Shingai Samudzi

Ever wonder how climate founders get the best terms on their equity rounds? We've found they're engineering their capital stacks. They blend customer commitments, early revenue, LOIs, offtakes, grants, project debt, and equity into one cohesive plan. Why? Hardware isn’t software. Plants, batteries, charging networks are capital-heavy and investors want proof before they pour in fuel. Here's our playbook we share with our partners: 1. Revenue: the original non-dilutive capital. Paid pilots and early sales tightened our unit economics and cut dilution. 2. LOIs & Offtakes: contracted future revenue. They anchored pricing and made growth financeable. 3. Grants & Subsidies: de-risk the technology. They extended runway and made every equity dollar go 2–3× further. 4. Project Debt: scale without dilution. Once customers were lined up and the math worked, lenders funded assets, not your cap table. 5. Equity: used twice, with intent. Early: a small dose to recruit the team, ship the prototype, and hit real proof. Later: once leverage existed, to accelerate milestones — not to finance assets. Our takeaway: Equity is often the most expensive money you’ll take. The better you manage revenue, contracts, grants, and debt, the cheaper that equity becomes. If you’re building in climate tech today: Are you raising a round, or engineering a stack? ClimateDoor

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The Climate Capital Stack. 💸🌍 Financing climate innovation isn’t one-size-fits-all. Sightline Climate (CTVC) mapped out the capital sources fueling climate ventures, from VC to infra funds, banks, and govs. Here are some of the key players by funding type: 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 (grant, equity, debt) → Elemental Impact → The Schmidt Family Foundation → William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 (equity) → AENU → At One Ventures → 2150 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗩𝗖𝘀 (equity) → Honda Xcelerator Ventures → TDK Ventures → Toyota Ventures 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 / 𝗣𝗘 / 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮 (equity, project finance) → Blume Equity → Demeter → Just Climate 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 (debt, grant, equity) → The World Bank → EIC - European Innovation Council → Bpifrance ...and more below. 👇 ---- 📍 For more climate-tech insights, follow me @Hugo Rauch, or listen to VCo2 podcast at the link below my name.

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We wouldn't have real estate as we know it without development capital. So how can we expect to build new energy and climate projects without dev capital? It’s been a gnarly barrier. That’s why we created the Development SAFE. There was so much interest (yes, I got your LinkedIn messages!) when we first announced this, but we wanted to test it with a bunch of projects before sharing the docs. Today, we’re publishing the D-SAFE templates and practitioner notes, informed by $7m of D-SAFE deals we’ve done over the last year+, funding that has catalyzed more than $70m of additional investment. The projects have included FOAK / EAOK projects in every vertical, ranging from organic fertilizer to carbon dioxide removal. Q: What is the D-SAFE? A: It is a catalytic financing instrument developed by Elemental Impact with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The D-SAFE provides funding—typically $1M to $10M—to support development activities such as siting, permitting, project design, community engagement, and customer offtakes. Q: How does the D-SAFE work?  A: The D-SAFE is a SAFE note with a term date and call option that allows the company to repay the investment instead of converting it to equity. (And our first tranche of D-SAFEs have already been repaid as projects have advanced, enabling us to recycle the capital!) Q: What is the DSA, and how does it go with the D-SAFE? A: The Development Support Agreement (DSA) is a contract that specifies funding milestones, uses of funds, and non-financial investor rights. For Elemental’s DSAs, we typically include community engagement as well technical/business milestones, and then lean in with services to help companies achieve the benchmarks. Q: Why is it particularly helpful for entrepreneurs building FOAK facilities? A: Fast and familiar: The D-SAFE’s resemblance to the SAFE means minimal legal/loan processes. Flexible: It is adaptable—ranging from catalytic to market-rate capital—and can be customized to match different risk profiles. We’re planning live trainings to help you apply the D-SAFE to your projects. As you use these tools, please share your feedback with me and our outstanding team, especially Danya Hakeem, Avra van der Zee, Amir Chireh Mehr, Jackson Morton, Mitch Rubin, Gabriel Scheer, Aparna Reddy, and the fabulous Robert O'Connor and his team. It will take all of us to build the field… and the projects. https://lnkd.in/gWtq4qJn

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HOT OFF THE PRESS: Carbon Brief just dropped its new solar myth buster. Solar critics try to argue that solar farms are “destroying” farmland, “driving up” energy prices and “harming” wildlife. Over recent months, the Carbon Brief team has been collecting these claims and, in turn, investigating each one. Now, in one easy-to-navigate article, they factcheck 16 of the most common false or misleading statements about solar power – all of which are being amplified by certain media outlets, anti-renewables lobby groups and climate-sceptic populist politicians. Data-rich and evidence-based analysis. Link in comments.

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🌎 “𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 — not only for integrating more renewable energy, but also for better power systems planning.” 🎤 Shunondo Basu — Director, Energy Technology & Innovation @ The Rockefeller Foundation -- 🪙 Last April at the 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 & 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼: Shunondo Basu shared how the Rockefeller Foundation is using AI and digital twin technology to bring clean, reliable power to low- and middle-income countries — starting with a pilot in Rajasthan, India. 🌍 A bold vision to end energy poverty and expand access to clean energy for the next billion. -- 📍 This September, we return to NYC with 200+ investors, family offices, and innovators shaping the future of climate and frontier technologies. ⚡ Join us @ Climate Week NYC 🎟️ 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 → https://lnkd.in/gEgy-aKx

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More high-net-worth investors and family offices are moving beyond blind pools and going deal-by-deal. Especially in renewables, clean tech, circular economy, and mission-driven enterprises. Here’s why. 1/ control and alignment Funds are useful, but they set the pace, fees, and portfolio mix. Direct investing lets you choose the deals, the co-investors, and the hold period. You can back managers you trust, sectors you understand, and impact you can actually measure. 2/ potential for stronger net outcomes Gross returns tell one story. Net returns tell the truth. Removing layers of management fees and carry can materially improve what lands in your pocket—if you’re selective and bring discipline to diligence, governance, and post-deal value creation. 3/ precision risk (without losing diversification) You don’t need 30 positions to manage risk. Build deliberate diversification instead: a core holding (e.g., operating renewables) plus adjacent themes (storage, efficiency, circularity). Curate, don’t scatter. 4/ the long game Impact timelines rarely fit a five-to-seven-year fund clock. Direct deals let you hold longer when compounding is working—or exit when your thesis plays out. Your capital, your cadence. What it really takes: Access: consistent, high-quality deal flow (not just teasers). Diligence: commercial, technical, legal, ESG—joined up, not siloed. Operators: people who’ve built in the sector, not just modelled it. Governance: rights that matter (information, consent, board, KPIs). Impact: baselines, targets, and reporting you’d be proud to publish. If you want intention, control, and conviction in sustainable private equity, direct investing is the sharper tool, provided you use it with discipline. P.S. This post is informational, not investment advice. Capital at risk. Eligibility rules apply in the UK. If you’d like to see our next set of vetted direct deals (for eligible investors), DM me “DIRECT” and I’ll share how we work and what’s coming up.

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I talk to a lot of Climate Investors on what's exciting. It's always different than what you think 👇 Most people think: → Cool climate solution, with impact, and much needed. Investors think: → Impact, disruption, leverage, market size. So when I heard about this company…. I had to share it. 👉 Imagine if protective packaging could disappear like a banana peel - leaving behind only healthy soil, not permanent pollution? Cruz Foam delivers commercial-scale, fully compostable bio-foam made from upcycled food waste, designed to seamlessly replace expanded polystyrene (EPS) and EPE in shipping. That sounds boring. But is huge. Why? Because they enable global supply chains to cut plastic and emissions - without missing a beat. Following the biz model of: Circular, Frictionless, Scalable. Here’s more detail: → Their Tech: Converts shellfish and recycled food waste into chitin-based pellets, which run on existing foam manufacturing equipment. No new CapEx, no supply chain drama. Just swap in, scale up, and ship. → Distribution: Partners with established converters (AMC Industries, Bay Cities, Atlantic Packaging, UN1F1ED2) for instant global reach without owning all the plants. → Circularity: Products compost in around 100 days, closing the loop and helping brands hit zero-landfill sustainability targets. → Market: B2B sales to brands in seafood, meal kits, pharma, and CPG - a market hungry for a cost-effective, greener alternative. → Economics: As a platform material company, revenue comes from both sale of foam (direct and through partners) and IP licensing to converters. ❓But are they causing a dent❓ You bet. Here are some Results & Impact: Cutting down landfill: 70%+ upcycled content, turns food and seafood waste into new value. Easy switching: Brands convert with “zero friction”—using current machinery. Circular economy playbook: Compostable, circular, Lomi-approved, championed by giants (LVMH accelerator alumni, Whirlpool adopter). Traction: $23M+ raised, scaling production, partnerships with global converters. Big shout out to the co-founders @John Felts and @Marco Rolandi for what they’re doing 🙌 —— PS. Want more company with impact breakdowns? Get my Free Climate Economy email Crash course to learn what else is out there. (Link in first comment)

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