Happy Tuesday!
We saw a real moonshot this weekend with the Artemis launch, and we’ve got some moonshots in this edition, too. Read on for a roundup of the biggest climate tech VC and growth deals of this past quarter, now that Q2 is officially underway.
In deals, $804m for grid development, $450m for nuclear synthetic fuel development, and $300m for nickel-hydrogen energy storage systems.
In other news, Iran War impacts, the EPA’s busy week, and nuclear restarts.
Thanks for reading!
Not a CTVC subscriber yet?
📩 Submit deals and announcements for the newsletter at [email protected].
💼 Find or share roles on our job board here.
CTVC is powered by Sightline Climate, the tactical market intelligence platform for energy and investment decision-makers.
Blink and the quarter flew by. Tariffs whipsawed markets, the OBBBA started carving into tax credits, AI swallowed another chunk of the economy, and all that was before oil hit $115 on Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
And yet. Capital kept moving. Venture capital had a record Q1 by almost every measure, per Crunchbase: nearly $300bn globally, with US funding alone more than doubling the previous quarterly record. Still, four AI mega-rounds (OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Waymo) accounted for most of it. Fewer deals, bigger checks, AI focus, higher totals. The pattern fits our 2025 investment trends, and Q1, too.
Sightline Climate tracks real-time deals and investment, and we’re bringing you a taste here with the breakdown of the quarter's biggest deals. Keep reading for what moved in Q1 and why - and let us know your take! Just respond to this email, and we’ll feature some of your takes next week.
Q1’s biggest VC and growth deals had a strong tech showing: fusion reactors, metal-hydrogen batteries, autonomous aircraft, construction robots, rare earth magnets, weather satellites, and livestock wearables.
A few themes emerge:
Looking at this list, it’s not the same old story of the hard-tech transport and energy plays still getting big checks that we saw in the early 2020s. Zooming out, the nature of "climate tech" and how we think about it is evolving. It's increasingly about the physical infrastructure and efficiency layer underneath it, but not pure decarbonization plays.
We’re seeing more and more climate tech investors betting on physical AI, robotics, and hardtech, plays that are driving energy efficiency but also enabling scale up of more hardware plays. It’s capitalizing on the white space between software and hardware. But that’s also a hedge against the SaaSpocalypse. As AI commoditizes software layers, the investors willing to wear hard hats are sticking around and making the hard bets.
⚡ Valar Atomics, an El Segundo, CA, USA-based nuclear energy / modular reactor developer for data centers, industrial power, and synthetic fuel, raised $450m in Series A funding from John Donovan, Palmer Luckey, and Shyam Sankar.
🔋 EnerVenue, a Fremont, CA-based nickel-hydrogen energy storage systems developer, raised $300m in Series B funding from Full Vision Capital and Hong Kong Investment Corporation.
🐄 Halter, a Auckland, New Zealand-based cattle herd management platform, raised $220m in Growth funding from Founders Fund, BOND, Bessemer Venture Partners, Blackbird Ventures, DCVC, and other investors.
⚡ EPG, a Singapore-based modular and prefabricated data center infrastructure provider, raised $100m in Series B funding from Decarbonization Partners, Alibaba Cloud, and other investors.
🛵 Euler Motors, a New Delhi, India-based electric commercial vehicle manufacturer, raised $47m in Growth funding from Lightrock, Blume Ventures, and Hero MotoCorp.
🥩 Standing Ovation, a Paris, France-based precision fermentation protein science technology developer, raised $35m in Series B funding from Bpifrance, Crédit Mutuel Innovation, Astanor Ventures, Angelor, Bel Group, and other investors.
🚆 Voltify, a Philadelphia, PA-based battery-powered energy systems for freight rail developer, raised $30m in Seed funding from Aleph, Fortescue, Chemi Peres, E44 Ventures, J-Impact, Menomadin Foundation, and other investors.
⚡ ThinkLabs AI, a New York, NY-based AI digital-twins for the power grid operation developer, raised $28m in Series A funding from Energy Impact Partners, Active Impact Investments, Amplify Capital, Edison International, GE Vernova, and other investors.
🏠 Helix Earth Technologies, a Houston, TX-based advanced HVAC retrofit devices manufacturer, raised $12m in Seed funding from Veriten, Carnrite Ventures, Rua Ventures, Skywriter, Textbook Ventures, and other investors.
🥩 Foreverland, a Bari, Italy-based sustainable ingredients producer, raised $7m in Seed funding from Maia Ventures, Kost Capital, CDP Venture Capital, Newtree Impact, and Riello Investimenti SGR.
☀️ TerraSpark, a Luxembourg-based space-based solar power generation provider, raised $6m in Pre-seed funding from Daphni, Sake Bosch, better Ventures, Karaoke Club, Luxembourg Business Angel Network (LBAN), and The Hans(wo)men Group.
🌾 Nature Robots, an Osnabrück, Germany-based autonomous agriculture software developer, raised $5m in Seed funding from Bayern Kapital, Climentum Capital, and Planetary Impact Ventures.
⚡ Bacancy Systems, an Ahmedabad, India-based embedded electronics and power systems provider focused on e-mobility, EV charging, and railway applications, raised $4m in Series A funding from Greenstone Capital and Sabre Partners.
🧀 Jay&Joy, a Lacroix-Saint-Ouen, France-based vegan cheese producer, raised $2m in Seed funding from Beyond Impact VC, Demeter, Mindstone, Vivegan, and Makesense.
⚡ ScottishPower, a Glasgow, Scotland-based integrated energy utility provider, raised $804m in PF Debt funding from National Wealth Fund (UKIB).
⚡ Vyterra Renewables, an Ottawa, Canada-based biomass-to-low-carbon-fuels developer, raised $2m in PF Debt funding from Nova Scotia Timber Loan Board.
⚡ Nexus Energía, a Barcelona, Spain-based electricity and gas commercialisation, renewable energy representation, and sustainability services provider, raised an undisclosed amount in Debt funding from COFIDES.
🏗️ ENTRUST Solutions Group, a Lisle, IL-based utility engineering and consulting firm specialising in energy infrastructure, was acquired by Leidos at an implied valuation of $2.4bn.
🏭 Plan A, a Berlin, Germany-based AI-powered carbon accounting and decarbonisation platform, was acquired by Diginex for at an implied value of $64m.
⚡ Bodhi, an Austin, TX-based solar customer experience platform, was acquired by OneEthos for an undisclosed amount.
⚡ Luzboa, a Viseu, Portugal-based electricity retailer and energy services provider, was acquired by Nexus Energía for an undisclosed amount.
Novastar Ventures, a London, England-based venture capital firm focused on African markets, completed the final close of $147m for its third fund, Novastar Ventures Africa People and Planet Fund III, delivering early-stage climate and impact solutions that improve livelihoods while addressing environmental challenges across Africa.
IP Group Australia, a Melbourne, Australia-based early-stage cleantech fund managed by IP Group Australia, completed a first close of $34m for the IP Group Climate Catalyst Fund, focusing on early-stage climate tech across industrial decarbonisation, energy, transport, and agriculture.
This is a sample of deals available for Sightline clients. Can’t get enough deals?
In Iran-related energy news, Brent crude is about $110 a barrel, with some forecasts saying it could hit $150, while food prices are rising due to fertilizer supply crunch. Virgin PET prices have also surged, as has jet fuel, which has risen 95% in the US. Aluminum also neared a four year peak after strikes on smelters in the region. The IEA, IMF, and World Bank are joining together to coordinate responses to the economic and energy impacts of the war.
In EPA news, the agency began rolling back Biden-era regulations restricting methane emissions from oil and gas production, with plans for further amendments to come. It also finalized record-high biofuel blending mandates for 2026–2027 under the Renewable Fuel Standard, and said it was adding microplastics and pharmaceuticals in US drinking water to a priority pollutants list. Meanwhile, a coalition of health and environmental groups sued the EPA over its rollback of air pollutant standards for coal plants.
In more US federal government news, the Bureau of Land Management plans to sell 640 acres of federal land in Arizona to solar developer 174 Power Global. This will enable a larger solar-plus-storage project already largely sited on adjacent state lands, a reversal after the Trump admin halted all renewable projects on federal lands.
In nuclear news, the NRC renewed the license of California’s Diablo Canyon through at least 2030. Plus, Holtec is also pushing ahead on restoring the Palisades plant, bringing the reactor to operating temperature and pressure for the first time since it shut down in 2022.
The EU gives H2 a $6.9bn boost.
Trending upwards, the drivers pushing retail electricity prices higher.
The Arctic just matched another troubling milestone.
Big Oil is cutting emissions… quietly.
Amazon’s AI heads to the scrapyard for critical minerals.
Trump administration has a fire sale on wildfire research.
The cherry blossom bloom is beginning.
📅 SF Blue Tech Happy Hour: On April 9, in San Francisco, learn how the city of SF, start-ups, and South Beach Yacht Club will power the emerging local blue economy. Join the build-out, whether you are in ocean AI, tech, removing plastics from waterways, or you're an investor, founder, student, or instructor.
📅 DC Climate Week: From April 20-26 explore the challenges of the climate crisis and discover the solutions that give us hope. Whether you’re deep in the work or just getting started, join climate professionals and enthusiasts in the nation's capital for a week's worth of climate events.
📅 Heat Beneath Our Feet: Unlocking Superhot Geothermal: Join Quaise Energy CEO, Carlos Araque, on April 9 in New York City for a fireside chat on geothermal energy technology and commercialization.
Data Analyst – Late-Stage Finance, @Sightline Climate
Investment Analyst @The Nature Conservancy
Reporter @ Grist
Software / Machine Controls, @Dig Energy
Growth Associate, @Coral
XIG Imprint Business Development Lead - Vice President @Goldman Sachs
Junior Account Executive, @3V Infrastructure
📩 Feel free to send us deals, announcements, or anything else at [email protected]. Have a great week ahead!
Fervo banks $421m in biggest project finance deal for sector
Who wins and loses as clean fuels and electrons gain ground
Newsletter