Good Morning
The UK government on Tuesday unveiled its roadmap to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, putting new funds behind electric vehicles, sustainable aviation fuel and forests as carbon sinks, while boosting the role of nuclear in its energy transition. (CNN reports)
“Global net zero by 2050” is an ambitious goal that Bill Gates promoted in his recent book. There’s a healthy dose of criticism for the UK’s plan, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.
Top Deals of the Week
BIOMILQ raises $21M series A led by Novo Holdings and Breakthrough Energy Ventures (TS)
The story: BIOMILQ is cultivating human breast milk in their lab to help provide a nutritional alternative for parents who cannot breastfeed.
Why we’re excited about it: Vegan's delight--BIOMILQ is not sourced from animals, as human epithelial cells form the starting point for their manufactured milk. On top of that, the milk replaces dairy-based formulas that are commonly used when breastfeeding is off the table. As if that weren't enough to be excited about, BIOMILQ sought investors that centered women and met certain diversity goals: furthering the elevation of grossly underrepresented voices in the effort to tech our way out of the climate crisis.
Agreena raises a $4.7M seed from Giant Ventures (TC)
The story: Agreena is a three-year-old, Copenhagen-based that mints, verifies and sells carbon credits generated by farmers who transition to more regenerative forms of farming.
Why we’re excited about it: Many farmers worry about the focus of government support shifting away from industrial farming towards environmental concerns. Agreena is helping farmers make that transition themselves, without needing to rely on government support. The voluntary carbon market for agriculture is a quickly-growing space - the US’ biggest player is Indigo, but there’s likely room for them both in the market.
Other Deals This Week
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff1d059ee-0652-4e03-acb6-2d584fe562da_990x550.png)
EnergyBank, a two-year old, New Zealand-based energy storage startup, has raised $1.9 million in seed round funding to develop technology for medium and long-duration energy storage. Icehouse Ventures led the round. (EB)
Israeli agtech startup SupPlant raises $10 million to introduce small farmers to AI irrigation, aiming to increase yields while more efficiently managing water use (GT)
Smallhold, a nearly five-year-old, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based specialty mushrooms producer--aiming to support the growing market for climate-friendly meatless eating--has raised $25 million in Series A funding. Astanor Ventures led the round. (F).
Our Next Energy (ONE), a 15-month-old, Michigan-based battery tech startup that says it can double the range of EVs, has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures. (TC).
CarbonCapture, a 2.5-year-old, Pasadena, Ca.-based company working on machines that the company hopes will trap carbon molecules in the air and store them to be broken down or safely released elsewhere, like underground, has raised $35 million in Series A funding. Prime Movers Lab led the round. (BW).
Allplants, a five-year-old, London- and Dublin-based vegan meals startup (it prepares, then delivers the food), has raised £38 million ($52 million) in Series B funding led by Draper Esprit. (IT)
Saildrone, a nine-year-old, Alameda, Ca.-based maker of unmanned surface vehicles that collect ocean data, has raised $100 million in Series C funding. The round was led by Bond. (TC).
Germany-based cleantech company Sunfire closed a Series D worth approximately $125 million led by Lightrock and Planet First Partners.
Berlin-based solar startup Enpal raised a $174M Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (TC)
HT Aero, an urban mobility startup (and by urban mobility we mean flying cars), raised a $500M Series A co-led by Xpeng, IDG Capital, and 5Y Capital (TC)
One Actionable Item
Call Environmental Voters!
We’re back this week with another way for you to get civically engaged in this crucial political moment for the future of climate policy in the US.
Check out the Environmental Voter Project. They call environmentalists to encourage them to vote in important elections. This is fun and very important stuff - do it with a friend!
Green Theory
Holistic Defense
Whether you view the US Military as an enforcer of colonialism, a defender of democracy, or anything in between, they’re taking a serious look at the impacts of climate change. This attention means a lot in the global struggle to decarbonize, since the Department of Defense is the largest emitting institution in the world, putting them on par with entire countries, such as Switzerland or Sweden, by emissions.
We ought not look to large polluters to save us, but the rigid, top-down structure of the organization could lend itself well to mandates with sweeping effects. Biden’s Secretary of Defense called climate change a truly existential threat, elevating it above other threats the military sees.
Are these proclamations just a political ploy, or do we stand to see genuine change from the armed forces? True, the Trump administration stifled discussions of emissions reductions in military decision-making. On the other hand, the military is making headway against goals set years before Trump took office, with almost half of the light vehicle fleet now running on alternative fuel sources, and GHG emissions down over 23% since 2008.
Especially given the global consensus around climate change as a dangerous accelerant for destabilization and conflict, and the observable impact on operations, equipment, and personnel, cleaning up the Pentagon’s act is attracting appeal across the aisle. From Trump’s former Secretary of Defense, “Mad Dog” Mattis, pleading, “unleash us from the tether of fossil fuel,” to conservative policy fellows admitting to mutually beneficial choices for climate and mission capabilities, perhaps the US Military can continue to shift its $700B+ annual budget to more sustainable and resilient spending.
The Closer
Featuring another incredible citizen scientist friend of mine this week: Mathias Silva, an archaeologist / biologist who takes fantastic pictures (and writes really interesting mini-lessons in the captions) at the intersection of anthropology and ecology. Check him out!