These tech leaders are collaborating with energy incumbents and startups alike to tap into renewable energy sources and decarbonize their operations.

While these big tech players are competing in the energy space, they are also developing unique strategies:

• Amazon is working to decarbonize its transportation and fulfillment center operations, with a focus on hydrogen tech.
• Google is pioneering new models for clean energy procurement as it works to boost the sustainability of its data center network.
• Microsoft is focusing on renewable energy sources — like solar and fusion — and carbon capture technologies to meet the growing energy demands of its AI-driven operations.
• Nvidia is enhancing data center energy efficiency and investing in the development of a green and reliable power grid.

This report uses CB Insights datasets like investments, acquisitions, business relationships, company scouting reports, earnings transcripts, and more. Learn more about our data here.

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It’s estimated that robots and other smart machinery will make up as much as one-third of US military presence in the next 15 years, according to Mark Milley, a retired US Army General and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Unmanned systems already dominate in some areas — like aerial drones — while significant development is underway in bringing autonomous tech to the ground, ocean surface, and underwater domains.

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Amid the funding decline, investors are favoring smaller mid- and late-stage deals. However, they are still willing to place early-stage bets where they see strong opportunities.

Based on our deep dive in the full report, here is the TL;DR on the state of climate tech:

• • Global climate tech funding declines by 20% QoQ to $4.9B in Q2’24 — the lowest quarterly total since Q2’20. While deal count rebounded QoQ to 397 in Q2, it still came in well below 2023’s quarterly totals.

• • Climate tech doesn’t see any unicorn births (private companies reaching $1B+ valuations) in Q2’24, marking climate tech’s second straight quarter without any new unicorns. This coincides with a decline in late-stage deal sizes — the median deal size at that stage is $38M in 2024 YTD, down 16% vs. full-year 2023.

• • Late-stage deal sizes decline, while early-stage sizes show strength. The median late-stage deal size is $38M in 2024 YTD — down 16% from full-year 2023. In contrast, median early-stage size is up 39% YTD, suggesting that investors are still willing to place bets where they see strong early-stage opportunities. Two of the largest early-stage deals in Q2’24 went to Cylib and Aether Fuels. Both companies intend to use the funding to scale and support commercialization initiatives — goals that are generally communicated by later-stage companies.

• • $100M+ mega-rounds continue to trend down in Q2’24. Climate tech mega-rounds dropped from 17 in Q1’24 to 9 in Q2’24. The majority of Q2’24’s mega-round recipients are focused on scaling operations and achieving full-scale commercialization. For example, one of the quarter’s largest deals ($375M Series G) went to battery materials developer Sila, which plans to use the funding to ramp up silicon anode production.

Source: CB Insights — Sila Funding Insights

• Climate tech funding drops yet again in Asia. Climate tech startups in the region raised a total of $0.4B in Q2’24, down 33% QoQ and 89% YoY. China suffered the sharpest funding decline (-90% QoQ) among highlighted countries in the region. India and Japan watched funding fall by 28% and 57% QoQ, respectively.

More energy resources from CB insights

• 5 climate tech markets gaining momentum in 2024
• The grid tech market map: The companies tackling the growing need for reliable electricity
• The energy impact of generative AI: 3 technologies transforming the future of data centers
• Analyzing 15 oil & gas leaders’ tech priorities: Here’s where incumbents are buying, investing, and partnering
• Sodium-ion batteries are poised for a breakout moment — energy players should prepare
• Why energy giants should have green ammonia on their radar

The post State of Climate Tech Q2’24 Report appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Enter sodium-ion batteries.

They’re cheap to build, temperature-resilient, and could soon shake up the global energy storage market — which is projected to grow to $77B within the next 10 years.

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Major players like BP and Shell are aiming to become net-zero emissions energy businesses by 2050, with Shell targeting a 50% emissions reduction by 2030 compared to 2016 levels.

These ambitious goals are driven in part by shifting regulatory frameworks. The EU, for instance, plans to require oil & gas companies to buy carbon credits to compensate for offshore activities, while in the US, the Inflation Reduction Act has incentivized sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production.

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While Nvidia initially developed its graphics processing units (GPUs) for gaming, these chips turned out to be ideal for powering AI tasks. Now, the company is focusing its efforts on providing the computing hardware — notably its A100 and H100 GPUs — and the software infrastructure required for developing generative AI applications.

Amid the generative AI rush, Nvidia has grown rapidly. In fact, it recently surpassed Microsoft and Apple to become the world’s most valuable company. To bolster its leadership position and keep ahead of AI computing competitors like AMD and Intel, Nvidia has forged relationships with companies across the AI landscape.

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Threats to grid stability are escalating due to more extreme weather events and sophisticated cyber attacks. Increasing electricity demand due to data centers and electric vehicles exacerbates these challenges, while the global push toward sustainable — yet intermittent — power sources like solar and wind adds further complexities.

There is an urgent need for more power generation diversity and delivery system reliability, as exemplified by incidents like the 2021 Texas freeze and the 2022 California heatwave.

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Funding to the space set a new record in 2023 — bucking the broader decrease in venture funding for the second year in a row.  

While still a nascent technology, startups are pursuing a broad range of potential use cases for quantum computing (which process information in a fundamentally different way to typical computers) across numerous industries — from training AI models more efficiently to simulating otherwise hard-to-model chemical reactions to quickly solving complex logistics problems, among many others.

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The company maintains a robust internal combustion portfolio, but it has aggressively invested across the entire vehicle electrification ecosystem. Despite scaling back its EV production goals to account for fluctuating consumer demand, GM remains committed to electric vehicles and plans to have the capacity to produce 1M EVs by 2025.

Meanwhile, GM has also pulled back from fully autonomous driving by reducing spending on Cruise — its autonomous vehicle (AV) subsidiary — and moved investments away from AV companies. However, the company has retained its focus on its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), Super Cruise.

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However, as deal sizes have gotten smaller, the space has seen a corresponding shift toward early-stage dealmaking. In 2023, 69% of climate tech deals went to early-stage companies — an increase of 14 percentage points vs. 2022.

Using CB Insights data, we break down the climate tech landscape and the markets and startups seeing the most traction.

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The post Climate tech in 8 charts: 2023 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

New possibilities have emerged thanks to the proliferation of satellite launches — with SpaceX alone conducting a record 98 launches during 2023 — combined with the affordability of drones and advancements in imaging technologies.

This progress opens opportunities for startups and incumbents, helping expand geospatial use cases and capabilities across industries like agriculture, automotive, construction, defense & national security, insurance, manufacturing, mining, oil & gas, and more.

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Despite equity funding to the space dropping 39% YoY to $41B in 2023, deal counts actually ticked up 4% to over 2,700. This was driven by an increase in early-stage deals, which represented 69% of all deals in 2023 — up from 55% in 2022.

To see where climate tech is heading in 2024, we looked at the tech markets with the most early-stage investment activity in 2023:

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As industrial businesses look to improve their sustainability profiles and operational efficiency, they’re adopting a range of solutions from climate tech vendors. This has been accompanied by a surge in VC activity: In 2022, venture capital funding to climate tech reached a record high of over $70B.

These technologies range from carbon capture and storage — which helps industrial firms reduce and sequester their emissions — to more sustainable materials and fuels for specific industries like construction and aviation. They also include platforms to manage energy use, recycling, and more across industrial sites.

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This financial upswing is prompting oil and gas producers to seek tech solutions from startups to enhance operational efficiency. Oilfield asset management solutions, for instance, can make the oilfield more productive and profitable.

O&G producers are also focused on the pressing issue of sustainability. Technologies like flaring reduction and carbon capture are helping them reduce and capture stray emissions, as well as turn emissions into new revenue streams.

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It has backed 25+ tech startups via its venture arm, Caterpillar Ventures, since 2015. Additionally, its internal innovation team actively employs new technologies, such as autonomous heavy equipment and additive manufacturing.

Caterpillar maintains a particular focus on boosting the sustainability and connectivity of its machinery. The company has set ambitious goals to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the energy efficiency of its products. For instance, Caterpillar has developed hybrid and electric machines that produce fewer emissions and consume less fuel than traditional equipment.

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This system not only enables industrial companies to collect data but also helps them analyze it to boost efficiency and sustainability. These functionalities are particularly notable for manufacturing plants given that vast quantities of their data typically go unused. 

In the market map below, we identify 112 IIoT vendors operating across 11 categories.

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These technologies are redefining planning, maintenance, and operational cost strategies while encouraging sustainability. For instance, HVAC systems — which account for 40% of a building’s energy usage — are now more manageable and efficient thanks to digital sensor technology.

The industry has also been shaped by the SEC’s mandatory climate disclosure ruling. Publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) now report on climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions, leading many to adopt ESG monitoring platforms to meet the new standards.

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In 2023, global drone shipments are expected to reach 2.4M. Insider Intelligence estimates this total is increasing at a 67% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Already this year, funding to the inspection & job site mapping drone market has reached a 5-year high. Percepto, a startup in this space, recently raised a $67M Series C (in equity and debt), following 4 other equity funding rounds from its peers this year.

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It is now cheaper than ever to send satellites into orbit, in part thanks to SpaceX‘s innovations, which have helped bring the price of launching rockets down by 10x vs. a decade ago.

At the same time, satellite technology continues to improve. Today’s satellites feature better imaging systems, more powerful sensors, and faster data processing than ever before.

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The post 3 applications of satellites that are transforming the industrials sector appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Smart grids, which rely on new technologies like smart meters and distributed energy resources to optimize energy flows and utility operations, are designed to be more resilient, efficient, and secure than traditional electrical grids. They allow utilities to better monitor and manage electricity flows, detect outages, and respond to restore power.

They are also a key part of transitioning toward a low-carbon economy, helping move away from fossil fuels while still providing reliable electricity services to households and businesses around the world.

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The tech is already delivering time and cost savings in a range of business functions, from R&D to product design. For instance, generative AI could reduce design timelines by up to 90% for infrastructure projects and slash raw material use by upwards of 95% in industrial design. 

Industrials incumbents are moving quickly to take advantage. Hyundai, for instance, has used Autodesk’s generative design software to figure out how to efficiently make parts for new vehicle modalities. IBM, meanwhile, is using generative AI to identify and test computer chip materials. 

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After decades of expanding into new verticals like security and healthcare, the company has recently divested of those spaces and is returning its focus to its core businesses of handheld tools and power equipment. Stanley Black & Decker is aggressively acquiring companies and investing billions of dollars in these areas with an industrial focus, helping reduce its exposure to the consumer market.

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• Virtual power plants to increase grid flexibility during peak demand and reduce the need for distant, centralized power stations
• Microgrids to increase power reliability and security
• Remote drone monitoring to reduce operational costs for maintaining grid assets such as power lines and substations
• Grid storage to increase grid sustainability and reliability by storing renewable energy until it is needed
• Blockchain technology to help track renewable energy credits and facilitate peer-to-peer energy trading

Below, we dive into these technologies: how they work, who has an edge, and how they’re shaping the future of the power grid.

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The post The Future of the Grid: How technology is making the power grid more efficient, reliable, and sustainable appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Thanks to these new technologies, carbon emissions from the electric power sector in the US have fallen by almost a third in the past decade or so. This occurred despite a similar amount of electricity generation and no increase in the inflation-adjusted real price of electricity.

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The post Prioritizing 10 technologies helping utility companies transform the power grid appeared first on CB Insights Research.

In fact, 4 out of 5 construction firms consistently report having a hard time filling some or all positions, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. With 40% of US construction workers expected to retire within the next decade, this labor challenge is expected to get even more difficult. 

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