Gary Kremen

U.S. Government supports high-quality voluntary carbon market :) This morning, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm - released an endorsement of the voluntary carbon market. It came alongside a set of principles adopted from the VCMI (Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative). Principles for Responsible Participation”, namely: ➡ Focus on High-Quality Credits ➡ Permanence ➡ Robust Monitoring, Reporting, Verification, and Validation (MMRV) ➡ Co-Benefits ➡ Emissions Reduction Priority This positive endorsement of the VCM is a strong signal that the VCM is here to stay. It acknowledges past issues and provides a clear, government-backed, path for how we should adopt and build out the VCM to protect and regenerate global biodiversity. Press Release link: https://lnkd.in/eBtjtF9c

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Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom gave a shoutout to BEAM Circular and the huge potential of the bioeconomy at the California Economic Summit hosted by California Forward. He highlighted the initiative's rapid progress and called out the bioeconomy as California’s next trillion-dollar industry. In a surreal moment, he referenced HawkTower’s 10-year venture commitment to this space. I participated in the rise of the app/smartphone economy in the 2010s ... this feels similar. 📲 Currently, ag by-products and the bioeconomy are turning leftover almond shells and rice straw into energy (biofuels) and converting crop residues into natural soil enhancers to grow healthier crops. Soon, we can expect biomanufacturing and bio-based innovation to produce everything from medicines to new proteins, and other high-value materials, like construction materials. We’re humbled and excited to be part of this journey. I learn something new and meet incredible, dedicated Californians every day. Thank you, Governor, for highlighting its massive potential and its nascent foundation. cc Karen Warner Ann Rogan Gloriamar Gamez Maria Olide Amanda Hughes Marian Kaanon Erick Serrato Gillian Wilson Joshua Viers Elena Chavez Quezada Egon Terplan Kate Gordon Danna Stroud Josh Metz Brenna Butler Garcia Talya Karr Lenny Mendonca Michelle Reimers John Selep Jack Marck Prentice Keller Kim Garner Daniel Emilio Sabzehzar Dr. Chris Vitelli Stephanie Dietz David Marvulli LifeSpace Labs Dipesh Lad #bioeconomy #innovation #California

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Climate tech startup Cloover raises $114M in seed funding “By streamlining the sales process for installers, managing payment flows and financing, procuring necessary materials, and overseeing energy production and consumption for individuals, Cloover connects the dots and leverages synergies across the entire value chain,” states Jodok Betschart, Co-Founder & -CEO of Cloover. #ClimateTech #RenewableEnergy #LowercarbonCapital #GreenFinancing #SustainableTech #CleanEnergySolutions #EuropeanStartups #TechInnovation #RenewablesInstallations #GreenInvestments #EnergyEfficiency #SolarEnergy #EnergyStorage #HeatPumps #GreenEnergyCredits #SeedFunding #StartupExpansion #SustainableFinance #EnergyTech #EcoFriendlyTech #BusinessNews #Keralanews #Kerala #BusinessReviewLive #BRL #Keralabusiness

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Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

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As we scale climate tech solutions, we need to carefully consider the impact to local communities. Thanks Evan Halper for a great front page article in today's The Washington Post that highlights this issue with a proposed CO2 storage plan in Montana. Injecting and storing CO2 in porous geological formations sounds scary, particularly given the negative side effects of fracking. I think the concerned ranchers in Montana are completely justified. But, we need to solve the climate crisis, and CO2 removal is an important part of the solution. This issue will continue as more and more first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects break ground and expand. Early, frequent, and transparent community engagement is critical. #climatechange #climatesolutions #climateaction

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One month left to apply!!!! Apply to NETI's Climate Tech Bootcamp Cohort 3.0, a pre-accelerator program powered by Riffle Ventures, Climate Tech Bootcamp, OHUB and Greater New Orleans, Inc. – GNO, Inc. part of H2TheFuture, a Build Back Better Regional Challenge of The Economic Development Administration. This bootcamp is a 10-week pre-accelerator program for climate tech and new energy entrepreneurs in the United States that have an interest in building in or expanding to South Louisiana. ‍ Five (5) founders from the program will pitch for a $100,000 (US) investment on the terms of their current round. Application is in the comments and here's a quick overview as well: - 📆 When: September 3 - October 31, 2024 - ⏰ Deadline to Apply: August 27, 2024 - 💻 Location: Virtual - 🆓 Cost: Free. The $5,000 per person fee is waived thanks to GNO, Inc. and The Economic Development Administration's Build Back Better Regional Challenge. - 💰 Funding: Up to $100,000 US (equity investment) in current round to the top startup selected at the end of the cohort. - 🈺 Cohort Size: 25-30 entrepreneurs - 🌍 Cohort Geography: United States - 📈 Stage: We welcome applicants from multiple stages, though having a minimum viable product is ideal.

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Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

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Community solar is likely 'dead on arrival' in California. After a 2022 law opening California to community solar, regulators adopted a plan that only makes minor changes. It’s possible regulators are favoring utility-scale solar over rooftop and community to better navigate the impending challenges (such as excess solar supply) and build a more financially sustainable grid. #CommunitySolar #ClimateTech #CleanTech #CAISO #Solar

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Agriculture is at the crux of both risk from and remediation for anthropogenic climate change. There's nothing more scalable than leveraging what nature does best to mitigate climate change. Applied Carbon is a win-win: great for the farm, great for permanently fixing carbon and keeping it out of the atmosphere, and even good at restoring spent land.

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"(The) transition to net zero emissions... estimated cost.... Roughly $275 trillion investment in physical assets from 2021 to 2050, or approximately $9.2 trillion annually - cites a new report by King’s College, London. "In 2023, governments earned $74 billion through Emissions Trading Systems (ETS). Then, there are voluntary carbon markets that trade carbon credits, creating economic opportunities and pushing governments and corporations to invest in low carbon infrastructure and technologies" The challenge is huge, but so is the opportunity (over $1.2Tn / yr for banks). A once-in-lifetime chance to invest in sectors with gigantic positive externalities, which dwarf any negative outcomes they can create. https://lnkd.in/eumcQGwM

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Last month in SoCal, geothermal pioneer: Fervo Energy hit a significant milestone as part of their partnership with Edison. They secured 400 megawatts of clean electricity from Earth's heat. That's enough to power 400,000 homes. This reduces reliance on carbon-intensive power plants and also highlights the possibility for geothermal energy to become more widely used worldwide. By adopting oil and gas drilling techniques, Fervo is pioneering horizontal drilling, making #geothermal viable in more locations. This innovation could revolutionize how we meet energy demands while cutting emissions. The US is a leader in using the Earth's heat to make electricity, but geothermal still accounts for less than 0.5% of the electricity generation. Fervo began w/ Google in 2021 to send carbon-free electricity onto the Nevada grid and powered data centers there. The Cape station project in Utah is expected to deliver electricity to CA as early as 2026. As we push towards decarbonization goals, initiatives like this are crucial. They not only diversify our energy mix but also enhance grid stability, complementing intermittent renewables like wind and solar.  💡🌱 "This isn't a niche energy resource going to a niche use," says Sarah Jewett. Exciting! #CleanEnergy #GeothermalPower #Sustainability #Climate

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Last week, I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion on navigating FOAK in climate tech at the Greentown Labs Summit in Boston (which had >600 people!!). Here’s a quick rundown of what was shared by Katherine St. James of Spring Lane Capital, Paris Smalls, PhD of Eden GeoPower, and Hannah Friedman of Planeteer Capital: 🌱 What is the definition of FOAK? We discussed how the term can be controversial - it's almost too general because it doesn't identify what kind of "First" FOAK refers to - first team project? First geography? First of a technology in a sector? First time for the integration of a system? It's also too specific because it has the word "first" in it, which can be anathema to later stage / project finance investors. 💰 Partnerships for Funding FOAK Projects We discussed how important it is to build a blended capital stack & use off-balance sheet capital for a project so you're not using the most expensive equity dollars to fund an infrastructure project with low-ish IRR. We also talked through being creative about using corporate partners to provide in-kind services or ink some agreement (at least an LOI) to attract this funding. 🏛 Role of Government We talked about how government capital is seen by investors & how it can be catalytic for FOAK. Government capital can provide validation that a startup has passed a rigorous diligence process by a third party - and incentives like grants or credits can help improve returns for the first project- but it's important to be doing this in conjunction with getting customer validation and to be able to present line of sight to competitive economics without concessionary capital. 👥 Advice for FOAK startups The panelists offered some very specific pieces of advice for startups going through FOAK: how to get creative with things like revenue sharing agreements or convertible notes, getting smart with project development early on (like with DeveloperU), being careful about using FOAK too liberally with certain investor groups, getting the right commercialization / FOAK talent in and around you early Huge thanks to the panelists and the team at Greentown Labs (Jill Kirkpatrick, Julia Travaglini, Aisling Carlson, etc you rocked it!!) for hosting this discussion on bridging the FOAK gap. Also immensely enjoyed the rest of the agenda. Check out the full recap & videos here: https://lnkd.in/d9ApYe9Y #ClimateTech #FOAK #ClimateFinance #ProjectDevelopment #GreenTech #CleanEnergy

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A good case of glass half full or half empty. The $2tn investment is way short of what is needed to be net zero in coming decades. But, some of the categories like battery storage capacity or solar generation have been growing 100% or more annually for the last 10 year or so. Interesting short read. #Cleanteach #Climatecrisis #Energytransition https://lnkd.in/dAy9P3Jn

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ICYMI: The Biden administration's preliminary climate model for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) subsidies is out. Ethanol producers will need to meet strict sustainability criteria, including using specific agriculture techniques, to qualify as a feedstock. While this may pose a challenge, it presents a significant opportunity for growth in the SAF sector. As we work towards decarbonizing transportation, collaboration between ethanol producers and SAF stakeholders will be key in achieving our sustainability goals. #Ethanol #SAF #Sustainability #TransportationDecarbonization #ArrowUp

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This is a good and important read on #FOAK projects and the ClimateTech Valley of Death, with good insight from some very sharp investors. One often overlooks aspect of this challenge is WHO will build these early commercial projects that are smaller and don't often appeal to top tier EPCs. Developing and building these projects will be a critical, often binary factor in the outcomes. https://lnkd.in/gbedmkmt

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The Midwest is emerging as a hub of manufacturing for EVs and clean energy technology. Midwestern states have received about $30 billion in private investment since August 2022, with Ohio ($7B), Indiana ($7.8B), and Michigan ($11.6B) ranking among the top 10 states nationally, reports Inside Climate News “This is like a new era in American manufacturing as it switches to clean energy,” says Michael James Timberlake, “and it’s not a surprise that one of the big drivers of that happens to be the place that drove the last major manufacturing boom in the U.S.” What’s it going to take to maintain the momentum? https://lnkd.in/eZGYjK2D

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To all #climatetech #founders and #funders in NYC and beyond, please join us on June 5th for an evening of #breakthrough #decarbonization #innovation at the ReGen Accelerator #DemoDay! 🎉 Get ready to be inspired by our cohort of #earlystage startups: ​ ▶ aich2 is engineering a novel #hydrogen ecosystem, built around Solid Hydrogen carriers. ​​ ▶ carbogenics produces sustainable #carbon adsorbents from difficult-to-recycle organic waste, including coffee cups and wastewater screenings ​​ ▶ TeamStack.ai is driving better performance by harnessing #AI, data, & the collective intelligence of teams. ​ ▶ Tesleon LLC uses compelling characters and #storytelling to instill compassion for communities and our planet in the next generation. ​ ▶ Tolam Earth is a trusted #marketplace for high-quality, high-impact carbon offsets. Don't miss out! Secure your spot below. Big thank you to Brown Rudnick LLP for hosting this event, our partners at ClimateHaven for their hard work and dedication during the entire program, and to our incredible network of #mentors and #facilitators, each of whom have dedicated time to working with these incredible founders this spring, including Jason Ambrose, Marina Rakhlin, Lauren Zujkowski, Stuart DeCew, Matt Puccini Andy Rooks, Nina Raab, and Bill Stephney. And of course Shai Tamary, Lars Korby and Sarah Cleveland, without whom we would not be able run such a #program. #innovation #sustainability #climateaction #accelerator

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Exciting times ahead as Nika Eco pioneers climate data solutions with AI! By leveraging advanced technology. Nika Eco is transforming how we understand and address climate challenges through advanced carbon modeling. Their AI-driven platform provides actionable insights, helping businesses and governments make data-informed decisions to combat climate change effectively. https://lnkd.in/gW_69V3Z

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