Climate impact of deep tech startups

Why do energy terms sound like scary German monsters? 😱 First, it was Energiewende—the dramatic “energy transition.” Now, it’s Dunkelflaute—dark doldrums when, for a few consecutive days, the wind dies, the sun hides, and energy grids struggle to cope with demand. In 2024, #Dunkelflaute hit Germany hard: wholesale electricity prices soared to €1,000/MWh, coal plants sprang back to life, and energy imports became a lifeline. For #climatetech startups, this daunting term presents a significant business opportunity. Every founder should consider whether their solution could help tackle this challenge and change the narrative to capture this opportunity. Here are a few opportunity fields for startups: 1. Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES): This is naturally the obvious one, and many companies are already working on solutions (e.g., hydrogen, flow batteries, and thermal storage). What's interesting here is that a solution like Reverion (biogas to electricity and back to hydrogen/methane) can fit this challenge, even though it wasn't on the company's radar when it was founded or part of our investment thesis. 2. Grid Flexibility Solutions: Balancing supply and demand is critical during Dunkelflaute periods. Startups can develop AI-powered demand response systems or virtual power plants that aggregate distributed energy resources, especially cross-border solutions as the topic becomes highly political. 3. Predictive Analytics for Weather and Energy Markets: Dunkelflaute events can be forecasted with greater precision. Startups offering real-time grid analytics and weather forecasting tools can help utilities and industries plan ahead. 4. Hybrid Renewable Systems: If you can't solve the macro, offer a solution to the end user. Pairing wind, solar, and other sources with storage creates local resilience for commercial and residential customers. Solving Dunkelflaute isn't just about energy and geopolitical stability; it's about unlocking a significant business opportunity for climate tech startups. Let's break the doldrums together! What’s your take on tackling Dunkelflaute? Share your thoughts! #venturecapital #energytransition #renewables  

DEEPSEEK, which is building technologies that would compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI programs, claims to achieve the goals of larger AI companies with less money and far less energy. Specifically, DeepSeek engineers said they are using data analysis approaches that require far fewer chips than its rivals. That’s a cost advantage. What’s more, its open source models also require less computing power — and thus less power overall. That would be welcome news for energy demand. After years of economic and productivity growth on flat energy supplies, future demand, driven largely by the data centers serving the AI revolution, is expected to triple between 2023 and 2028, reaching 132 gigawatts annually and eating up 12 percent of U.S. electricity supply, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Many energy companies — particularly nuclear and natural gas providers — are counting on this increase. The prediction has also been good for renewable energy developers: their power purchase agreements with Amazon Google Meta and Microsoft have been great for business. What if we don't need as many new data centers as we thought? What’s bad for power providers is good for the climate. The DeepSeek breakthrough offers clear evidence that companies investing in AI services can throttle energy consumption by using smarter coding practices, such as limiting the size of data sets used to train their AI algorithms.  Here's my analysis of how corporate sustainability teams can be more proactive and managing the impact: https://lnkd.in/ebbkvpqi Stay tuned for more exploration of this topic throughout 2025.

🟢 How a Gates Foundation-Backed #AI #Startup Tackles Weather Forecast in #Africa: CEO Q&A By Victor Dey Observer Palo Alto, Calif.-based WindBorne Systems aims to tackle climate change by improving the accuracy of #weather #forecast using A.I.-powered weather balloons WindBorne Systems is determined to transform how #weatherdata is captured and utilized. The company was founded in 2019 by #JohnDean, a former engineer at SpaceX and Lyft (LYFT) building autonomous systems, through a startup program under Stanford University, where Dean dropped out as a graduate student to focus on the company. WindBorne aims to tackle climate change by improving the accuracy of weather prediction using A.I.-powered weather balloons that gather atmospheric data. The startup claims its #AI model outperforms competitors like Huawei’s Pangu and Google DeepMind’s GraphCast, as well as major physics-based models like #GFS and #IFS. #Africa’s #agricultural sector is grappling with a major challenge: a severe lack of reliable atmospheric data, worsened by the impacts of climate change. This shortage of data has led to inaccurate weather forecast, poor crop yield and wasted resources, especially in regions like sub-Saharan Africa. #Agriculture is the #lifeblood of many African nations, supporting more than half of the continent’s labor force. Yet, productivity has fallen 34 percent since 1961 due to climate change, more than any other region in the world, according to a 2023 report by the World Meteorological Organization (#WMO). This decline creates a ripple effect, threatening food security, destabilizing ecosystems and damaging economies. #Accurate #weather #prediction can be a game-changer for the continent and its farmers, helping them make smarter decisions, reduce financial losses and improve food security. #Africa’s #economic #losses due to #climatechange are expected to range between $290 billion and $440 billion, depending on how much temperatures rise, according to the african economic outlook an annual report published by the African Development Bank (#AfDB). Despite the urgency, funding for climate adaptation remains woefully #inadequate. 👉https://lnkd.in/eiezcNdn #ai #weather #predictions #forecasting #data #dataanalytics #datacollection #startups #weatherdata #sustainability #foodsecurity #agriculture #oroduce #economicimpact #africa #subsaharan #climate #climatechange #climatetech #NOAA #Airforce Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation #AfDB LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images

If concrete were a country, it’d trail only China & the U.S. in carbon pollution. But one startup can slash its energy use by 40%. Their SVP shared the playbook in my MBA class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 🙏 Huge thanks to Joe for giving up peak fall weather in North Carolina to talk climate tech (we don’t brag about July/August here—mosquitos, humidity, and regret). And to CEO Leah Ellis for bringing this deep tech to market! Why their solution matters: - Cement = ~8% of global CO₂. - Demand = +50% by 2050. What Sublime is doing: - Eliminating emissions from CO₂, CO, NOx, SOx, mercury, and particulates. - Turning low-value rocks + toxic industrial waste into clean cement & pure minerals (no leftovers, unlike today's Portland Cement, where 50% of limestone becomes pollution). - Meeting or beating durability standards with ASTM-compliant results. And this isn’t theory... Backed by Holcim, CRH, SIAM CEMENT GROUP, and Suffolk Construction, Sublime has been pouring real-world projects since 2023. 🏗️ 👇 Curious about partnering? Link in comments. #climatetech #startups #innovation #leadership Tracy Triggs-Matthews, Jeff Mittelstadt UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Brilliant, disruptive deep tech solutions will save our climate. But without establishing trust early on, they might never see the light of day. Here’s 6 steps deep tech climate solutions need to take: 1.Prove your scientific and technical credibility Publish peer-reviewed research or invite third-party studies on your technology. If feasible, share your data openly. Green tech startup H2Pro invented a two-stage process that produces hydrogen using less energy. A Nature Energy study showed their method had a lab efficiency of 98.7% compared with the standard 68%. This gave a huge boost of confidence to potential investors and partners, leading to over $100 million in funding since their inception. 2.Show it works in the real world. Sublime Systems is pioneering low-cost, low-carbon cement. They started with a pilot plant that produced only 100 tons of cement per year. For reference, average cement plants produce a million tons a year. But this pilot project was necessary to win the industry and customers' trust. As a result, they received funding for future plants. Notably, the US government selected them among 6 producers for a $1.6 billion grant. 3.Build a reputable network. Being associated with industry leaders, renowned scientists, and institutions rubs off on you. If they believe in you, why shouldn’t others? Build out a robust advisory board with such experts. This isn’t just about their approval — the guidance will actually build a much better product. Sustainability solutions ranging from Watershed to Tetra Pak have all gained credibility from their excellent advisory panels. 4.Leverage grants and partnerships. For example, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) spent over $29 billion in 2023. Partnering with FFRDCs, such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, help climate solutions become market-ready technologies. Knowledge partnerships, such as the Network for Business Sustainability (NBS), are valuable, too. They connect you with communities of relevant professionals — scholars, business leaders, policymakers, and more. 5.Regularly update stakeholders Throughout your journey, communicate honestly with stakeholders about progress, challenges, and milestones. By keeping an open dialogue going, your potential customers remain invested in your mission. It shows your commitment and reliability. Deep tech climate ventures need to focus on their groundbreaking solutions — but they also need to win trust along the way. Without it, you might get stuck in the lab forever. We crafts brand messaging that wins over your stakeholders and establishes trust. Reach out to learn how!