Prelude Ventures

Today, we announced the successful operation of the world’s first superconducting planar coil 3x3 magnet array system! This magnet array demonstrates that small and simple electromagnets can practically, precisely, and dynamically create and control stellarator-relevant magnetic fields. ?? More details of the operation and results that include the hardware validation to the leading approach for a maintainable and controllable #stellarator #fusion system can be found here: https://ow.ly/Gc0Y50Vloaq ?? Full preprint being submitted for peer-review is available on the Company's "Presentations & Publications" page: https://lnkd.in/ehYeRccH “A herculean effort from the Thea Energy team to establish the processes, infrastructure, and know-how to manufacture and test all magnets in-house has resulted in the successful hardware validation of the peer-reviewed physics basis of our novel system architecture that shows stellarators can be built without complicated coils. The operation and notably, the controllability of this magnet array demonstrates a new key enabler to commercialized fusion energy. We have built a system that uses simpler hardware paired with dynamic software controls to adjust magnet parameters in real time.” - David Gates, Ph.D., co-founder and CTO of Thea Energy “The stellarator is a well-studied form of fusion technology and the practicality brought to the design by the team at Thea Energy, combined with the established physics basis since its invention over 70 years ago at PPPL, presents another possible fusion system design. This magnet array milestone confirms a concept that was created at PPPL - that arrays of planar magnets can be utilized to create and control the magnetic fields required to stabilize the plasma to produce sustained fusion energy. I am excited to see the Company build and scale its hardware while sharing its breakthroughs and results with the broader community."? - Steven Cowley, Ph.D., laboratory director at the ?U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), managed by Princeton University

Hi All- I’m pleased to share a major milestone in Terabase’s mission to transform renewable energy as we announce $130 million in Series C funding, led by the SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Utility-scale solar with batteries is the fastest and most cost-effective energy source to meet the surge in power demand in the USA and throughout the world. We believe that robotics, software and AI will be critical to make solar power plants even more cost effective and rapid to deploy. A heartfelt thank you to our customers, investors, and partners for continuing to champion our vision and our incredible team for turning it into reality every day. Best, Matt https://on.ft.com/4isqdDn

UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has just published the first peer-reviewed scientific paper focused on the efficacy of Rumin8’s product in a cattle trial. The University is one of the pre-eminent global research institutions researching methods to reduce methane emissions in cattle. The UC Davis trial found that Rumin8’s investigational veterinary product (IVP) reduced total methane emissions in cattle by 95.2%, with no significant impact on animal production or rumen environment parameters. “Compared to other studies on synthetic halogenated methane analogues, the methane reductions observed with Rumin8 oil IVP in this study are among the most substantial reported,” the study’s authors concluded. The authors also noted that animal source foods provide high-quality protein and essential nutrients with high bioavailability, which is key to addressing global undernutrition. Consumption of meat and milk is forecast to increase by 73% and 58% respectively by 2050, and “reducing enteric methane emissions is therefore crucial to mitigate the environmental impact of livestock systems and to achieve national and international climate goals”. Rumin8 is seeking to address that issue with its methane reducing feed and water additives. More details here: https://lnkd.in/dE-Azpap #AgTech #ClimateTech

Last month, we reached another milestone on our path to?superhot #geothermal?power: demonstrating?millimeter wave #drilling?outside of the lab for the very first time. To put that in perspective, it was only three years ago that our team started testing with millimeter waves. We took those early learnings from?Oak Ridge National Laboratory?and set up a humming campus here in Houston. We reached our?100x target?in 2023 and tested at higher power throughout 2024. Now, we’re drilling under the open sky. Millimeter wave drilling is the keystone of superhot geothermal. It’s the only way to access the resource at scale while reaching?economic and power parity?with fossil fuels. Over the coming months, two more drilling field tests will pave the way to our?first commercial developments. Join Henry Phan, Vice President of Engineering, for a rare look under the hood to see how we got here.

Last week, Forbes published a report based on alarming news coming from beekeepers: Many commercial beekeepers are experiencing massive bee die-offs well in excess of 50%. In some areas, losses have reached as high as 70%. https://lnkd.in/eeEFritv As one of the industry leaders in the article says, “There’s full panic right now to figure out what’s wrong and how bad it’s going to be.” While researchers are investigating the exact cause of this devastating collapse, beekeepers well know that Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that preys on honeybees, are very likely part of the problem. These mites attach themselves to adult bees as they forage for nectar, using them as unwitting carriers to infiltrate the hive. Once inside, they lay their eggs on bee larvae. When the mites hatch, they feed on their hosts' glycogen and triglycerides, weakening or killing them while spreading viral and fungal infections throughout the colony. Alarmingly, Varroa mites have developed resistance to most existing treatments, leaving beekeepers with fewer options for protecting their hives. With bees pollinating nearly half of the fruits and vegetables we consume – including the upcoming almond pollination happening in California, urgent action is needed. The collapse of bee populations could drive up the cost of everyday produce and even lead to shortages. At GreenLight Biosciences, we’ve developed an innovative RNA-based solution to combat Varroa mites. Currently under review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), our technology has demonstrated long-lasting varroa mite control, leading to healthier and stronger bees. We hope this type of innovation can support healthier hives and prevent this level of loss in the future. #savethebees #RNA

Today, we announced four publications in the journal Nuclear Fusion detailing the Company’s novel system architecture and its ability to address historical limitations of the #stellarator. Full press release and links to papers here: https://ow.ly/JoXn50UPoMv “Complex, 3D magnet coils have limited prior generations of stellarators, making them extremely difficult to build and maintain. These results are a part of a new era for stellarator systems. Eos will serve as an important technology test bed that will also breed tritium for commercial use. Eos will leverage simpler coils as well as a software control layer, allowing future fusion power plants to be built and deployed on-the-grid at scale. As the team starts to construct Eos, we look forward to further expanding these findings, while at the same time increasing the fidelity of our models.” - David Gates, Ph.D., co-founder and chief technology officer of Thea Energy

Searching for some light holiday reading? Need some inspiration heading into the new year? Look no further than?Climate Compass: your guide to the next generation of climate companies. In this report, industry experts, founders, and investors share their perspectives on the emerging ideas and technologies that are poised to shape the next decade and highlight the leading startups advancing our global economy towards a decarbonized, resilient, and abundant future. Huge thank you to the 50+ contributing companies, amazing authors including Priscilla Tyler, Jessica Eastling, Lily Bernicker, Mikaela Lipsky, Sabriya Stukes, PhD, Carly Anderson, Hannah Friedman, Calvin A. Cupini, Olivia Dippo, Katherine Cunningham, and Jyotika Chandhoke, and of course our brilliant design partner - Wunderdogs - who made this project possible! Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eVxdAZ3S

We’ve set a new record! Today we are announcing industry-leading neutral-atom two-qubit gate fidelities in our flagship platforms, and together with Microsoft we demonstrate the largest-ever entangled logical qubit state with 24 logical qubits, and performed error detection, error correction, and computation with 28 logical qubits! #MSIgnite These milestones show how Atom Computing’s neutral atoms provide a highly-scalable hardware platform and, together with Microsoft’s #AzureQuantum compute platform, form a state-of-the-art reliable quantum computer. This joint commercial #QuantumComputing offering, which combines logical qubits with #HPC and #AI, will enable organizations to accelerate growing their quantum ecosystems. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gg7C42dM