Follow the Money
The June 2025 Edition
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Hey there! 👋
Skander here.
When fellow Driftie Jarek (whom you might know from The Capital Stack) pitched the idea of a monthly funding‑review session for our community, my response was simple: “Absolutely, let’s follow the money!”.
This Friday we’ll break down the latest financing rounds and dig into what made them happen… but first, a quick recap of the recent highlights.
Join our community discussion this Friday, we’d love to hear your take.
Over to you, Jarek!
Welcome to the first edition of “Follow the Money”: a monthly briefing exploring the capital flows shaping the climate transition.
Navigating climate finance in 2025 feels like steering through crosscurrents. On one side, the market is turbulent, shaken by policy volatility, from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” to fluctuating tariffs, canceled projects, and investor flight toward policy-resilient technologies. Climate‑tech venture funding continues to dip.
On the other side, several encouraging trends signal a maturing market. Climate finance is still growing. Capital increasingly flows toward proven, scalable technologies, and institutional investors continue to back the transition with long-term commitments. Canadian pension giant CDPQ, for example, has committed US $400 billion toward climate investments in the coming decade.
Innovation, both technological and financial, is accelerating, and adaptation-focused solutions are gaining investor interest.
This brings us to a central question:
What does it now take for a climate technology to attract capital and scale?
🌊 Let’s dive in
But first: Who is Jarek?
Jarek Dmowski is a global transformation leader who partners with high-growth companies with positive climate impact. He combines industry and climate finance expertise with a strong track record of driving growth—across PE/VC-backed scaleups, ABN AMRO, and BCG.
He scaled a data-driven technology company ~2.5x to ~$25M in revenue and led post-merger integrations that enabled ~6x accelerated growth. At a global financial institution, he spearheaded a $2B capital reallocation toward new energy and mobility. He also developed a comprehensive climate plan that translated the Paris Agreement into actionable targets across sectors and established a $250M program to drive efficiency gains and reduce emissions at an energy utility.
Jarek is passionate about how the climate transition reshapes economies and business models, creating significant opportunities for multi-country growth and impact.
Climate Finance continues to grow
Global climate finance reached a record US $1.9 trillion in 2023 and is estimated to have surpassed US $2 trillion in 2024, marking ~8% year-on-year growth. The private sector now dominates, accounting for over US $1 trillion—surpassing public contributions for the first time.
This capital remains heavily concentrated. Three regions—China (US $659 billion), Western Europe (US $502 billion), and the US & Canada (US $261 billion)—account for 75% of all climate finance.
Despite geopolitical tensions, investment momentum continues. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2025 World Energy Investment Report projects global clean‑energy investments will reach US $2.2 trillion this year—double the US $1.1 trillion going to fossil fuels. Solar is expected to attract US $450 billion, driven by climate, energy security, and industrial policy. The electricity sector as a whole — including renewables, nuclear, grids, and storage — is set to attract US $1.5 trillion, signaling a clear shift toward electrification.
Exhibit 1: Global climate finance
The architecture of climate finance is diversifying. Most capital still comes via market-rate debt and corporate balance sheets, but equity investments remain substantial. In emerging markets, public finance typically leverages grants and concessional loans to de-risk projects and de-risk private investment. Innovative mechanisms—such as green bonds, guarantees, and blended‑finance structures—are gaining traction, especially to close funding gaps in mid‑stage technologies and infrastructure.
Exhibit 2: Global climate finance by instruments
Where did money flow in June 2025?
Explanation of the approach and source data: The investment list was developed based on disclosures and newsletter monitoring. Although not exhaustive, 53 climate-related investment deals were tracked—amounting to roughly US $2.6 billion. This sample surpasses the ~$2 billion VC estimate from Sightline Climate by including grants, project finance, and corporate deals. Data skews toward early-stage technologies (Seed to Series B) and Rest of World (outside North America & Europe) is likely underrepresented.
So, where did the money flow in June 2025?
As expected, Energy was the most active sector. Solid activity in Industrial, Transport and Buildings.
Climate Data attracts investments and Adoption/Resilience is emerging.
Seven AI-driven platforms secured funding, highlighting AI’s growing role in climate solutions.
VC financing (series Seed to B) was the most common (32 transactions) with the remaining spread across grants, project finance and some corporate ventures.
The average transaction size was around US $70 million, with Believ (UK EV charging point operator) securing the largest investment at US $406 million in infrastructure financing.
Geographically:
Europe led with 31 deals (~US $1.5 billion), followed by North America with 18 deals (~US $1 5 billion), including 5 in Canada. A few interesting transactions in other parts of the world.
Europe is ahead across all deal sizes—reflecting its consistent climate policy, in contrast to U.S. volatility.
In North America, fewer VC deals (11 vs. 21 in Europe). There were 5 seed small rounds in Europe (1 in North America). Excluding these, on average VC rounds are 50% larger in North America vs Europe (~US$ 32 million vs ~US $ 23 million).
Europe
Key highlights:
Energy: 3 transactions in storage: GIGA Storage (NL based, ~$343mn debt financing), HESStec in Spain, Voltang in Germany) and 1 in one large in nuclear (Proxima in Germany, ~$142 m, in fusion)
Transport: 3 large deals with Believ in UK, Polestar in Sweden (EV manufacturer ~$200m) and SkyNG in the Netherlands (~$272 M, Sustainable aviation fuel)
Climate Data: 5 investments highlighting continued demand for climate data and data platforms across different verticals
Finally, in Climate Adoption/Resiliance, ~$3.5m seed funding in Kumus Water from France that designs and manufactures atmospheric water generators that extract safe drinking water from air humidity, without requiring any existing water or electricity infrastructure.
North America
Key highlights for North America:
Energy: It is (almost) all about Geothermal (Fervo with ~$206m project finance, Eavor and Ignis), Nuclear (TAE with ~$150M growth equity and Standard Nuclear) and Grids (Heron)
Industrial: 5 investments across a variety of sub-sectors
Climate Adoption/Resiliance, ~$44m round of Pano.AI focused on an AI-powered wildfire early detection and intelligence platform.
Finally, 3 out 18 investments were Canada. Will Canada’s role in climate investments in North America grow?
RoW
A few interesting transactions in other parts of the world. Key highlight is ~$100M investments in Halter in New Zealand known for its virtual fencing system made up of solar-powered “smart collars” worn by each cow, as well as connectivity towers. Vibrations and sound cues in the collars guide cows, while ranchers monitor herd movement and activity from their phones, providing them with a more efficient grazing system as well as an easier way to keep tabs on fencing and herd management.
What to observe during the rest of 2025?
The second half of 2025 will be shaped by policy risk (subsidies and tariffs), geopolitical divergence, and capital-flow shifts. Watch for:
"One Big Beautiful Bill": Will U.S. phaseouts of solar, wind, EV, hydrogen, and battery tax credits push capital into geothermal and nuclear? Will other regions follow or intensify their support?
Tailwinds for Baseload Clean Tech: Will U.S. policy and global demand—especially from energy‑hungry AI data centers— fuel investments in 24/7 clean power?
Surge in Grid Tech & Energy Storage: Will the drive toward electrification across sectors continue to fuel investments into grid modernization and both short- and long-duration storage systems technologies?
The 'Security & Resilience' Pivot: Will the shift continue from "green premiums" to a focus on security and resilience with more flows into technologies that support domestic energy security, supply chain stability, and critical mineral access?
More visible needs for Climate Intelligence & Adaptation Tech: With extreme climate events turning adaptation into a smart-money sector, will platforms offering climate‑risk analytics and resilience planning—expect rising VC, PE, and public-sector funding?
Mid‑Stage CapEx-Intensive Clean Tech Faces “Valley of Death”: More blended finance vehicles, corporate partnerships, and public-private infrastructure programs?
Regional (Policy) Fragmentation: With divergent approaches (US policy reversals vs. regulatory acceleration in the EU and China) should we expect further geographical shifts? Will new mandatory reporting requirements in China drive a new wave?
Join our community discussion this Friday, we’d love to hear your take.
If you’re passionate about channeling more capital into climate solutions, share this article with your friends and family.
And keep an eye out for our next monthly update!
You are absolutely correct to "follow the money." But most people stop at the politicians. You have to go deeper. The money leads back to the unelected financial powers—the "New East India Companies" like BlackRock—that own the politicians on both sides. They are the true architects of this system.
cool format!