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Colombia has launched an investment portfolio which it hopes will attract USD 40 bn to support its energy transition and climate change adaptation, an environment ministry spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. The portfolio will help fund ecosystem conservation and restoration. The country is in the process of establishing a group of donors to reach “an important financial package for the country,” Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said in New York earlier on Thursday. Colombia will host the COP16 biodiversity conference in Cali from 21 October to 1 November.
Octopus Energy to invest GBP 2 bn in UK clean energy projects by 2030: UK renewables firm Octopus Energy will invest GBP 2 bn in British clean energy projects by 2030, starting with the acquisition of four solar farms from Germany’s BayWa, according to a press release published on Thursday. These solar farms, with a combined capacity of 222 MW, will be operational within the next two years and power 80k homes. Octopus is also developing a 12 MW battery in Cheshire to store energy for up to 10k homes daily and help balance the grid.
And Octopus is expanding further into the US market: Octopus Energy Generation announced an investment in US solar developer Circal, aiming to create 600 MW of new solar farms in the US over the next five years, according to a statement from Friday. The primary focus will be on Texas, providing enough green energy to power 40k homes. This expansion comes just three months after Octopus entered the US renewables market by acquiring solar farms in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Canadian rare earth recycler raises USD 53 mn: Canadian rare earth recycler startup Cyclic Materials has raised USD 53 mn in Series B funding from investors including BMWi and Hitachi Ventures, Reuters reported on Thursday. The funds will go towards developing commercial facilities in the US and Europe in line with the startup’s plans for global expansion, CEO and Co-Founder Ahmad Ghahreman told the newswire. Cyclic Materials is aiming to capitalize on the Western push to back domestic rare earth suppliers to wean off Chinese dominance.
The details: The second funding round was led by ArcTern Ventures, BDC Capital, Zero Infinity Partners, Climate Investment, and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. In the past year, the company has raised over USD 83 mn of total equity. Fifth Wall, BMWi Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, and Planetary Technologies were previous investors who also participated in this round which was given nine months for completion but only used three due to high demand.
What is a rare earth recycler? Rare earth recyclers extract critical raw materials from end-of-life that are needed to further the energy transition. Cyclic Materials’ specific technology extracts raw materials from electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, MRI machines, and e-waste from data centers. The extracted rare metals are critical for electrification and the recycling method produces only 36% of the emissions mining new material would.
OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-
- Thailand plans to introduce carbon tax: Thailand is in the process of developing a carbon tax, but a timeline was not disclosed. The new tax will be designed to minimize the impact on consumers, Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul said. (Reuters)
