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Climate Tech

Climate Tech

The Nuclear Industry Loves This Geothermal Startup

In a Heatmap exclusive, XGS Energy is announcing a new $13 million funding round.

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Electric Vehicles

AM Briefing: BYD Leapfrogs Tesla

On EV sales, a clean energy lobbying blitz, and fusion

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Trump and technology.

Crusoe Is Pushing the Definition of Climate Tech

A climate tech company powered by natural gas has always been an odd concept. Now as it moves into developing data centers, it insists it’s remaining true to its roots.

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Fusion.

Thea Energy Hits Milestone in Quest to Simplify Fusion

This fusion startup is ahead of schedule.

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Climate Tech

Climate Tech Is Facing a ‘Moment of Truth’

The uncertainty created by Trump’s erratic policymaking could not have come at a worse time for the industry.

Cliimate tech.
<p>Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images</p>

This is the second story in a Heatmap series on the “green freeze under Trump.

Climate tech investment rode to record highs during the Biden administration, supercharged by a surge in ESG investing and net-zero commitments, the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act, and at least initially, low interest rates. Though the market had already dropped somewhat from its recent peak, climate tech investors told me that the Trump administration is now shepherding in a detrimental overcorrection. The president’s fossil fuel-friendly rhetoric, dubiously legal IIJA and IRA funding freezes, and aggressive tariffs, have left climate tech startups in the worst possible place: a state of deep uncertainty.

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Climate Tech

AI Weather Forecasters Still Need NOAA

While they’re getting more accurate all the time, they still rely on data from traditional models — and possibly always will.

A robot forecaster.
<p>Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images</p>

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has had a bruising few weeks. Deep staffing cuts at the hands of Elon Musk’s efficiency crusaders have led to concerns regarding the potential closure of facilities critical to data-gathering and weather-forecasting operations. Meteorologists have warned that this could put lives at risk, while industries that rely on trustworthy, publicly available weather data — from insurance to fishing, shipping, and agriculture — are bracing for impact. While reliable numbers are difficult to come by, the agency appears to have lost on the order of 7% to 10% of its workforce, or more than 1,000 employees. NOAA’s former deputy director, Andrew Rosenberg, wrote that Musk plans to lay off 50% of the agency, while slashing its budget by 30%.

Will that actually happen? Who the heck knows. But what we can look at are the small cracks that are already emerging, and who could step in to fill that void.

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