Electrified - Issue 43
Discover more from Sustainable Returns
Hi friends,
It’s impossible not to begin today’s newsletter without acknowledging the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. When asked how she would like to be remembered, she once said:
"Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself.
From the Archive
I’ll be back with the regularly scheduled deep-dive next week.
Earlier this year, I analyzed the energy transition through the lens of 3 distinct phases. Just 8 months later, I’m not sure I agree with all of it and so much has already changed.
🌎 The 3 Phases of the Energy Transition
Electrified Podcast
Our guest this week on the Electrified podcast was Brad Hunstable, CEO of Linear Labs. We covered a wide range of topics in our conversation, but here are the highlights.
Pain and velocity in finding product-market fit
Why a CEO is actually the CRO (Chief Repeating Officer)
How to build a culture of “why not?”
Power Down
John Tough and I talk about how we stay optimistic in the fight for an energy transition despite a decade of headwinds and little interest until recently.
Links:
The Impacts of Australian Wildfires on Solar Production
Rising Sea Levels Pose Increasing Credit Risks
Rising bankruptcy toll shows US oil patch is not ‘OK now
Go deeper:
1.
“Australia is no stranger to bushfires, which were recorded for more than a century with various levels of severity. The fires in the summer of 2019-2020 were especially harsh and damaging, burning more than 180,000 square kilometers of forest and grassland”
🌎 The Impacts of Australian Wildfires on Solar Production
2.
“Florida is particularly vulnerable because 24% of its GDP is within the 100-year flood zone while other states in the aforementioned generate from 3% to 9% of their GDP in the 100-year flood zone. “Areas in the 100-year flood zone have a 26% chance of flooding over the next 30 years”
🌎 Rising Sea Levels Pose Increasing Credit Risks
3.
Bigger drillers such as Chaparral and Valaris have joined a pile-up that has seen companies with a combined $85bn worth of debt file for protection from creditors over the past eight months.
If oil prices stay around current levels — with US marker West Texas Intermediate trading in the region of $40 a barrel — the number of operators expected to file for Chapter 11 by the end of 2022 could hit almost 190, according to Rystad Energy, a consultancy. That would be on a par with the total number of casualties over the five years to 2019
🌎 Rising bankruptcy toll shows US oil patch is not ‘OK now
Recent Investment Activity
EODev, a French developer of hydrogen technologies, raised €20 million in first-round funding from Accor Group, Thélem Assurances, and the Monnoyeur Group.
GHGSat , a Montreal, Canada-based maker of greenhouse gas monitoring technology, raised $30 million in its first tranche of Series B funding. Government of Québec’s Investissement Québec led the round and was joined by investors including OGCI Climate Investments, Business Development Bank of Canada, Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec, Space Angels, and Schlumberger.
Sternum, a Tel Aviv-based IoT cybersecurity company, raised $6.5 million in Series A funding. Square Peg led the round and was joined by investors including Merle Hinrich and btov.
Pachama, a San Francisco-based climate tech company, raised $5 million in funding. Investors include Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
💰Any deals we missed or you would like us to share? Submit them here.
What I’m thinking about
"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
See you next weekend,
Kevin