MCJ Collective

The anticipated surge in electricity demand driven by data centers, AI, and similar technologies is undeniable. In this context, nuclear energy stands out as a crucial player. ⚡️ Ksenia Solomatina explores how we can unlock the full potential of nuclear energy by addressing the critical challenge of workforce development. 👨🏭 In this week's newsletter, Ksenia delves into the economic advantages of a strong nuclear workforce, the national security implications, and the enhancement of reliability and safety in nuclear operations. Read more and learn about PowerTechs — a skills assessment technology that identifies existing transferable skills, allowing workers to transition from other industries into clean energy roles. 

Living Carbon is fast-tracking trees for the planet’s future. 🌲 The company’s enhanced photosynthesis trait allows trees to grow faster and accumulate about 53% more biomass, leading to greater carbon sequestration and longer-lasting wood products. We’re thrilled to support Maddie Hall, Patrick Mellor, and the entire team at Living Carbon for many reasons.  👩🔬 Product Innovation: Prioritizing product innovation over practice changes (e.g., no-till farming) simplifies the adoption of nature-based solutions for farmers. 🌱 Land Restoration: In the US, 1.6 million acres of degraded land can benefit from Living Carbon's trees, which proliferate, tolerate heavy metals, and help restore ecosystems. 📈 VCM: Living Carbon supports a robust Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) by generating diverse income streams (e.g., timber) and benchmarking its trees against others to ensure high-quality credits. 🌳 Scalability: Tree enhancement is scalable due to existing planting infrastructure. Living Carbon focuses on the Poplar tree, leveraging its well-known genetics to optimize carbon removal processes. Take a tour through the Living Carbon greenhouse below!

Are clean energy tax credits safe in this election cycle? In a recent letter to our LPs, we shared our thoughts on the upcoming election. Notably, the clean energy and climate movement appears less mobilized this cycle compared to 2020, prompting us to examine what’s at stake. Brandon Hurlbut, Co-founder of Boundary Stone Partners, dives deep into the topic and shares ways to engage beyond voting: 📚 Educate the public on policies that support climate-friendly tech 🏛️ Advocate for protecting the IRA by lobbying elected officials 🤝 Join a coalition like Clean Energy for America Learn more below and share your thoughts with us in the comments.

It's time for another roundup of recent MCJ portfolio highlights... ❄️ Artyc has been named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. This recognition underscores the company’s cutting-edge work in cold chain logistics, ensuring the safe transport of medical and biological samples. 👨💻 Crusoe announced the construction of a 200 MW data center near Abilene, Texas. Crusoe will collaborate with Lancium, an energy technology firm, to bring this AI data center online soon. This marks the first phase of Crusoe’s expansion with a total power capacity of 1.2 GW at the Lancium Clean Campus. 💨 Heirloom announced two new DAC facilities in Northwest Louisiana. The first 17,000-ton facility will be operational in 2026. A second facility with a 100,000-ton capacity will follow in 2027, with plans to expand to an additional 200,000 tons in subsequent years. 🧪 The U.S. DOE Loan Programs Office announced a $213.6 million loan guarantee for Solugen.'s Bioforge Marshall facility in Minnesota to produce bio-based organic acids. This project will create up to 156 jobs and reduce emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. 🌾 Charm Industrial was selected as a semifinalist in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize. This recognition, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, brings Charm closer to scaling its carbon removal technology. ⚡️ LevelTen Energy closed $65 million Series D funding round. This funding will support the continued growth of the LevelTen Platform and finance the company’s expansion into new markets, including granular certificates and clean hydrogen, to accelerate carbon-free energy project deployment. 🌱 Clean Crop Technologies, Inc. secured $1.2 million in grant funding from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) to expand its commercial operations in Holyoke.

Despite America's history as a nuclear energy juggernaut and nuclear's lower operational costs, the construction costs for nuclear plants have risen by 33%, while new solar generation costs have dropped 90%. Though America's nuclear dominance seems to be waning, it still leads globally, producing 30% of the world's nuclear energy. The Nuclear Company aims to restore U.S. leadership in nuclear power by building plants on time and on budget, using an end-to-end approach to reduce costs similar to SpaceX's impact on space travel. Many aspects drove our excitement and reason for investing in The Nuclear Company, including the founding team of Jonathan Webb, Patrick Maloney, and Kiran Bhatraju, plus its impressive management team, including Juliann Edwards and Ron DeGregorio. Learn more about the latest MCJ portfolio company: https://mcj.news/tnc

🇯🇵 Japan is important to consider on the global energy stage. Its emissions footprint is considerably smaller than China and the U.S. but Japan's energy system is heavily fossil fuel-based, especially after it cut #nuclear power generation from roughly one-third to zero in the aftermath of the 2011 #Fukushima incident. Today we're diving into the Japanese energy economy and decarbonization efforts with Isshu Kikuma. Isshu has been with BloombergNEF since 2018 and has a wealth of knowledge on #Japan, energy, and decarbonization. In this episode, Cody and Isshu cover: 🏭 Japan's current power mix 🗾 Structure of the power grid and regional interconnections ☢️ Decrease in nuclear power post-Fukushima 💴 Emissions reduction programs, including feed-in tariffs ⚡️ Role of geothermal energy and more Listen to the full chat at the link below!

Plant-based meat alternatives often fall short on taste. But our next guest is revolutionizing the flavor game with cruelty-free animal fats… without the animals. 🥓 Hoxton Farms is a B2B ingredients provider; cultivating fats via bioreactors and selling them to other food brands, starting with meat alternatives. 🍔 In our latest Startup Series, Co-founder Max Jamilly shares a feast of insights on the future of the alt-meat industry and Hoxton Farms’ pivotal role. 🐷 Cody and Max dive into Hoxton’s innovative pork fat cultivation process, the company's scalability and commercialization plans, the regulatory landscape, and tons more. Hoxton raised a Series A led by Fine Structure Ventures and Collaborative Fund in late 2022, in which MCJ is proud to have participated. Hungry for more? Tune in to the full episode via the link in the comments.

Humans have been extracting geologically stored carbon in the form of oil from the ground for 150 years. What if we could put it back? Vaulted Deep, a carbon removal company, is trying to do just that. Their complex operations are based on a relatively simple concept. In this week's Startup Series, CEO and Co-founder Julia Reichelstein explains how Vaulted injects carbon-rich waste slurries deep underground into permanent geologic storage. Cody got to know Julia and her co-founder Omar Abou-Sayed as they were setting up Vaulted and was excited to dive deeper into this topic and share it with our audience. Listen to the full episode at the link below!

Everyone is talking about data centers and the explosive load growth driven by the generative AI boom. But how can we balance this surge in energy demand with additional clean power? That's where Matt Penfold, Co-founder and CCO at Verse, steps in. In this week's MCJ newsletter, Matt dives into the critical roles of cloud customers, utilities, and data center companies in tackling this challenge. 🔍 Key Highlights: ☁️ Cloud customers should hold data centers to high standards, including hourly or carbon matching and additionality requirements.  👨💻 Utilities should enhance existing infrastructure through smaller capital improvements. ⚡️ Data center companies need better tools for siting, renewable procurement, and efficient operation. Read more and share your thoughts in the comments.👇

If you haven’t noticed, pickup trucks in the USA today are huge. This isn’t just an observed phenomenon; the U.S. pickup truck market has shifted toward larger vehicles, a trend driven by EPA regulations implemented since 2010 that linked fuel efficiency to vehicle weight. Despite legacy OEMs offering electric pickups, their focus on matching the size and performance of traditional ICE trucks makes these EVs too large for urban use. TELO Trucks aims to address this gap by developing lightweight, compact electric pickups designed for urban adventures. We are thrilled to announce MCJ's investment in TELO's Seed round, led by Neo, with additional investment from Spero Ventures and multiple prominent angel investors in the space. We believe TELO Trucks is poised to redefine the future of urban mobility with its groundbreaking electric pickups, and we are excited to support Jason Marks, Forrest North, and Yves Béhar in this journey. Learn why we invested: https://mcj.news/telo