Climate Tech Newsletter: September 22, 2025

Welcome to last week’s edition of the CBKNY’s Weekly News Highlights. Explore the latest policies, innovations, and market trends driving the future of climate tech.

Climate Tech Insights

Fusion breakthroughs dominated headlines as France sustained plasma for 22 minutes and the U.S. DOE launched new funding. AI’s soaring energy and water use sparked infrastructure concerns. CCS projects faced rising financial risks. Meanwhile, California advanced solar-canal innovation, Texas hit solar-battery records, carbon markets expanded in Korea and regenerative farming, and emerging economies were deemed vital to the clean-energy transition.

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1. Volo Earth Closes $135 Million Fund Despite Headwinds in Climate Tech
   September 17, 2025 – The Wall Street Journal

2. Hydrogen Reality Check: China’s Challenges in Scaling the Fuel of the Future
   September 18, 2025 – MIT Technology Review

3. AI’s Energy and Water Use Poses Growing Climate Problem
   September 19, 2025 – Reuters

4. Why Our Clean Energy Future Depends on Emerging Economies
   September 18, 2025 – Reuters

5. Terra Oleo’s Palm Oil-Free Cocoa Substitute Secures Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Funding
   September 18, 2025 – Green Queen

6. Google Inks Deal to Remove Carbon Dioxide and Measure Methane With Vaulted Deep
   September 17, 2025 – ESG Dive

7. California Bill AB1280 Expands Incentives for Heat Pumps and Thermal Energy Storage
   September 16, 2025 – ESG Dive

8. ABB Invests Over $500 Million in U.S. Facilities to Support Growing Energy and Data Demand
   September 21, 2025 – EnergyTech

9. CCS Financial Risks Climb as EPA Cuts Emissions Program
   September 16, 2025 – E&E News

10. France Breaks Record by Running Fusion Plasma Reactor for 22 Minutes
    September 15, 2025 – Earth.com

11. Novel Project Pairs California Solar Panels With Water Canals
    September 15, 2025 – Corporate Knights

12. Biomass May Be the Climate-Friendly Building Material We’ve Been Waiting For
    September 16, 2025 – Corporate Knights

13. California Utilities Use Virtual Power Plants to Lower Grid Upgrade Costs
    September 19, 2025 – Canary Media

14. Texas Solar and Battery Projects Set New Records
    September 19, 2025 – Canary Media

15. Global Solar Power Installations Are Booming
    September 19, 2025 – Canary Media

16. Cleveland-Cliffs Reline Blast Furnace to Align With Climate Goals
    September 18, 2025 – Canary Media

17. Climate Week NYC: Bloomberg Green’s Guide to Events, Panels and More
    September 20, 2025 – Bloomberg

18. China Tells Tech Firms They Can’t Buy AI Chips From Nvidia
    September 17, 2025 – TechCrunch

19. Scaling Carbon Capture Technology
    September 15, 2025 – IEEE Spectrum

20. The Fastest-Growing Climate Techs in the Nordics and Benelux, 2025
    September 18, 2025 – Sifted

21. Wildfire Smoke Linked to Thousands of Premature Deaths
    September 18, 2025 – Inside Climate News

22. UN Report Warns on Solar Geoengineering and Climate Change
    September 15, 2025 – Inside Climate News

23. Microsoft Strikes $6 Billion Deal for Renewable-Powered AI Data Infrastructure in Norway
    September 19, 2025 – ESG News

24. Xpansiv and KRX Collaborate on Korean Carbon Credit Market Launch
    September 19, 2025 – Carbon Credits

25. Scaling Sustainable Farming: AgreenaCarbon’s 2.3 Million Verified Carbon Credits Redefine Regenerative Agriculture
    September 18, 2025 – Carbon Credits

26. IAEA Predicts Doubling of Nuclear Capacity by 2050, Led by SMRs and Reactor Life Extensions
    September 16, 2025 – Carbon Credits

27. Google Hits $3 Trillion Valuation — What About Its Net Zero Goals?
    September 16, 2025 – Carbon Credits