In the Spotlight: Jigar Shah (Generate Capital) Its three investments include Earthly Labs (carbon capture), Steelhead Composites (hydrogen fuel infrastructure), and Xeal (electric vehicle adoption). □ E8, an angel investor community focused on emerging cleantech enterprises, announced the launch of its Decarbon8-US philanthropic impact fund. ⚡ Bluescape Opportunities Acquisition, a SPAC formed by Bluescape Energy Partners focusing on the energy and industrial sectors, filed for a $700m IPO. □ QuantumScape, a San Jose, CA-based developer of solid state batteries for EVs backed by Volkswagen Group, agreed to go public with SPAC Kensington Capital Acquisition at an enterprise value of $3.3b. The company’s proprietary technology allows manufacturers to replace existing metal components with lighter, more sustainable materials. ⚙️ MITO Material Solutions, an Indianapolis, IN-based developer of additives that enhance product performance, raised $1m in Seed funding from Dipalo Ventures and Clean Energy Trust. The company helps solve several challenges in the development, construction, and operation of solar infrastructure. ☀️ SenseHawk, a San Francisco, CA-based SaaS company for developing solar sites, raised $5.1m in Series A-1 funding led by Alpha Wave Incubation. The startup’s data analysis platform aids companies in better predicting their electricity needs to reduce costs, risk, and waste. ⚡ Myst AI, a San Francisco, CA-based electricity demand and supply forecasting platform, raised $6m in Series A funding from Valo Ventures and Gradient Ventures. The platform provides analytical capabilities including carbon monitoring, digital agronomy, and yield predictions. □ Cloud Agronomics, a Boulder, CO-based agriculture insights startup raised $6m in Seed funding led by SineWave Ventures. The startup uses a machine intelligence approach to produce plant-based protein that can “outcompete animal products in terms of taste, nutritional density, and price”. □ Climax Foods, a Berkeley, CA-based data science company innovating the future of food, raised $7.5m in funding from At One Ventures, Manta Ray Ventures, S2G Ventures, ARTIS Ventures, and others. (We also featured One Concern in our adaptation opener last week.) More here. The startup intends to introduce AI-based technology for disaster-risk reduction to Japan. ⛈️ One Concern, a Menlo Park, CA-based resilience-as-a-service solutions provider, raised $15m in funding from SOMPO Holdings. Good jobs imply ownership at the individual level (less non-compete and trade-secrets) and equity level (shared pension plans, sharing the product) as well as infrastructure (e.g., transportation, childcare, labor unions, etc.) to accommodate current and expected growth. Despite Tesla’s massive stock market valuation, its employee parking lots are still mostly filled with Toyotas and Nissans. Creating supporting infrastructure and ‘good jobs’ - uneven distribution of capital gains has been the bane of class labor inequality.Yet, the challenge is not in promising future jobs that may or may not come to pass, but in retooling existing labor to be able to meet the demands and expectations of future technologies (e.g., up-skilling electricians to do solar, rather than training new solar electricians). creating new jobs - providing access to education and resources proportionate to jobs displaced has been a key plank in ‘just transition’ scenarios, the principle that a healthy economy and a clean environment can and should co-exist. Greening energy production will displace the types of jobs to be done, but must keep a lens towards preserving the balance of power and economic support at the grassroots level. Keep local resources local - despite the globalization of energy production, most legacy oil, coal, and fossil fuel resources have maintained deep ties to local communities.To accommodate the future of work in climate tech, there’s a few key points worth keeping in mind: Yet, in a populist political climate, any policy that leaves workers behind will fail to sustainably transform legacy industries and allow for future gains. More folks are looking to align their values with their work lives – increasing the influx of talent into climate tech. Climate tech is buoyed by financial innovation and technological evolution, but on this Labor Day it’s worth reflecting on the amount of human capital transformation that the climate fight requires.ĬOVID has upturned the lines between life and work.
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