Tim De Chant’s Post

Commonwealth Fusion Systems sold two of its high-temperature superconducting magnets to UW-Madison. That might seem like some minor, inside-baseball news, but I think it's more than that — a sign of a subtle but important evolution in the fusion power industry.

It was great seeing everyone at Breakthrough Energy Summit 2024. So much packed into a couple short days. I had the honor of moderating a panel on green hydrogen with Irina Gorbounova, Leia Guccione, P.E., and Ahmed El-Hoshy, who brought depth and perspective on an emerging industry. Also ran into plenty of other folks (too many to mention here!) who all had lots fresh ideas and energy — looking forward to digging deeper in the coming weeks and months.

Hidden in some new funding news is a possible path for climate tech startups to cross the commercial valley of death. It probably won't work in every instance, but it might only take a few such deals to bridge the gap for others.

Making batteries requires more than just critical minerals. A new startup wants to make key ancillary chemicals from waste at mines and metal refining operations, closing the loop.

Sodium, as in the stuff that's in table salt, has been the talk of the battery world, and a new startup is throwing its hat in the ring, claiming it has solved some of the challenges that have prevented sodium-ion from being a drop-in replacement for lithium-ion.

Dandelion co-founder James Quazi thinks home electrification could happen a lot faster if people had access to advice and financing to help them through the process. He gave me an exclusive peak at what's happening with his new startup, Balto Energy.

Collaborative Fund breezed through fundraising to add another $125 million for seed-stage investments focused on climate, health, and food. Craig Shapiro and Sophie Bakalar gave me the inside scoop for TechCrunch.

EnerVenue, which is building a gigawatt-scale factory for its nickel-hydrogen batteries, is raising $515 million in a new round. The company is hoping the technology, which was previously used aboard satellites, will help utilities store wind and solar power. Read more in my latest scoop at TechCrunch.