Sooner and fatter algae, you say?
By Jake Mitchell

The heavy transport sector consumes greater than one-third of all liquid fossil fuels used at the moment. And airways make up most of that demand, including 2.5 p.c to world greenhouse gasoline emissions, with consultants estimating that greater than 20 p.c of the planet’s CO2 emissions will come from airplanes by 2050. Of their quest for environmental options, airways have been aggressively trying to find a sustainable aviation gas (SAF) to cut back their carbon footprint.

Enter Viridos, a startup that bioengineers microalgae oil as an SAF. The startup genetically modifies algae to develop quicker and fatter, which has already elevated the gas capability of the microalgae sevenfold, based on Chief Govt Officer Oliver Fetzer. With this newfound productiveness, Viridos’ manufacturing of algae oil dwarfs conventional oil crops’ (resembling corn ethanol and palm biodiesel) manufacturing by as a lot as 9 occasions.  

The microalgae act as cell factories, changing CO2 and daylight into energy-dense oils that may be refined into renewable diesel and jet gas. The ensuing biofuels produce 70 p.c fewer heat-trapping emissions than typical fuels, based on the corporate. 

Additionally, as a result of Viridos farms algae in saltwater, which doesn’t require arable land, it avoids utilizing sources required for meals manufacturing, together with farmland and freshwater.

Viridos lately raised $25 million in Sequence A funding from Breakthrough Power Ventures, Chevron and United Airways Ventures. To realize industrial viability, Viridos intends to make use of this funding to double their manufacturing within the subsequent two years.

The subsequent vacation spot for freshwater? The ocean
By Leah Backyard

40 p.c of the world’s inhabitants is affected by water shortage, with as much as 700 million folks liable to displacement from drought by 2030. To fight these sobering numbers, Norwegian startup Ocean Oasis is creating know-how that converts salty ocean water into consumable freshwater.

Ocean Oasis builds floating desalination vegetation offshore that ship contemporary water to shore through pipes alongside the seabed. What separates this startup from different desalination endeavors is its dedication to net-zero emissions. Desalination, typically, is an energy-intensive course of most frequently powered by fossil fuels. To bypass that dilemma, Ocean Oasis makes use of wave vitality, or the ability of ocean floor waves transformed into vitality, to energy its deep ocean desalination vegetation. 

“Desalination that makes use of wave vitality brings a brand new dimension and extra alternatives to produce desalinated water with out emissions,” mentioned co-founder and CEO Kristine Bangstad Fredriksen, “at a aggressive value and with out using worthwhile land.”

Ocean Oasis closed its latest funding spherical at $2.7 million. The corporate plans to check and scale its offshore know-how, accelerating its final objective to ship contemporary water to communities in want. The spherical was led by Unconventional Ventures, with participation from Unruly Capital, Grieg Edge, Farvatn Enterprise and Antler. 

Charging forward to an electrical future
By Sherrie Totoki

President Joe Biden has a objective to put in 500,000 EV chargers and obtain 50 p.c of latest light-duty autos gross sales being electrical by 2030. So as to take action, drivers must have entry to dependable public charging. Nonetheless, as many as 1 in 5 chargers are out of order throughout the U.S. That is the place startup ChargerHelp! is available in. 

ChargerHelp!, based in 2020, upskills technicians by way of a coaching program that then deploys them to repair damaged charging stations throughout the U.S. The corporate companions instantly with charging community operators, resembling Tesla, to make use of its reliability-as-a-service labor subscription mannequin. Whereas these non-public partnerships are a key a part of their enterprise mannequin, ChargerHelp! additionally works intently with policymakers to additional speed up their providers. 

Most lately, ChargerHelp! partnered with FLO, a number one charging community operator, and New York state Sen. Kevin Parker on the EV Charging Reliability Transparency Act. If handed, this laws would require disclosure of reliability information for all public EV charging stations throughout New York. The invoice follows the same ChargerHelp! sponsored legislation handed in California. This public-private partnership will enable extra equitable entry to dependable charging stations with ChargerHelp!’s providers, additional rising the adoption of EVs. 

ChargerHelp! lately closed a $17.5 million spherical to gas its success even additional. Its workforce improvement program pays technicians not less than $30 an hour and shares fairness within the firm. 

Startups are orbiting house to struggle local weather change
By Jake Mitchell

In 2021, California wildfires burned by way of 2.23 million acres, releasing 75 million metric tons of emissions. Munich-based startup OroraTech goals to stop that through the use of AI and satellites to mitigate future excessive severity wildfires. 

OroraTech developed thermal-infrared cameras which, utilizing AI-based algorithms, measure the temperature of every pixel in actual time to detect wildfires. OroraTech companions with Spire, a space-as-a-service mannequin, to launch the cameras on satellites at an altitude of about 370 miles into the environment. So far, OroraTech has launched its cameras on over 20 nanosatellites. 

The cameras, from house, can residence in on warmth areas as small as 4 by 4 meters. This detection is then communicated to the bottom in seconds through electronic mail, textual content or in-app notifications. Clients throughout six continents, from industrial enterprises to governmental organizations, use this intelligence information for threat evaluation and real-time monitoring.

Wildfires are usually first detected through emergency calls and watchtowers, leading to a delayed response time. NASA has satellites that present views of fires, however this info is just accessible twice per day. As soon as ignited, wildfires can unfold at speeds of as much as 14 miles per hour. 

OroraTech raised $16.5 million in Sequence A funding in December. The startup plans to lengthen its platform to a full wildfire administration service which can combine information, algorithms for hearth forecasting and steering to firefighters. By 2026, the startup expects to have 100 nanosatellites with cameras in house. 

[Do you know of a startup that should be featured in upcoming editions of Climate Tech Rundown? Send your suggestions to [email protected].]