$660 million raised in transactions in late January and New Delhi bans coal burning to improve air quality

Sustainable Investment Round-Up

Around $660 million raised by companies Tado, Bio2Watt Energy Holdings, FUERGY, Renaissance Fusion, Hecate Energy and INERATEC?

Smart Home Energy Startup Tado Raises $46.9 Million in Funding Round

Tado, a Germany-based smart home energy start-up, has raised $46.9 million in a funding round led by Trill Impact Ventures as the company aims to become profitable in 2023.? Tado provides smart thermostats and a platform to manage home heating and cooling systems and has raised nearly $160 million in funding prior to this deal from companies such as Amazon and Siemens.

The company was planning to go public via a special-purpose acquisition company, but the deal fell through due to market conditions. An IPO or SPAC exit is not ruled out in the future, but the current focus is growth and profitability. Tado claims to have sold more than? 3 million smart thermostats to date and will use the new funding to continue to scale its business by appealing to customers and real estate companies that manage rental properties. https://bit.ly/3JozTQN

South African Waste-to-Energy company, Bronkhorstspruit Biogas Plant, raises $38.5M in a Venture Round with Climate Fund Partners as lead investor

Bio2Watt Energy Holdings, a South African-based developer of waste-to-value projects that generate renewable energy in South Africa and Mozambique, has entered into a $38.5 million construction equity funding deal with Climate Fund Managers. The funding was facilitated through Climate Fund Managers’ funds Climate Investor One and Climate Investor Two to acquire and expand the Bronkhorstspruit Biogas Project, which will convert organic waste into green energy and organic fertiliser and mitigate up to 48,000 tons of CO2 annually. Climate Fund Managers' investment will allow it to build a waste-to-value platform in Africa while addressing waste management challenges and promoting a circular economy.?https://bit.ly/3RljMp9

FUERGY raises $18.5M in a Venture Round to roll out its intelligent energy storage solution

Slovakia-based Fuergy Industries has raised $18.5 million from Pro Partners Holding to bring intelligent energy storage to the market. Fuergy's brAIn energy storage system uses AI to manage energy demand and supply by adjusting energy usage algorithms in consumer grids. The company has delivered large-scale battery storage projects in Slovakia and is positioning itself as the country's first fully automated flexible energy service provider. Its smart battery system promises a 15-year life and a 2+ year payback period. Fuergy's technology aims to replace unreliable utility demand forecasts and make energy savings beyond just solar. The funding from Pro Partners will provide an additional runway for the company's growth in Slovakia. https://bit.ly/3XVArBZ

Renaissance Fusion raises €15M in Seed financing with Lowercarbon as lead investor

Renaissance Fusion, a France-based start-up, has raised $16.4 million in a seed funding round led by Lowercarbon Capital and several European investors, including HCVC, Positron Ventures and Norrsken. The funds will assist the plans of Renaissance Fusion to sell small nuclear fusion reactors with 1 GW capacity in the 2030s, as well as triple the team size to 60 people by 2023. Renaissance Fusion simplifies generating a magnetic field by drawing tracks on a cylinder instead of complicated 3D coils, a coil patterning technology that the firm’s founder believes could also have commercial MRI and energy storage applications. https://bit.ly/3WOYNMy

US developer of solar, wind, and energy storage projects, Hecate Energy, secures $550M in Debt Financing from Nomura and Investec

Hecate Energy, a US-based renewables developer, has closed a five-year $550 million credit facility package consisting of a $250 million term loan and a $300 million letter of credit to support its expansion in the solar and energy storage sectors. The credit facilities were collateralised by Hecate's 35 GW pipeline of renewables projects and its minority stake in Hecate Grid. PEI Global Partners was exclusive advisor and Winston & Strawn acted as borrower's counsel for Hecate's innovative financing. Investec Inc. and Nomura Securities led the financing with National Bank of Canada and Deutsche Bank as initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers and Syndication Agents, Generate Capital as Coordinating Lead Arranger and Documentation Agent. Ten lenders participated in primary syndication with Norton Rose Fulbright as lenders' counsel. The funding will allow Hecate to issue grid interconnection and power purchase agreement letters of credit and achieve sales of 5 GW or more per year. https://bit.ly/3kUZBSK

E-fuel producer, INERATEC, closes a Venture Round with Honda Motor as lead investor

Germany-based clean tech firm INERATEC has secured a new investment round of an undisclosed amount from Honda and other existing investors, including Engie New Ventures and Safran Corporate Ventures, to develop e-fuels using CO2 and green hydrogen as feedstocks. The partnership aims to optimise the fuel production process and advance the use of renewable e-fuels to achieve carbon neutrality in industries and mobility. INERATEC’s Power-to-X technology aims to produce synthetic fuels and chemicals to replace fossil fuels. With new investment, they plan to expand their collaboration with partners in Japan and the US. The investors believe synthetic fuels are crucial in achieving a carbon-neutral future and consider this partnership a step towards widespread production and the use of e-fuels and e-chemicals globally. https://bit.ly/3HLeIHu

Industries Switch to Biomass After New Delhi Bans Coal

The ban on coal burning around New Delhi, India, has forced local industries to switch to biomass, with about half of the small industries now using biomass, up from 15% in 2020. The change to biomass, which consists of pellets or briquettes of farm residue, is expected to reduce emissions and encourage farmers to sell the residue instead of burning it. Biomass is also cheaper than coal, at 14% lower in cost, according to a 2021 study sponsored by the British government.

However, rising prices and seasonal fluctuations in crop residue supply limit the wider use of biomass, as average prices of biomass briquettes have risen 36%. The study recommends developing a biomass trading platform, better storage, and lower interest rates for investors to increase the use of biomass.

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