Seyi Fabode

  From CTV Updates The latest news from the ClimateTech world  Three breakthrough technologies just hit major milestones: Energy Vault's 57 MW battery system went live in Texas ahead of schedule, Anax Power is harvesting clean energy from pipeline pressure alone, and Captura opened their first US manufacturing facility for ocean carbon capture. Learn More: https://lnkd.in/gRe2TDYJ  

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This is a splendid overview. (and the data center load overlay is in addition to the rest already flex’able via a marketplace-driven vpp)

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The High-Carbon Truth Behind A ‘Green’ California Microgrid The Calistoga hydrogen microgrid is being sold as clean resilience for wildfire outages, but the numbers tell a different story. The hydrogen is shipped in from Georgia, made with grid electricity that already has a carbon footprint. CleanTechnica article: https://lnkd.in/gDNcA4FP By the time it is liquefied, trucked across the country, and run through a fuel cell at only 50% efficiency, the result is electricity with a carbon intensity far higher than the California grid and even worse than a modern diesel generator. Public money paid for it anyway, with $46 million approved for a town that could have had a far cheaper solar and battery solution. Instead, firms like Plug Power and Energy Vault get another revenue stream, while residents get power that is dirtier and more expensive than the grid it is meant to back up. Hydrogen keeps finding its way into projects like this because it makes for a good ribbon-cutting photo and a steady flow of subsidies. But if we care about affordable energy, resilience and emissions, solar and batteries win every time.

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The DOE funding pullback is clarifying for climate tech investments, not catastrophic. The Department of Energy's decision to return over $13 billion in unobligated clean-energy funds has spooked founders who built capital strategies around grant timelines. Reality check: this is a policy reprioritization toward fewer discretionary grants and longer timelines, not a sector shutdown. What hasn't changed: projects with real economics still get funded. The Loan Programs Office continues approving disbursements for revenue-generating projects—manufacturing scale-up, grid infrastructure, nuclear restarts. DOE's Mine of the Future initiative and critical minerals programs remain active, supporting technologies that secure domestic supply chains. At MFV Partners, we stayed disciplined while others chased 2021-2023 IRA momentum. Those bets are struggling now. We focused on energy deep tech that works without subsidy dependency—solutions that pencil out regardless of administration. Our portfolio reflects this: Conifer builds rare-earth-free powertrains using ferrite magnets, directly addressing supply-chain bottlenecks while improving power density and enabling cleaner HVAC and mobility applications. SUN Mobility operates battery-swapping infrastructure for commercial fleets across India, Africa, and Southeast Asia—accelerating EV adoption in emerging markets while delivering ROI through better asset utilization. We have several other companies in stealth building similar economics-first solutions that drive real climate impact. What founders should do now: Use grants to derisk R&D where available, but build your scale path around customer pilots and project finance. Treat supply-chain resilience as a product feature. Prove the economics: predictable throughput, demonstrated reliability, and numbers that work with conservative assumptions. The fundamentals haven't changed. Electrification and grid modernization are productivity upgrades—lower costs, higher availability, better payback. That's where capital flows, regardless of headlines. We're continuing to invest actively in energy and electrification deep tech. If you're building solutions with strong unit economics that accelerate the energy transition, reach out. https://lnkd.in/gUfdzRXH https://lnkd.in/gNGm9zyM

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Did you know that you can use #PyPSA to design and price PPAs for renewables? Shout-out to Matthew Smith who created 24/7 carbon free energy (CFE) power purchase agreements (PPAs) in #India. Remarkable is that Matthew mastered the #opensource tool PyPSA without prior in-depth coding experience. He made the tool internally accessible to others with the less documented excel spreadsheet interface, developed the required PPA methodology using custom constraints, and created value for the business. He believes such tooling capabilities is what every project developer must have in future to address the new grid and energy technology needs. Check out his lightning talk for more details: https://lnkd.in/df5wTC2B Original PyPSA meets Earth post: https://lnkd.in/d45Uzy4Z Reach out to me if you like to work similar use cases. #opensource #freethemodels

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📊 Transformer Replacements: A Growing Challenge for Utilities Each week at Crux Energy Consulting, we spotlight insights from Halcyon's What’s Happening in Energy newsletter, which is always a great source of interesting tidbits from US regulatory filings. This week, what stood out was a chart from Central Hudson's five-year capital investment plan. It highlights a pressing issue for many utilities: the aging transformer fleet. More than one-third of Central Hudson’s transformers are over 50 years old. That’s a staggering stat and one that underscores just how urgent the need for replacement is across the grid. These replacements are becoming increasingly expensive. 📈 On page 2, I've reshared a previous Crux Energy post that visualizes how transformer prices have spiked, due in part to COVID, inflation, supply constraints, and material costs. And it doesn’t stop there: with tariffs on steel and newly announced tariffs on copper, those price pressures are only going to intensify. This is a clear example of how aging infrastructure, material supply challenges, and policy decisions converge, driving up the cost of keeping the lights on. #energyinfrastructure #utilities #gridmodernization #transformers #energycosts #tariffs #cruxenergyconsulting

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LCoH is largely driven by the capital cost of the electrolyser scheme, the purchase price of renewable electricity and the efficiency at which the electrolyser converts electricity to hydrogen. Land lease and financing costs may also be significant. The operational concept behind an electrolytic hydrogen project will determine which of these parameters are most important. Intentionally intermittent electrolyser operation during periods of low and negatively priced renewable electricity is the only viable way to produce green hydrogen for less than €5 per kg in most European countries. Operating with this concept means understanding electrolyser technology, electricity markets, green hydrogen certification and integrating with complimentary hydrogen storage infrastructure. If we remove all subsidies, over the next 15 years, intentionally intermittent electrolyser operation is likely to be the main mode of green hydrogen production in most of Europe. Take a look at this presentation which outlines the technology selection implications, integration necessities and practical solutions for safety, reliability and optimum economics... https://lnkd.in/dN2Rbjbn Hello. I'm Steve - 35 years experience with hydrogen. I am fully aware of its pros and cons. Let me help you to find bankable investment cases and projects that will make sense. Or, trying to take your tech to market? Need help with project development, business strategy or fund raising? That's me also. DM me for support

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𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲, 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 & 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: An accelerating push toward community and distributed microgrids shows that regions are betting on energy independence and resilience. Localities increasingly see microgrids not just as backup, but as integral parts of their energy planning. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:  Leaders at city, utility, and national levels should assess microgrid strategy on a zone-by-zone basis—evaluating which neighborhoods, campuses, or critical facilities are prime for modular deployment. #Microgrids #EnergyTransition #ResilientInfrastructure #EnergyIndependence #SustainableDevelopment #DistributedEnergy #RenewableEnergy #KSAVision2030 #Vision2030

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