⚡️ Energy Transition Weekly: UAW strike and EVs

Plus, Why battery storage has dropped and the national climate resilience plan

Good morning. This is your weekly debrief on what’s driving the clean energy transition - with a simple redesign.

In today’s email:

  • UAW strike and EVs

  • Why battery storage has dropped

  • The national climate resilience plan

Not subscribed yet? Sign up here 👇🏼

Brief: The electrification shift is an unofficial, but significant concern during the United Auto Workers' strike against Ford, GM, and Stellantis; concerns center around the potential job losses, wage disparities, and lack of worker protection during the EV transition.

Key takeaways:

  • The United Auto Workers (UAW) is on strike due to apprehensions that the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), if executed solely on automakers' terms, could lead to extensive job losses.

  • UAW seeks equal wages for workers at battery production and assembly plants, and security for those affected by the EV transition.

  • The UAW has achieved some headway, with Ford agreeing to the right to strike over plant closures and offering pay and health benefits for two years to laid-off workers.

  • The structure of joint venture battery plants may prevent workers from receiving comparable wages and benefits to those of traditional UAW members.

  • Government subsidies for automakers have usually not included job quality stipulations.

  • The strike can't legally target battery plants as they're not fully owned by the automakers, but UAW is still pushing for concessions in EVs.

  • The government could potentially push automakers harder to create better EV plant jobs, such as requiring union-level wages from companies wishing to benefit from tax credits.

Read more:

Terra.do is building the world’s largest platform for climate work.

The flagship ‘Learning for Action’ program is a 12-week transformational, cohort-based online program that allows you to dive deep into the entirety of the climate landscape. Understand the complexities in science, economics, policy, & climate justice, and start taking action by discovering climate solutions that need your skills.

Get 20% off of the Learning for Action course with code ACC20. Don’t miss out - applications are due by October 6.

A few good links

⚡️ Clean Energy

  • DOE closes $3B partial loan guarantee with Sunnova in agency’s largest single commitment to solar - Sunnova expects to provide loans to between 75,000 and 115,000 homeowners for rooftop solar installations, residential battery systems and smart software. (via Utility Dive)

  • Solar and battery storage prices have dropped almost 90% in 10 years - The cost of solar power has fallen by 87%, and battery storage by 85% in the past decade, according to a new study – here's why. (via Electrek)

  • Can the U.S. Make Solar Panels? This Company Thinks So. - First Solar kept producing them in Ohio after most of the industry moved to China. President Biden wants many more domestic manufacturers. (via NY Times)

  • Renewable energy has hidden costs - Why it is often more expensive than policymakers expect to go green (via The Economist)

  • Rooftop Solar Power Has a Dark Side - The companies that own many leased solar systems on Americans' rooftops are going out of business, leaving homeowners in a lurch. (via Time)

  • Renewable Energy Is Reckoning With Its Perception in Rural America - Local opposition to solar and wind projects is causing headaches for the energy transition. New research shows some opportunities to move forward. (via CNET)

🚙 Mobility & Transport

  • A big EV purchase decision that's not about the car model you buy - Electrical vehicle charging is key to consumer adoption. How much you pay to charge an EV at home, and how fast, will be a big part of the decision. (via CNBC)

  • Why Ban CO2-Emitting Cars If the Market's Moving Against Them Already? - The British prime minister is delaying – instead of scrapping – a deadline for fossil-fuel car sales, indicating he believes market forces alone will not achieve the country’s climate goals. (via Bloomberg)

  • Vehicle subscriptions could speed EV adoption, Deloitte says - Bundled services could help automakers make cars more affordable for consumers, a Deloitte report says. (via Automotive Dive)

  • Ford Halts Work on E.V. Battery Plant in Michigan - The company cited concerns about operating the factory competitively. It’s not clear if the pause is linked to its dispute with the United Auto Workers. (via NY Times)

  • The EV Transition Is Revving Up Connected Efficiencies for Commercial Fleets - No product might be more emblematic of today’s technical innovation than the car. (via PYMNTS)

  • Dealers Are Freaking Out About Buyers Using The EV Tax Credit As A Down Payment - Dealers are worried about the U.S. government paying them back in a timely fashion (via Jalopnik)

  • How the EV transition looms over the UAW strike - The electrification shift isn’t an official subject of bargaining between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three, but EV-related demands represent “the union’s whole future.” (via Automotive Dive)

Want to dive deeper into the EV industry? Check out this weekly newsletter from our friends at The EV Universe. 👇🏼

Sponsored
The EV UniverseKeep up with the Electric Vehicle industry. Read by over 7,000 EV geeks weekly

🏠 Buildings & Cities

  • National climate resilience plan unveiled by Biden administration - The framework “will help guide wise investment of federal dollars” and indicates that the government is moving beyond traditional disaster response, said a Union of Concerned Scientists analyst. (via Smart Cities Dive)

  • How to fight climate change with parking lots - Why haven’t we covered them in solar panels? (via Vox)

  • NY sets first-in-the-nation concrete emissions limits for state agencies - Set for January 2025, the state’s Buy Clean Concrete rules establishing greenhouse gas emission limits will cover all agency projects. (via Smart Cities Dive)

  • NYC’s big building-decarbonization law faces its first major test - Landlords and climate activists are sparring over the future of Local Law 97 — the country’s most ambitious citywide mandate to clean up building emissions. (via Canary Media)

  • Looking for some home energy storage? You’ve never had so many choices - The once-tiny residential battery market is attracting dozens of new entrants, including recognizable consumer brands like Anker, Duracell and Energizer. (via Canary Media)

  • White House defines ‘zero-emission’ buildings, hoping more get built - The Biden administration on Thursday will announce a new definition of buildings that produce zero planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. (via Washington Post)

Startup funding

  • UBQ Materials raised $70M from Eden Global Partners, TPG Rise Climate, TPG’s Rise Fund, Battery Ventures, and M&G’s Catalyst strategy to work on creating bio-based thermoplastic – UBQ, a recyclable alternative for fossil fuel-based plastics made from residual household waste.

  • BXVentures is launching a global climate tech venture studio fund with a target of raising between $200M and $250M to support early-stage climate tech startups, leveraging its venture studio model to unlock the potential of promising climate technologies from top universities worldwide.

  • Atlas Materials raised $27M for its innovative technology that processes low-grade nickel for use in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, with investors including the Grantham Environmental Trust and Voyager Ventures, bringing the total financing for the company to $33m.

  • Neara raised $10M in a Series B extension, bringing the total amount to $24M, from Prosus Ventures, Skip Capital, and Square Peg Capital to work on an AI-powered infrastructure modeling platform for electricity network infrastructure.

  • Continuum Industries raised $10M from Singular, Credo, Playfair, Techstart Ventures, and executives from UiPath, Skyscanner, and SSE to work on an AI-powered platform, Optioneer, that enables comprehensive assessment of routing options for power lines, onshore and offshore cables, and pipelines for various utilities, supporting energy infrastructure planning and renewable energy.

  • Peregrine Hydrogen raised $7.8M from Bidra, Builders, Gates Frontier, Presidio Ventures, RiSC Capital, and Schox to work on proprietary technology that co-produces clean hydrogen and valuable commodity chemicals, initially targeting fertilizer applications.

  • UnitX raised $5M from SE Ventures and Schneider Electric to work on AI vision systems that automate visual defect detection in manufacturing, focusing on areas like lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, and automotive.

  • Blacklane received an undisclosed amount in a Series F funding round from SIXT, with previous investments by Mercedes-Benz Mobility and Gargash Group, to work on premium ground transportation and innovative mobility solutions, focusing on sustainability.

  • ZeroAvia received investment from Airbus, NEOM, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, Alaska Airlines, Summa Equity, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, AP Ventures, Horizons Ventures, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures to work on developing the world’s first zero-emissions hydrogen-electric engines for commercial flight.

Want to get access to 100+ startup funding announcements and federal funding opportunities? Sign up for Acclimate Pro.

Terra.do is building the world’s largest platform for climate work.

The flagship ‘Learning for Action’ program is a 12-week transformational, cohort-based online program that allows you to dive deep into the entirety of the climate landscape. Understand the complexities in science, economics, policy, & climate justice, and start taking action by discovering climate solutions that need your skills.

We believe that at least 100 million people (that’s just 1% of humanity!) will need to learn climate skills, build new professional networks, and find new kinds of work in this decade.

Get 20% off of the Learning for Action course with code ACC20. Don’t miss out - applications are due by October 6.

Photo of the week

Gif by ProvenEnergy on Giphy

Acclimate what’s driving the clean energy transition. Not subscribed yet? Sign up here.

When you’re ready, here’s how we can help you:

Talk soon,

- Rick Jarrell, Founder of Acclimate