Last Week in ConTech - 30 September 2024
Apple defines nuclear energy as clean energy + limits on data centers
Last Week in ConTech is a summary of the most important construction startup funding, news, policy changes and national project investments in the last 7 days. The goal is to provide decision makers with information on technology solutions and macro-economic trends in construction to help drive innovation in the industry.
In this issue there are:
16 Startup Fundings
10 Policy and Regulatory Changes
0 US election policy updates
8 New National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
1 New investment fund
1 Acquisition
7 News articles
61 open jobs - view here
Reading time: 14 mins
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Startup Funding
Workforce Development
La Solive, a French startup, raised 4m in Series A funding. They provide hands-on training programs for people to reskill in energy renovation such as project management, heat pump installation, and solar panel installation. More here.
[View open jobs - 3 roles in Sales, 7 roles in Other]
Green Materials
Ecovative Design, a New York startup, raised $28m in Growth funding. They are a mycelium startup producing different strains of mushrooms on an industrial scale for a variety of use cases including construction delivering advanced composites and insulating boards (self supporting block or panel construction). More here.
[View open jobs - 1 roles in Marketing]
Cement
Sublime Systems, a Massachusetts startup, raised $75m in funding from Holcim and CRH. They develop low carbon cement. More here (Holcim PR release here).
[View open jobs - 1 roles in Marketing, 1 role in Project Management, 1 role in Construction, 1 role in Operations, 1 role in HR, 10 roles in Other]
Notes:
The investment will fund Sublime’s first commercial manufacturing facility (expected to open early 2026) and the partnership includes a binding offtake agreement for both Holcim and CRH to receive part of the cement produced there.
Holcim and Sublime have also established a dedicated project team to co-develop further facilities to scale up and commercialize Sublime Systems’ technology for swift market deployment.
Materials / Quality
AICrete, a Californian startup, raised $5m in funding. They are developing a quality control operating system for the concrete and aggregates industry integrating with various batch, dispatch, and truck systems to provide full traceability to quality control managers and supporting the production of better and more consistent products. More here.
[View open jobs - 3 roles in Software]
Quality
mbue, an Austin startup, raised $1.8m in Pre-Seed funding. They are developing an application which uses AI to automatically review architectural drawings offering features such as identifying changes between drawings to reduce time, cost and highlight liability exposure. More here.
Building Decarbonization
Dandelion Energy, a New York state startup, raised $40m in Series C funding. They provide geothermal heating and cooling systems for homes. More here.
[View open jobs - 2 roles in Operations, 2 roles in Sales, 1 role in Marketing, 1 role in Other]
Notes:
Dandelion Energy has developed their own heat pump which they have combined with a drilling and installation service.
When contracted, they drill a 500 foot hole and bury a loop which exchanges heat with the earth.
They then dig a trench to the house and put a heat pump which communicates with the loop.
Geothermal has traditionally been a tiny part of HVAC but the Inflation Reduction Act now offers a 30% tax credit for homeowners that install new geothermal HVAC systems.
It is an emerging technology that designers and contractors may need to become more familiar with.
Site Management
Mela Works, an Italian startup, raised €2.4m in funding. They help contractors to manage their job sites via their smartphones using chat based interfaces to capture images, share information in real time and set up tasks and develop site reports. More here.
Supply chain
Genlogs, a Washington startup, raised $6m in Seed funding. They have developed a network of roadside sensors and use AI to track trucks and freight in real time across the US. More here.
Notes:
Genlogs' infrastructure passively collects data on truck movements, extracting key details such as equipment types and logos.
This offers carriers end-to-end visibility of trucks without the need for hardware installation.
It is valuable for construction, as it enables real-time updates on material deliveries.
Additionally, the data is a critical input for highway and pavement design.
Accurate traffic data is essential when designing roadways; without it, we often build conservative designs.
Genlogs could provide this data at a relatively low cost by monetizing through freight brokers, which saves money on traffic assessments and leads to more precise, cost-effective, and sustainable road designs.
Having accurate traffic data often allows for reduced pavement thickness (e.g., less concrete or asphalt), which can result in greater carbon emission reductions compared to using conservative designs with low-carbon cement.
Side note:
Conservatism and overdesign in construction can have significant sustainability impacts, though these impacts may be difficult to quantify.
For example, reducing pavement thickness by just 10-20mm over a 10km roadway could lead to substantial cost savings and emission reductions.
Finding a budget for these detailed traffic assessments can be difficult to justify given upfront cost.
However, tying such design decisions to sustainability objectives could justify reallocating budget resources as client KPIs are often tied to this.
This justification should be considered in future designs to balance cost, sustainability, and material efficiency.
Drones
Quantum Systems, a German startup, raised €100m in Series B funding. They develop and produce small drones being able to capture and analyze sensor data in the air being used in construction for tasks such as surveying, 3D mapping and digital twin modeling to support urban planning, resource management, and infrastructure development. More here.
Document Management
Findable, a Norway startup, raised €9m in Series A funding. They have developed a platform which streamlines the management of building information using AI to convert scattered files stored in binders, USBs, and emails into an easily searchable digital repository. It helps identify gaps in critical safety documentation but also empowers users with instant access to vital information, whether in the office or on-site. More here.
[View open jobs - 2 roles in Marketing, 2 roles in Support, 1 role in Design, 2 roles in HR, 1 role in Software, 1 role in Product, 2 roles in Sales]
Notes:
With AI we often fail to realize that even the most trivial use cases can be transformational.
An example is the deployment of Microsoft Copilot through their suite of products.
For me, I am poor with Outlook document and file management (I prefer Gmail) often relying on a wholly inadequate search function to find past emails.
With Copilot I can provide the broad context of the email and project and it brings back a targeted list of results.
This simple improvement in search saves so much time and I would no longer have to manage complicated Outlook folder structures to track and bring up project context.
Weather
Brightband, a San Francisco startup, raised $10m in Series A funding. They use AI to provide weather and climate forecasting tools. More here.
Notes:
Weather is a major source of risk on construction sites and can be carried by the GC.
According to EHAB, 45% of all construction projects are delayed by the weather.
Having accurate models and predicting clear weather windows is integral to ensure adherence to program and the reduction of cost.
For example, concrete can’t be poured in the rain and accurate forecasting helps with scheduling and booking of crews.
Brightbank is intending on open sourcing basic forecasting capability and monetizing based on more specific capabilities.
These basic models should be better than existing historical data models including accounting for climate change induced weather variation.
This will allow a more accurate capture of weather risk for projects.
Asset Management (climate)
Repath, a German startup, raised €3.6m in Seed funding. They are developing a climate risk and adaptation platform which helps asset owners identify climate risks, conduct asset specific analysis of hazards and their impacts to proactively manage as well as assess new sites for energy infrastructure for climate risk. More here.
[View open jobs - 2 roles in Software]
Grid Infrastructure
MetOx, a Houston startup, raised $25m in Series B extension funding. They produce a high temperature superconducting grid wire which is ultra-efficient. More here.
[View open jobs - 6 roles in Other]
Notes:
One of the biggest challenges in the energy transition is the capacity of existing grid infrastructure.
To overcome this we can either build more or increase the capacity of existing lines.
The former is difficult with permitting for new lines taking up to 4 years (new legislation is aiming to reduce this to 2 years).
Therefore it is important to identify and adopt new technology which can maximize the capacity of existing infrastructure.
Real Estate
Syte, a German startup, raised €5m in Seed funding. They are developing an AI powered real estate data platform able to do tasks such as analyze property construction potential, understand solar potential on roofs and open spaces and support renovation planning by calculating optimal scenarios including information on subsidies and costs. More here.
[View open jobs - 1 role in HR, 1 role in Marketing, 2 roles in Software, 1 role in Other]
Other
GEOX, an Israeli startup, raised $19m in Series A funding. They use AI to conduct 3D analysis of aerial imagery for a property enabling automated and highly accurate assessments of potential damage caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires. More here.
Notes:
In the analysis, GEOX collects data such as precise location, roof size, type, condition, slope, and more.
This is provided to insurance firms to tailor premium rates.
It is also valuable for asset owners and governments to develop and implement mitigation strategies on properties.
Sateliot, a Spanish startup, raised €10m in Series B funding. They are building a 5G satellite network which integrates with telecom operators to offer seamless, low-power IoT communication for devices located in remote areas. More here.
[View open jobs - 3 roles in Other]
Notes:
A number of rural and remote areas have poor cellular coverage.
This has hampered the deployment of IoT devices which are used to provide real time performance data on remote infrastructure such as bridges helping with safety and maintenance.
Sateliot’s technology uses the standard 5G NTN Narrowband IoT protocol meaning IoT devices can be deployed without retrofitting.
Policy and Regulatory Changes
Judge partially blocks DOT’s DBE program
A judge granted a limited preliminary injunction against the DOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.
The DOT’s DBE program sets goals that at least 10% of dollars in federal contracts be awarded to women- and minority-owned firms which are presumed to be disadvantaged under the program.
Two road contractors asserted in a lawsuit filed last year that they had suffered reverse discrimination because their firms didn’t fall into those categories.
DBEs have netted nearly $34 billion from federal transportation contracts in the last five years.
DC’s biggest suburban county puts new limits on data center locations
Fairfax county has set new limits on the size of data centers and their proximity to residential neighborhoods and transit stops.
Data center buildings must be at least 200 feet from residential property and a mile from Metro stations.
They have also restricted data center size at 80,000 square feet in certain areas zoned for industry.
As of February, Fairfax had more than 4.4 million square feet of data centers under construction, on pace to more than double what already exists.
Biden to Sign Bill Easing Environmental Regs for Chip Manufacturing
The house passed a bill loosening environmental regulations for federally funded chip manufacturing projects.
The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act provided $39 billion in subsidies to American chip manufacturing projects.
Recipients of that money are required to complete federal environmental reviews under the decades-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before they can receive funding.
The Building Chips in America Act now streamlines National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review requirements.
Washington state’s landmark climate law faces Election Day test
The 2021 Climate Commitment Act introduced a statewide cap-and-invest program requiring businesses to purchase allowances to emit greenhouse gasses.
The system is designed to help Washington achieve its climate goals of nearly halving economy-wide emissions by 2030 and virtually eliminating them by 2050.
Since its launch in January 2023, Washington’s cap-and-invest program has raised over $2 billion in revenue.
Voters have the chance to weigh in on a ballot measure that aims to repeal the state’s climate law and its signature cap-and-invest program.
Notes:
The program sets an annually declining cap on statewide carbon emissions.
Close to 75 percent of the state’s emissions are covered under the system.
As the cap reduces, this may increase infrastructure / building decarbonization spending.
Fewer developments will have to include parking spaces under new state law
Due to a deficit in housing across California, a bill was signed that will expand a ban on local governments requiring parking spaces at developments near transit areas.
It builds on preceding legislation from 2022 that did away with parking minimums in residential, retail and commercial development within a half mile of major transit stops.
Related:
Minneapolis passes law aiming to bolster office-to-housing conversions
A new ordinance will make it easier for developers to convert office buildings into housing.
It allows office-to-residential conversion projects to seek administrative approval instead of having to go before the Planning Commission.
It also exempts conversion projects from the city’s inclusionary zoning requirements for up to five years and allows them to undergo less-extensive traffic studies.
Seattle boosts electric heat pump incentives with goal to eliminate oil-heated homes
The city of Seattle announced that it’s offering a new $4,000 rebate for moderate-income households to replace their oil heating systems with electric heat pumps.
The Seattle Mayor has set a goal that no homes will be heated with oil by 2030.
DOE’s $3B funding round includes battery recycling projects
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced over $3 billion in grants for 25 projects meant to help boost domestic production of batteries and battery materials.
Parts of these funds will be used for the construction new facilities.
Biden administration proposes expanding tax credits for EV charger installations
The Biden administration proposed a new rule that aims to expand access to electric vehicle chargers.
It would provide individual tax credits up to $1,000 and business credits up to $100,000 for installation of clean transportation equipment.
The tax credits would only be available in low-income and non-urban census tract areas.
Along with EV chargers, the credits will be accessible for other clean fuel infrastructure investment, such as hydrogen refueling.
Madrid Metro to launch pilot logistics programme for parcel delivery
The pilot initiative to reduce pollution and traffic by using the metro system for parcel deliveries during non-peak hours.
It seeks to avoid the surface transportation of 5,000 parcels per day.
National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
Global
UK think tank predicts 593 GW of new global PV installations for 2024
This year 292 GW of solar was installed by the end of July.
This figure would be a 29% increase on last year’s installations.
If the current pace continues, they predict that China will reach 334 GW of new capacity this year, accounting for 56% of global additions.
US
1st molten salt nuclear reactor in 30 years gains historic permit from US Agency
The Nuclear Reactor Commission (NRC) has granted the construction permit for an advanced nuclear reactor called the Natura MSR-1.
According to the University, there have only ever been two construction permits for advanced nuclear reactors.
This is a new kind of nuclear energy intended to outperform conventional reactors in terms of safety, efficiency, and cost.
NRC Authorizes FPL's Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant to Operate for Another 20 Years
These reactors offer more than 1.6GW of capacity.
The license renewal enables safe operation of these units through 2052 and 2053.
China
China’s pace puts pressure on global clean energy transition
Between 2014 to 2023, China has deployed more clean energy technologies than all other countries combined.
China’s total spending, to date, in solar and wind rose from $150 billion in 2020 to nearly $400 billion in 2023.
India
India clears 2.5 GW of new pumped storage by JSW, Tata Power
The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in India has authorized the construction of two pumped storage hydropower facilities.
This will address the needs for large-scale storage capacity.
Both proposed facilities will be installed in up to 46 months and are due to be commissioned by 2028.
This is inline with CEA’s goal to approve 25.5 GW of pumped storage proposals in 2024-2025.
From this agenda, permits have been granted to four projects totalling 5.1 GW.
India plans 29 new airports to boost aviation in smaller towns
India plans to establish 29 greenfield airports in underserved regions over the next two decades.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already completed feasibility studies for 10 of these airports, aiming to connect smaller towns with global air routes.
Europe
EU issues EUR 2.5bn call to boost Europe's transport network
The EU Commission made available €2.5 billion for projects to modernize the EU's transport infrastructure under its 2024 Connecting Europe facility.
The projects to be funded will contribute to extend and modernize the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
Big Tech
Apple has silently now included nuclear in their definition of clean energy
The full wording is:
Renewable electricity refers to fossil fuel-free sources of energy, like wind, solar, and low-impact hydroelectricity projects. Clean electricity refers to both renewable electricity and other projects that Apple considers “low carbon” but not “renewable,” like nuclear and large-impact hydroelectricity projects, which may be included as a result of low-carbon electricity provided by the grid.
Investment funds
Cerulean Ventures, California venture capital firm, closed a $10M pre-seed fund. They invest in early stage climate tech companies including decarbonization, circularity and sustainability solutions for construction. More here.
Acquisition
Jacobs, a global engineering design firm, completed the spin off its Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber & Intelligence government services businesses and merger with Amentum Parent Holdings, a government and commercial services contractor. More here.
News
Two years in, US clean energy manufacturing boom is still going strong
The Inflation Reduction Act has spurred more than $115B in clean energy manufacturing investment so far.
Twenty of the largest manufacturing projects announced since August 2022 are on track to be completed by 2028, with more than half set to be completed before the end of 2026.
Can 3-D Printing Revolutionize Real Estate? Walmart Put That Question to the Test
Walmart wanted to see if 3-D printing could get the construction of a new expansion done faster and more cost-effectively.
The job finished weeks behind schedule after construction crews contended with finicky material and clogged hoses.
The cost of building by 3-D technology also was roughly the same as traditional construction.
Phoenix GC breaks ground on $70M data center in Mesa, Arizona
Mesa, Arizona, is fast becoming a key hub for data centers.
Mesa officials said about 14.8 million square feet of data center space is planned or under construction in the city.
Construction input costs stabilize as contractors eye relief
Overall construction costs ticked up 0.1% in August.
Over the past year, inputs to construction decreased 0.7%, while nonresidential costs ticked down 0.9%.
Construction costs still sit close to 40% higher than in February 2020 before the onset of the global pandemic.
Building Europe’s electric-truck charging infrastructure (McKinsey)
Techopolis: Liveability, Technology and the Future of Cities (Pi Labs)
What the Jumbo Fed Cut Means for Renewables
High interest rates, which drive up the cost of borrowing money, have an outsize effect on renewable energy projects.
This is as the cost of building and operating a renewable energy generator like a wind farm is highly concentrated in its construction, as opposed to operations.
This is due to the fact it doesn’t have to pay for fuel in the same way that a natural gas or coal-fired power plant does.
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week.