Sustainability - GeekWire

Microsoft and B.C. startup ink massive carbon removal deal targeting pulp and paper mills

Microsoft and CO280, a Vancouver, B.C.-based startup, today announced a 12-year deal to capture and store carbon emitted from a U.S. pulp and paper mill. The tech company will pay… Read More

Fusion R&D hub aims to break ground in Eastern Washington this summer

Seattle startup Avalanche Energy plans to open a first-of-its-kind facility for commercial-scale testing of radioactive fusion technologies in Eastern Washington. The envisioned center, called FusionWERX, is a public-private partnership offering… Read More

Climate consulting firm Earth Finance acquires Google-backed environmental data startup

Earth Finance, a Seattle-area company that helps businesses reduce their climate impacts, acquired Climate Engine, a startup that provides analysis and visualizations of satellite, meteorological and other climate data. Terms… Read More

Self-charging drones for power line inspections land top prize at UW enviro innovation contest

A team of students from the University of Washington is developing self-charging drones that use AI to survey electrical lines to look for potential threats that could knock out power… Read More

Seattle startup Shelf Engine acquired by retail data company Crisp

Seattle startup Shelf Engine, a company helping grocers manage their inventory, was acquired by Crisp, a New York-based retail data company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in… Read More

Sironix, which turns soybeans into cleaning ingredients, raises $3.5M to fund manufacturing

Sironix Renewables, a startup turning coconuts and soybeans into high-performing cleaning ingredients, has raised $3.5 million from investors and $400,000 in new grants. The Seattle company will use the funding… Read More

TerraPower CEO says company on track to deploy first-of-a-kind next-gen nuclear plant in 5 years

TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque offered a sunny picture for the work underway at the Bill Gates-backed nuclear power company in a fireside chat with the Bellevue Chamber on Thursday. The… Read More

GeekWire Awards: Sustainable Innovation finalists create, destroy and transform to protect the planet

The Sustainable Innovation of the Year finalists for the 2025 GeekWire Awards sound like they could be wizards or minor deities. They create, transform, destroy and remove — all in… Read More

This Seattle-area startup just raised $600K to capture carbon and turn it into graphite

Sustainable tech startup Homeostasis is capturing carbon in a form that the world has too much of — atmospheric CO₂ gas — and transforming it into a highly desired crystalline… Read More

Report: Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy cuts climate policy team and partnership support

Breakthrough Energy, the climate-focused global initiative created by Bill Gates, has cut dozens of staff, reports The New York Times. The Seattle-based organization has scrapped its U.S. climate policy team,… Read More

Ravel’s technology teases the spandex out of tossed apparel to enable enviro friendly recycling

As the sayings go, you can’t unscramble an egg or un-ring a bell. But Seattle startup Ravel has accomplished a similar feat in pursuit of clothes recycling. The company on… Read More

OCOchem prepares to flip the switch on tech for turning captured CO2 into industrial chemicals

OCOchem, a startup turning captured carbon dioxide into a valuable industrial chemical, is completing construction of its pilot plant in Eastern Washington. Once the 40,000-square-foot facility is commissioned in the… Read More

Allen Family Foundation awards $5M to support and study six nature-based carbon removal projects

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced $5 million in grants on Thursday being awarded to six Pacific Northwest efforts deploying nature-based solutions for removing and storing carbon dioxide. The… Read More

CarbonQuest, which captures carbon emitted from industrial sites, closes $20M round

CarbonQuest has closed a $20 million investment round led by Riverbend Energy Group. GeekWire previously reported on the funding in August. The company on Wednesday revealed the total amount raised… Read More

Spokane startup that gives labs a green seal of approval raises $5M

Impact Laboratories, a startup verifying the environmental bona fides of some 3,800 labs worldwide, announced nearly $5 million in funding to expand its efforts. The Spokane, Wash., company is the… Read More

Tesla retains advantage in Washington state as effort stalls to expand direct EV sales

The third time was not the charm for a coalition that was pushing to level the playing field for electric vehicle sales in Washington state. A bipartisan effort aiming to… Read More

Qualterra raises $4.5M to turn organic waste into carbon-trapping, crop-boosting biochar

There’s a pleasing circularity to Qualterra’s ag-tech operations. The Eastern Washington company takes crop and forestry wastes, applies a patented technology to convert the organic debris into biochar, and uses… Read More

Trump layoffs hit Pacific Northwest engineers and researchers at PNNL, Hanford cleanup, elsewhere

The Trump administration’s government-wide layoffs are hitting engineers and researchers at agencies in Washington state including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the National Oceanic and… Read More

Seattle-area company with climate friendly ‘mechanical cows’ for digesting waste is acquired

Chomp, a company building devices that turn food waste into fuel and liquid fertilizer, today announced its acquisition by Martin Energy Group. With the merger, Chomp can tap into the… Read More

Wildfire recovery and carbon capture company Mast Reforestation lands $25M

Seattle’s Mast Reforestation announced today $25 million in new funding and an expansion of its operations into “wood vaulting” in which carbon that’s captured in vegetation is locked away. In… Read More

‘Layoffs and pain’: Frozen federal funding batters clean energy and climate efforts

President Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order puzzles David Funk. The order targets clean energy efforts, pausing the distribution of already promised funds associated with the Inflation Reduction Act and… Read More

Tesla could lose its big EV sales advantage in Washington state if lawmakers pass new rules

Tesla could soon lose its electric vehicle sales advantage as Washington state lawmakers are taking their third shot at legislation that would give Rivian, Lucid and others the right to… Read More

First electric fire engine in Wash. state unveiled in Redmond as city seeks more sustainable fleet

Redmond, Wash., is home to the first electric fire engine to enter service in Washington state as city government officials unveiled the rig in a ribbon cutting at Redmond City… Read More

Tidal Vision, a company turning tossed crab shells into a green chemical, nets $140M in funding

Tidal Vision, a green chemistry company founded by a former Alaska fishing boat captain, has raised $140 million to fund its efforts, CEO and co-founder Craig Kasberg confirmed for GeekWire.… Read More

Tire recycling tech startup with link to Costco lands $40M from former CEO Jim Sinegal and others

Prism Worldwide is likely the swan song for Bob Abramowitz, its CEO and 66-year-old co-founder. The tire recycling company is also a chance for his environmental redemption. “I did bottled water… Read More

Modern Hydrogen and major Seattle-area utility aim for less controversial clean energy fix

As President Trump is disrupting clean energy deployments, Modern Hydrogen aims to navigate a less controversial middle path that provides climate benefits while allowing for continued use of natural gas.… Read More

Sam Altman, SoftBank invest in $425M round for Helion, a Seattle-area startup chasing fusion power

Helion Energy announced a $425 million funding round that will help the Seattle-area fusion company chase the “Holy Grail” of clean energy. The company’s new investors include SoftBank, Lightspeed Venture… Read More

Canadian startup giving EV batteries a second life lands $15M from Amazon and others

Moment Energy, a startup turning used batteries from electric vehicles into energy storage systems, announced a $15 million round co-led by the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and Voyager Ventures. The… Read More

Biden’s executive order on AI data centers could benefit Amazon and Microsoft

President Joe Biden this week issued one of his last executive orders, addressing the race to build domestic data centers and clean energy plants in order to retain America’s leadership… Read More

Seattle creates downtown climate innovation hub to bolster clean energy sector

The City of Seattle, the University of Washington, the climate community organizer 9Zero, and a climate tech investment nonprofit called VertueLab have joined forces to launch the Seattle Climate Innovation… Read More