⚡ Climate startup market map (77 logos) + $12B for carbon tech
Your 3-minute summary of climate tech, startups, better habits, and deep work.
Good morning, folks.
In today’s 3-minute read, we’ll cover these juicy nuggets:
⚡ Climate startup market map: 77 logos.
💨 “Carbon offsets are a scam.” Wait…
🎙️ A climate investor and clean energy developer walk into a bar…
🎵 These are the good ole’ days.
🏃 What are you chasing?
Enjoy.
— Chris
⚡ Climate startup market: 77 logos.
Who loves climate startup market maps?
I do.
A lot.
Here’s the latest one from Equal Ventures.
If you love DERs, DERMs, LMPs, VPPs, REPs, APIs, and FERC — then you’re in luck.
And if those acronyms make you want to take a nap, no problem.
Their full pitch deck — API Infrastructure for the New Energy Economy — does a good job laying out various energy infrastructure problems and solution providers.
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And if you’ve ever wondered just how volatile power markets can be, look here.
Wowzah.
(And no, that’s not a legit Scrabble word.)
💨 “Carbon offsets are a scam.” Wait…
This is what I was told by a 30-year “finance veteran turned ESG investor” recently.
While they’re imperfect, we can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
[Yikes. The English language is full of grim idioms.]
This article from MorningBrew is a good primer on two other variants in this debate:
Carbon capture (from a “smoke stack”)
Carbon removal (from the sky)
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And Carbon180’s visual below makes the differences pretty clear.
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Here some other interesting notes:
By 2030, the global CCUS capacity needs to be able to remove 1.6 billion tonnes of CO2 annually in order to reach net zero by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency. Today, the industry removes about 40 million tonnes per year.
Some climate experts and environmental groups are skeptical about the promise of carbon-capture tech, arguing that the priority should be transitioning to cleaner energy. Pulling carbon from the air is extremely energy-intensive and critics say fossil-fuel companies are pushing point-source capture as part of the industry’s greenwashing efforts.
A 2020 study found that more than 80% of proposed commercial carbon-capture efforts globally have failed, either because the projects were too costly or the technology didn’t work as expected.
Research indicates the industry will need more than 300 times the current DAC capacity to reach the goal of $100 per metric ton.
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The $12 billion in new federal funding for carbon tech and carbon dioxide transport should help.
As long as we learn from mistakes in the past.
So, no need to worry. We always do that. 🤨
🎙️ A climate investor and clean energy developer walk into a bar…
Ready to listen further?
Then check out below two of our latest podcasts at Entrepreneurs for Impact.
In these interviews, I cover questions such as:
As an infrastructure player, what are some lessons you’ve learned to scale your business and remain differentiated in a crowded market?
As an investor, how do you make underwriting decisions about which technologies and founders to back?
Outside of your current business, what are some other climate sectors are promising areas in which to start a business?
If you could go back in time, what tips would you give yourself to more effective and higher impact?
What are some habits and routines that keep you focused, healthy, and sane — e.g., meditations, exercise, productivity hacks?
#1
Led by Managing Director Dave Kirkpatrick, SJF Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Durham, San Francisco, New York, and Seattle that has been at the forefront of impact investing since 1999.
They have invested in 70+ high-impact ventures that are creating a healthier, smarter, and cleaner future.
Dave Kirkpatrick helped lead SJF’s capitalization of four funds totaling $260 million starting in 1999.
His portfolio engagements include Terabase Energy, ROOM, Waycare, Voltaiq, Living Earth, ENTOUCH Controls, and Community Energy, as well as exited companies TransLoc, NEXTracker, groSolar, CleanScapes, B.B Hobbs, and Foxfire.
He also serves as the founding co-chair of the Impact Capital Managers, a network of private capital fund managers in the U.S. and Canada investing for financial returns and impact.
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#2
Co-led by COO and Cofounder Roshan Vani, Nexus PMG is a low-carbon, bio-based infrastructure development expert focused on project management, drone monitoring, 3D laser scanning, financial modeling, site selection, fuel supply, offtakes, permitting, FEED studies, EPC contracts, and project execution.
Customers include some of the biggest names in infrastructure and finance, such as Apollo, Riverstone, Cargill, Skanska, Ultra Capital, Ember Infrastructure, and QIC.
And Roshan keeps it real. #NoFluffZone
🎵 These are the good ole’ days.
While cleaning the kitchen last night, I was forced to stop abruptly.
[In case you missed the memo, no chores are complete without music playing loudly.]
Accordingly, I heard the song below.
Was I unique in finding it?
Nope.
Over 100 million folks have watched it on YouTube.
But in the craziness of us two working parents and three growing kids, these lyrics slapped me upside the head.
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I wish somebody would have told me, babe
Someday, these will be the good old days
…Someday soon, your whole life's gonna change
You'll miss the magic of these good old days.
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For those of us focused on growth, on what’s possible, on building something special, on solving big problems — it’s easy to pay the most attention to what’s coming next.
If only I could take my own medicine more effectively:
Relish the chaos. Now.
That’s all, y’all.
Make it a great week, because it’s usually a choice.
— Chris
🏃 P.S. What are you chasing?
What the superior man seeks is in himself.
What the small man seeks is in others.
Apparently, we seek the same things today as we did 2,500 years ago.
Not sure we’re learning to pick the right one though.
That damned Confucius.
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Dr. Chris Wedding
Founder and Chief Catalyst, Entrepreneurs for Impact
The only private peer group for growth-stage climate CEOs, founders, and investors
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Today our members represent over $5 billion in market value or assets under management. Plus, they’re great human beings — humble, giving, and eager to grow.