Battery tech may be one of the hottest automotive investments this winter—at least according to VC dollars.

Venture capitalists invested more than $647 million in automotive industry startups in February, and more than 70% of that funding went to battery tech companies, Automotive News reported.

Fully charged

The biggest bet in that sector was Our Next Energy, a Michigan-based energy storage company that netted a $300 million Series B at a post-money valuation of $1.2 billion.

The funding round came alongside an additional $220 million in grants from the State of Michigan. One of the company’s goals is to produce enough LFP batteries to power 200,000 electric vehicles by 2027, the FT reported.

Why it matters: LFP batteries are widely seen as a smart way to power EVs since they’re less expensive to manufacture than some methods and provide faster vehicle charging.

But the tech is a relatively new manufacturing bet for the US. In 2022, LFPs represented about half the battery capacity of EVs sold in China, compared to only 9% for the US—and that’s up from zero for the US in 2021, according to research from Adamas Intelligence cited by the FT. When Our Next Energy completes its factory, chances are that number will grow even larger.—HF

In the wake of a disappointing end to its first 18 months as a publicly traded company, the maker of San Francisco’s favorite footwear, Allbirds, is launching a new product. And it’s got a tagline the company is hoping will resonate with shoppers, who it says are young and environmentally conscious: “The world’s first net zero carbon shoe.”

While carbon reduction is undeniably a powerful vision for fashion, it’s a claim that has commonly included carbon-credit purchases and the G-word (greenwashing). But Allbirds said its reimagining business as usual in the apparel industry, and has achieved a zero-carbon footprint with its new shoe, the “M0.0NSHOT.”

According to Allbirds, M0.0NSHOT was achieved without carbon offsets and instead uses carbon-negative materials, including those Allbirds invented itself. So while packaging and shipping the shoe will emit carbon, the product’s net carbon output balances to zero.

It’s a move that CEO Tim Brown said was made possible by the company’s relatively small size and the flexibility of its supply chain, and that Allbirds hopes will put it at the forefront of a fundamental change in footwear design and production.

Keep reading here.—MA

Stat: $25 million. That’s the amount that Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes allegedly owes to company creditors, according to a lawsuit recently made public and reported by NBC News.

Quote: “NOT acceptable.”—A Las Vegas city engineer’s response to Elon Musk’s The Boring Company’s proposal to expand the company’s Loop tunnel-based transportation system in the city, which would, in certain segments, limit the height of new development, prompting this response, TechCrunch reported

Read: The LA Times editorial board wrote that new fossil-fuel projects are a form of climate denial.

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