ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week:
AI-powered. Ndustrial raised $18.5 million in a Series B round, backed by Clean Energy Ventures, for its AI-powered software that helps industrial customers manage their energy intensity… UK-based Dendra Systems clinched $15 million in Series B financing, backed by Zouk Capital and Aramco Ventures, for AI and drone-enabled land restoration projects.
Energy transition. D.light raised $3.4 million in grant funding to help 10,000 South Sudanese and Congolese refugees in Uganda acquire solar home systems… Solar developer and operator Catalyze secured a $100 million loan from the NY Green Bank to develop distributed solar energy for underinvested communities… Sweden’s Electricity Maps scored €5 million ($5.4 million) to help companies, such as Google and Samsung, draw electricity from the grid when it is cleaner and cheaper.
Fund news. Accion raised $152.5 million to upgrade emerging market financial institutions… Massachusetts teamed up with Social Finance on a $10 million climate workforce training fund… Norrsken VC reached a final close of €320 million for its second fund, which invests in impact-focused climate tech, energy, biotech, AI and healthtech ventures.
Green hydrogen. Hysata, an Australian company developing high-efficiency electrolyzers to produce low-cost green hydrogen, raked in $111.3 million in a Series B round backed by bp Ventures and Hong Kong-based Templewater… Plug Power secured a $1.7 billion loan guarantee to develop clean hydrogen facilities.
Green infrastructure. Chennai-based Relux Electric raised 250 million rupees ($3 million) in revenue-based financing to install 20 “hyper-charging” EV stations on highways in south India… Lagos-based African Finance Corp. is close to a $750 million target for its Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund… Liberty Notes let retail investors invest in Connecticut’s green transition… MIT spinout Active Surfaces raised $5.6 million in pre-seed investment to design lightweight, flexible solar panels for integration into “virtually any surface”… The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Global Infrastructure Partners will acquire Allete, a Minnesota-based renewable energy services provider in a $6.2 billion deal.
Low-carbon transition. Canada’s Relocalize clinched $5.8 million in seed funding to build hyper-local microfactories that produce food and beverages closer to retail points to reduce costs and emissions… Carbon13 invested in a half-dozen startups tackling emissions and waste… Rize scored $14 million to reduce emissions and boost livelihoods for rice farmers.
Returns on inclusion. British International Investment provided a $50 million loan to BRAC Bank in Bangladesh to lend to small and women-led businesses… Momentus Capital closed a $171 million fund for growth-stage companies in underserved communities… VC Include selected 18 emerging impact fund managers.
Waste recycling. Mycocycle snagged $2.2 million to recycle waste into fungi-based materials… New Jersey-based lithium-ion battery recycler Princeton NuEnergy snagged $10.3 million in equity funding from Tech Council Ventures, SCG Group and other backers.
