Here is today’s sustainable IT services news, research and analysis -- written for technology partners, green IT service providers, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and climate accounting professionals.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. Partnership - EV Charger Network: ChargeGuru x Zeplug has partnered with AMPECO to power its expanding network of charging stations across Europe, the companies said. ChargeGuru and Zeplug, which merged in 2023, plan to deploy 100,000 charge points by 2025.
2. Executive Leadership - Professional Services: Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has hired EY and BCG veteran Will Rhode as a managing director to lead its new Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The practice works closely with A&M’s core offerings and senior sector specialists to "provide clients with an integrated, comprehensive and competitive ESG service," the company said.
3. Data Center Project: atNorth plans to build its largest data center to date in the town of Ølgod in Varde, Denmark. The site, known as DEN02, will "cater to both colocation and build-to-suit projects and will be specifically designed for data-intensive businesses such as hyperscalers and companies that run AI and High-Performance Computing workloads," atNorth said. Through a partnership with Wa3rm, excess heat from the new campus will support large scale greenhouses for vegetable production, atNorth noted. The data center company also is seeking to potentially procure renewable energy from local wind and solar farms.
4. Solar Market Challenges - Bankruptcy: Lumio, a privately owned provider of residential solar panels, filed for bankruptcy protection with a plan to sell its business to its primary lender, White Oak Global Advisors LLC, Bloomberg reported.
5. Solar Market Challenges - Revenue Shortfall: Maxeon Solar Technologies reported weak Q2 revenues, and predicted Q3 revenues will "decline significantly" from Q2 due to "intense competitive pressures, subdued distributed generation market demand, project delays and order cancellations... and an unpredictable policy environment," SeekingAlpha reported.
6. AI Hardware - Financial Questions: Super Micro Computer denied accounting manipulation claims made by short-seller Hindenburg Research in its report and said it contained "false or inaccurate statements" about the AI server maker, Reuters reported. Amid the war of words, Super Micro delayed filing its annual report, which triggered concerns on Wall Street.
7. AI Chips - Alleged Antitrust Concerns: The U.S. Justice Department sent subpoenas to Nvidia, and other companies as it seeks evidence that the chipmaker violated antitrust laws, an escalation of its investigation into the dominant provider of AI processors, Bloomberg reported.
8. AI Lawsuit - Voice Technology: Voice-over performers Paul Skye Lehrman and Linnea Sage filed a class-action lawsuit against Lovo -- an AI text-to-speech platform. The lawsuit vs. Lovo alleges their voices were cloned under false pretenses, Greenbot reported.
9. Potential Layoffs: Germany’s Volkswagen says auto industry headwinds mean it can’t rule out plant closings in its home country - and must drop a longstanding job protection pledge in force since 1994 that would have barred layoffs through 2029, the Associated Press reported. Separately, Volkswagen in 2023 hatched a layoff plan within the company's Cariad software unit. The software setbacks reinforced VW's struggle to develop next-generation software for multiple automobile brands -- including VW's Porsche, Audi, SEAT, Škoda, CUPRA, Lamborghini and Bentley lineups.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Accelerator - Call for Applications: The TechX Clean Energy Accelerator, operated by the Net Zero Technology Centre, is seeking applications for its 2025 cohort. Deadline for submissions is October 27, 2024. Related List: 50+ accelerators for climate tech and sustainability startups.
2. Funding - Nuclear Energy for Data Centers: Micro-nuclear power plant developer Last Energy has raised $40 million in Series B funding. Of Last Energy’s initial customer agreements, 39 of the 80 units will be built to serve data center developers. Gigafund led the round, with participation from Autodesk Foundation and various family offices.Â
3. Investment - Industrial Software: Hitachi Construction Machinery has 12% of Envirosuite for A$10 million ($6.77 million), becoming Envirosuite's largest single entity shareholder. Hitachi's investment will "enable further development of Envirosuite's industrial software solutions, focusing on ESG and GHG challenges in mining," the companies said.
4. M&A - Private Equity and Sustainability Services: Private equity firm Kohlberg & Company has acquired ClearResult, a provider of energy efficiency, energy transition and energy sustainability services in North America. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The seller was TPG, which had owned ClearResult since mid-2018. ClearResult, based in Austin, Texas, has more than 2,700 employees.
5. M&A - Renewable Energy Consulting: Bureau Veritas has acquired ArcVera Renewables, a renewable energy consulting firm focused on wind, solar, and battery storage projects worldwide. ArcVera, headquartered in Golden, Colorado, generated revenue of €6.5 million (US$7.2 million) in 2023. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
6. M&A - Environmental Services: Haley & Aldrich has acquired The ELM Group, an environmental and engineering consultancy based in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Together, Haley & Aldrich and ELM will "offer an expanded slate of services to address pressing environmental, sustainability, and resilience issues," the two companies said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
7. M&A - Waste Management: Meridian Waste, backed by private equity firm Warren Equity Partners, has acquired Evergreen Environmental Partners Holdings, LLC (EEP) & ADSI Holdings, LLC (ADSI). The seller was BTG Pactual Strategic Capital. The acquisitions expand Meridian Waste's operational footprint within the Southeastern United States. Financial terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed.
8. 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. United States - Nuclear Power Strategy: With electricity demand surging across the United States, nuclear power advocates want to restart some of the 13 reactors that closed in the last decade, saying their carbon-free energy is needed more than ever, Bloomberg reports. But only a handful of retired nuclear plants have a realistic chance of being revived, analysts say — perhaps as few as three, the report asserts.
2. Italy - Carbon Capture Project: Eni and Snam have launcherd Ravenna CCS, Italy’s first carbon capture and storage project.
3. Australia and New Zealand - Solar Energy Partnership: FranklinWH and AC Solar Warehouse have partnered to distribute solar and energy storage solutions across Australia and New Zealand.
4. Singapore - CSO as a Service: The Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) has launched a Chief Sustainability Officer as a Service (also known as CSOaaS) capability for small and midsize enterprises.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Amsterdam Immersive Impact Trip and Masterclass 2024Â (September 5-6)
- LG Energy Summit 2024Â (September 5-6, Brussels, Belgium)
- Workiva Amplify 2024Â (September 9-11, Denver, Colorado)
- RE+ 2024Â (September 9-12, Anaheim, California)
- Diligent Elevate 2024Â (September 9-11, Houston, Texas)
- Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences
E. Previous Updates & Future News
- Did You Miss Yesterday's Daily Update?: Here is our previous sustainability, green IT and renewable energy news for technology partners.
- Future Updates: If you have news to share then please email me the details.
