$9 Billion For Climate Tech Startups, Tesla’s Tough Quarter And Flooding In Yellowstone

This week’s Current Climate, which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.

Venture capital firms funneled $9 billion into 273 climate tech startups in the first quarter of this year, according to an analysis released by PitchBook this week. That was $2.2 billion less than the $11.2 billion invested per quarter, on average, in 2021. This was not unexpected, given the first few months of this year saw the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and continued market volatility, rising inflation and recession fears mean we could see further declines in the second quarter.

But beyond then, investment could pick up. “In the long term, the attack on Ukraine and resulting calls for energy independence in Europe are likely to accelerate climate tech investment, namely hydrogen, solar, batteries, nuclear, and wind,” the PitchBook report says. Another tailwind: the rule the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed in March to require publicly-traded companies to disclose certain climate-related risks, including greenhouse gas emissions.

More than $2.5 billion in the first quarter went to food systems startups, meaning companies developing alternative proteins, indoor and alternative farming methods and other agtech products. The biggest deal was a $400 million Series E round for indoor vertical farming company Plenty led by One Madison Group and JS Capital, with participation from Walmart and SoftBank Vision Fund 1. Other deals included a $387 million Series C for cultured meat startup UPSIDE Foods, a $136 million Series B for plant-based meat-alternative startup Redefine Meat and a $130 million Series B for cow-less dairy startup Remilk.

The Big Read

Yellowstone Will Stay Closed Through The Weekend Due To Historic Flooding And Mudslides

Yellowstone National Park is closed due to flooding and mudslides that have taken out roads and bridges, and it’s possible northern sections of the park will remain closed for the entire season. Days of unrelenting rain and snowmelt led to a more than 14-foot rise in the Yellowstone River, a historic event that climate experts warn could become more common. A climate assessment report published last year found the temperature of watersheds in the greater Yellowstone area rose 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit from 1950 to 2018. Read more here.

Discoveries And Innovations

Sesame Solar unveiled its renewable mobile nanogrids at a price of $100,000 to $300,000, which the Jackson, Michigan-based company says can start generating power within 15 minutes.

Around 700 companies on the Forbes Global 2000 have net zero emissions targets, up from 417 in 2020, though nearly two-thirds are missing concrete details, according to the latest assessment of climate pledges by the Net Zero Tracker collaboration.

Drought conditions in southern Iraq caused the 3,400-year-old city of Zakhiku to re-emerge from the waters of the Tigris River for several months earlier this year, allowing archaeologists to recover rare items, including cuneiform tablets.