Climate Tech Highlights #14

Hello, there!

As many of you know, today is a special occasion – our monthly wrap-up! If you've missed any stories from the past few weeks, don't worry. Below, I've curated some of the most captivating ones for you to catch up on.

Let's dive in!

New Solutions and Releases 🚀

• 🌎 World's biggest solar farm comes online in China's Xinjiang: A Chinese state-owned company announced that it had connected the world's largest solar plant to the grid in northwestern Xinjiang. The 3.5-gigawatt (GW), 32,947-acre solar farm is located in a desert area near the capital Urumqi. The facility will generate approximately 6.09 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, enough to power the entire country of Papua New Guinea for a year. The two largest operational solar facilities previously were also located in western China. Read the full story.

• 🌎 Human's best friend: Researchers have introduced a robotic dog equipped with an articulated arm designed to collect air samples in hazardous environments. This technology enables safer and faster analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in places like landfills and fire sites. Although further refinement is needed, future applications may extend to remote-controlled mobile devices like drones, enhancing effectiveness and versatility.

• 🇧🇷 Pioneer Case: For the first time, an extractive community, the Cooperative of the Piemonte da Diamantina Region (Coopes) from Capim Grosso (BA), has become a co-holder of patents for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products derived from licuri, a fruit of a palm tree native to the Caatinga. Known as the "gold of sertão," the licuri fruit, from the Syagrus coronata palm tree, has been studied for its healing, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, long utilized by sertão populations. Two patents for oral care products have been filed with the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inpi) as part of a project to develop the licuri production chain. Read the full story

Financing and Deals 💰

• 🌎 17x more funding needed: The majority of climate tech funding goes to mitigation technologies, which aim to remove or reduce emissions to help prevent climate change. However, there’s also adaptation tech—solutions designed to help us adapt to the rapidly changing climate. Adaptation tech includes innovations to make housing and workplaces more livable, agritech solutions like drought-resistant crops, and water tech to expand access to clean drinking water in areas facing shortages. Despite its importance, adaptation tech receives minimal funding compared to mitigation. A new report from VC firm PT1 Ventures and consulting agency DWR eco suggests that globally, we need $1.1 trillion in adaptation funding, yet only $63 billion was invested in 2021. The math is clear: we need 17 times more funding annually. Read the full story.

• 🌎 Climate Venture Funding Update: According to data from NetZero Insights, May 2024 witnessed a surge in climate tech investments, totaling $6.6 billion across 419 deals globally. Year-to-date, the sector has secured $44.1 billion, marking a 37% increase from last year. The landscape reflects a shift towards non-dilutive funding and decreased equity financing, signaling adaptive responses to evolving market dynamics and investor sentiments.

• 🇧🇷 Suzano🤝Lenzig: Suzano has spent R$ 1.3 billion to acquire a 15% stake in Lenzing, an Austrian company renowned for its sustainable fibers and valued at $1.3 billion on the Vienna Stock Exchange. This deal marks the entry of Brazil's leading paper and pulp company into the textile market, as Suzano will now have a direct role in clothing manufacturing. Suzano sees potential in using its eucalyptus cellulose, which has lower production costs, in the fibers used by Lenzing. Read the full story

Interesting links and publications 📚

• 🌎 A report on the global power system has found that the world may be on the brink of driving down fossil fuel generation, even as overall demand for electricity continues to rise.

• 🌎 The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal: That is the title of a new study led by the University of Oxford that estimated that currently, around 2 billion metric tons of CO2 is removed annually. That's far from the 7-9 billion likely needed by 2050 to meet Paris Agreement temperature goals, the study concluded. Of that 2 billion, nearly all is from land use methods, notably forest protection and restoration. "Novel" methods — direct air capture, biochar, bioenergy with CO2 capture, and more — are just 0.1%. The report uses various “indicators of innovation” to show that CDR activity is “generally intensifying, although with some recent slowdowns”. Read the full story

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