England strikes lithium and comes up with geothermal gold
Happy Monday!
This week, we’ve got a FOAK tale for you: a case study of the UK’s first enhanced geothermal project and its first lithium extraction project - in the same spot, now operating.
In deals, $176m for battery-electric refrigerated vehicles, $79m for waste-to-renewable energy development, and $57m for farm waste to fuel.
In other news, the DOE’s biggest loan ever, VPP legislation picks up steam, and drama in EU carbon markets.
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What happened
Everyone loves a two-for-one sale, and this one’s for best-sellers. Last week, the UK's first enhanced geothermal power plant and first commercial lithium extraction facility came online in a package deal. The United Downs plant (named after its location in the small hamlet of United Downs in Cornwall) is a first-of-a-kind dual power-and-minerals project, nearly two decades in the making.
Project developer Geothermal Engineering Limited first announced the United Downs project in 2009, aiming to harness the heat from the hot granite formation beneath southwestern England, known as the Cornubian batholith.
Conventional geothermal tech wouldn’t be able to get the job done, making the case for an Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS). This technology involves drilling into and hydraulic fracturing hot subsurface rocks, which creates and expands reservoirs inside them. Water is injected into them, which heats up, then gets pumped back up to the surface, driving a turbine and generating electricity. The now-cooled fluid travels into the other well to continue the cycle.
This site held some hidden treasure. The pumped fluid, known as geothermal brine, came back up with high concentrations of the critical mineral lithium carbonate from underground deposits. It was a win-win: using the same fluid to generate clean firm power and processing it to recover battery-grade lithium carbonate.
Overall, United Downs is expected to generate 3MW of clean firm power – enough to power around 10,000 homes – and produce approximately 100t/y of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
From a power perspective, the output numbers are small, and the potential for scale is limited. But there’s massive momentum for this type of mining project. The UK and Europe are looking to break China’s hold on critical mineral supply chains, and develop their own domestic resources. Extracting lithium from geothermal brines gives the UK a sovereign source of energy transition materials and avoids the public opposition that would come with an open-top mine. .
Investors piled into the project. Public and private funding included the European Regional Development Fund, the Cornwall Council, Thrive Renewables, Kerogen Capital, and others. Developers found power offtake easily, securing the UK's first geothermal Contract for Difference (CfD) and locking in a guaranteed electricity price for 15 years.
Plus, the lithium is reportedly heading to the automotive industry. GEL plans to ramp up to 18,000tpa over the next ten years, requiring ~£640m of additional investment and providing enough lithium carbonate for 250,000 cars. For context, the UK buys ~2m new cars a year, and has zero-emissions vehicle mandates (2025’s target was 28%, which it missed, and the government has said it’s reviewing the target for flexibility).
💨 Hummingbirds, a Paris, France-based nature-based carbon project developer, raised $59m in Series A funding from British International Investment, Proparco, and Swedfund International.
🧬 Verley, a Paris, France-based alt protein developer via precision fermentation, raised $30m in Series A funding from Alven, Blast, Bpifrance, Captech Santé, Founders Future, Sofinnova, and Sparkfood.
⚡ Metafuels, a Zürich, Switzerland-based e-SAF from methanol developer, raised $24m in Series A funding from UVC Partners, Contrarian Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Fortescue Ventures, RockCreek, and Verve Ventures.
⚙️ BeyondMath, a London, UK-based generative physics AI model developer for construction simulations, raised $10m in Seed funding from Cambridge Innovation Capital, Insight Partners, InMotion Ventures, and UP.Partners.
🏭 Grevoro, a Bengaluru, India-based low-carbon industrial data operating system provider, raised $5m in Seed funding from Atha Group and Misra Group.
🍎 Reduced, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based upcycled natural flavor ingredients producer, raised $5m in Series A funding from Delphinus Venture Capital, Novo Holdings, European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.
👕 CLIMATEX, an Altendorf, Switzerland-based circular textile technology developer, raised $4m in Seed funding from Collateral Good.
💧 PolyGone Systems, a Kearny, NJ-based microplastic filtration system developer, raised $4m in Seed funding from FYRFLY Venture Partners, Golden Seeds, Interstate Fusion Ventures, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and Tech Council Ventures.
🌾 Grodi, an Almería, Spain-based autonomous robotics for greenhouses developer, raised $3m in Seed funding from Swanlaab, Axon Partners Group, and CDTI Innovación.
⚡ Einklang, a Köln, Germany-based industrial battery–optimized energy solutions provider, raised $3m in Seed funding from Vireo Ventures, Angel Invest, DnA Ventures, Heimatboost, Saxovent, and SI Ventures.
🌍 Ark Climate, a Munich, Germany-based municipal climate action software platform, raised $2m in Pre-seed funding from Satgana, another.VC, Federal Ministry of Research, and Voyagers Climate Fund.
🚴 Sparqle, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based emission-free last-mile delivery platform for e-commerce, raised $2m in Seed funding from the European Union.
🏠 Petit Forestier Group, a Villepinte, France-based refrigerated vehicle rental provider, raised $176m in Debt funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
⚡ Andion CH4, a Milan, Italy-based waste-to-renewable energy developer, raised $79m in Debt funding from Goldman Sachs Alternatives (Private Credit).
⚡ Kalfresh, a Kalbar, Australia-based fresh produce grower, raised $57m in PF Equity funding from Queensland Investment Corporation and Wollemi.
🛵 Spiro, a Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based electric micromobility developer, raised $50m in Debt funding from African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Cygnum Capital, and Nithio.
⚡ Linea Energy, a New York, NY-based clean energy developer, raised an undisclosed amount in PF Equity funding from D. E. Shaw Renewables Investments (DESRI).
☀️ CleanMax, a Mumbai, India-based renewable power developer, announced an IPO.
☀️ Solar Juice, a Sydney, Australia-based solar power systems distributor, was acquired by SPI China for an undisclosed amount.
⚡ HyCC, an Amersfoort, Netherlands-based green hydrogen developer, was acquired by Power2X for an undisclosed amount.
Climactic, a San Francisco, CA-based early stage climate tech venture firm, launched a hybrid investment vehicle called Material Scale with $11m in an initial investment pool, focusing on scaling physical climate technologies.
This is a sample of deals available for Sightline clients. Can’t get enough deals?
The US Department of Energy closed a $26.5bn loan to Southern Company subsidiaries, the largest in DOE history, to build and upgrade over 16GW of grid capacity, including about 5GW of new natural gas generation, nuclear, hydropower, storage, and transmission improvements. Southern initially sought a $20bn DOE loan for transmission and renewables, but paused it under Biden and later restructured it to better align with Trump-era priorities; the revised package earmarks $15bn for gas projects and $10bn for other investments.
On the state level, more US states are introducing virtual power plant (VPP) legislation to harness distributed resources and improve grid flexibility. At the same time, in President Trump’s State of the Union address, urged Big Tech to build dedicated power plants for data centers, signaling a push for self-supply rather than relying solely on grid-based solutions.
Across the ocean, Italy’s Industry Minister joined the German chancellor in calling for a suspension of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), arguing it harms competitiveness for energy-intensive industries. The proposal unsettled markets and sparked pushback from other industry groups defending the carbon market’s role in investment certainty and emissions cuts.
Germany has designated hydrogen projects as of overriding public interest, a legal status meant to speed permitting and lower hurdles after the country missed its hydrogen rollout targets. The move aims to accelerate hydrogen infrastructure and investment, despite industry challenges.
In corporate news, RFOcean signed a long-term commercial offtake agreement with ETFuels for e-methanol supply starting in 2030, making shipping the first industry to secure predictable e-fuel supply for decarbonization, as maritime emissions rules tighten.
And Form Energy and Google announced plans for a 30GW–hour iron-air battery project, powering a Google data center in Minnesota. It’s a new play for LDES for data centers to boost capacity and invest in the grid.
Weakening regulations on coal plants are bringing back the old daze of mercury and heavy metals.
Heathrow's sustainable aviation fuel targets takeoff (for the fifth consecutive year).
A potentially big blow to nuclear’s health narrative.
Plug Power pulls the plug on a planned NY hydrogen plant.
The cloud in the clouds? FT debunks space-based data centers.
An interactive tool showing the cost of electrons, state by state.
📅 Speaker Series - Climate Conscious Conversations: Join Climate Conscious Leaders on Zoom from 3-4:20EST March 4 for a conversation with Drew Wilkinson, a co-founder of Microsoft's 10,000-member employee sustainability community and a sustainability consultant.
📅 FoodHack Boston: Partnering with Corporates in Food Innovation: Attend a panel with leaders from ADM and Ocean Spray exploring corporate–startup collaboration in food innovation, followed by pitches and networking with food samples, on March 4 at MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, MA.
📅 CELI 2026 Fellowship Info Session & Alumni Meet-Up: For those in the Bay Area, on March 5 from 6 to 8 pm at the 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub, join CELI to hear directly from past fellows, learn about program opportunities, and expand your climate network.
💡 Multiplier Urban Ocean Lab Fellowship: By March 20 apply to the Multiplier Urban Ocean Lab Fellowship. Fellows will focus on the systems, programs, and institutional conditions that shape coastal urban climate resilience and adaptation.
💡 Google.org AI for Science Impact Challenge: Apply before April 17 to participate in a $30m global open call supporting AI-driven scientific breakthroughs in human health and climate systems, offering funding, Google Cloud credits, and six months of pro bono technical support through a dedicated Accelerator program.
💡 E8 Entrepreneur & Investor Network: Connect with Element 8 Angels (E8), a leading climate tech angel network investing in early-stage clean energy and sustainability startups. Entrepreneurs can explore funding opportunities, while investors can join a community celebrating the clean energy transition.
XIG Imprint Business Development Lead - Vice President @Goldman Sachs
Junior Account Executive, @3V Infrastructure
Associate, @Foundry-Logic, Inc.
Summer Research Intern, Senior Associate – Clean Fuels, Principal Analyst – Data Centers and Power Markets, Data Analyst – Late-Stage Finance, @Sightline Climate
Associate, @Prelude Ventures
US Program Director, UK Programme Manager, Operations Manager, @Constructive
📩 Feel free to send us deals, announcements, or anything else at [email protected]. Have a great week ahead!
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