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 - Green Data Centers: Singtel and Hitachi plan to collaborate on next-generation data centers and GPU Cloud in Japan and potentially the wider Asia Pacific region. The effort involves data centers, connectivity, green power solutions, cooling systems, storage infrastructure and data management.
2. Partnership - Hybrid Cloud: Hitachi Vantara and Broadcom Inc. have unveiled a private and hybrid cloud solution that leverages Hitachi Vantara’s Unified Compute Platform (UCP) and VMware Cloud Foundation. The solution allows customers to reduce their total cost of ownership, energy consumption and carbon footprint, the companies assert. Still, we don't know specific energy consumption figures for the offering.
3. Partnership - Supply Chain Risk Management: RSM and Equifax have partnered to help customers assess new vendors and associated supply chain risk calculations.
4. Partnership - Cloud Services and IT Consulting: Accenture and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have expanded their alliance to create the Accenture Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) Platform powered by AWS. The service spans spanning AI governance setup, AI risk assessment, generative AI testing, ongoing compliance support, regulation management and security for AWS workloads, the companies said.
5. Cloud Services: Microsoft GM Sverre Brandsberg Dahl is touting various cloud services to help energy companies reduce their carbon emissions.
6. IT Consulting and Supply Chains: PwC plans to refresh its Net Zero Action Plan to focus on the decarbonation of its operations and supply chain, as well as continued efforts to reduce business travel emissions, Accounting Times reported.
7. IT Services - Recycling: True MSP is touting e-waste reduction services -- which allow customers to donate their old tech, including laptops, monitors, cables and keyboards, to be recycled responsibly, Love Business East Midlands reported.
8. Liquid Cooling - Direct to Chip Technology: LiquidStack has released CDU-1MW, a high-performance Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU). The technology is designed for generative AI, large language model (LLM) and high-performance computing (HPC) use cases.
9. R&D - Energy Transition: Eaton is expanding its year-old Innovation Center near Montreal in Brossard, Quebec. The center researches distributed energy resources (DER) technologies. Eaton is adding 9,000 square feet and 50 more highly specialized jobs to the facility, bringing a total of approximately 200 jobs to Brossard, the company said.
10. Energy Transition Solutions: GE Vernova has launched the Grid Solutions GRiDEA portfolio, a suite of solutions aimed at "decarbonizing the electrical grid and supporting the transition to a more sustainable energy future," the company said.
11. Another Wind Farm Incident: GE Vernova's shares fell nearly 7% on August 23 following a turbine-blade failure at an offshore wind farm in the UK, the latest in a string of incidents involving the power service firm's equipment.
12. Talent - Real Estate Consulting: Knight Frank MENA has hired Wesley Thomson as the head of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) for the MENA region.
13. Solar Energy - CEO Change: SolarEdge Technologies CEO Zvi Lando has stepped down. CFO Ron Faier shifts to interim CFO, and Senior VP of Finance Ariel Porat shifts to CFO. The solar technology company has initiated a search for a new CEO. The CEO change comes amid continued SolarEdge layoffs in mid-2024, following job cuts in early 2024.
14. Lawsuit: The United States Department of Justice sued RealPage Inc. for allegedly violating antitrust law. RealPage, backed by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, allegedly helped property managers collude to drive up rental prices on millions of units across the country, Bloomberg Law reported. The lawsuit surfaces amid housing shortages and heightened prices across the United States.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Funding - Nuclear Energy Startup: Aalo Atomics has raised $27 million in Series A funding. Key investors include Special thanks to 50Y, Valor Equity Partners, Harpoon Ventures, Crosscut, SNR, Alumni Ventures, Preston Werner, Earth Venture, Garage Capital, Wayfinder, Jeff Dean, Nucleation Capital, and more. Special thanks to Earth Venture Capital for the heads up.
2. Funding - Real Estate: Optiml, a digital platform for Net Zero real estate investment and renovation planning, has raised $4 million in pre-seed extension funding, TechEU reported. BitStone Capital led the round, and KOMPAS VC participated in the funding.
3. Exit? Temasek Holdings is weighing a potential exit from an Indian joint venture with Schneider Electric, The Business Times reported. The asse, known as Schneider Electric India Pvt, is 65% owned by the Schneider and 35% owned by Temasek. Schneider Electric's business typically expands smart buildings; data centers and networks; infrastructure for electric utilities; and energy management/automation for industrial organizations.
4. M&A - Data Centers: Vaxil Bio and Green Data Centers have agreed to a reverse takeover deal. The agreement, first announced in May 2024, essentially is a reverse take-over of Vaxil, though the resulting business will be called Green Data Centers. Key focus areas include renewable energy power generation, battery and energy storage systems (BESS) and data center facilities. Green Data is an early stage company that had no revenue and a $1.3 million loss in 2023.
5. M&A - Renewable Energy Consulting: Ramboll has acquired K2 Management, a global consultancy company specializing in wind and solar energy. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
6. M&A - Sustainable Aviation Fuel: BP has acquired a stake in a Chinese sustainable jet fuel company for 350 million yuan ($49 million), giving the oil major a foothold in one of the world’s biggest aviation markets, Bloomberg reported. BP purchased a 15% stake in a subsidiary of Zhejiang Jiaao Enprotech Stock Co., the report said. The acquisition is subject to government approvals.
7. M&A - Consulting: Sustainable Energy First, a sustainability and utilities specialist backed by Beech Tree Private Equity, has acquired sustainability consultancy Inenco. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
8. M&A - Recycling Technology: LyondellBasell (LYB) will acquire APK AG of Merseburg, Germany. The acquisition positions LYB to "grow and upgrade its Circular and Low Carbon Solutions business," the buyer said.
9. 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 - Fossil Fuel Policies: Democrats are calling for the elimination of tens of billions of dollars in “unfair oil and gas subsidies,” The Wall Street Journal reported, in a reversal from the party’s 2020 energy policy likely to be strongly opposed by fossil fuel companies.
2. United States - New York Wind Power Costs: The cost of power from two large New York wind farms is roughly four times the national average, The Wall Street Journal reported.
3. United States - Energy Policy: Brian Deese, an economic adviser for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, called for an economic program to loan allies money to buy U.S. green energy technologies as part of a wider strategy intended to fight climate change, Reuters reported.
4. United States and Argentina: The U.S. Department of State has launched a Clean Energy Transition Accelerator (CETA) project in Argentina. The U.S. will provide the government of Argentina $500,000 in technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the governments said.
5. Chile Policy: A legislative change is threatening to unravel one of the world’s safest bets in renewable energy, Bloomberg reported. The change involves a Chilean incentive program that lured companies backed by BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the report said.
6. Germany - Project Funding: The German government announced plans to provide about 3.3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in funding for projects to make industry more climate-friendly, the Associated Press reported, including by storing carbon dioxide underground at offshore sites.
7. Australia - Climate Disclosure Regulations: Australia's senate has passed legislation to enact mandatory climate-related financial disclosure requirements, which will be effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025, PwC reported.
8. Australia - Insurance Concerns: Home insurance is becoming unaffordable for a growing number of Australian households as increased climate threats drive up their premiums, Reuters reported, potentially putting billions of dollars in mortgage loans at risk.
9. Asia Pacific - Sustainability Guide: IBM, in collaboration with Ecosystm, has released a Sustainability Technology Guide for Executives. The guide seeks to "empower business leaders in the Asia Pacific region to leverage tech-business synergy to accelerate sustainable transformation."
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Amsterdam Immersive Impact Trip and Masterclass 2024 (September 5-6)
- LG Energy Summit 2024 (September 5-6, Brussels, Belgium)
- Workiva Amplify 2024 (September 9-11, Denver, Colorado)
- RE+ 2024 (September 9-12, Anaheim, California)
- Diligent Elevate 2024 (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.
