Good Morning
What we’re reading this week:
Biden signs sweeping bill to tackle climate change, lower health-care costs (WP)
How the Inflation Reduction Act will supercharge climate tech startups (FC)
How One Restaurateur Transformed America’s Energy Industry (NYT)
The Greendicator
Top Deals of the Week
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Bill Gates' nuclear innovation company TerraPower raised $750M in funding co-led by Gates and SK (CNBC)
EV maker Faraday Future aims to raise up to $600M in funding this year (RT)
Orange EV, a seven-year-old, Kansas City, Mo.-based maker of heavy-duty electric trucks, has raised $35 million in new funding led by S2G Ventures and CCI. TechCrunch has more here.
Eat Just, the 11-year-old, San Francisco-based developer of plant-based alternatives to conventionally produced egg products and meat products, has secured $25 million from C2 Capital Partners. TechCrunch has more here.
Eat the Change, a two-year-old, Bethesda, Ma.-based outfit that sells mushroom jerky and veggie kids' snacks, has raised $14.5 million in new funding led by Collaborative Fund. The Washington Business Journal has more here.
Exponent Energy, a fast-charging EV startup, raised a $13M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners (ET)
Positive Food, a four-year-old, Los Angeles-based startup providing freshly packaged salads, heat-and-eat prepared meals and vegan overnight oats, has raised $7 million in funding from BlueYard Capital, Western Tech, Y Combinator, Gaingels and a group of entrepreneurs. TechCrunch has more here.
Serenity EHS, a three-year-old San Diego startup that helps clients monitor their environmental, health, safety and sustainability goals, raised a $5 million in seed funding led by Base10 Partners. SiliconANGLE has more here.
Atarraya, a 3.5-year-old, Mexico City-based sustainable shrimp farming technology company, has raised $3.9 million in Series A funding led by Jeff Horing of Insight Partners. TechCrunch has more here.
Happy Viking, a New York startup cofounded by Venus Williams that makes plant-based "superfoods," raised $2 million from Williams herself, sister Serena Williams, Kevin Durant, 35V, Michelle Wie West, and Megan Rapinoe along with Mates, Talent Resources Ventures, and Parallel, among others. AfroTech has more here.
Green Theory
Bittersweet Blockbuster Bill
What do Americans care about in 2022? For the climate-centric, you may think addressing this global crisis tops the list. Of the same aforementioned crowd, you could be celebrating the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act into law, known to contain massive climate-focused policy and spending. Puzzlingly, the historic climate bill of a new administration and congress carries no mention—or even nod—to a greener future.
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With a stronger economy and more affordable healthcare topping the chart (above)—and climate change at 14th—the very title of the act mirrors the political jockeying and economics that finally connected a coalition marked by division. As Canary Media and guest VC chair explain, tying taxation and spending changes to reducing inflation anchored solidarity around the final draft. To be fair, reducing spending and fraught trade offs made up a large part of forming that agreement. Still, over one third of forecasted savings connect to lowering medication costs and capping expenses for those on medicare, and financial reform and regulation centers much of the revenue side of the bill. The spending will be split between roughly $100M in tax credits for clean electricity production, half as much in EV and home efficiency credits, and less than half yet (~$20M) on alternative fuel development, over the next 10 years (among other provisions).
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Not without its concessions, the bill comes with challenging setbacks. Exposing more federal lands to potential drilling and fossil fuel infrastructure, the same communities most disadvantaged by pollution and fracking today stand at repeated risk. Further, robust pursuit of carbon capture features heavily, despite the lack of results today.
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Ultimately, key provisions and policy changes could put the US on track for around 42% reduction in emissions by 2030, compared to the mid 2000s peak. That’s years behind schedule for the goal of 50%, but years ahead of where current policy would take the country. On the scale of the country, the passage represents a massive step in the right direction. On the scale of the climate crisis, it’s one gigaton over the next 8 years, less than 1% of the 2021 emissions, alone. Celebrating a forecasted emission drawdown likely seems less tangible than the green incentives and healthcare reforms. Model scenario comparison aside, these rebates, credits, and policy changes may help connect the vision of a greener economy with that of a brighter future—ideally, in the eyes of the 58% of US adults who don’t see climate as a priority.
The Closer
“It is a lot harder to shoot underwater when you are gutting yourself laughing while a leopard seal consistently shoves a penguin in your face– especially when you realize her not-so-threatening threat display is actually meant for her own reflection in the camera dome. During a National Geographic assignment in Antarctica, I had one of the wildest experiences of my career when this massive, beautiful female leopard seal tried to feed me penguins for four days straight. She started out polite enough but grew increasingly frustrated when I refused each meal. By the fourth day, she was practically hitting me over the head with penguins. Her stubborn generosity touched my heart and will stay with me for the rest of my life.” Paul Nicklen