The Digest’s Deal Flow for 1/14: DOE, Lhyfe, ENERPARC, Eco Wave Power, Ocean Power Technologies, Printpack, Nexus Circular

DOE funds $13.4M for next-gen plastics.

The U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office and Advanced Manufacturing Office announced $13.4 million in funding for next generation plastics technologies that reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions of single-use plastics! The seven selected projects will work to develop affordable solutions for “upcycling,” or transforming plastic films into more valuable materials, and to design new plastics that are more recyclable and biodegradable.  More on the story.

Printpack Invests in Nexus Circular

Rigid packaging leader Printpackhas invested in Nexus Circular. Nexus diverts and economically converts landfill-bound plastics into hydrocarbon feedstocks, which are used by Nexus’ partners to produce virgin resins.  Once the supply chain is fully implemented, Printpack will then be capable of producing sustainable packaging solutions from these recycled resins, the final step to complete the circularity of landfill-bound plastics back into recycled packaging solutions. More on the story.

Lhyfe, ENERPARC to produce renewable hydrogen from solar energy 

Lhyfe has signed its first project powered by solar photovoltaics, its first project using energy other than wind power. Lhyfe will couple its hydrogen production system to the 20 MW photovoltaic installation of ENERPARC, one of Germany’s largest photovoltaic developers. More on the story.

Eco Wave Power, Ocean Power Technologies ink wave energy deal. 

Eco Wave Power Global and Ocean Power Technologies, have signed a deal to utilize their complementary technologies and skills to accelerate wave energy projects pursuant to an agreement previously signed.The companies will work together on several fronts, including knowledge sharing, joint grant submissions, and collaborative assistance in entry to new markets. In addition, joint solutions can be developed utilizing each company’s respective offshore and onshore technologies and leveraging OPT’s offshore engineering and newly acquired robotics capabilities in Eco Wave Power’s applicable projects. More on the story.

Sovereign wealth funds’ ESG investments triple in 2021, oil & gas halved

According to data acquired by Finbold, sovereign wealth funds investments in the ESG space globally surged 215.27% between 2020 and 2021, from $7.2 billion to $22.7 billion. Over the same period, the number of deals increased from 19 to 37. In 2019, the investment stood at $5.2 billion. SWFs’ involvement in the oil and gas space dropped 46.92% to $6.9 billion from 2020’s figure of $13 billion. More on the story.