing with almost half of the nation’s groundwater sites seeing greater water extraction than replenishment over the last 40 years.
The U.S. EPA ended federal protections for most of the country’s wetlands after a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year which limited the scope of the Clean Water Act.
Indigo AG, an American agtech startup, had a precipitous 94% drop in its valuation to $200M in its latest funding round. Three years ago it was valued at $3.5B, potentially another sign of over-promising and under-delivering in climate tech startups.
What’s the weather? Google Maps adds APIs to track air quality, solar potential, and pollen info.
California is hitting the gas to avoid blackouts.
Greek fires help blaze a new path forward for EU climate response with rescEU.
Climate-induced food insecurity is growing interest in “Doomsday” seed vaults.
Trading lobster for kelp: Rising water temperatures are forcing change in ocean industries.
Left in the dark. Aging US grid infrastructure = increased power outages.
Look no further than your insurance bill for proof of climate change.
🗓️ Avaana India Climate Week: Register to join Avaana India Climate Week from Sept 6th-8th in Bangalore, India to partake in DeepTech talks that tackle issues in climate, and mentorship office hours.
🗓️ Out in Climate: Register to join Out in Climate’s Boston meetup on Sept 12th to meet other LGBTQ+ individuals in the sustainability space.
🗓️ Industrial Climate Tech Summit: Join Nomadic Venture Partners’ Industrial Climate Tech Summit on Oct 2nd to hear from investors, policymakers, corporations, incubators, and entrepreneurs who are developing innovative solutions for the industrial sectors. Apply by Sept 15th if you’re interested in pitching at the summit.
💡Climate Vine: Apply by Sept 25th to Climate Vine’s curated annual membership network. Diverse experts accelerate their impact through personalized small groups, off-the-record conversations, and action-driven collaborations.
🗓 ️SOSV Climate Tech Summit: Our friends at SOSV are hosting their third annual Climate Tech Summit on Sept. 26-27. It’s free, online and features the top investors and founders in climate. Register today. CTVC is playing a big role, with our own CTVC breakout session, plus Kim moderating a panel on FOAK and Mark is speaking on an analyst panel. Agenda here. And VCs / founders: Check out the special SOSV Climate Matchup running in parallel.
Spring Fellow, Fellow @ARPA-E
CEO and CoFounder @Lucid Home Climate
Marketing Coordinator @SWTCH
Carbon Projects Advisor @Patch
Chief Technology Officer and CoFounder @Renewables.org
Product Manager @Rewiring America
Digital Assurance & Transparency (DAT) Sustainability Intern @PwC
Founder, CEO, Climate Venture Scientist @Marble Direct Air Capture
Head of R&D, Head of Customer Experience, Senior Process Engineer @GaeaStar
Feel free to 📩 send us new ideas, recent fundings, events & opportunities, or general curiosities. Have a great week ahead!
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