This Week in Climate & Clean Energy Wins: Week of 9/4/23

A big week for climate tech companies, Venture capital and private equity firms invested over $2 billion in the sector on Tuesday – making it one of the busiest deal days in history. BMW and Mercedes launched their biggest EV push yet, unveiling two new models to compete with Tesla, and Kia sold over 70,000 EVs in the U.S. last month, a 9% year-over-year increase. Cummins, Daimler, and PACCAR announced a joint venture to advance battery cell production in the U.S., and Siemens announced a $30 million, 10-year investment in workforce development for U.S. EV charger technicians. Referring to the fast-growing EV charging sector, CEO David Etzwiler said, “The number of jobs needed there is tremendous and it’s immediate.” 

Wind Turbines, solar panels, and batteries played a significant role in supporting the American power grid through the hottest summer on record. The Natural Resources Defense Council released a report that projected how progressive permitting reforms would advance the clean energy transition and transmission buildout.

The Department of Energy (DOE) made a combined total of $288 million in clean energy investments this week, announcing up to $150 million in funding to advance environmentally conscious processes of critical mineral production to expand clean energy manufacturing efforts. DOE also announced $13 million for seven hydropower research and development projects that aim to bring pumped storage hydropower capacity to dams that do not generate power. DOE announced $125 million in grants aimed to help modernize the electric grid in nine states and five tribal nations.

Lastly, Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution announced they will increase their investment in a Georgia battery manufacturing plant by $2 billion and add 400 new jobs. With $4.3 billion now invested, this facility is expected to produce 300,000 batteries per year. In Pennsylvania, Eos Energy Enterprises launched the expansion of its battery manufacturing operation, investing an additional $500 million and adding hundreds of new jobs. In Arizona, Pima County announced it will invest $1 million over the next four years in planning ways to reduce harmful emissions. And, in New Mexico, Pattern Energy Group will start work on the SunZia Transmission project – America’s largest clean energy infrastructure project that will employ more than 2,000 workers, deliver clean power to 3 million people, and generate over $20 billion in economic impact. 

Private Sector

• BMW and Mercedes launched their biggest EV push yet, unveiling new models to compete with Tesla. [CNBC, 9/3/2023]
  • Mercedes-Benz unveiled its Concept CLA Class, an EV built on a new architecture that will be the basis for the company’s future EVs and features a 466 mile range.
  • BMW also debuted its new EV concept car, the Vision Neue Klasse, which features BMW’s new EV architecture. 
• Kia sold over 70,000 EVS in the U.S. in August, a 9% year-over-year increase.  [Inside EVs, 9/3/2023]
  • This is the company’s second best monthly EV sales result. 
• Cummins, Daimler, and PACCAR formed a joint venture to advance battery cell production in the U.S. [Reuters, 9/6/2023]
  • The companies will each own 30% of the venture, which will initially focus on LFP battery technology for commercial EVs. They also expect to invest between $2-3 billion to build a 21-GWh manufacturing facility for LFP battery cells. 
• Siemens will make a $30 million, 10-year investment in workforce development in the U.S., focused on training EV charger technicians. [Reuters, 9/6/2023]
  • Referring to the fast-growing EV charging sector, CEO David Etzwiler said, “The number of jobs needed there is tremendous and it’s immediate.” 

New Reports

• The U.S. solar industry expects to add a record 32 GW of production capacity in 2023.  [Reuters, 9/7/2023]
  • A new report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie estimated that 32 GW of new solar capacity would come online in 2023, a 53% increase from new solar capacity added in 2022.
• The American power grid survived two of the warmest months ever recorded thanks to clean energy. [Politico, 9/2/2023]
  • Wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries played a significant role in supporting the grid through the hottest summer on record.
• Progressive permitting reforms are projected to accelerate the clean energy and transmission buildout. [NRDC, 9/6/2023]
  • To access the full potential of the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy benefits, the transmission permitting process must be streamlined.

Biden Administration

• DOE announced up to $150 million in funding to advance cost effective and environmentally responsible processes to produce critical minerals and materials in the U.S. [DOE, 9/6/2023]
  • Critical minerals and materials are key to manufacturing clean energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells.
• DOE announced more than $13 million for seven research and development projects focused on advancing hydropower as a critical source of clean energy. [DOE, 9/6/2023]
  • The initiative aims to develop technologies that will generate power at dams that currently do not and accelerate the expansion of pumped storage hydropower (PSH).
• DOE announced nine states and five tribal nations will receive a total of $125 million as the seventh cohort of Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants. [DOE, 9/5/2023]
  • The grants aim to help modernize the electric grid by reducing impacts of climate-driven extreme weather and natural disasters while ensuring power sector reliability.

State-Level  

• Hyundai Motor Group  and LG Energy Solution announced they will increase their investment in a Georgia battery manufacturing plant by $2 billion and add 400 new jobs. [Reuters, 8/31/2023]
  • Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution have now invested a total of $4.3 billion in this facility, which will produce about 300,000 electric vehicle batteries annually. They plan to spend a total of $7.59 billion and create 8,500 new jobs over eight years in Bryan County, Georgia. 
• In Pittsburgh, Eos Energy Enterprises launched the expansion of its battery manufacturing operation, investing an additional $500 million in the facility and adding hundreds of new jobs. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/1/2023]
  • Eos received a conditional loan guarantee from the Department of Energy of up to $398.6 million for the build-out of four zinc battery manufacturing lines.
• In Arizona, Pima County announced it will invest $1 million over the next four years in planning ways to reduce harmful emissions. The county will focus on reducing harmful air pollution in low-income and disadvantaged communities.” [Tucson.com, 9/5/2023]
  • The award comes from the Environmental Protection Agency, which selected the 67 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas to develop methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
• The U.S. Department of the Interior greenlit the construction of Pattern Energy Group’s SunZia Transmission project in New Mexico. This project is a 550-mile ± 525 kV HVDC transmission line, which can transport 3,000 MW of electricity between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona. [T&D World, 9/6/2023]
  • America’s largest clean energy infrastructure project, SunZia will employ more than 2,000 workers, deliver clean power to 3 million people, and generate over $20 billion in economic impact.