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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Essential resources to understand the future of energy & climate tech:

• State of Climate Tech Q2’24 Report — Here’s where climate tech funding is going and where we’re seeing pockets of interest.

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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

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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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For example, green ammonia is an efficient hydrogen carrier for enabling industrial decarbonization initiatives. It’s actually easier and cheaper to store and transport than hydrogen itself, and could therefore promote wider use of hydrogen — which burns without emitting carbon emissions — in decarbonizing transportation and heavy industry.

Enterprises are increasingly recognizing the strategic importance of green ammonia. Since 2020, discussions of green ammonia have steadily grown in earnings calls, reflecting its growing relevance in corporate sustainability strategies.

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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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But powering these centers is no small feat. According to the International Energy Agency, data centers already represent around 1% of global electricity consumption.

Computing workloads for new technology like generative AI are pushing energy consumption and costs up even further. Data centers’ share of global electricity consumption is projected to increase rapidly in the coming years. 

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The company has faced multiple high-profile incidents over the past 6 years — including crashes involving its planes and a fuselage blowout. This series of events has resulted in a decline in consumer trust, aggravated airlines, and lost sales to rival Airbus.

Amid these challenges, Boeing has shaken up its corporate leadership and moved to improve its manufacturing quality. For instance, the company is exploring a reintegration with Spirit AeroSystems to help address production flaws.

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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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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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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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The company first introduced electric vehicles (EVs) in 2013 with its i3 vehicle. Since then, the automaker has continued to leverage investments and partnerships to develop its EV models as well as pursue its ambitions in autonomous vehicles, such as via its collaboration with NVIDIA.

Looking ahead, BMW is aiming to introduce solid-state batteries in vehicles after 2025, a leap forward in battery technology that is expected to bring down the costs of EVs while also increasing their range. The company is leaning on investments and partnerships with companies like Solid Power to reach that goal. Further, the automaker is building its expertise in areas like grid tech to help support the rollout of electric vehicles.

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At the heart of its growth strategy is the integration of AI. In 2017, the company founded the Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence — a global team dedicated to advanced AI research — while investing over $100M+ into a new AI campus. The company’s 2025 goal is to incorporate AI in all of its products or develop them using AI.

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For instance, a wave of auto OEMs have recently announced plans to adopt Tesla’s North America Charging Standard (NACS), indicating growing alignment across the industry and paving the way toward a more standardized and efficient charging network.

The industry is also benefiting from substantial government investment, such as the US federal government’s recent commitment of $5B to support states in deploying EV chargers in underserved communities. This is expected to help democratize access to EV charging infrastructure around the country.

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Under the leadership of CEO Elon Musk, the EV maker has not only disrupted the automotive industry but also made significant strides in developing energy storage and renewable energy solutions. The company’s market capitalization has soared over the past few years, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world.

As a testament to Tesla’s influence in the industry, a growing number of automakers and EV charging companies are adopting Tesla’s NACS EV charging standard, signaling a shift toward a more unified and accessible EV infrastructure.

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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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This could give the EV maker a leg up on its competition in the charging market and even edge out the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard currently used by nearly all non-Tesla EVs sold in North America.

Volvo recently joined Ford, GM, and Rivian in committing to switching over to Tesla’s charging connector in the coming years. Meanwhile, prominent EV charging station manufacturers and operators ChargePoint, EVgo, and Electrify America have all announced plans to offer NACS connections.

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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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Even as broader venture activity slows down, BEV has maintained a decent pace of investment. Over the past year, BEV has participated in 45 deals going to companies in the climate tech space.

Using CB Insights data, we mapped how BEV has spread its climate tech investments across agtech & food tech, renewable energy & grid storage, and beyond.

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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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