Cleantech Group

Is #AI the #Climate’s Greatest Risk—or Its Most Powerful Catalyst? 🌍🤖 The intersection of AI and Climate is no longer a theoretical debate; it is the frontline of business strategy, infrastructure, and policy. Join us on April 28 for a high-level exploration of how we navigate the "Age of Acceleration." 📍 Where: Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, Boston 🗓️ When: Tuesday, April 28, 2026 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM 🎟️ Secure your spot here: https://lnkd.in/eqErRNZy We are thrilled to announce a powerhouse lineup of experts who will bridge the gap between global stakes and local action: 🎤 Samir Karoum (Bombellii Ventures) | Opening Keynote Samir will set the stage on #ClimateSovereignty, challenging us to reclaim control over our energy and data systems by turning "impossible" climate hurdles into scalable mathematical systems. 🎤 Melissa Lavinson (MA Office of Energy Transformation) On #GridEquity: Navigating the state-level mandates and infrastructure shifts required to ensure a high-tech, electrified economy benefits every community. 🎤 Jenny X. (Stealth Startup / former Wellington Management) On Climate ROI & #Risk: How institutional investors are using high-fidelity AI data to re-price long-term climate risk and identify bankable innovation. 🎤 Heather Takle (Renewal Initiatives) On #Decarbonizing the Peak: Leveraging AI-driven Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) to turn intermittent renewables into a reliable, 24/7 base load for the grid. 🎤 Anthony DeOrsey Jr. (Cleantech Group) On the Data Center "#PullThrough" Effect: How massive AI infrastructure spend is paradoxically fast-tracking the deployment of next-gen clean energy. 🎤 Nakita Devlin Persaud (Everbridge) On the #Insurance Protection Gap: Why traditional insurance is lagging and how AI integration can help underwriters close the growing capacity gap in risk transfer. 🎤 Pengxin Dong (Three Shores Advisory) On #Scaling in Fragmented Markets: Hard-won insights on the regulatory hurdles and business cycles that determine whether a climate solution scales or stalls. Why attend? Whether you are a decision-maker navigating state mandates, an entrepreneur building bankable tech, or an investor looking for resilience in the energy transition, this event is designed for you. 👉 Register now at: https://lnkd.in/eqErRNZy Ludivine Wolczik, Monique Clark, Maud Albrieux-Hollaender

Four-legged and even humanoid robotics will have their moment, but don’t expect these to shape the next wave of innovation in cleantech—not in 2026 at least. Similarly to software or AI, robotics solutions are enabling technologies or a tool that cleantech industries leverage. If we want to be technical, the robot ideally reduces total emissions and/or resource consumption by improving workflow efficiency. But automation isn’t synonymous with cleantech simply because it boosts productivity. So simply swapping people for robots isn’t going to get a corporation the seal of approval from us. Still, there are excellent examples where robots mitigate human-prone inefficiencies and enable cleantech. Farm robotics have been buzzing for quite some time. You may know the bigger names like Agtonomy for its autonomous tractors. We’ve seen activity this quarter emerging for high-precision robotics that conserve valuable resources like water and chemicals. 👉 US-based AgZen just raised a $10M Series B for its high-precision agrochemical droplets 👉Grodi raised $2.9M this year to build out farm robotics across Spain 👉And Norway’s Kilter raised a $7.6M Series A for its automated weeding robots Recycling is a clear use case for robotics with many established technologies utilized in collection and sorting schemes. One of the hottest trends right now is integration of AI for sorting identification along the value chain. 👉US-based Glacier combines AI and robotics for high-precision sorting with ability to identify billions of images to recover plastics, films, metals and more 👉Luxenbourg-based R3 Robotics developed automated robotic disassembly specifically for car batteries and identifies optimal end-of-life processing of its various components 👉Also shoutout to Canada’s Sixone Labs for its AI sensors for sorting textiles, where sorting is a significant bottleneck in textiles recycling Another emerging application is for wind and solar PV maintenance, especially in difficult-to-reach places. Automated robots lower safety risks by up to 80%, minimizing hazardous tasks in wind, while predictive maintenance significantly boosts overall performance in solar PV. 👉China-based Leapting丽天 just raised $14.5M Series B for its solar PV cleaning and installation robots 👉UK-based BladeBUG uses bug-inspired robots to scale wind turbines to spot subsurface defects in blades As physical AI popularizes, more deals surrounding robotics will continue. Robotics like XOCEAN’s ocean monitoring tools make the case for cleantech clear. Four-legged and even humanoid robotics will have their moment, but don’t expect these to shape the next wave of innovation in cleantech—not in 2026 at least. Stay focused on process-specific robotics and automation, rather than these versatile form factors and platforms that are capturing headlines right now. #cleantech #robotics Image by Leapting

As cleantech becomes more closely tied to critical infrastructure, cross-border investment is increasingly shaped by national priorities rather than purely economic considerations. The move from a “borderless” model to a partnership-oriented one is less a constraint than an adaptation. Capital is increasingly favoring platforms that can replicate across markets and operate within localized ecosystems, rather than single-market solutions. This raises a broader set of questions for the market: ❓If scaling now depends on localization, are we moving from economies of scale to economies of replication? ❓Will fragmentation ultimately strengthen resilience, or introduce inefficiencies that slow the transition? Swipe for insights from Dr. Yufan Guan (NIO Capital) and Dr. Eric Wang (GRC SinoGreen Fund) from Summer Bae's latest perspective. #ClimateInvestment #CleanTech #CapitalMarkets #ChinaTech #EnergyTransition

For corporates, the era of innovation for innovation's sake is over. Macroeconomic pressures, geopolitical instability, and shifting policy priorities are reshaping how innovation is funded, developed, and deployed. We've spoken to corporate innovation teams, venture arms, and ecosystem partners across industries, and 5 structural forces keep coming up - reshaping how corporates engage with external cleantech innovation today. ⚡ Sustainability is now intrinsically linked with efficiency - and that's not necessarily a bad thing ✂️ Budgets & teams are shrinking - but expectations aren't ⚙️ Innovation is increasingly embedded in operational teams 🎯 Exploration is being traded for quick wins & deployment 🤝 External ecosystem partners are filling gaps that internal teams can't If any of these sound familiar, you're not alone - and understanding them is the first step to getting ahead. The full breakdown is in my latest Briefing on the Cleantech Group Members Hub - link in the comments.

May 20th in Singapore I'll be joining a group that's at the cutting edge of multiple pathways to at-scale fusion and nuclear fission. Helen Lin (At One Ventures), Tomoaki (Tom) Imai (MiRESSO Co., Ltd.), Yosuke KUBO (Helical Fusion). Hardly a day goes by without a big announcement in fission or fusion nowadays. The energy required to power humanity over the next few decades will require generation at a scale that only nuclear can offer. In fission, the constraint is largely speed — most projects require a high degree of site-specific customization that inflates timelines and cost. At One Ventures portfolio company Blue Energy raised $380M earlier this week to advance its development of pre-fabricated nuclear power plants. If successful, this approach will compress timelines, avoiding the costly project overruns that raise nuclear costs, and will fundamentally de-risk nuclear for private investors. Fusion still has science & engineering milestones to hit before becoming a commercial reality, but even so, there are very real supply chain constraints to be solved for in that time. Beryllium, critical as a "neutron multiplier" in fusion reactions for a high % of reactor types, is in low supply globally today. The '26 U.S. Geological Survey report estimates 430 tons produced in 2025 (see link in chats), the challenge is that a commercial scale fusion reactor may require 350-500 tons of beryllium. MiRESSO Co., Ltd. has developed a novel process to flatten the heat profile of beryllium ore refining and as a result, fundamentally reduce costs. Last December, I spoke with Helical Fusion in Japan, just days before the company signed Japan's first fusion PPA with Aoki Super (link in comments). Helical Fusion is developing helical stellarators, with the promise of some day running fusion with a steady-state plasma that can run consistently without ramp-up and ramp-down. Solving for a future operational challenge of commercial fusion facilities. There is still time to register for the #CleantechForumAsia, see link in comments.

⛔Microsoft is pausing new purchases of carbon credits. The trend of buying offsets has halted: emissions-reducing activity is now motivated by cost reduction and energy supply stability more than climate concerns. We've tracked the carbon removals market being increasingly over-supplied since early 2025. Expect pivots, bankruptcies, and company shutdowns to accelerate through the year. What happens next: Learnings from this wave of Microsoft purchases will set a framework for any future revival. Removal models going forward must offer co-benefits: marketable products aside from carbon credits, though credits may remain an extra revenue layer. Microsoft was more than a financial underpinning. It was the single most important contributor to carbon removal development. Without policy incentivization and the market's main customer purchasing, watch for more companies to fail. The paradox: Emissions are certain to rise in the near-term from AI data centers, renewables, storage, and efficiency improvements, all major priorities for AI hyperscalers. What becomes of prior ambitions to be carbon negative by 2030 and address historical emissions by 2050? The adjustment will be painful, but practical, economical solutions will emerge from this phase. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dUQQ_pTA