Sustainable IT and Climate Tech News 17 December 2024: Ansys, E3 Advisory, Verne, More

Here is today’s sustainable IT services and climate tech news, research and analysis -- written for technology partners, green IT service providers, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and climate accounting professionals.

A. Sustainable IT, Talent, Partnerships and Green Tech Alliances

1. Simulation Software and Carbon Reduction: Ansys is pitching its simulation software as a potential way for customers to reduce direct, indirect, and/or downstream GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions across the product life cycle.

2. Data Center Business Expansion: Verne, which promotes sustainably powered HPC data centers, plans to build data center number five in Mäntsälä, Finland. Construction will start in mid-2025 and is expected to require two years to complete, Verne said.

3. Data Centers and Network Connectivity: Prometheus Hyperscale has tapped Lumen Technologies to "connect its energy-efficient data centers to meet growing AI data demands," the two companies said. The expanded network will "enable high-density compute in Prometheus facilities to deliver scalable and efficient data center solutions while maintaining their commitment to renewable energy and carbon neutrality," the firms added.

4. Data Centers - Ohio: Amazon Web Services (AWS) through 2030 or so plans to invest roughly $10 billion in additional funding to expand its data center infrastructure in Ohio.

5. Partner Program - Carbon Offsets: ProcessBarron has joined the ReCredit Sustainable Partner Program by Reworld. The move will help ProcessBarron achieve its net-zero goals through the purchase of sustainable carbon offsets, ProcessBarron asserted.

6. Partnership - Net-Zero Data Centers: INZET, a unit of the Amerta Bali Lestari Foundation, is partnering with Sustainability Economics to help deploy clean energy-powered AI data centers in Bali, Indonesia, the organizations said.

7. Partnership - Solar and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS): Ameresco has partnered with the City of Edmundston and Edmundston Energy to launch a microgrid project called Solstice. The project will enhance grid resilience and meet peak energy demands, Ameresco said.

8. Partnership - Energy Storage Research: Binghamton University and BAE Systems are partnering to advance power electronics and energy storage research and development, workforce development and testing initiatives, the two organizations said.

9. Battery Management Systems - Market Growth Forecast: The automotive battery management system market is projected reach $37.4 billion by 2033, up from $3.8 billion in 2023, according to Future Market Insights Global and Consulting. That's a 25.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

10. Refurbished Hardware: The Logitech.com and LogitechG.com shopping portals now feature more refurbished products, and the company now offers Certified Refurbished devices on eBay's Refurbished brand store.

11. EV Charging Network Expansion: ChargePoint and the Colorado Energy Office have completed six EV fast-charging corridors across the state. Thirty-three fast-charging sites offering more than 80 charging ports are now available to EV drivers along highways across Colorado, the organizations said. The network expansion arrives after ChargePoint announced layoffs in early 2024 and changed CEOs in 2023.

B. Sustainability M&A, Climate Tech Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches

1. Funding - EV Charging Software: WeaveGrid, a software company focused on electric vehicles (EVs) and the grid, has raised $28 million. Toyota led the funding round. Existing investors Activate Capital, Collab Fund, Emerson Collective, and Salesforce Ventures participated, with debt provided by HSBC Innovation Banking.

2. EV Charging - Stock Plummets: EVgo's stock fell about 25% after the company announced a secondary offering of Class A shares. EVgo changed CEOs in 2023 and further shook up its executive team in early 2024.

3. Solar Financing Project: SolarBank secured a $25.8 million loan from Royal Bank of Canada to build and operate two Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects in Ontario, Canada.

4. M&A - Energy Transition Services: Ricardo plans to acquire E3 Advisory, an energy transition firm.

5. Complete M&A List: Here's our database of all M&A deals involving green IT and renewable energy buyers, sellers and investors.

C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News

1. Canada Delays Grid Transition: Canada's Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) seeks to create a net-zero electricity grid by 2050, abandoning the previous target of 2035, Reuters reported.

2. Europe - CSO Trends: In Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, around 10% of the biggest public companies have a CSO at the executive board level, McKinsey reported.

3. European Union - Financial Policy: European Union sustainable finance advisors proposed a new category system for funds in a bid to overhaul the bloc's flagship rules on sustainable investments, Reuters reported.

D. Sustainable IT and Green Technology Conference Calendar

1. CES 2025 (January 7-10, Las Vegas, Nevada)
2. Sustainable and Impact Investments International Conference 2025 (January 14-15, Dublin, Ireland)
3. Davos 2025 -- World Economic Forum 2025 annual meeting (January 20-24, Switzerland)
4. Sustainable Foods Summit 2025 (January 22-23, San Francisco, California)
5. Cleantech Forum North America 2025 (January 27-29 in San Diego, California)
6. Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences

E. Previous Updates & Future News

• Future Updates: If you have news to share then please email me the details.
• Did You Miss Yesterday's Daily Update?: Here is our previous sustainable IT, climate tech and renewable energy news for technology partners.