Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, announced that it has made a minority investment in BlackRock portfolio company Vanguard Renewables, and a partnership to turn food waste from IKEA stores into renewable fuel. Renewable natural gas (RNG), or biomethane, is produced from organic waste, such as agricultural, industrial, and household wastes, and is chemically…
Italian energy company Eni announced today that it has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) worth more than $1 billion with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), to offtake energy from CFS’ first commercial fusion plant, which is anticipated to come online in Chesterfield County, Virginia in the early 2030s. Fusion, the process of combining two atoms to form a single atom to…
The European Council released a “statement of intent” committing to set a 2035 emissions reduction target for the EU prior to the COP30 international climate conference in November, shortly after lawmakers acknowledged that they will miss the end of September deadline to submit its goal at the conference, as required by the Paris Agreement, as member states have not yet…
This week in ESG news: EPA to scrap requirements to report GHG emissions; survey finds half of corporate buyers plan to drop unsustainable suppliers; SEC ordered by court to decide fate of its climate reporting rules; Mars launches program to accelerate renewable energy deployment in its supply chain; Microsoft buys $6 billion of renewables-powered computing capacity; Australia sets 2035 climate…
Energy and electrification advisory, services, and software solutions provider Schneider Electric announced today a new agreement with carbon removal solutions provider Climeworks to remove 31,000 tons of CO2 through a range of solutions by 2039, as well as a new collaboration on solutions aimed at bringing down the cost of Direct Air Capture (DAC) CO2 removal. The deal marks Schneider…
VoLo Earth Ventures, an early-stage climate tech-focused venture capital firm, announced it has closed its second fund at $135 million. The firm said that the closing of Fund II marks an increase of 50% over its predecessor fund’s $88 million, despite a challenging environment for venture fundraising, and for climate tech in particular. VoLo Earth targets investments in capital-efficient solutions…
Macquarie Asset Management today announced that it has raised more than $3 billion in fund and co-investment commitments for its Macquarie Green Energy Transition Solutions (MGETS) strategy, its first energy transition-focused fund aimed at investing in opportunities beyond renewables. At it’s final close, the fund significantly surpassed its initial target size of $2 billion. Commitments raised for MGETS include more…
Mercedes-Benz and energy park developer UKA announced today that they have received permission to start installation of a wind farm at the Mercedes-Benz test track in Papenburg, northern Germany. At a planned 140 MW, the new project will be one of the most powerful onshore wind farms in Germany, covering approximately 20% of Mercedes-Benz’s annual electricity needs in the country. The construction of the new wind farm follows the establishment of…
Decarbonization-focused investment firm Galvanize announced today the launch of its new Credit and Capital Solutions strategy, aimed at providing flexible financing solutions to back companies and projects across the energy transition value chain, and established with a $1.3 billion investment program from a leading institutional investor. Galvanize was launched in 2022 by hedge fund billionaire and former presidential candidate Tom Steyer and…