Tim De Chant, Author at TechCrunch

AI-powered water heater could banish cold showers and carbon pollution

Tim De Chant — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Cala Systems’ water heater pairs an advanced heat pump with an AI-powered control system to forecast hot water demand.

Why Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy and other investors are scouring universities for founders

Tim De Chant — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Investors are assisting startup founders earlier than ever in an effort to help them bridge the first climate tech valley of death.

Adept Materials’ dehumidifying paint was inspired by trees and semiconductors

Tim De Chant — Fri, 02 Aug 2024 17:46:03 +0000

The startup developed a two-material system that helps homes self-regulate their internal humidity.

Applied Carbon’s farm robot turns plant waste into biochar to capture CO2

Tim De Chant — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

The startup has raised $21.5 million to build more of its machines and deploy them throughout the U.S.

Bill Gates-backed Type One Energy lands massive seed extension to commercialize fusion power

Tim De Chant — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

The startup is betting it can bring its fusion technology to market at a breakneck pace by leaning heavily on partners.

GM-backed Addionics aims to make lithium-ion batteries cheaper with wavy foil

Tim De Chant — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 11:00:00 +0000

The startup has developed a way to create copper and aluminum foils that are laced with tiny holes and riddled with undulating peaks and valleys.

Micropep taps tiny proteins to make pesticides safer

Tim De Chant, Rebecca Szkutak — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:00:21 +0000

Farmers have got to do something about pests. But nobody really likes the idea of using more chemical pesticides. Thomas Laurent’s company, Micropep, thinks the answer might already be in the plants themselves. Micropep is exploring how naturally occurring compounds known as micropeptides might work as an entirely new class of pesticides. If the startup […]

CrowdStrike chaos leads to grounded aircraft — and maybe an unusual weather effect

Tim De Chant — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:48:26 +0000

The IT outage may have an unexpected effect on the climate: clearer skies and maybe lower temperatures this evening

Without this company’s technology, future fusion power plants might never light up

Tim De Chant — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Marathon Fusion emerges from stealth with a plan to help fusion power plants extract tritium, a necessary fuel.

WHAM! Nuclear fusion experiment hits new record for magnet strength

Tim De Chant — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Strong magnets are essential for the type of fusion power being pursued by Commonwealth Fusion Systems and a number of other startups.

Fusion pioneer Commonwealth Fusion Systems is selling core magnet tech to the University of Wisconsin

Tim De Chant — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Fusion power may still be a few years away, but one startup is laying the groundwork for what it hopes will become a bustling sector of the economy.

NovoNutrients tweaks its bugs to turn CO2 into protein for people and pets

Tim De Chant — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 20:55:57 +0000

NovoNutrients has raised a $18 million Series A round from investors to build a pilot-scale facility to prove that its fermentation process works at scale.

Cold shipping might be the next industry that batteries disrupt

Tim De Chant — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 15:15:00 +0000

Artyc has raised $14 million to date and has a product on the market, Medstow Micro, that helps ship temperature-sensitive specimens.

Rondo Energy funding shows a new way across the climate startup ‘valley of death’

Tim De Chant — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 15:40:52 +0000

Climate tech startups especially those building hardware, face a particular challenge when trying to move beyond the prototype or pilot phase and start selling finished products to customers.

Matt Rogers, Nest and Mill co-founder, talks mastering consumer tech at Disrupt 2024

Tim De Chant — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Consumer technology is hard, but few people have mastered it as well as Matt Rogers, co-founder of Nest and now Mill, his new startup that promises to turn your table scraps into planet-saving treasure. Mill burst out of the gate last year after spending some time in stealth refining its waste bin, an easy to […]

E-fuels startup Aether Fuels is raising $34.3 million, per filing

Tim De Chant — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 18:31:31 +0000

The e-fuels startup is working on producing fuel for aviation and maritime shipping using carbon dioxide and other waste carbon streams.

Kilimo helps farmers save water and get paid for it

Tim De Chant — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:01:00 +0000

Cheap irrigation has transformed many regions around the world into breadbaskets, but it also means that there can be little left for other uses.

Dandelion co-founder is back to help you electrify your home for less

Tim De Chant — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Balto Energy hopes to speed the electrification by helping homeowners choose and finance the projects that make the most sense for them.

Unigrid wants to make batteries cheaper and safer using sodium

Tim De Chant — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Sodium-ion isn’t quite ready for widespread use, but one startup thinks it has surmounted the battery chemistry's key hurdles.

Aepnus wants to create a circular economy for key battery manufacturing materials

Tim De Chant — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The specter of wastewater threatens to stall the construction of battery factories. One startup, though, says the solution is to recycle it.