BP & Hertz EV chargers ⚡️, Brazilian Election 🇧🇷, Ascend Elements $300M 💰

Welcome to Climate Brief’s 5-minute debrief of the latest climate and decarbonization stories in business 📈, startups 🚀, and policy 📜.

Today I’m excited about BP & Hertz EV fast charging stations, Lula’s victory in Brazilian presidential election, and $300M funding for Ascend Elements.

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Big Business 👩🏼‍💼

BP and Hertz to build EV fast charging stations across the US

BP Pulse announced plans to build a network of large EV fast-charging hubs to serve ride-hailing and taxi fleets at major airports and other high-traffic locations in the U.S. The announcement follows a joint announcement from BP Pulse and Hertz to develop a national network of EV charging stations at Hertz locations. The first EV charger installation will be near Los Angeles International Airport, partially funded by a $2 million grant from the California Energy Commission. BP looks to expand its global network of chargers to 100,000 by 2030.

What Lula’s Victory in Brazil Means for Climate

Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made climate a cornerstone of his campaign. The region is also one of the world’s most biodiverse places on Earth, and protecting it is key to fending off a global biodiversity crisis.

Porsche Invests $400 Million Into Group14 Technologies, Silicon Batteries

Group14 Technologies says it has found a way to make battery anodes using silicon. Porsche has just invested $400 million into the company. Group14 expects its first silicon-anode batteries to be fitted into electric cars as early as next year. Silicon anodes can store more energy than graphite electrodes. Porsche says it will build a new factory in central Washington that will produce enough silicon carbide anodes to power 600,000 electric cars a year. Others are working on silicon anodes but say they are years away from commercial production.

Startups, Tech, & Funding 🚀

Ascend Elements Secures $300 Million in Funding

U.S.-based engineered materials and lithium-ion battery recycling company Ascend Elements has secured $300 million in equity and debt financing. The funding round was led by Fifth Wall Climate and joined by SK ecoplant, the environmental unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group. Other new investors include Oman Investment Authority, Lithium Americas Corporation, GLy Capital Management's New Mobility Fund, Mirae Asset Capital & LS and Shinhan GIB. This funding is in addition to two recently awarded grants totaling $480 million from the Department of Energy.

$23M Jaxport grant will aid ‘journey to reach net-zero emissions’

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Jaxport a $23.5 million grant to support sustainability initiatives at the Jacksonville, Florida, port’s Blount Island and Talleyrand marine terminals. The project is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand energy-efficient terminal infrastructure. The sustainability initiatives are part of a $47 million public-private project between the port and terminal tenants SSA Jacksonville and Crowley. The grant also will go toward the addition of 160 refrigerated cargo charging stations.

Society & Policy 📄

California moves toward mandating zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles

California Air Resources Board is considering a plan to mandate a transition to zero-emission trucks, shuttle buses and certain other buses. A final decision on the Advanced Clean Fleet regulation will occur in the spring of 2023. Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles contribute a disproportionately high share of the transportation sector’s greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxide emissions. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order to require truck manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of medium and heavy duty vehicles in the state over time.

What Is COP27? And Other Questions About the Big U.N. Climate Summit

World leaders will meet in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, on Nov. 6 for two weeks of climate negotiations. Nations struggle to cut greenhouse gas emissions amid a global energy crisis, war in Europe and rising inflation. At last year's summit in Scotland, countries agreed they must immediately do more to prevent a dangerous rise in global temperatures. The consequences of climate change are painfully clear, including deadly floods in Pakistan, drought in the U.S., famine in Africa and heat waves across Europe.

Adventure & Life 🏔

Consumers, not corporations, saved the power grid. What else can we do?

Thousands of small actions, like switching off lights during a heat wave, or voting for politicians who will act on climate change, can become a larger force than what governments and businesses can muster on their own. 20 % of energy in the US goes directly to the residential sector, including homes and apartments, and your decisions can play a huge role in shaping the course of warming.

Finding safe haven in the climate change future: The Northeast

This Yahoo News series analyzes different regions around the U.S. in terms of climate change risks that they face now and will experience in the years to come. Climate change impacts will be more severe in some places, but we all share the risk of the increase of extreme events, expert Jesse Keenan says. The Northeast has some of the top counties for climate change in the Northeast.

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