Welcome back! This is your weekly debrief on what’s driving the clean energy transition.

In today’s edition:

• Biden’s American Climate Corps

• Why do US EVs cost so much?

• The push to quadruple heat pumps

Read time: 5 minutes

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HOT TOPICS

⚡️ CLEAN ENERGY

• Biden is unveiling the American Climate Corps, a program with echoes of the New Deal - The White House says the program will provide paid training to 20,000 Americans in its first year. It's much smaller than its New Deal predecessor but targets a more diverse group of young people. (via NPR)

• The US's largest solar panel maker breaks ground on a 3.5 GW factory - First Solar, the largest solar panel maker in the US, today announced that it has broken ground on its $1.1 billion factory in Louisiana. (via Electrek)

• More than 300 Apple suppliers have committed to clean energy - The device maker also released its first carbon-neutral devices as it closes on its goal of dramatically cutting emissions in its supply chain. (via Utility Dive)

• Long-duration storage gets big boost with $325M from DOE - The department selected nine proposals with the goal of accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies, which could be key to cleaning up the grid. (via Canary Media)

• Global push for clean hydrogen foiled by costs and lack of support, report finds - IEA says firms are announcing more projects but waiting for government support before investing (via The Guardian)

• Some Rare, Real Talk From a Utility About Competition With Rooftop Solar - In a hearing last month in Arizona, an expert witness for the state’s largest utility said he agrees with the idea that utilities oppose rooftop solar because it is a threat to their profits. (via Inside Climate News)

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🚙 MOBILITY / TRANSPORT

• Why Can’t Americans Buy Cheap Chinese EVs? - US drivers are annoyed by a lack of affordable electric cars, while Chinese automakers are manufacturing cheap EVs by the millions. (via Bloomberg)

  • EVs Might Not Cost A Butt Load Soon - Lithium-ion battery cell prices have declined over 30 percent in 18 months (via Jalopnik)

• Bird acquires Spin in $19M deal - The acquisition makes Bird the largest micromobility operator in North America by market share as the industry faces financial headwinds. (via Smart Cities Dive)

• Volvo’s fuel cell truck advances but battery-electric is biggest push - Volvo Group had scant interest in producing fuel cell trucks five years ago. Now they play a role in the pursuit of zero-emissions trucking. (via FreightWaves)

• The U.K. Just Punted a Key EV Target. It Will Happen Again. - The EV transition is facing a reality check. Can the planet afford it? (via Heatmap News)

🏠 BUILDINGS / CITIES

• Governors, Biden administration push to quadruple efficient heating, AC units by 2030 - A coalition of 25 governors and the Biden administration are set to announce a pledge Thursday morning to quadruple the number of heat pumps in U.S. homes by 2030. (via AP News)

• Four advocates share how to make electrification more equitable - Canary Media and Rewiring America invited experts on urban electrification onstage during Climate Week NYC. Here are key takeaways from the event. (via Canary Media)

• US Home Insurance ‘Bubble’ Closer to Popping as Climate Risks Mount - Premiums kept artificially low don’t factor in rising danger from wildfires, floods and storms, making the market overdue for a correction. (via Bloomberg)

MONEY MOVES

🚀 STARTUP FUNDING

• European carbon accounting startup Plan A raises $27M from VC and corporate heavyweights

• Fernride CEO Hendrik Kramer shares the significance of the autonomous electric trucking company’s $50M raise

• Immaterial Ltd successfully closes Series A funding round

• Cardino raises €1M and launches new C2B EV auction site

• Mona Lee, a Boston, MA-based solar installation company, raised $3.25M in Seed funding

• Electron raises £4M to unlock zero carbon energy grids with its next-generation flexibility market platform.

• BoxPower closes $6.5M Series A for solar microgrids

• Yotta Energy raised $8M to deploy its batteries for commercial solar roofs

• Oneka raises $12.5 million CAD, prepares to deliver desalination devices along the Pacific coast

• Rain announces $9.7M in seed financing to enable rapid wildfire response with prepositioned autonomous aircraft

• Mojave, a Sunnyvale, CA-based provider of liquid desiccant systems, raised $12.5M in funding.

• Battery-integrated charging solutions provider XCharge receives investment from Shell Ventures

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QUICK HITS

TOGETHER WITH SEMAFOR

Get smarter on geopolitics.

People ask me how I keep track of so much news and insights. My secret weapon - I read a lot, including Semafor’s Flagship newsletter.

In this new interconnected world, journalism needs to deliver common facts to divergent audiences. Our biggest stories, and greatest crises, are now global: from climate change to pandemics, rising inequality to supply chain disruption, political instability to the influence of social media.

Yet global trust in the media is at an all-time low. A new moment requires new thinking.

That’s where Semafor comes in. Get an understanding of geopolitics and how they relate to climate and clean energy. Sign up here.

GOOD READS / LISTENS

• The Detroit Auto Show is an ominous snoozefest

• The Climate Corps invests in a different kind of green economy

• NY Climate Week debrief - Takeaways from five days of hallway and main-stage conversations at NYCW

• How much does it cost to charge an electric vehicle?

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- Rick Jarrell, Founder of Acclimate

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