Sustainable R&D and Innovation
Index
Notable News
Funding/Investments in Sustainability-related R&D
Sustainability-related Innovations and Demonstrations
Sustainability-related R&D Accelerators, Networks and Contests
Research & Tools
Market Indicators and Forecasts: Sustainable Products
Sustainable Product Design Tools
Research & Aggregation of Emerging Technologies
AI, Blockchain & IoT (on "IT for Sustainability" page)
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Collaboration on Sustainability-related Innovation
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Notable News
Funding / Investments in Sustainability-related R&D
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TOYOTA VENTURES — This early-stage venture capital arm of Toyota launched a $150 million fund to expand its investments in startups developing scalable climate solutions, as well as a $150 million fund focused on “disruptive technologies,” such as AI. These funds bring the firm’s total assets under management to $800 million. (April 2024)
HSBC / GOOGLE CLOUD — Partnered to accelerate climate financing and support for companies in the Google Cloud Ready – Sustainability (GCR-Sustainability) program (a validation program for companies with solutions that help customers achieve sustainability goals like emissions reduction). Google Cloud will continue expanding companies in the GCR-Sustainability program and introduce them to HSBC’s climate tech team to explore venture debt financing options, as part of HSBC’s effort to deploy $1 billion of climate tech finance. (Feb 2024)
PAINE SCHWARTZ PARTNERS — Announced the final closing of Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund VI (Fund VI) at $1.7 billion of total capital commitments, which will focus on sustainable investments in the food and agribusiness sector. At closing, Fund VI is the largest fund dedicated to investing across the food and agribusiness value chain, and 17% larger than its previous Fund V. Approximately 40% of the fund has already been deployed.
ECOBRIDGE — Launched a $1 billion climate fund that will focus on transformative technologies that can address climate challenges. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will chair the initiative’s Advisory Committee. (Sept 2023)
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HSBC — Announced plans to make available $1 billion of financing to early-stage climate tech companies around the world. The financing is expected to support startups working on electric vehicle charging, battery storage, sustainable food and agriculture, and carbon removal technologies. (Sept 2023)
GALVANIZE — Announced the close of its Innovation + Expansion Fund after securing funding of $1 billion. The fund targets investments in early- to growth-companies working on decarbonization. It has invested so far in 11 companies in the electricity, transport, industry, buildings, agriculture, and carbon removal sectors. (Sept 2023)
REDWOOD MATERIALS — Battery recycling startup Redwood Materials raised over $1 billion in venture funding, increasing total capital raised to nearly $2 billion. (Sept 2023)
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY — Launched a new sustainability-focused venture capital fund along with eight global bottling partners, including CEF member FEMSA. This $137.7 million fund will prioritize five areas: packaging, heating and cooling, facility decarbonization, distribution, and supply chain. The fund will be managed by “seed-to-growth” venture capital firm Greycroft, and will invest in companies at the point of commercialization. (July 2023)
JUST CLIMATE — This investment company announced it was closing its Climate Assets Fund I (the Fund) after raising $1.5 billion in institutional capital for investments in emissions reduction (exceeding its $1 billion target). The Fund will invest in asset-heavy growth-stage companies in industries with high emissions and limited options for reducing them, such as energy, mobility, industry, and buildings. The Fund’s first three investments are in electric vehicle charging solutions provider ABB E-mobility, low carbon steel startup H2 Green Steel, and industrial clean energy company Meva Energy. Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund anchored the Fund. (June 2023)
MITSUBISHI — Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), and Pavilion Private Equity announced they will launch the Marunouchi Climate Tech Growth Fund, one of the largest decarbonization funds in Japan. Investments currently total $400 million, and aims to reach $800 million to $1 billion by its final closing. The fund will invest in startup companies developing renewable energy, next-generation fuels, storage batteries and other climate technologies. (May 2023)
Amazon announced it is providing €1.5 million ($1.6 million) in funding to North Sea Farm 1, the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located between offshore wind turbines off the coast of the Netherlands. This research project is managed by a consortium of scientific researchers and partners from the seaweed industry and led by the NGO North Sea Farmers. It is expected to become operational by the end of 2023 and potentially provide a blueprint for offshore seaweed farming around the world. If scaled to fill all space between wind farms (expected to be approximately 1 million hectares by 2040), seaweed farms could reduce millions of tons of CO2 annually, while also being used to make food, clothing, and packaging. (Feb 2023)
NASA issued an award to Boeing for the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, which seeks to inform a potential new generation of green single-aisle airliners. NASA will invest $425 million, along with $725 million from Boeing and partners, to build, test, and fly a full-scale Transonic Truss-Braced Wing demonstrator aircraft and validate technologies aimed at lowering emissions. This is an aircraft with extra-long, thin wings, stabilized by diagonal struts, that create less drag and thus burns less fuel. Combined with other advancements, this could reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 30%. (Jan 2023)
Airbus and Renault have signed an R&D agreement to work together to mature technologies related to energy storage, particularly energy management optimization, battery weight, and shifting from lithium-ion to solid-state designs. The companies will also study the full lifecycle of future batteries. Airbus also announced that it is developing a hydrogen-powered full cell engine for use in zero-emission aircraft. It will start ground and flight testing toward 2025. (Dec 2022)
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC — Announced that its SE Ventures corporate venture fund will establish a €500 million ($516 million) Fund II focused on companies in climate-tech, industrial AI, mobility, prop-tech, and cybersecurity. This builds on its 2018 Fund I, and brings total committed capital to €1 billion. (Nov 2022)
Ørsted announced an investment agreement with offshore wind service company ESVAGT to build the world’s first green fuel vessel for offshore wind service operations. The vessel will be powered by batteries and dual-fuel engines capable of sailing on renewable e-methanol, which Ørsted intends to supply. (April 2022)
VOYAGER VENTURES — Venture capital firm Voyager Ventures announced an inaugural fund of $100 million to invest in early-stage climate technology companies in North America and Europe. Founders of Shopify, Tableau Software and The Nature Conservancy are among the investors and partners. (April 2022)
EMERALD TECHNOLOGY VENTURES — Industrial tech venture capital firm Emerald Technology Ventures launched a new fund to invest in emerging sustainable packaging innovations and startups “across all stages of the circular economy ranging from raw materials to plastics recycling.” The fund aims to raise over $200 million and includes Beiersdorf, Henkel, and CEF members Chevron and WM as limited partners. (April 2022)
Investor support continues to increase for experimental direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, an emerging alternative to open pit mining and evaporative collection. Lithium for batteries is expected to be essential to the global transition to electric vehicles; DLE methods, if proven viable and taken to scale, would tap vast amounts of lithium present in salt lakes, seawater, and geothermal water (collectively, “brines”)—quantities far greater than those in hard rock deposits. More than 70% of U.S. lithium deposits are held in brine reserves. (April 2022)
VOYAGER VENTURES — San Francisco based venture capital firm Voyager Ventures announced its first fund, dubbed Fund I, in the amount of $100 million. According to Voyager co-founder Sarah Sclarsic, Fund I will be deployed to support “foundational technologies that can decarbonize transportation, energy systems, and food and materials production, among other areas." Across its portfolio, Voyager has a target of sequestering or averting the emissions of 500 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) during the lifetime of Fund I. (April 2022)
HSBC is investing $100 million as a new anchor partner of Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst program to accelerate four green technologies: direct air capture, clean hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and sustainable aviation fuel. HSBC will join the Catalyst leadership council and provide expertise on transition opportunities in global markets including Asia and the Middle East. (Feb 2022)
VC firm Energy Impact Partners is launching a Deep Decarbonization Frontier Fund to support early-stage climate tech across several industries and accelerate the net-zero transition. The fund has raised over $200 million (goal of $350 million) from over 22 strategic partners and investors, including CEF members Duke Energy and Microsoft (through its Climate Innovation Fund). (Jan 2022)
Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst program launched an RFP to finance climate tech projects in the EU, Iceland, and Norway focused on four areas: direct air capture, long-duration energy storage, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and “green hydrogen” (hydrogen produced using renewable energy). It is the next phase of the EU-Catalyst partnership, which aims to mobilize up to $1 billion from 2022-2027 for technologies that deliver on the European Green Deal goals and the EU’s 2030 climate targets. Catalyst “anchor partners” include CEF members Bank of America, BlackRock, General Motors, and Microsoft. (Jan 2022)
The Department of Energy will invest over $20 billion to establish an
Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which will support demonstration projects for clean energy technologies such as carbon capture, clean hydrogen, grid-scale energy storage, and small modular reactors. The office will also engage environmental justice groups and invest
billions in demonstration projects in economically challenged communities and rural areas—a focus of President Biden's
Justice40 initiative. (Jan 2022)
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List of Funding/Investments in Sustainability-Related R&D, 2021-2020 (PDF)
Sustainability-related Innovations & Demonstrations
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Lululemon and environmental tech startup Samsara Eco debuted the world’s first enzymatically recycled product from nylon 6,6 (a common clothing material that is difficult to recycle). The process uses enzymes to turn the plastic back into chemical building blocks, enabling their re-use to produce virgin-grade nylon 6,6, which is then made into new products. (March 2024)
UPFIELD — This plant-based food producer, in collaboration with global materials company Footprint, has created an oil-proof, plastic-free recyclable paper package for its plant butters and spreads, a world’s first according to Upfield. The new packaging has already been distributed in Austria since late 2023, with additional European markets being added this year. (Jan 2024)
HEIDELBERG MATERIALS — Launched a new net-zero cement, the world’s first, according to the company. The cement is made using carbon capture and storage in the company’s plant in Norway. (Dec 2023)
Antora Energy launched its first commercial-scale thermal battery, which stores heat inside carbon blocks and can discharge it as heat or electricity. It is building a battery manufacturing facility in California, and aims to ship the technology to its first buyers in 2025. (Sept 2023)
Stanford University scientists have invented a new kind of paint that can keep homes and other buildings cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter — reducing energy use, costs, and greenhouse gas emissions. In experiments, the new paints reduced the energy used for heating by about 36% in cold environments and the energy for cooling almost 21% in warm ones, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Sept 2023)
LIBERTY COCA-COLA BEVERAGES —Liberty, producer and distributor of 41 million cases of beverages annually in five U.S. states, is building a “quadgeneration” system to generate electricity, power heating and cooling systems, and recover CO2 to carbonate its beverages. This is the first time this technology is being deployed in North America, according to GreenBiz. Completion of the systems is scheduled for December. (Aug 2023)
Geothermal company Fervo Energy announced it had successfully completed a well test at its full-scale enhanced geothermal energy commercial pilot in Nevada. The 30-day test enabled 3.5 MW of electric production, setting new records for both flow and power output in an enhanced geothermal system (EGS), according to the company. (EGS expands the range of geothermal by using fracking to create the permeability needed to generate electricity.) Fervo will now attempt to replicate this success in a new Utah site, generating about 400 MW by 2028, according to Bloomberg. (July 2023)
Honeywell developed a new technology to convert captured CO2 and green hydrogen into a lower-carbon aviation fuel that can be used in existing aircraft. The technology, called UOP eFining, combines green hydrogen with CO2 captured from industrial plants, to create lower-carbon methanol, which is turned into sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Honeywell says the new technology can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 88% compared to conventional jet fuel. The technology will be used by HIF Global to make around 11,000 barrels per day of SAF by 2030 from 2 million tons of captured CO2. (May 2023)
Researchers found that CO2 emissions can be captured during the normal crushing process of rocks commonly used in construction, by crushing them in CO2 gas, with almost no additional energy being required to trap the CO2 (roughly 0.4-0.5 Mt of CO2 per 100 Mt of aggregate). The resulting rock powders can then be used for construction and other purposes. If this were done for all aggregate production, 175 million tons of CO2 could be captured annually. (March 2023)
Scientists have isolated an enzyme from soil bacteria that can convert air into electricity, which could provide a renewable power source for very small devices (such as biometric monitors or environmental sensors), according to research in Nature. (March 2023)
ENI / COMMONWEALTH FUSION SYSTEMS (CFS) — Signed a cooperation agreement to further accelerate the industrial development of ARC, the first plant capable of generating fusion energy. The first target is to build and test a pilot plant by 2025, achieving net energy gain from fusion and enabling the study of power management and the stability of the plasma. The completion of ARC is aimed for the early 2030s. (March 2023)
Vestas Wind Systems announced that it had developed a new chemical process that can chemically break down epoxy resin into virgin-grade materials. If brought to scale, this means that current turbine blades could be fully recycled, eliminating the need for new blade designs to make them circular. The process, according to Vestas, is based on “widely available chemicals” and the company will now focus on scaling up this process into a commercial solution. (Feb 2023)
Energy storage system company B2U Storage Solutions announced that its battery storage system in California, which uses second-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries, reached 25MWh of storage capacity. This solar + storage facility, using 1,300 reused EV battery packs, generates electricity during the day and sells electricity to the grid at night when rates for solar power are higher. This is the largest second-life battery storage system in the world. (Feb 2023)
CO2 captured via Direct Air Capture (DAC) has been permanently stored in concrete for the first time. Heirloom Carbon Technologies provided 30 kg of CO2 (captured via DAC) to carbon mineralization company CarbonCure, which incorporated the CO2 into new concrete. If scaled, this could reduce CO2 emissions from concrete by 5%, and by using wastewater to capture leftover concrete from concrete trucks, potentially a further 5-10%. (Feb 2023)
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
have created a new system that efficiently captures CO2 and converts it into the widely used chemical, methanol (using hydrogen). Using different PNNL-developed solvents, capturing CO2 from flue gas captured over 90% of the carbon while bringing costs down to 75% of traditional capture technology ($39/metric ton). As this study details, part of those savings came from using “water-lean” solvents, which, by minimizing condensation and vaporization, led to a 36% energy saving. By producing methanol as well, this can generate a valuable product, reducing overall costs further. (Feb 2023)
Researchers have discovered a way to reduce CO2 emissions from steelmaking. By using the mineral perovskite, CO2 can be turned back into CO (carbon monoxide) and cycled back into the blast furnace, replacing coking coal, thus reducing both costs and emissions. This technology, if successfully brought from laboratory to commercial operations, could be used on retrofitted existing blast furnaces, cutting emissions by 88% and avoiding the expensive transition to hydrogen-based steelmaking. (Jan 2023)
Rolls-Royce announced it conducted successful tests of its mtu engine used for heat and power plants running on 100% hydrogen fuel and showed good characteristics in terms of efficiency, performance, emissions and combustion. The first installation of mtu engines running on 100% hydrogen are planned for the enerPort II lighthouse project in the German inland port of Duisburg, as part of the development of a climate-neutral energy supply for a new container terminal. (Jan 2023)
For the first time, researchers achieved fusion ignition, producing more energy from nuclear fusion than was used to drive it, announced the U.S. Department of Energy. This is a major scientific breakthrough that could help advance new forms of clean energy. (Dec 2022)
Rolls-Royce and easyJet conducted the first-ever successful ground test of a regional aircraft engine converted to run on hydrogen. The test used green hydrogen, being created with renewable energy. Testing will continue, including for the larger Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 jet engine. (Dec 2022)
A partnership of four companies—Lendlease, Rubicon Technologies, Mycocycle, and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions—piloted an effort to use fungi to convert asphalt shingles into a byproduct that could possibly be reintroduced for reuse. This mycoremediation effort, if successful, could help deal with the 11 to 13 million tons of asphalt shingles that are discarded each year. (Oct 2022)
HONEYWELL — Announced a new processing technology that allows producers to convert corn-based, cellulosic, or sugar-based ethanol into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% on a total lifecycle basis depending on the feedstock used. Plants using this technology can be modularized off site, lowering costs and installation time. (Oct 2022)
Scientists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Dow have developed a process to transform polyethylene (PE), the most widely produced plastic, into propylene, a key ingredient in making polypropylene (PP), the second-most widely produced plastic. If scalable, this could convert waste PE into new PP, reducing both plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions. (Oct 2022)
Sustainable fuels startup Air Company announced the launch of its Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from captured CO2, named AIRMADE SAF. Global aviation partners, including JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic have made commitments to purchase over one billion gallons of the fuel. The U.S. Air Force has already completed an unmanned flight using the fuel. (Sept 2022)
Researchers at University of Illinois Chicago have discovered a way to convert nearly 100% of CO2 captured from industrial exhaust into ethylene, a key building block for plastic. Their system uses electrolysis to transform CO2 into high purity ethylene, along with other carbon-based fuels and oxygen as byproducts. The process can produce 1 metric ton of ethylene out of 6 tons of captured CO2. With the use of renewable energy the process can be carbon negative. Ethylene production currently contributes 150 Million tons of CO2 equivalent per year. The results were published in Cell Reports Physical Science. (Sept 2022)
Chemists discovered a new way to destroy PFAS (“forever chemicals”), using lye and a common organic solvent, according to a study published in Science. The new method is a relatively cheap and mild process to break the strong bonds of PFAS. (Aug 2022)
Siemens Gamesa announces the first-ever commercial installation of fully recyclable offshore wind turbine blades as part of RWE’s 342-MW offshore wind farm, Kaskasi. Through the use of a new type of resin, the blades’ components can be separated and recycled at the end of their lifespan. The “RecyclableBlade” technology is part of Siemens Gamesa’s target of having fully recyclable turbines by 2040. (Aug 2022)
CEF member Microsoft and green hydrogen company Plug successfully tested the world’s first 3-megawatt hydrogen-fueled generator as a backup power system for a datacenter. The power output and responsiveness of the generator makes it a viable replacement for diesel generators, but with zero emissions—a development Microsoft’s director of datacenter research, Sean James, is calling “a moon landing moment” for the decarbonization of power-intensive datacenters. Microsoft will next install the system at a research datacenter where engineers will learn how to work with and deploy the new technology. The demand signal from Microsoft is expected to help boost the production of green hydrogen and fuel cells, pushing cost down and availability up toward competitive scale. (Aug 2022)
LanzaTech, with the support of food and beverage brand Danone, has made a breakthrough in the production of sustainable PET plastics. The carbon capture and transformation company successfully turned captured carbon emissions directly into monoethylene glycol (MEG), one of the main components of PET. The proprietary technology uses an engineered bacterium to convert carbon emissions directly into MEG through fermentation, which significantly simplifies the MEG supply chain. (May 2022)
French construction material manufacturer Saint-Gobain announced it has produced the world’s first carbon-free flat glass. For one week, the company's plant in Aniche, France, used only 100% recycled glass feedstock and 100% green energy for production. The test produced 2,000 tons of carbon-neutral glass, enough to make 100,000 windows, and avoided 1,000 tons of carbon emissions. Zero-carbon or low-carbon glass is part of Saint-Gobain’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. (May 2022)
Six startups offering technology innovations that can help decarbonize the cement industry will receive backing from the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) as part of the first Innovandi ‘Open Challenge’ in the race to ‘net zero’ by 2050—a key effort underpinning the cement industry’s net zero commitment. The companies are CarbonOrO, MOF Technologies and Saipem, which develop the technology and implementation for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), Carbon Upcycling Technologies and Fortera, which use captured CO2 to produce low-carbon cement, and Coomtech, which has developed a low-cost drying technology using kinetic energy created by managed, turbulent air. The startups will partner with member companies and join formal consortia to further test, develop and deploy their technologies. (May 2022)
Goodyear announced a collaboration to develop a domestic source of natural rubber derived from a specific species of dandelion with manufacturing innovation institute BioMADE and polymer developer Farmed Materials. This multi-year, multimillion-dollar effort is backed by the U.S. Department of Defense as the U.S. classifies natural rubber as a strategic raw material. Over 90% of today’s natural rubber relies on sources from tropical locations outside the United States. (April 2022)
Bridgestone and carbon capture and transformation company LanzaTech announced an exclusive partnership to develop a scalable business model solution for recycling end-of-life tires. By applying LanzaTech’s carbon capture and gas fermentation process, end-of-life tires yield “sustainably sourced chemicals” like ethanol that can be used for other commercial applications. They will also explore ways to develop more efficient pathways to produce butadiene, a key ingredient in new tire production. (April 2022)
Japanese automaker Nissan announced a collaboration with the U.S. space program (NASA) and University of California San Diego to develop a new laminated all-solid-state battery that will be both faster-charging, smaller and safer than the lithium-ion battery currently in use, while also avoiding the use of rare metals. Nissan’s prototype facility will further develop the new battery technology, with a plan to open a pilot plant in 2024 and a new product launch slated for 2028. (April 2022)
Constellation Energy and Microsoft are entering a five-year strategic collaboration to develop a new energy-matching solution that combines renewable and clean energy with technologies such as battery storage, hydrogen, and fuel cells. The solution will match Constellation Energy customers with local, carbon-free energy sources in real time 24/7 year-round. Microsoft will also be one of the first customers and will purchase some of its clean energy supply from Constellation, with Constellation adopting the Microsoft Azure platform to develop other clean energy solutions. (March 2022)
Carbon Pickling (InterEarth) — The Australian-based startup is
testing the theory that burying biomass can be an effective method to storing carbon. Here’s how it works: InterEarth coppices trees; digs pits about 6 meters deep where it places the wood to soak up salty groundwater; then covers the pits with the dug-up soil and adds monitoring equipment. If it works, InterEarth says there’s enough salty land around the world to scale the technology to bury as much as 1 billion tons of carbon every year. Once its technology scales, InterEarth could be selling carbon-removal credits for less than $50.
Coverage by Bloomberg. (March 2022)
PILKINGTON UK — Glass manufacturer Pilkington made the world’s first sheet glass produced in a biofuel-powered furnace, which emitted roughly 80% less carbon than sheet glass produced with fossil fuels. (Feb 2022)
PEPSICO — Is partnering with UBQ Materials and Ecoboxes to develop a sustainable pallet made from UBQ™ material (a climate-positive, bio-based thermoplastic converted from municipal solid waste), recycled PP resin, and recycled BOPP (a plastic film used in the company's snack packaging). An initial 830 pallets will be manufactured for PepsiCo logistics centers, with plans to scale the solution in Brazil and Latin America. (Feb 2022)
A group of EUROfusion consortium researchers working at the Joint European Torus (JET), the world’s largest tokamak reactor, achieved a record performance of sustained fusion energy, according to Bloomberg. They produced 59 megajoules of heat energy from fusion over a five-second period—up from JET’s 1997 record of 22 megajoules. (Feb 2022)
Israeli tech company Electreon Wireless will pilot its road-electrification infrastructure in Detroit's Michigan Central district in 2023, creating the first stretch of road in the U.S. that can wirelessly charge EVs while they’re in motion. The state of Michigan is contributing $1.9 million to the project, with additional support from DTE Energy and CEF member Ford. Michigan Central’s founding partners include CEF members Ford and Google. (Feb 2022)
Holcim and German startup
Magment are forming a strategic partnership to improve the “inductive charging” technology they jointly developed: a magnetizable concrete for road surfaces that allows EVs to recharge wirelessly while in motion. The technology is being tested by Purdue researchers in Indiana, with other applications under development. (Jan 2022)
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List of Sustainability-Related R&D Innovations & Demonstrations, 2021-2019 (PDF)
Sustainability-related R&D Accelerators, Networks and Contests
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The Earthshot Prize inaugurated an online platform to connect investors, philanthropists, and Earthshot Prize finalists, to facilitate the funding of these solutions. This Earthshot Prize Launchpad, currently in its pilot phase, showcases 25 Earthshot solutions with funding needs exceeding £400 million ($512 million). Earthshot aims to triple the number of solutions over the next year by adding standout nominees. (March 2024)
IBM — Committed to invest up to $45 million in the IBM Sustainability Accelerator over the next five years. It also shared a new request for proposals (RFP) from government and non-profit organizations for this social impact program, focused on technology-driven projects to advance city resiliency. The RFP closes on 30 April 2024. (March 2024)
First Movers Coalition — The coalition has reached 100 members, with more than 120 commitments to purchase near-zero emission goods and services by 2030. By 2030, these commitments will represent an annual demand of $15 billion for emerging climate technologies and 31 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in annual emissions reductions. Members have also signed 94 offtake agreements to buy emerging climate technologies and near-zero emission goods and services from qualified suppliers. The coalition also announced several new advancements focused on identifying the supply of breakthrough decarbonization technologies, including the winners of the Sustainable Aviation Challenge; a Near-zero Steel 2030 Challenge; a New First Suppliers Hub; and a new sustainable procurement guide on cement & concrete procurement. (Jan 2024)
The U.S. Department of State, the Bezos Earth Fund, and the Rockefeller Foundation presented the core framework of the forthcoming Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA). The ETA is a carbon finance platform designed to catalyze private capital for energy transition strategies in developing and emerging economies. The goal is to launch the ETA by Earth Day 2024. (Dec 2023)
Sustainable Aviation Challenge — This new initiative calls for solutions that decarbonize air travel, including sustainable aviation fuel and battery-powered flight as well as innovations in feedstocks, engineering, and physical and market infrastructure. The challenge is a collaboration between the First Movers Coalition and UpLink, with support from CEF member Salesforce and other companies. Proposals will be accepted until 2 October 2023and “Top Innovators” announced later in the year. (Aug 2023)
IRCAI / AWS — The International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) and Amazon Web Services (AWS — a subsidiary of CEF member Amazon) announced the launch of Compute for Climate Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind global program supporting entrepreneurs and startups applying advanced cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) to create new solutions that address the climate crisis. The fellowship will fully fund the building of proof of concepts of innovative ideas focused on climate risk and resilience, food security, biodiversity and conservation, climate-related health, circular economy, and ESG analytics. Applications submitted before 31 August will be considered for development this year. (July 2023)
BloombergNEF announced the 12 winners for its annual award for innovation in climate solutions. The BloombergNEF’s Pioneers award winners are divided among four challenges: clean hydrogen; sustainable materials and metals; net-zero food production; and wildcards. Among others, winning companies included those: improving lithium-ion battery recycling, developing AI-enabled drone-based pesticide application, producing protein from fermented microbes, and refining lower-grade iron at reduced temperatures using renewables. (April 2023)
DELOITTE — Launched GreenSpace Tech, a new offering to help clients identify, advance, and apply climate technology solutions to accelerate their decarbonization and sustainability goals. Deloitte will help connect clients with startups, universities, and research institutes to help them formulate effective strategies to invest in future climate solutions, while simultaneously deploying existing ones. (Jan 2023)
DELTA
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Announced it will launch the Delta Sustainable Skies Lab, an innovation lab to accelerate research, design and testing for a more sustainable future of air travel. The lab will focus both on reducing climate impacts from flying and embedding sustainability in all Delta operations. It will pursue these goals both by facilitating internal innovation as well as cultivating innovative partnerships. (Jan 2023)
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The Earthshot Prize announced the five winners of its second annual prize. These include: Mukuru Clean Stoves in Kenya; Kheyti, providing solutions to smallholder farmers in India; Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef working to protect the reef and region; Notpla, a UK packaging startup that uses seaweed; and 44.01, a CCS company in Oman that works to bind CO2 in rock. They will each receive a prize of £1 million ($1.2 million) and tailored support from the Earthshot Prize Global Alliance—which includes CEF members Bloomberg, Microsoft, and Unilever, as well as Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth—to help scale their innovative and technological climate solutions. (Dec 2022)
GOOGLE — Launched a 10-week circular economy accelerator program "for Seed to Series A technology startups and non-profit organizations based in North America and Asia Pacific." The program, which is open for applications, will provide access to Google’s programs, products, people, and network to those working to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. (Oct 2022)
The Biomimicry Institute announced the ten finalists for the 2022 Ray of Hope Prize, which celebrates some of the most promising nature-inspired solutions in the world. Finalists include companies that have designed PFC-free textiles, quieter wind turbines, packaging that slows produce spoilage, fully biodegradable plastics, nontoxic sunscreen, and others. (Aug 2022)
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has launched the U.S. Centre for Advanced Manufacturing—the first of its kind in the world—in Troy, Michigan. It will join a network of WEF’s Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and is the first to focus on advanced manufacturing—the integration of new technologies and versatile methods to make production more efficient, responsive, and sustainable. The new Centre will be hosted by Troy’s Automation Alley, and will endeavor to (June 2022):
- Help manufacturers and policymakers in the US respond to industry disruption by identifying emerging trends and generating new insights to guide industry response.
- Create multistakeholder coalitions with the potential to accelerate manufacturing changes through new alliances.
- Build inclusive, cross-industry peer communities to share knowledge and help shape collaborative responses to global challenges.
TESCO / WWF — Launched a new accelerator program called “Innovative Connections” to pair sustainability-focused start-ups with long-term Tesco suppliers so they can “pitch scale-up projects that apply their ideas in the real world of food supply chains.” Winners will receive up to £150,000 ($184,000) in funding support and get the opportunity to work with Tesco’s supplier partners to pilot and scale their innovation. Tesco announced eight finalists out of 70 applications. (May 2022)
UNILEVER — Launched a new Challenge to find startups, scaleups, and academic research groups that can co-create biodegradable and sustainable solutions for Unilever personal care products and packaging. (March 2022)
Airbus is launching a ZEROe demonstrator program to test hydrogen technologies it says are essential to creating the world’s first zero-emission aircraft by 2035. The company will use its first-ever A380 aircraft, and CFM International (a GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines joint venture) will develop a hydrogen-fueled direct combustion engine for the test. (Feb 2022)
IBM — Launched the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, a two-year, pro bono program to help nonprofits and government organizations scale their projects for populations vulnerable to environmental threats. IBM will define a theme for each cohort (with clean energy as the 2022 theme) and partner with selected organizations to develop a roadmap for specific public challenges, configure IBM technology for project goals, and support project pilots. (Feb 2022)
AMAZON / EIT CLIMATE-KIC — Announced that the Amazon Launchpad Sustainability Accelerator, a 12-week program to help scale early-stage start-ups building sustainable products, is now open to UK and European applicants. Participants will receive mentorship, expert-led workshops, a tailored curriculum, and access to a founders network, with “successful participants” receiving a $13,600 equity-free grant, $25,000 worth of AWS ActivateCredits, and $6,800 sponsored Amazon Advertising credits. Amazon will work with participants to complete a climate impact assessment and create product-sustainability strategies, and Amazon and EIT Climate-KIC leaders will serve on the Advisory Committee. (Feb 2022)
Mission Innovation and Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy announced an expansion of their partnership (started six years ago)
to stimulate public-private collaboration that accelerates the commercialization of clean energy technologies, including
green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, direct air capture, and long-duration energy storage. (Nov 2021)
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Black & Veatch’s Growth Accelerator is launching its third
IgniteX Challenge, a
Climate Tech Accelerator
to scale tech companies’ decarbonization solutions.
Participating companies will receive up to $50,000 in funding, investor introductions, product testing, mentorship, and access to Black & Veatch’s network of experts. (Oct 2021)
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Hyundai and Kia Motors are partnering with New Energy Nexus to launch the second
EV
Open Innovation Challenge, which gives
startups with commercial-ready EV charging products and services a “launchpad” to scale their technology in the North American EV network.
(Oct 2021)
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Climate Fintech: Cards & Payments Challenge — A new program was created by New Energy Nexus to accelerate fintech startups’ climate innovation in the digital payments space.
The winner will receive $100,000, with the 10 finalists receiving additional mentorship and fast-tracked acceptance for the
Mastercard Start Path selection phase. Barclays, Doconomy, Mastercard, Patch, and Rise will provide application programming interfaces (APIs) for challenge participants. (Sept 2021)
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The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) for cleantech and agtech startups is
partnering with the
Farmers Business Network
to give the IN2 agtech startups opportunities to test their technologies in real-world scenarios at scale.
(Sept 2021)
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Mastercard is
launching a global Sustainability Innovation Lab in Stockholm to create digital products and solutions using technologies such as AI and 5G, with a focus on enabling sustainable consumer spending and supply chain visibility and traceability. The Lab includes an
R&D center, a
“Labs as a Service” platform, and an Experience Center for product demos and in-person engagement. R&D is already underway, initially prioritizing iterations of the
Mastercard Carbon Calculator and
Mastercard Provenance, and the physical space will open in spring 2022. (Sept 2021)
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AMAZON — Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched its first accelerator program, “AWS Clean Energy Accelerator,” to “help startups working in clean energy accelerate their impact, access additional resources, and expand their reach.” Launched in collaboration with innovation consultancy Freshwater Advisors, the program’s focus areas include energy storage, monitoring, carbon capture utilization and storage, seismic activity, hydrogen generation for energy, smart grid, geothermal optimization, and material science. Applications are open and proposals are due by June 8, 2021. (May 2021)
FORD — Announced “Ford Ion Park,” a new, $185 million global battery center of excellence to accelerate research and development of batteries and battery cell technology. (May 2021)
Research & Tools
Sustainable Products: Market Indicators and Forecasts
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Climate Tech Investment Trends 2023 (Sightline Climate) — Examines the evolution in climate tech investments, including totals and shifts in types and sectors. Highlights include (Jan 2024):
- 2023 investments fell 30% from 2022 to $32 billion. But the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2020 remains high at 23%, with total cumulative climate investment reaching $141.9 billion at the end of 2023.
- Total deal activity decreased in 2023 for the first time since 2020, down 3% compared to 2022.
- Investment decline was seen across almost all stages, with an average 33% drop across Series A to Growth investments compared to a 13% increase in 2022.
- While remaining at the top, Transportation and Energy investment fell in total investments. Food & Land Use dropped 55%, with Industry replacing this category in the top three.
The State of nature tech: Building confidence in a growing market (MRV Collective, Serena, and Nature4Climate) — Highlights key trends that are occurring throughout the nature tech market and how they support nature-based solutions (NbS). Accumulated nature tech investments have grown to about $7.5 billion between 2018 and 2022. “Food and agriculture” nature tech received the largest share of investment during those years ($5.31 billion), followed by “MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verifying) and biodiversity credits” ($1.23 billion). The report then examines the challenges of moving emerging solutions to a much greater scale where their full environmental, social, and financial potential can be realized. This includes focusing in on the importance of MRV and its role in driving transparency and data integrity. The report concludes with several of case studies of nature tech innovations, products, and concepts. (Oct 2023)
2023 State of Climate Tech (PwC) — Climate tech investments from venture-capital and private equity fell 40% (compared to a 50% decline for total venture and private equity investments). However, the relative share of climate tech investments grew from 7% in 2018 to more than 10% in 2023. The share of investment to the industrial sector has almost doubled to 14% between Q4 2022 and Q3 2023. Some technologies with higher emissions reduction potential have grown, such as solar (up 24%) and green hydrogen (up 64% since 2022). Others have fallen, including battery electric vehicles (down 50%) and micromobility (down 38% since 2022), though mobility received the largest share of investments at 45%. (October 2023)
Latin America AgriFood Tech Investment Report 2023 (AgFunder) — 153 agrifood tech startups raised $1.7 billion in 2022 in Latin America, about 5% of the global investment. This is a 39% decline from 2021, but a 183% increase over 2020. Brazil, the largest region of investment, made up 49% of deals and 46% of investment, and Colombia, the second largest, made up 22% of deals and 21% of investment. eGrocery startups (enabling at-home delivery of food) was the top funded category at $404 million. Agribusiness marketplaces and Fintech was the biggest upstream category at $191 million. Conservation focused startups, a new category, raised nearly $150 million. (July 2023)
$13.1 billion was invested in climatetech startups in the first half of 2023 ($6.6 billion in Q1, $6.5 billion in Q2), according to new data from Climate Tech VC. This is down 40% from the first half of 2022. Total deal count was up 8% to 633. Breakout seed funding grew 23% in the first half of 2023, and total deal count grew 34%. Growth funding declined significantly, dropping 64% in the first half of 2023, with the total count dropping 43%. (July 2023)
Venture capital (VC) funding for clean energy startups grew to $12.3 billion in 2022, up 10% over 2021 (and up from $1.9 billion in 2019), according to analysis by Oliver Wyman based on Crunchbase data. This is despite a contraction in the broader VC market of 53% year-over-year in 2022. Two-thirds of VC funding was invested in batteries and renewables, and the majority of investments came from investors in North America (57%) and Europe (28%). (May 2023)
Impact of IRA, IIJA, CHIPS, and Energy Act of 2020 on Clean Technologies (Boston Consulting Group (BCG)) — Finds that the U.S. has taken significant coordinated steps over the last three years toward building up new domestic clean technology industries that can both deliver long-term economic opportunity in the U.S. and drive down greenhouse gas emissions globally. The report examines how four U.S. policies improve the prospects for developing U.S. supply chains across 10 critical clean technologies, from solar and EVs to clean hydrogen. The research also finds that accelerated clean tech deployment will spur private investment at an annual rate of $40-110 billion. (April 2023)
While the wider venture capital market experienced steep declines in 2022 (over 2021), carbon & emissions tech startups raised $13.8 billion in 2022, only a 2% decrease from the previous year's record of $14.1 billion, according to a new report from Pitchbook. This was driven by government programs aimed at advancing sector investments, the Ukraine war, and companies’ pledges to reduce emissions. (Feb 2023)
Climate tech companies raised more than $40 billion across over 1,000 venture and growth-stage deals in 2022, according to Climate Tech VC’s new report. This is down 3% from 2021’s peak, driven by a 24% drop in growth-stage funding. Total number of deals grew about 40%, with specialist investment firms leading the most deals in their respective industries. (Jan 2023)
Energy Technology Perspectives 2023 (International Energy Agency) — Provides a comprehensive analysis of global manufacturing of clean energy technologies and their supply chains around the world, as well as mapping out how they are likely to evolve as the clean energy transition advances in the years ahead. The report projects that clean energy tech (from solar and wind to EV batteries and heat pumps) will be worth around $650 billion by 2030, more than three times today’s value, if countries fully implement their announced energy and climate pledges. This would also increase clean energy manufacturing jobs from 6 million today to 14 million by 2030. Continuing geographic concentrations of key minerals and production capacity could also present supply chain risks. (Jan 2023)
Spending on low-carbon projects is projected to increase by $60 billion in 2023, 10% higher than the $560 billion spent in 2022, according to new research by Rystad Energy. This is slower than the average growth of recent years of 20%. The increase in spending will be driven by solar and wind projects, as well as hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). Solar investments will contribute $250 billion in 2023, up just 6%; onshore wind will increase 12% to about $230 billion and offshore wind will grow 20% to $48 billion; hydrogen will grow 149% to $7.8 billion and CCUS will grow 136% to $7.4 billion. (Jan 2023)
Global climate tech venture capital delivered a record $70.1 billion of investment in 2022, up 89% over 2021, according to new research by HolonIQ. Climate tech venture investments are now 40 times larger than a decade ago. Of the $70.1 billion invested, the top four sub-sectors were storage (receiving 26% of funding), mobility (16%), agriculture and food (14%), and renewables (11%). The three largest markets were the U.S., receiving 41% of funding; the EU (including the UK), receiving 26%; and China, receiving 15%. (Jan 2023)
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The Nature Tech Market (Nature4Climate and Capital for Climate) — Estimates that the global market for technologies designed to support nature based solutions (NbS) could triple to $6 billion by 2030, driven by businesses seeking to profitably meet their nature and climate goals. The report examines the nature tech market and divides it into four categories: Deployment, such as interventions that increase yields while minimizing environmental impact; Measurement, Reporting, and Verification; transparency and traceability; and connection, such as setting up marketplaces and organizations for technical assistance. (Dec 2022)
Investments in climate and carbon-focused startups reached a record $1.4 billion in the second quarter of 2022—an increase of 47% from the previous year, according to BloombergNEF. This is compared to the broader market for venture funding, which experienced the largest quarterly percentage drop in nearly ten years. Of the money invested, the majority, $912 million, went toward negative-emission technologies. $212 million was invested in carbon management, and $184 million in climate monitoring and modeling. (Aug 2022)
Low-Carbon Emitting Technologies (LCET) policy dashboard (World Economic Forum) — A new interactive policy dashboard that provides an overview of policy in seven high-emitting jurisdictions (China, EU, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, U.K., and U.S.) and their impact on five LCETs: biomass, carbon capture and utilization, electrification, hydrogen, and waste utilization. The World Economic Forum launched the dashboard along with a white paper, "Towards a Net-Zero Chemical Industry: A Global Policy Landscape for Low-Carbon Emitting Technologies," which highlights the decarbonization potential of LCETs and the importance of favorable policy for success. (May 2022)
Fast Company has published its sixth annual World-Changing Ideas Awards, celebrating new ideas in tech, advocacy, philanthropy, and more that aim to make the world a better place by taking on some of our greatest challenges. Among 39 winners, CEF member Siemens took the "World-Changing Company of the Year" and "Pandemic Response" honors for a suite of transformational digital solutions. (May 2022)
Investor support continues to increase for experimental direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, an emerging alternative to open pit mining and evaporative collection. Lithium for batteries is expected to be essential to the global transition to electric vehicles; DLE methods, if proven viable and taken to scale, would tap vast amounts of lithium present in salt lakes, seawater, and geothermal water (collectively, “brines”)—quantities far greater than those in hard rock deposits. More than 70% of U.S. lithium deposits are held in brine reserves. (April 2022)
State of Climate Tech 2021 (PwC) — Assesses investment trends in climate technologies helping to mitigate emissions, improve climate resiliency, and enhance climate-related research. Finds over $87.6 billion was invested in climate tech from mid-2020 to mid-2021, an increase of 210% compared to the previous 12 months. Mobility and transport technologies received the lion’s share, raising $58 billion, including $33 billion for EVs and low-carbon vehicles. (Dec 2021)
The Decarb America Research Initiative released a new research report exploring 4 US net-zero scenarios and how significant technological breakthroughs might affect the cost and speed of the transition. The research was conducted by Evolved Energy Research and commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, Third Way, and the Bipartisan Policy Center. Key insights (Oct 2021):
- Significant tech innovation could lower net-zero transition costs by more than 60%, saving up to $250 billion a year by 2050, compared with incremental tech innovation
- All scenarios require clean energy to be deployed at twice the rate it’s ever been deployed
- Hydrogen demand is forecasted to be 9 to 22 times higher than today's demand by 2050
Technology Progress Report (DNV) —
Focuses on how 10 key energy transition and decarbonization technologies will develop, compete, and interact in the coming 5 years. Demand expectations, policy issues, key drivers, and costs are broken down for each technology. (July 2021)
Innovation, Investment, and Inclusion: Accelerating the Energy Transition and Creating Good Jobs (White House Council of Economic Advisers) — Details how the U.S. is lagging behind global climate technology research and development and the implications for investments and jobs. Identifies the barriers inhibiting private actors from sufficiently investing in clean energy innovation—underscoring the need for federal policy and public-private partnerships—and proposes policy responses to foster clean energy innovation and create good jobs. (May 2021)
“Sustainable Share Index” (NYU Stern's Center for Sustainable Business) finds that sustainability-marketed products delivered 50.1% of market growth in consumer packaged goods (CPG) from 2013-2018, while representing 16.6% of the CPG market in dollar sales in 2018—up from 14.3% in 2013. Additional key findings included the following:
- Across all categories, sustainability-marketed products delivered $113.9B in sales in 2018—a 29% increase from 2013 levels.
- Products marketed as sustainable grew 5.6x faster than conventionally-marketed products, and 3.3x faster than the CPG market.
- Sustainable products have more than 20% category share in many food categories, including cheese, salty snacks, and coffee. (2019)
“Learning from Consumers: How Shifting Demands are Shaping Companies’ Circular Economy Transition” (ING) analyzes survey responses from 15,000 consumers to gauge their interest in emerging product and service models that promote a more circular economy. The report also identifies the top barriers to deepening consumer engagement with circular models. (Feb 2020)
Non-profit As You Sow and Corporate Knights released an updated version of the Carbon Clean 200 list, which ranks large publicly listed companies according to total revenue generated from products and services that deliver carbon reductions (Feb 2019). The top-10 included the following:
- Alphabet Inc. [Google]
- Siemens Ag-Reg
- Toyota Motors Corp.
- Cisco Systems
- HP Inc.
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
- Abb Ltd-Reg
- Ericsson
- Unilever
- Banco Do Brasil
Sustainable Product Design Tools
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Cradle to Cradle Certified® Product Standard Version 4.0 (Cradle to Cradle Certified) — Equips brands, retailers, designers and manufacturers with actionable guidance and best practices to make safer materials choices, and intentionally create circular products and processes in a fair and equitable way. (March 2021)
The Biomimicry Institute Toolbox
Promotes sustainable designs and technology innovation modeled after biological systems. Sponsors an extensive "Ask Nature" database on possible design applications from examples in nature.
Design for the Environment (DfE) (EPA)
A certification program that recognizes safer consumer, industrial and institutional products. Defines best practices in areas ranging from auto refinishing to nail salon safety.
Cradle to Cradle® Certification
A multi-attribute eco-label offered by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) that assesses a product’s safety to humans and the environment and design for future life cycles.
Research & Aggregation of Emerging Technologies
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The Climate Capital Stack (Sightline Climate) — This interactive market map helps startup founders and others explore 378 climate tech investors. The investor database can be filtered by investor type (i.e. stage of investment from pre-seed to corporate venture capital) and by geographical location. (March 2024)
Climate Innovation Funding Tracker (Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)) — This updated and expanded version now includes funding and estimated tax expenditures from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for climate innovation, as well as data from FY22 and FY23 appropriations. The tracker includes data from across multiple departments (including for the first time, the EPA, Interior, and Treasury). It also includes two new data filters for funding source and funding type. There is also a How to Use overview available here. (Jan 2024)
Cleantech Tracker (Cipher) — Maps new clean energy projects in the U.S. and charts investments in four emerging technologies including carbon management, clean hydrogen production, hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturing, and sustainable aviation fuel. (Jan 2024)
Sightline Climate (Sightline Climate) — This new subscription market intelligence platform provides data, tools, insights, and frameworks for industry professionals navigating climate tech decisions. This expands the CTVC newsletter into a platform and accompanies Climate Tech VC (CTVC) rebranding into Sightline Climate. (October 2023)
Green Cement Technology Tracker (Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) and Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA)) — This website and Excel dataset aim to support decision-makers and experts by tracking public announcements of investments in low-carbon cement technologies (currently 47 in total), and presenting them transparently in one place. The tracker includes carbon capture and storage technologies as these account for 36% of planned emission reduction levers that leading manufacturers have committed to. (July 2023)
Global Emerging Climate Technology Diffusion and the Inflation Reduction Act (Rhodium Group) — Analyzes the potential global emissions reductions potential of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) through its facilitating the development and deployment of emerging climate technologies (ECT), specifically clean hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, and direct air capture. For the ECT incentives for these technologies in the IRA, the analysis finds that for every ton of CO2 reduced within the U.S., an additional 2.4-2.9 tons of CO2 emissions reductions are achieved outside the U.S. between 2030 and 2100, driven by IRA-driven cost reductions of ECTs. The research utilizes a new “Emerging Climate Technology Framework” to quantify the long-term global emissions impact of near-term ECT investments. The research finds that most of the emissions reductions from the IRA’s ECT incentives will occur in the U.S. in the 2030-2050 time horizon (between 99 and 193 million metric tons per year with up to 65 million metric tons per year in the rest of the world). Between 2080 and 2100, this shifts, with emissions reductions in the U.S. ranging between 187 and 202 million metric tons per year and the rest of the world ranging from 401 to 847 million metric tons per year. (July 2023)
The World Economic Forum announced the “Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023.” This annual list of breakthrough technologies with the greatest potential to make a positive impact on the world includes (July 2023):
- Flexible Batteries
- Generative Artificial Intelligence
- Sustainable Aviation Fuel
- Designer Phages (viruses that can infect bacteria to treat disease)
- Metaverse for Mental Patients
- Wearable Plant Sensors
- Spatial Omics (Imaging to “see” biological processes at molecular level)
- Flexible Neural Electronics
- Sustainable Computing
- AI-Facilitated Healthcare
Running List of Climate VCs (Climate Tech VC (CTVC)) — CTVC shared an updated list of venture capital funds (VCs) that have actively invested in climate tech deals since 2021. The list of 196 VCs (up from 177 a year ago) can be filtered by size, geography, and strategy — including climate, vertical specialist, deeptech, and generalist. CTVC also plans to expand the list to include investors at other stages of investment (PE/Growth, Institutional, Infrastructure and Corporate VC). Investors in one of these categories that want to be added to that list (the Climate Tech Capital Stack) can submit their information here by 26 May. (May 2023)
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched The Circular Startup Index, a database of startups that incorporate one or more circular economy principles into their business proposition. 500 startups, which are part of the foundation’s community, are currently included, across a range of sectors, industries, and geographies. The Index is designed to help businesses discover circular economy startups to facilitate innovation and accelerate the circular economy transition. (May 2023)
Pathways to Commercial Liftoff (U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)) — The DOE released a set of reports that represent a new department-wide initiative to strengthen engagement between the public and private sectors to accelerate the commercialization and deployment of key clean energy technologies. The reports provide the private sector and other industry partners a valuable, engagement-driven resource on how and when three technologies can reach full scale deployment. Reports and takeaways include (March 2023):
- Clean Hydrogen: While poised for full-scale commercialization, infrastructure buildout, demand uncertainty, workforce development, and other challenges to at-scale adoption need to be addressed for clean hydrogen to realize its full potential;
- Advanced Nuclear: Can complement renewable energy buildout, however, the report identifies several obstacles, including increasing deployment of mature technologies and building efficient and timely delivery models;
- Long Duration Energy Storage: Has significant potential to improve grid resilience and energy security, however, needs technological progress and increases in public and private investment.
Sustainable scale-up of negative emissions technologies and practices: where to focus — This research in Environmental Research Letters assessed 36 Negative Emissions Technologies and Practices (NETPs) to determine which are most promising, looking at five metrics: technical maturity, economic feasibility, greenhouse gas removal potential, resource use, and environmental impacts. The research found that no NETP is better than others on all five indicators, but six showed most promise: forestation, Soil Carbon Sequestration (SCS), enhanced weathering with olivine, and three modalities of Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage. This suggests that “a regionalised portfolio of NETPs exploiting their complementary strengths is the way forward.” (Jan 2023)
TIME Magazine released its list of 200 Best Inventions, including 16 sustainability innovations. Amongst others, these include AI-trained sensors to monitor physical electric lines for problems; tools to measure local air pollution, methane leaks, and emissions data; improved home batteries; and PFAS-free fiber food packaging. (Nov 2022)
Carbon Solutions Hub (The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) / Accenture) — Helps the retail and fast-moving consumer goods sectors “navigate the sustainability landscape, find inspiration, and set and perform against net-zero targets.” The Hub, designed to support CGF’s work as an official Accelerator of the UN’s Race to Zero initiative, consists of three sections (June 2022):
- An introduction to Net Zero providing context and rationale for decarbonization.
- A guide to the Race to Zero campaign and how to join.
- A Knowledge Repository to learn more. This comprises the bulk of the hub and is updated continually to feature the latest scientific research about decarbonization, case studies, and resources to help businesses—all categorized by type of decarbonization lever. There is also a content submission form on the site for third parties wishing to contribute.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced 100 new startups from 30 countries into its Technology Pioneers program, an integral part of WEF’s Global Innovators and Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution communities. The companies were selected largely on their potential to have a significant impact on some of the world’s most pressing problems, including climate change. During the two-year program, Technology Pioneers will be invited to participate in WEF initiatives and events, and to contribute to relevant strategy- and policy-developing processes. This year, for the first time, more than a third of the incoming Technology Pioneers are led by women. (May 2022)
Reflecting Sunlight to Reduce Climate Risk: Priorities for Research and International Cooperation (Council on Foreign Relations) — Makes a case for investing now in a thorough exploration of sunlight reflection (a.k.a. geoengineering or solar climate intervention (SCI)—augmenting the atmosphere with aerosols or particulates to block more sunlight and its warming effect on GHGs). In line with research by IPCC and others strongly suggesting that current trajectory of emissions reduction and carbon capture efforts will result in temperature rise well above 1.5C, the report’s authors argue, prudence demands that we learn as much as possible about the feasibility and potential risks of the nascent science of solar reflection now so that, if warranted later, it can be deployed in a measured, coordinated way. The authors contend that the U.S. government should immediately (May 2022):
- Initiate, authorize, and fund a robust, collaborative, transdisciplinary research environment, including all relevant government agencies and international partners, for the study of sunlight reflection.
- Catalyze an international governance framework that would coordinate the potential deployment of sunlight reflection. This will be critical to optimal deployment, and to guard against unilateral action that could have detrimental consequences globally.
Beyond 1000+ Solutions Guide: Beta Version (Solar Impulse Foundation) — A database of currently available climate technology solutions, searchable by geography, industry, financial, and environmental impact. Listed solutions were assessed by a team of 400 independent industry experts and demonstrate either energy conservation or efficiency benefits with profitability potential. A beta version of the guide is available; the full launch planned in November for COP26. (April 2021)
“Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2020” (World Economic Forum and Scientific American, November 2020) highlights 10 technologies that are likely to have a major impact within the next 3-5 years. The 10 technologies included the following:
- Microneedles for painless injections and tests
- Sun-powered chemistry
- Virtual patients
- Spatial computing
- Digital medicine
- Electric aviation
- Lower-carbon cement
- Quantum sensing
- Green hydrogen
- Whole-genome synthesis
“Strativerse” (L'Atelier, August 2020) assesses the maturity of more than 80 technologies on a scale of 1 (basic principles being tested) to 9 (technology is already being incorporated into our lives) to better understand their capabilities, their likely trajectory, and the context they might exist within in 2030. The technologies are clustered into 6 different categories: Immersive reality, IoT, human enhancement, distributed systems, advanced manufacturing, and artificial intelligence.
Collaboration
Collaboration on Sustainability-related Innovation
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Venture Climate Alliance (VCA) — This first-of-its-kind alliance consists of 23 venture capital firms across the U.S. and Europe seeking to define, facilitate, and realize net zero-aligned pathways for early-stage investments. VCA members pledged to achieve net zero for their direct, operational emissions by 2030 and their investment portfolios by 2050. To support their portfolio companies, VCA will develop tools and guidance to help startups build climate-aligned businesses from inception to scale. The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions approved VCA as part of the Race to Zero campaign. VCA also constitutes a new sector-specific alliance under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). (May 2023)
First Movers Coalition —Announced $12 billion in 2030 purchase commitments for green technologies to decarbonize the cement and concrete industry and other hard-to-abate sectors. The coalition also announced that 10 new companies joined the coalition, including CEF members General Motors and PepsiCo, bringing the total participating companies to 65, with a market value of approximately $8 trillion. (Nov 2022)
Corporate Coalition for Innovation & Technology toward Net Zero (CCITNZ) — Made up of six global companies, this cross-sector business alliance is partnering with governments, international organizations, and others in industry to help countries meet decarbonization and climate change goals. CCITNZ intends to serve as an accelerator for industries across sectors, with the objectives of promoting cost-effective technology solutions; supporting sound public policies; promoting partnerships; and providing expertise and thought leadership. CEF members involved include: GE, GM, and Honeywell. (Nov 2022)
First Movers Coalition — The flagship public-private partnership announced a major expansion to more than 50 corporate members—including CEF members Alphabet, Microsoft, Ecolab, Ford, and Schneider Electric—worth about $8.5 trillion and a total of nine governments comprising over 40% of the global economy. The coalition, which aims to create market demand for early-stage technology that cuts emissions from hard-to-abate industry sectors, also launched new sector initiatives in aluminum and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). In the Aluminum sector, Ball Corporation, Ford, Novelis, Trafigura, and Volvo Group committed to have near-zero emissions from 10% of their primary aluminum purchases by 2030. New CDR sector 2030 commitments include (May 2022):
- Alphabet, Microsoft, and Salesforce collectively committed $500 million to CDR.
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG) pledged to remove 100,000 metric tons of carbon.
- AES, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and Swiss Re each committed to 50,000 metric tons of carbon removal, equivalent to a $25 million investment from each company.
- Members must demonstrate that the carbon can be stored for more than 1,000 years.
- Breakthrough Catalyst, Carbon Direct, Frontier, and South Pole joined the coalition as implementation partners for the CDR initiative.
23 countries—including the U.S., the EU, and Saudi Arabia—are collaborating through Mission Innovation on four new “missions” to catalyze investment in clean technologies that decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors (Nov 2021):
- An Urban Transitions Mission to deliver at least 50 large-scale, integrated demonstration projects in urban environments around the world by 2030
- A Net-Zero Industries Mission to reduce emissions at the end of their next refurbishment cycle
- A Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Mission to enable a net global reduction of 100 million metric tons of CO2 annually by 2030
- An Integrated Biorefineries Mission to produce renewable fuels, chemicals, and materials
The U.K. and over 40 countries collectively representing 70% of global GDP launched the
Breakthrough Agenda,
a framework for public-private action to deliver clean, affordable technologies worldwide by 2030 and help keep 1.5°C warming within reach. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled the
first set of government-led Breakthroughs—the
Glasgow Breakthroughs—for
action across the steel, power, road transport, hydrogen, and agriculture sectors, which could generate over $16 trillion across global economies. (Nov 2021)
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The US State Department, through Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
John Kerry, and the
World Economic Forum
launched the
First Movers Coalition,
a
public-private partnership to accelerate green technologies’ commercial viability and decarbonize 8 hard-to-abate sectors by 2030. The
32 founding corporate signatories, accounting for over $8 trillion in market capitalization,
will sign purchasing commitments tailored to create market demand for the technologies. CEF members
Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, Boeing,
and
Trane Technologies are signatories.
Breakthrough Energy is the Primary Implementation Partner. (Nov 2021)
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The World Economic Forum and the
Low-Carbon Emitting Technologies initiative (LCET),
a group of chemical-sector companies (started in 2019), have agreed to formalize the LCET
as a first-of-its-kind platform to develop and upscale low-carbon climate technologies that decarbonize the chemical-production value chain. LCET corporate partners include CEF members
BASF and Dow,
with additional support from the
Mission Possible Partnership.
(Oct 2021)
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A group of 7 private companies collectively committed
over $1 billion as the new “anchor partners” for Breakthrough Energy’s
Catalyst program (introduced in July), a
public-private sector partnership
to accelerate the commercial viability of climate technologies, with an initial
focus on 4 areas: green hydrogen, direct air capture, long-duration energy storage, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The companies—including CEF members
Bank of America, BlackRock, General Motors,
and Microsoft,
as well as
American Airlines, ArcelorMittal SA, and
Boston Consulting Group—launched a
Request for Information and, as “anchor partners,” will invest in early-commercial demonstration projects and provide insights on investment and offtake strategies. (Sept 2021)
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Earthshot Prize Global Alliance —
HRH The Duke of Cambridge and The Royal Foundation created a new
alliance of companies
that will offer tailored support to 15
Earthshot Prize finalists.
The companies—including CEF members
Bloomberg, Microsoft,
and
Unilever—will
help scale the finalists’ innovative and technological solutions around 5 focus areas:
nature conservation and restoration, air pollution, oceans, climate change, and waste reduction. (Sept 2021)
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Business Alliance to Scale Climate Solutions
(BASCS) — A new collaborative knowledge-sharing network serving all organizations seeking to engage, invest in, and scale climate solutions.
Founding members include
Amazon, Disney, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Salesforce, Unilever,
and Workday. Nonprofit and public partners include
Environmental Defense Fund, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Wildlife Fund,
withBSR serving as Secretariat. (June 2021)
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Polymers in Liquid Formulations (PLFs) Taskforce — A new taskforce seeking to make the carbon-intensive field of PLFs—chemicals commonly found in paint, cosmetics, shampoos, and adhesives—more sustainable by applying circular economy principles and creating bio-based and biodegradable alternatives. The taskforce is convened by the Royal Society of Chemistry and includes Afton Chemical, Croda, Crown Paints, Scott Bader, and Unilever as founding members. (May 2021)
Low-Carbon Patent Pledge
—
An HPE-led initiative in collaboration with Facebook and Microsoft, pledging to make over 400 patents applicable to the development, storage, and distribution of low-carbon energy technology royalty-free to the public.
Additional patent
owners may join. (April 2021)
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Transforming the Fashion Sector to Drive Positive Outcomes for Biodiversity, Climate, and Oceans — New initiative co-led by The Fashion Pact and Conservation International to improve sustainability in the fashion industry by developing and sharing best practices. The project will deliver a roadmap for The Fashion Pact’s signatory companies—including Adidas, Gap, H&M, and Nike—focusing on cleaning up supply chains, improving agricultural practices, decreasing deforestation, and supporting livelihoods. (March 2021)
Four sustainable apparel organizations — the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, ZDHC Foundation, Textile Exchange, and the Apparel Impact Institute — have formed an alliance of resources and offerings for the global value chain. The alliance will cooperate in the following four areas: Programs and tools, impact management and funding, global implementation, and administration and infrastructure. (September 2020)
The American Cleaning Institute announced “Our Future Is Clean,” an initiative to highlight how its more than 140 member companies across the cleaning industry — including BASF, Clorox, Dow Chemical, Ecolab, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever — are driving action to help create a sustainable future and promote consumers’ health and well-being. The initiative will launch during National Cleaning Week 2020. (2019)
Circular Carbon Network Company Index and Deal Hub (NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE) is a database of more than 250 companies working to transform excess CO2 into a range of products and materials that benefit society.