Good Morning
Happy 104th weekly edition of the Green Bite! Whether this is the first edition you’ve read or you’ve been reading avidly for two years—thank you, thank you, thank you x 2! We’ve learned so much this past year with ya’ll. Here’s to many more.
What we’re reading this week:
The Greendicator
Top Deals of the Week
Clean energy company Nexamp raised a $400M round led by U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance and Mitsubishi UFJ Finance Group (FN)
Measurabl, a provider of an ESG tech platform for real estate, raised a $93M Series D led by Energy Impact Partners and Sway Ventures (FN)
CleanJoule, a startup aiming to produce sustainable aviation fuel, received a $50M investment from Indigo Partners (FN)
Ceibo, a copper extraction technology startup, raised a $30M Series B led by Energy Impact Partners (BW)
Plant-based food group Neat Burger raised an $18M Series B led by B-Flexion (PRN)
Qflow, a startup helping companies de-carbonize construction, raised a $9.1M Series A led by Systemiq Capital (TC)
Realta Fusion, a startup developing compact magnetic fusion generators, raised a $9M seed round led by Khosla Ventures (FN)
Proxima Fusion, a startup developing power plants via optimized stellarators, raised a $7.5M pre-seed round led by Plural and UVC Partners (FN)
British climate tech startup Cur8 raised a $5.4M pre-seed round led by Google Ventures (FN)
Vensum Power, a startup building a 25kW software-defined power converter, raised a $4.1M seed round led by Lifeline Ventures (FN)
CO2 management SaaS startup zero44 raised a $2.7M round led by Atlantic Labs (FN)
i-TES, a thermal storage startup, raised a $1.5M round led by EUREKA! Venture SGR (FN)
Green Theory
Greenth’ Yearly #2
With a second year of Green Bites in the books, here’s a look back at our last 51 topics for Green Theory. We’ve sorted each piece into its topic area, so you can dive right into your favorite topic, or skim to find your favorite piece from the past year.
Energy Primers
To learn the basics of the energy transition, solar, and more, start here:
The Energy Transition primer
Energy Storage primer
Nuclear Fusion primer | [back up: Nuclear Fission primer from 2021]
Solar Cost Crunch primer
Electrical Transmission primer
Solar Recycling primer
Reading & Writing
For background on why to read this newsletter at all, foundational books to check out, and the connection between fiction and modern reality, try these:
Sample four essential nonfiction climate tech books on biodiversity, geoengineering, top climate solutions, and pathways for hope & healing
Storytelling, fiction, and its impact on tech: The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction.
Economics & Society
[U]tility is inescapably linked to values: health, prosperity, social stability… To say that something is useful is to say that we value it, or that it preserves, protects, or fosters something that we value. —Naomi Oreskes, Why Trust Science?
For economists, social scientists, and technologists, the climate crisis begs pressing questions.
Putting the Bite in Green Bite: Food
What we eat plays a big role in our day, and in the health of the biosphere.
Pandemics from animal agriculture, and other negative externalities
Novel Solutions and Natural Wonders
There are a lot more climate problems, and solutions, than meet the eye.
Consumer Edge: Consumption, Transportation, & Resources
From the way we commute to the way we do our laundry, what are the climate implications, and options, for industrialized living?
Special Days and Wildfires
Ya Nuunukne means “They tell a story,” in Chochenyo. If these journals taught Western science anything, listen when ya nuunukne. —Green Bite, Earth Day is Every Day)
Marking moments in the year, and keeping a pulse on wildfire developments, some Green Theories are written by the season, or the sensations of a first-in-a-lifetime climate bill.
Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act
Greenwashing and Correcting Corporate Distortion
To earn a buck, corporations and technologists will often put truth, and social well-being on the back burner. It’s not just big oil that greenwashes, but many climate tech firms, too.
And there you have it! Digest, recycle, and compost this year of articles as you wish. If you’ve exhausted the content, you can also travel back in time to last year’s annual roundup. Thanks for joining us for another year of the Green Bite.