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Irish Independent
18-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Kingspan inks deal for new carbon reduction technology
Dutch firm RIFT has developed its proprietary Iron Fuel Technology. The system sees iron powder combusted to generate high temperature heat without direct CO2 emissions. The resulting iron oxide is regenerated using hydrogen. RIFT has now signed a deal with Kingspan Unidek that will cover the delivery of an iron fuel boiler and long-term iron fuel supply. It marks the first time that the fossil-free fuel will be sold and used under a commercial agreement in industry. RIFT's iron fuel boiler will be installed at Kingspan Unidek's facility in Gemert, the Netherlands. The partnership is part of Kingspan's broader Planet Passionate sustainability programme, aimed at reducing carbon emissions throughout its operations "This isn't just a contract, it's a statement," said Mark Verhagen, CEO at RIFT. "Together with Kingspan Unidek, we're proving that clean industrial heat through iron fuel is ready for the market. This is the first time we are commercially delivering the technology, and the start of a much bigger shift." The company already has an operational 1 MW boiler system in Helmond in the Netherlands, supplying hot water to 500 households. RIFT heats water for the heat grid by burning iron powder. This creates a large flame that heats a boiler. No greenhouse gases are released in this process. The only residual product is rust, which can be converted back into iron powder RIFT is backed by public and private partners including PGGM, Invest-NL, and Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Fellows. By 2023, RIFT had secured €11m in funding. The company aims to expand capacity, scale deployments across Europe, and develop international projects.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Startups Weekly: No sign of pause
Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can't miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. You'd think WWDC would cause a lull in startup news. But not in June, when everyone is eager to announce their latest deals — or even to go public. This week brought us many reminders that no startup journey is linear — but the next billion-dollar idea may only be one click away. Gong chime: Neobank Chime went public this week in one of this year's most anticipated IPOs. But the company nearly died in 2016 — until a providential check. Oh no, baby, no: Genetics testing startup Nucleus Genomics raised criticism for its new product, Nucleus Embryo, which could let future parents pick or discard embryos based on controversial factors. Personal CRM: owner Automattic acquired Clay, a startup that had raised over $9 million in venture capital for its relationship management app, which will continue to be supported. (Trivia alert: TechCrunch has been writing about Automattic for 20 years now.) ICYMI: Brad Menezes, CEO of enterprise vibe-coding startup Superblocks, has a tip for prospective founders hoping to find a billion-dollar idea: Look at the system prompts used by existing AI unicorns. Behind this week's top deals, including some particularly large ones, you will find oversubscribed rounds and VC inbound, but also hard-earned funding and bold life decisions. Slim and fat: Multiverse Computing, a Spanish startup reducing the size of LLMs, raised an unusually large Series B of €189 million (about $215 million). The company claims its 'slim' models can lower AI costs and run on all sorts of devices. Upward: Enterprise AI company Glean raised a $150 million Series F led by Wellington Management at a $7.2 billion valuation, up from $4.6 billion in September 2024. Boiling hot: Fervo Energy landed $206 million in a mix of debt and equity from backers, including Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, to continue work on a new geothermal power plant in Utah. Nuclear fuel: German startup Proxima Fusion secured a €130 million Series A (approximately $148 million) led by Balderton Capital and Cherry Ventures. Last mile: Coco Robotics, a delivery robot startup backed by Sam Altman, disclosed having raised $80 million across a mix of funding events from 2021 to 2024. In March, it announced a partnership with OpenAI. Singing: Hotel guest management platform Canary locked in an $80 million Series D led by Brighton Park Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Insight Partners, Fidelity, and others. Fresh capital: Tebi, the new fintech startup by former Adyen CTO Arnout Schuijff, raised a €30 million round ($34 million) led by Alphabet's CapitalG for its all-in-one platform for hospitality businesses. Streamlining contracts: British AI legal tech startup Definely raised a $30 million Series B from European and North American investors to make it easier for lawyers to review contracts. Based: AI sales startup Landbase closed a $30 million Series A co-led by existing investor Picus Capital and Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures, which was one of 130 VC firms that reached out after its Series A and product launch. Shining bright: Co-founded by Jewel Burks Solomon, the former head of Google for Startups in the U.S., Collab Capital closed a $75 million Fund II focused on seed and Series A investments into healthcare, infrastructure, and the future of work. The U.S. Navy says 'welcome aboard' to new startup partnerships. This week on StrictlyVC Download, acting chief technology officer Justin Fanelli shared insights on the Navy's innovation adoption kit, as well as advice for any startups looking to work with the Navy. Sign in to access your portfolio
TechCrunch
13-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Startups Weekly: No sign of pause
Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can't miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. You'd think WWDC would cause a lull in startup news. But not in June, when everyone is eager to announce their latest deals — or even to go public. Most interesting startup stories from the week Image Credits:Nasdaq This week brought us many reminders that no startup journey is linear — but the next billion-dollar idea may only be one click away. Gong chime: Neobank Chime went public this week in one of this year's most anticipated IPOs. But the company nearly died in 2016 — until a providential check. Oh no, baby, no: Genetics testing startup Nucleus Genomics raised criticism for its new product, Nucleus Embryo, which could let future parents pick or discard embryos based on controversial factors. Personal CRM: owner Automattic acquired Clay, a startup that had raised over $9 million in venture capital for its relationship management app, which will continue to be supported. (Trivia alert: TechCrunch has been writing about Automattic for 20 years now.) ICYMI: Brad Menezes, CEO of enterprise vibe-coding startup Superblocks, has a tip for prospective founders hoping to find a billion-dollar idea: Look at the system prompts used by existing AI unicorns. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Most interesting VC and funding news this week Image Credits:Fervo Energy Behind this week's top deals, including some particularly large ones, you will find oversubscribed rounds and VC inbound, but also hard-earned funding and bold life decisions. Slim and fat: Multiverse Computing, a Spanish startup reducing the size of LLMs, raised an unusually large Series B of €189 million (about $215 million). The company claims its 'slim' models can lower AI costs and run on all sorts of devices. Upward: Enterprise AI company Glean raised a $150 million Series F led by Wellington Management at a $7.2 billion valuation, up from $4.6 billion in September 2024. Boiling hot: Fervo Energy landed $206 million in a mix of debt and equity from backers, including Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, to continue work on a new geothermal power plant in Utah. Nuclear fuel: German startup Proxima Fusion secured a €130 million Series A (approximately $148 million) led by Balderton Capital and Cherry Ventures. Last mile: Coco Robotics, a delivery robot startup backed by Sam Altman, disclosed having raised $80 million across a mix of funding events from 2021 to 2024. In March, it announced a partnership with OpenAI. Singing: Hotel guest management platform Canary locked in an $80 million Series D led by Brighton Park Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Insight Partners, Fidelity, and others. Fresh capital: Tebi, the new fintech startup by former Adyen CTO Arnout Schuijff, raised a €30 million round ($34 million) led by Alphabet's CapitalG for its all-in-one platform for hospitality businesses. Streamlining contracts: British AI legal tech startup Definely raised a $30 million Series B from European and North American investors to make it easier for lawyers to review contracts. Based: AI sales startup Landbase closed a $30 million Series A co-led by existing investor Picus Capital and Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures, which was one of 130 VC firms that reached out after its Series A and product launch. Shining bright: Co-founded by Jewel Burks Solomon, the former head of Google for Startups in the U.S., Collab Capital closed a $75 million Fund II focused on seed and Series A investments into healthcare, infrastructure, and the future of work. Last but not least Image Credits:Getty Images The U.S. Navy says 'welcome aboard' to new startup partnerships. This week on StrictlyVC Download, acting chief technology officer Justin Fanelli shared insights on the Navy's innovation adoption kit, as well as advice for any startups looking to work with the Navy.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fervo Energy lands $206M in financing to build massive geothermal power plant
Geothermal frontrunner Fervo Energy said Wednesday that it had secured $206 million in financing to continue work on a new power plant in Utah. The startup is developing what promises to be the largest enhanced geothermal power plant in the world. The initial phase of Cape Station is expected to come online next year and produce 100 megawatts of electricity, and a subsequent expansion set to open in 2028 will add another 400 megawatts. Enhanced geothermal, which runs deeper and hotter than traditional geothermal, has become a favored technology in the quest to find new power sources for AI data centers. By tapping the Earth's heat, geothermal promises to provide 24/7 power without emissions. It doesn't hurt that it relies on skills pioneered by the oil and gas industry, something that likely helps its standing within the Trump administration. The news comes the day after Fervo announced that it had completed its hottest and deepest well to date. The company said it drilled down 15,765 feet in 16 days, and the temperature at the bottom of the well is expected to stabilize at around 520°F. Drilling time represents a large share of geothermal power plant costs, which is why startups have been racing to see who can drill deeper and faster. Fervo's results have unlocked a new spigot of cash. The financing announced today includes $100 million in project-level preferred equity from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, the project finance arm of Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy group. Mercuria, which had previously provided a $120 million loan, provided another $60 million to that facility. And an X-Caliber Rural Capital affiliate contributed $45.6 million in bridge debt financing. The startup has been on a fundraising tear lately. Fervo raised $244 million in February 2024 and another $255 million in December that was split between equity and debt. Energy secretary Chris Wright was at the helm of Liberty Energy when the company invested in Fervo in 2022. The increasing amounts of debt are a sign that investors feel that enhanced geothermal has passed through the commercial valley of death and is ready for widespread commercial adoption. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New Straits Times
08-06-2025
- Health
- New Straits Times
MONEY THOUGHTS: Aspirational Wealth
HAVE you ever wondered why and how voids drive values? If we suffer from a scarcity of health or time, most of our days are spent fixating on those lacks or, if you prefer, the "voids" in our lives. However, once we have overcome those challenges, our season of want (regarding those essentials) ends and stress levels fall. Might this also apply to monetary wealth? Going back centuries, the semantic root for the English word "wealth" stems from old words for "well-being", namely "wela" and later "weal". This reinforces the idea of holistic wealth — that for us to be truly wealthy, all facets of our overall being should "be well", hence the focus on "well-being". Nonetheless, "wealth" today almost always refers to material or monetary plenty. All my life I have been fascinated by money's divergent effects upon people, families and even whole countries. Consider this: A severe lack of personal wealth means impoverishment, while having enough of it, often, supports a contented lifestyle. Tragically, though, too much wealth sometimes leads to arrogance; a smug, inconsiderate ignoring of the plight of the less fortunate; and possibly self-destructive behaviour ranging from individual drug and alcohol abuse, to nations waging war and building weapons of mass destruction. Conversely, great wealth in the hands (and portfolios) of good people can catalyse a cascade of bounty to the world at large. (Consider Bill Gates' goal to eradicate malaria — for elaboration visit — as just one out of millions of disparate initiatives worldwide by caring human beings to make life on Earth better for everyone.) FOR GOOD OR EVIL So, considering how wealth may be used for good or evil, it is obvious that it is a magnifier which enlarges a person's (or a company's or a country's) capacity to do good things or bad things. (Note: More than two dozen years ago, when my wife and I incorporated our small company, in April 2001, the name we intentionally picked for this business vehicle was RD WealthCreation Sdn Bhd.) At its crux, wealth today stems from rising productivity, commonly achieved by harnessing human teamwork and digital technology. If you're interested in my daily work as an LFP (a licensed financial planner) who focuses on retirement funding solutions embedded within a holistic financial planning practice, you can imagine how often I use the word "wealth" (too often to keep track) when consulting with existing clients, onboarding new ones onto my practice, speaking to public and corporate audiences about financial planning, and writing about this crucial aspect of human life. Yet even as I return time and again to the importance of building wealth, I always reiterate that money is NOT the most important thing in life. MEASURED IN TIME Most of us already know that. However, we often tend to forget that truth during our exhausting, exacting trek on life's upwardly inclined treadmill. That's why financial guru Robert Kiyosaki's assertion that true wealth is, ironically, not measured in dollar terms but rather in time, rings so true to me. You'll better appreciate Kiyosaki's incredible insight if you first mull over one piece of advice from the ancient Roman stoic philosopher Epictetus, who lived about 1,900 years ago, only a few decades after Jesus Christ traversed the dusty plains of Judea. Epictetus declared, "Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants." His first two decades of life were as a slave in Rome during the reign of the mad emperor Nero. Now, please reread what Epictetus said, really focusing on his words. After that, we can circle back to Kiyosaki's assertion that wealth should be measured in time. To illustrate this, let's consider two men whom we'll call Adam and Zeke. Both have just retired and so no longer earn money from active labour. To simplify things further, we will assume they have both parked their respective nest eggs in a savings instrument that exactly matches their personal inflation rates. If Adam spends RM5,000 a month in his first year of retirement and has a starting nest egg of RM500,000, he'll run out of money — compensating for inflation — in 100 months or eight years and four months. And if Zeke spends RM20,000 a month in his first year of retirement, then even if he has RM1 million, his money will only last 50 months, or four years and two months. So, by Kiyosaki's interesting yardstick of measuring wealth in time — specifically the amount of time their money will last them, although Adam really has only half the money Zeke possesses, RM500,000 versus RM1 million, Adam is actually twice as wealthy as Zeke because his pile of wealth will last twice as long, eight years and four months versus Zeke's four years and two months. Do mull on that. Then spend the coming week figuring out how wealthy you are, not in terms of dollars or ringgit, but rather in time. Next week I will take things further and explain how we may generate infinite wealth (measured in years) even though our actual pile of wealth (measured in RM) is decidedly finite. Till then, do also focus on enhancing your overall well-being. © 2025 Rajen Devadason
