BOARDROOM
Google joins $800mn funding round for clean energy to AI datacentres
Google is among a number of investors in Intersect Power’s $800mn funding round. This news comes alongside an announcement that Google will be partnering with Intersect and TPG Rise Climate to develop industrial parks to house AI datacentres alongside clean energy plants, to ease power grid demands and reduce delivery times for new datacentre and energy generation projects simultaneously. Intersect, a portfolio company of TPG Rise Climate, was founded in 2016, and provides low-carbon energy solutions. Google is one of several tech firms under increasing pressure to develop sustainable solutions to the increasing energy demands of the AI boom.
EIF invests €30mn in capital fund for women entrepreneurs
The European Investment Fund (EIF) has announced a €30mn investment in Sistafund, a Paris-based venture capital fund supporting pre-seed to Series A tech innovations led by women. Sistafund, backed by entrepreneurs and corporates, including BNP Paribas and L’Oréal, was founded in 2022 by Tatiana Jama, alongside Sista, an NGO that works to close the funding gap for women in tech. The fund has a target of €100mn, which would make it the largest gender-lens fund in Europe. It focuses on four key areas in health tech, and recently made an investment into Orakl Oncology, a company using biology, data and AI to develop treatments for cancer.
EAAIF makes first Asian investment with $20mn for sustainable aviation fuel
The Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF) has made its first investment into Asia with a $20mn investment into a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) facility under construction in Pakistan. The project, developed by leading biofuel producer Safco Ventures, will produce 145,000 tonnes of SAF every year, alongside 18,000 tonnes of bio-naphta, a renewable fuel. This process will use locally-sourced feedstock, such as cooking oil, converting over 200,000 tonnes per annum into fuel. At present, aviation produces around 2.5% of global emissions, and is at risk of rising to 5% without serious mitigation, leading to ambitious plans for net-zero emissions in the industry by 2050. According to the International Air Transport Association, the growth of SAF could be the largest single contributor to this target.
UK government commits £343mn to revitalising the rural economy
The UK government has announced £343mn in funding for rural economic development, in a statement made as hundreds of farmers went to Westminster to protest announced changes to inheritance tax, removing exemptions for farms worth more than £1mn. This funding, distributed through the Rural Payments Agency, is part of a larger farming budget of $5bn, to be spent on sustainable agriculture. Through a number of schemes set to launch in 2025, the government hopes to incentivise regenerative farming, rewarding sites with increased flood resilience, biodiversity and heritage protection. As many farmers continue to express their disappointment in the new government, pressure is building for these policies to have a real effect.
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