Good Morning! Welcome to our new readers.

Three time saving resources for you this week:

1) A new community where Energy and Natural Capital professionals collaborate to become the go to AI people in their companies and share their best tips and tricks

2) 101+ companies mapped across fusion, geothermal, marine and the rest of next-generation power

3) 37 new deals, plus this week's links and events

Enjoy,

Ollie

Join our private community where energy and natural capital professionals help each other to become the go to AI people within their companies, and collaborate to scale their businesses faster.

No technical background, no building from scratch. Members share the exact prompts, templates and workflows already running inside their teams, so you copy what works and skip the eighteen months of trial and error. Coupled with in person meet-ups and dinners. 68/100 slots already gone!

You're checking competitor websites manually, or worse, not checking them at all. By the time you hear about a rival's new feature or pricing change, they've already used it in three sales calls against you.

This guide walks you through building an AI agent that monitors nine competitive signals across all your rivals: job postings, docs changes, G2 reviews, pricing shifts. It runs on a schedule using Claude Code, flags what actually matters, and drops a scored morning brief in your inbox instead of making you tab-hop through forty pages before breakfast.

You'll have an automated competitive intelligence system that spots threats and opportunities before your sales team hears about them in discovery calls.

For decades, clean power meant wind and solar. The technologies that sounded like science fiction ten years ago, fusion reactors, ultra-deep geothermal and airborne wind, are now raising serious money and signing real contracts. Some will fail; a few will change how the grid gets supplied.

We mapped 101+ companies to see which bets are moving fastest.

We split the map into seven key groupings:

Access the full database →

🛗 FOR YOUR LIFT CONVERSATIONS

🌾 Ÿnsect raises $125M to scale insect protein for aquafeed: The French company is positioning mealworm protein as an alternative to fishmeal and soy, targeting the 25% of global GHG emissions from agriculture and pressure on ocean fish stocks to feed two billion more people by 2050. CEO Antoine Huber says the goal is "to give insects back their natural place in the food chain." Link

🌳 UK commits £400M to Tropical Forests Forever Facility: The loan investment from the Department for Energy Security backs a new financing model for tropical forest protection. WRI Europe calls it "an important vote of confidence" as Europe's wildfires, heatwaves and droughts prove "profoundly intertwined with the health of the world's tropical forests." Link

☕ The EU deforestation law is reshaping coffee supply chains that never touch Europe: A study by the non-profit Trase finds many coffee firms will end up proving compliance across their whole operation, because segregating EU-bound beans from the rest costs more than cleaning up the lot. The rule exports itself. Link

💧 Veolia signs three Saudi agreements covering desalination, mining and storage: The MoUs are with Acwa on seawater desalination plant design and energy efficiency, Ma'aden on mining water, and Khazeen on LPG storage, all framed against Vision 2030. Saudi water treatment is being contracted to European operators rather than built in-house. Link

📟 ABB launches a cloud platform for water leak detection: AquaMaster+ pairs its AquaMaster4 flowmeters with anomaly detection and network modelling, and also sells standalone into a utility's existing systems. Non-revenue water is the one line item every utility can be sold against. Link

🌊 The US is fast-tracking deep-sea mining outside the body that governs it: Washington revived the 1980 Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act to issue exploration leases and commercial permits in waters beyond its own jurisdiction, putting it on a collision course with the International Seabed Authority, which 171 countries recognise. The open question is whether the foreign contractors US miners need can legally take the work. Link

⚡ Trump executive order threatens grid battery supply chains: The order targets 24 "foreign entities" including China, which dominates US battery imports. Batteries face the sharpest impact, creating uncertainty for developers who've banked on Chinese cells to meet 2026 and 2027 deployment targets. Link

🔌 Energy Vault's gravity storage hits commercial scale, but battery economics are brutal: The Rudong project in China removed first-of-kind excuses (deep supply chains, government support, experienced partners) yet still can't match lithium-ion on cost. The test proves that stacking concrete blocks inside purpose-built structures won't outcompete electrochemistry at grid scale. Link

💨 Global clean hydrogen investment tops $130B across 570 committed projects: The Hydrogen Council reports cumulative investment now supports 6.9 million metric tons per year of clean hydrogen capacity. Governments increasingly view the fuel as a tool for energy security and industrial growth alongside decarbonisation, shifting the narrative beyond pure climate play. Link

⚖️ Carbon credit buyers and conservation NGOs are lobbying to weaken UN permanence rules: Climate Home News has seen documents, including a briefing to government officials, showing developers, corporate buyers and UNEP contesting proposed rules that would protect credits from being wiped out by fire, drought or logging. Their argument is that stronger protection raises project costs and restricts supply. Link

Deals

🇺🇸 Crusoe, a Denver, CO-based AI infrastructure and data center energy solutions, raised $3b in Series D+ funding.

🇺🇸 TAR, a Austin, TX-based Off-grid power systems for data centers, raised $120m in Series A funding from Spark Capital, Buckley Ventures, Align Fund.

🇮🇳 Pixxel, a Bengaluru, India-based Hyperspectral Earth observation satellite imagery for climate monitoring, raised $100m in Series C funding from Temasek, Seraphim.

🇧🇷 Viridis Mining and Minerals, a Brazil-based Rare earth mining and processing project, raised R$77.5m in Debt funding from BNDES.

🌍 Bluecore Energy, zero-emission energy creation and delivery solutions, raised $50m in Seed funding.

🇺🇸 Light, a United States-based Embedded electricity platform for businesses, raised $46m in Series B funding.

🇳🇱 Ore Energy, a Netherlands-based Iron-air long-duration energy storage technology, raised $43m in Series A funding.

🇮🇳 Airbound, a Bengaluru, India-based Lightweight electric delivery aircraft for sustainable logistics, raised $37m in Series A funding from Greenoaks, DoorDash, Lachy Groom, Lightspeed, Humba Ventures.

🇦🇺 Gridsight, a Australia-based AI-powered capacity management platform for energy grids, raised $36m in Series B funding from Insight Partners, Galvanize, Airtree, Energy Transition Ventures, Aera VC.

🇮🇱 Wint, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based AI-powered water intelligence platform for leak detection and water management, raised $36m in Series D funding from LIP Ventures, Inven Capital.

🌍 ARC Ride, a Africa-based Battery-swapping network for electric vehicles in Africa, raised $33m in Series A funding from Novastar Ventures, Norrsken22.

🇺🇸 R3 Lithium, a United States-based EV battery recycling and lithium recovery from spent batteries, raised $15m in Series A funding from Integral GlobalTech Partners, TDK Ventures, Axia.

🇧🇪 Maash, a Belgium-based Mycoprotein ingredient LoCylia for blended meat and pet food, raised €12.15m in Seed funding.

🇧🇪 Octave.energy, a Belgium-based Battery energy storage and energy management systems, raised €10m in Series A funding from SPDG Growth, imec.istart, BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC.

🇧🇷 Brazilian Rare Earths, a Camaçari, Brazil-based Rare earth mineral concentrate production and processing, raised R$6.4m in Series A funding from SENAI CIMATEC and partner organisations.

🌍 Strong by Form, sustainable building materials using less wood than concrete, raised €5.8m in Series A funding from boisei investments, CMPC Ventures, VX Ventures, Ternel, Savia Ventures, Teampact Ventures, Axel Carbon, FINSA.

🇺🇸 Mafix, a Palo Alto, CA-based Silicon fertilizer for soil health and CO2 removal, raised $5.4m in Seed funding.

🇬🇧 MCatalysis, a Oxford, United Kingdom-based Microwave catalysis technology for low-carbon fuel production, raised $5m in Seed funding from HLEV.

🇫🇷 Tellia, a Paris, France-based Voice AI platform for capturing farm operational data, raised $5m in Seed funding from Revent, Grey Silo Ventures, Jeriko, Fund F.

🇮🇱 HydroSight, a Haifa, Israel-based AI platform for seabed mapping and marine survey data analysis, raised $5m in Seed funding from StageOne Ventures, Vertex Ventures, National Center of Blue Economy.

🇳🇿 Kura Dynamics, a Christchurch, New Zealand-based Geologic hydrogen exploration and production, raised $5m in Seed funding.

🇨🇭 Jaipur Robotics, a Ticino, Switzerland-based AI vision SaaS platform for waste-to-energy plant optimization, raised €4.3m in Seed funding.

🇸🇪 Rebaba, a Stockholm, Sweden-based Second-life EV battery energy storage systems, raised $4.6m in Seed funding from Sistafund, EIT Urban Mobility, existing shareholders, new European investors.

🌍 Phoenix Metals, vanadium recovery from industrial waste for the circular economy, raised €4m in Seed funding.

🇩🇪 FRYTE Mobility, a Munich, Germany-based Platform connecting eTruck fleets with charging infrastructure, raised €3.5m in Seed funding.

🇨🇭 Fusionality, a Lausanne, Switzerland-based Tools to accelerate fusion power for the grid, raised $3.7m in Seed funding from Founderful, Playfair.

🇩🇰 Visibuilt, a Denmark-based Mycelium-based binder replacing bitumen and cement in infrastructure, raised €3.34m in Seed funding.

🇧🇪 Paleo, a Belgium-based Precision-fermented myoglobin for plant-based meat alternatives, raised €2m in Seed funding from Beyond Impact.

🇮🇳 Leanwatts, a Hyderabad, India-based Power electronics for EVs and energy transition, raised $2m in Seed funding from Trivest Partners, Abraham George, Alok Rungta.

🇲🇾 nanoSkunkWorkX, a Malaysia-based AI chip packaging interface and green hydrogen applications, raised $2m in Seed funding.

🇳🇬 AirSmat, a Lagos, Nigeria-based Transforms agricultural waste into biochar-based fertiliser, raised $450k in Seed funding from Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility.

🇺🇸 Niron Magnetics, a Minneapolis, MN-based Rare-earth-free magnet technology for electric vehicles, raised Series A funding from Honda Motor.

🌍 Realta Fusion, fusion power reactor development and commercialisation, raised Series A funding from utility partners (engineering, technical assistance, financing).

Project Finance / Debt

🇺🇸 NextEra Energy (Duane Arnold), a Iowa, United States-based Nuclear plant restart to power Google data centers, raised $1.9b in PF Debt funding from U.S. Department of Energy.

🇨🇦 Kitikmeot Inuit-led wind energy project, a Nunavut, Canada-based Wind energy project supplying power to Hope Bay mining operation, raised $20m in PF Debt funding from Canada Infrastructure Bank.

🇬🇧 Carno 3 LLP, a Wales, United Kingdom-based Onshore wind farm generating power for 46,000 homes, raised PF Debt funding from undisclosed lenders.

Exits

🇸🇪 Normative, a Stockholm, Sweden-based Carbon accounting and climate data platform, acquired by Greenly (Paris, France) at an implied valuation of €64m.

🌍 Charging Robotics, wireless EV charging systems for automated parking and robotaxis, acquired by Clearmind Medicine (51% stake) at an implied valuation of $2.5m.

Funds

EIG Senior Infrastructure Debt Fund VI, a Washington DC, United States-based Senior debt fund for power, renewables, and energy transition infrastructure, closed $4b with support from undisclosed LPs.

Farmland LP, a sustainable farmland investment fund, closed $126m.

Clean Growth Fund II, a United Kingdom-based UK climate technology venture fund, closed £81.5m with support from Border to Coast Pensions Partnership.

Ula Capital, a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based Deep-tech investment fund connecting Saudi Arabia and Korea, closed $100m with support from FuturePlay.

Camco Renewable Energy Performance Platform 2, a London, United Kingdom-based Private debt fund financing renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa, closed $40m with support from International Finance Corporation.

Nordic Foodtech VC, a Helsinki, Finland-based Food technology focused venture capital fund, closed €30m.

Grindstone Ventures, a South Africa-based Venture fund for technology-enabled African businesses, closed $30.92m.

🇺🇸 Forth Roadmap Conference 2026 (Roadmap: EVs & Infrastructure): The leading electric transportation conference (hosted by Forth) focused on EV adoption and charging infrastructure, in Detroit. (September 13-15)

🇨🇿 CEE Sustainable Finance Summit 2026: Platform for Central and Eastern European financial leaders to discuss sustainable finance instruments, regulatory frameworks, and best practices. (September 14-16)

🇺🇸 IMTS 2026: A leading manufacturing technology show that highlights metal processing and fabrication innovations, with multiple sessions covering steel and metalworking technologies. (September 14-19)

🇨🇳 5th Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage Conference Asia Pacific 2026: Technical conference covering capture methods, storage solutions, and CCUS research across APAC. (September 15-16)

🇺🇸 2026 ACLCA Conference: Conference advancing life-cycle-assessment science, methods, and applications, Atlanta. (September 15-17)

🇺🇸 Land Trust Alliance Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference (Rally), which gathers hundreds of land trust professionals devoted to conserving natural lands. (September 16-19)

🇺🇸 AEE World Energy Conference & Expo 2026: The Association of Energy Engineers’ annual conference, convening energy managers and engineers from around the globe, in Atlanta. (September 16-18)

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