Participated · Series E · Dec 2025

Fervo Energy develops next-generation geothermal power using innovations in horizontal drilling, fiber-optic sensing and advanced reservoir engineering to make geothermal scalable and competitive. Its flagship Cape Station project in Beaver County, Utah is slated to deliver first power to the grid in 2026, reach about 100 MW of operating capacity by early 2027 and has plans to scale to 500 MW. Cape Station is fully contracted through power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison, Shell Energy and community choice aggregators. The company secured long-term non-recourse project financing for the first phase of Cape Station to fund remaining construction costs and meet counterparty credit support requirements. Fervo positions its technology and commercial contracts as enabling Enhanced Geothermal Systems to be treated as a bankable, utility-scale infrastructure asset.

Participated · Series C · Sep 2025

Sapphire Technologies develops and manufactures modular power generation equipment for pressure-energy projects, including its FreeSpin® In-line Turboexpanders. Led by CEO Freddie Sarhan, the company aims to drive global decarbonization by adding clean generation capacity to grids. FreeSpin units have been deployed since 2021 in assets such as high-pressure wells and natural gas pipelines and are scalable from kilowatt- to megawatt-class installations. Sapphire says its turboexpander systems help infrastructure owners maximize efficiencies, improve productivity, reduce carbon emissions, offset electrical costs, and generate cash flow. The company will use the new capital to increase capacity at its new Cypress, California manufacturing facility, grow the installed base in key geographies such as Japan, and expand into new applications. Investors in the round include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and existing backers Equinor Ventures, Cooper and Company, and Energy Capital Ventures. Sapphire Technologies designs and manufactures energy recovery systems for hydrogen and natural gas applications, centered on its FreeSpin® In-line Turboexpander. The FreeSpin® system captures energy from gas expansion and converts it into reliable electricity without interrupting operations. Each FreeSpin® system generates about 2.6 GWh of clean energy annually and reduces atmospheric CO2e emissions by roughly 2,000 tons. The company has secured and begun development on installations in Japan and across the U.S. since launching in 2021. Led by CEO Freddie Sarhan, Sapphire positions itself as a contributor to global decarbonization. The company experienced 220% employee growth over the past year and plans continued expansion. It intends to use new funding to accelerate development of its clean energy solution. Sapphire Technologies develops, manufactures and sells energy recovery systems for industrial and commercial natural gas and hydrogen applications. Its FreeSpin In-line Turboexpanders (FIT) convert waste pressure energy from pressure reduction processes into clean electric power without interrupting operations, offsetting carbon emissions. The company is led by CEO Freddie Sarhan and is a spin-off from Calnetix Technologies, based in Cerritos, California. Sapphire recently closed a Series A funding round of undisclosed size. The company intends to use the funds to scale up manufacturing and distribution of its energy recovery systems for pressure let-down applications. The article does not disclose revenue, user metrics, or prior financing amounts.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2025

Spiritus develops direct air capture (DAC) technology built around its Spiritus Sorbent and modular Spiritus Carbon Orchard system for low‑cost DAC and sequestration (DAC+S). The company says its approach achieves rapid carbon sorption and desorption rates at a fraction of the cost versus state‑of‑the‑art sorbents. Spiritus is targeting a reduction in cost from roughly $1,000 per ton to about $100 per ton (a 90% decrease) to enable megaton‑scale carbon removal. With a $30M Series A led by Aramco Ventures and participation from Khosla Ventures, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, and TDK Ventures, Spiritus will accelerate deployment of multiple facilities. Planned deployments include a 1,000‑ton pilot DAC site in New Mexico and Orchard One in Wyoming, designed to sequester 2 megatons of CO2 annually. The company is partnering with Aramco to further develop the technology and scale deployments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support industrial and energy growth. Spiritus develops direct-air-capture technology built around a proprietary Spiritus Sorbent and the modular Spiritus Carbon Orchard system for low-cost DAC and sequestration (DAC+S). The company emphasizes rapid sorption/desorption rates, passive air collection, and a sorbent cost profile claimed to be far lower than state-of-the-art alternatives. Spiritus says its sorbent delivers a tenfold increase in adsorption efficiency compared with existing methods under passive DAC conditions. The company aims to provide a scalable, modular solution that enables larger deployments and localization of supply chains. Spiritus is pursuing pilots and scale deployment opportunities as part of collaboration efforts with industry partners. In November 2023 Spiritus received an equity investment from Aramco Ventures and entered a memorandum of understanding with Aramco to explore technology enhancement, piloting, scale deployment, and supply‑chain localization. Spiritus emerged from stealth with a Direct Air Capture + Sequestration (DAC+S) approach built around the Spiritus Sorbent and a novel non‑TVSA desorption process. The company’s Carbon Orchard uses passive air contacting (no fans) and a modular, scalable design to bind CO2 to the sorbent and circulate it for energy‑efficient desorption. Spiritus reports rapid sorption/desorption rates at a fraction of the sorbent cost versus state‑of‑the‑art sorbents under passive DAC conditions, and says its desorption process cuts energy usage by more than half versus current methods. The company aims to drive costs below $100 per ton removed and is launching to optimize key parameters and prove its low‑cost DAC+S economics. Spiritus has formed several partnerships with companies addressing DAC challenges and says it will announce them soon. To advance development and scaling of the technology, Spiritus raised $11 million in a recent funding round.

Participated · Equity · Aug 2024

Ecopals produces sustainable road-construction materials whose flagship product, Ecoflakes, is a high-performance asphalt additive made from recycled plastic. Ecoflakes replaces virgin plastics and parts of bitumen, extends asphalt service life and can cut the CO2 footprint of road construction by up to 20 percent. The company says its products have been proven on dozens of construction sites and also reduce costs versus conventional materials. Ecopals plans to expand production capacity to meet growing demand and to develop international markets while working on further innovations to lower CO2 emissions in road construction. The company recently completed its largest financing to date, securing €4 million to support faster growth. Management is expanding: Fabian Zitzmann will become Co-CEO alongside Jonas Varga to sharpen positioning and expand sales. ecopals has developed EcoFlakes, an asphalt additive produced from non-recyclable plastic streams in cooperation with Fraunhofer ICT and the University of Kassel. EcoFlakes are used as an ingredient in asphalt mixtures to improve bonding between aggregates and bitumen and have been validated in laboratory tests and several pilot roads. The company says the additive can deliver up to 30% lower CO2 emissions in road construction and twice the service life. Founded in 2021 by Jonas Varga and Maximilian Redwitz and based in Berlin, ecopals aims to link recycling, road construction and science to become a platform for resource-efficient construction materials. The startup plans regional production of EcoFlakes to reduce transport-related emissions and to scale widespread use. Following the financing, ecopals intends to grow its team from six to about 12–15 employees with hires focused on chemical engineering and sales.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2024

e-Zinc builds zinc-based, long-duration energy storage (zinc-air) technology designed to store energy for multiple days with lower cost and increased safety compared with conventional batteries. The company is based in Toronto and is developing products intended for both off- and on-grid applications. e-Zinc plans to use new funding to accelerate product development and to complete a 42,000 sq. ft pilot manufacturing facility in Mississauga, Ontario. It is partnering with Toyota Tsusho Canada Inc. and the California Energy Commission to carry out field demonstrations that will validate its systems can store 24 hours of energy (about 10x traditional batteries). The company recently expanded its executive team with new CFO, CTO, COO, and CCO hires to support the transition from product development to commercialization. e-Zinc develops a zinc-air battery energy storage system designed for long-duration applications. The company's system can be up to 80 percent more cost effective than comparable lithium-ion systems, operates in cold and hot climates, and is made of abundant, recyclable materials. e-Zinc aims to displace diesel generators as a low-emission alternative and to enable a 100 percent renewable energy future by pairing its batteries with renewable sources. Financially, the company recently completed a Series A and has secured a USD $7 million venture debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank to support commercialization. Funds will be used to expand manufacturing operations at a new facility in Mississauga, Ontario, accelerate production of commercial energy storage systems, and execute high-value commercial pilot projects. Planned pilots include a Toyota Tsusho Canada Inc. project and work with the California Energy Commission, with testing and validation expected within roughly 18 months. e-Zinc develops a zinc-air battery energy storage system designed for multi-day discharge at rated power to support high renewable penetrency. The system is made of abundant, recyclable materials, operates in cold and hot climates, and the company says it can be up to 80% less expensive than comparable lithium‑ion systems for long-duration applications. e-Zinc aims to displace diesel generators for half-day to five-day backup power and to pair with renewable generation for remote or off-grid use cases. The company is partnering with the California Energy Commission to demonstrate powering businesses through multi-day outages caused by natural disasters. e-Zinc will use recent financing to commence pilot production of its first commercial energy storage systems for field deployment. Financially, the company has advanced from a 2020 seed round to a $25 million Series A to fund commercialization and pilot projects. e-Zn develops grid-scale energy storage systems that leverage low-cost zinc metal to deliver multiple days of storage and to scale energy capacity at roughly one-tenth the capital cost of lithium-ion batteries. The Toronto-based company is led by CEO James Larsen. Its systems operate in temperatures from -30°C to 60°C, are made of abundant and recyclable materials, and are described as completely safe. e-Zn targets remote and resiliency markets including remote communities, mining operations, telecommunications, military bases, data centres, island nations, EV charging stations and non-wire alternatives. The company intends to use the funds to commercialize its technology and begin deploying systems in-field with commercial customers. The article does not disclose operating metrics such as revenue or user counts.