🔋God blessed America, possibly the world’s largest lithium deposits found in the US.

November 16, 2023
11:26 am

Welcome to the Paddock, your VIP access to unique insights from some of the best mobility founders out there and curated news and trends reshaping the mobility sector globally.

—Rodolfo, Enrique, Cecy, Horacio and Bernardo.

💡If you know of any startup that is also committed to #reshapingmobility by being more efficient, safer, and environmentally friendly reach us here.

🏁Come visit The Paddock to see the full portfolio of P.V. companies.

Portfolio news

⚡️ Kuddos to Deftpower on their partnership with The Dutch Automobile Club (ANWB), one of the largest Mobility Service Providers (MSPs) in Europe, boasting over 150,000 EV drivers. Now operating on the Deftpower platform, which includes their highly-rated white-label charging app, this could be the largest charging card ever created. Let’s continue to drive forward electric mobility.

⚡️ Short distances are better traveled on small vehicles, but modern mobility isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. We invite you to read Joyride’s latest article, ‘From Micro to Mini.’ A fascinating piece that discusses Smart Connect Mini mobility, the new sustainable transportation promise.

⚡️ Amazing news! Electric Era just closed a new partnership with Blink Charging to install premium and reliable EV fast charging at MOBERLY MOTORS LLC, one of the leading Ford Motor Company dealerships in the country. This marks a significant step toward revolutionizing the EV space.

⚡️ Congratulations to BusUp for achieving their 50,000 passengers per day milestone, signifying that more than 1 million passengers are commuting sustainably in a single month. This month will be one to remember for the company and will set the stage for the next milestone: 100,000 passengers per day.

⚡️Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV), the venture arm of one of the world’s biggest oil producers has announced its participation in Electric Era’s $13mm Series A. “This investment will not only quickly expand our capacity to bring reliable, profitable EV charging stations to our valued convenience store and gas station partners across the country, but also exemplifies the power of industry partnerships to enable a more sustainable future for transportation,” said Quincy Lee, founder, and CEO of Electric Era.

Interesting Reads

🔍 Possibly the World’s Largest Lithium Deposits Found in the US.

A significant lithium deposit has been discovered in an extinct volcanic crater on the border of Nevada and Oregon in the United States. The deposits, located in the Thacker Pass area, contain an estimated 20 to 40 million tons of lithium, with a maximum potential of 120 million tons. This lithium mine is operated by Lithium Nevada, LLC, a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp, with Chinese Ganfeng Lithium being its largest shareholder.

The discovery was made by a team from Columbia University and published in the scientific journal Science Advances. What sets this deposit apart is its unusually high-grade lithium content, containing up to 2.4% lithium by weight. Typically, lithium is found in salt lakes in Latin America or in hard-rock deposits in Australia and Africa, making the volcanic crater find unique.

The discovery at Thacker Pass could rival, and possibly surpass, the largest lithium deposit found to date in Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni. This finding is of global significance, as governments worldwide are racing to secure their battery materials supply chains to support the transition away from fossil fuels.

This substantial lithium deposit in the US has the potential to reshape the lithium market and influence the global shift towards electric vehicles and renewable energy sources. However, environmental and cultural concerns are raising challenges for the development of this resource.

Some deals we found interesting

🚀 123Lease, a Mexican car leasing startup has secured USD$30 million in financing from Emso Private Credit Fund. (7. Sept. 23)

🚀Amperon, a Houston-based startup raised $20 million in Series B funding, led by Energize Capital. (3. Oct. 23)

🚀 ARX, a Munich startup that builds autonomous ground vehicles for soldiers and first responders, raised a $1.2 million pre-seed round from Project A Ventures. (19. Sept. 23)

🚀 Cardino, a Berlin-based new online platform for the electric vehicle market has closed a €1 million pre-seed funding round, with Silence VC and FJ Labs as lead investors. (18. Sept. 23)

🚀 Evolectric, a Long Beach CA-based startup that develops technologies to help fleet owners convert their gas-powered vehicles to EVs, raised a $15 million round. Seismic Capital led the deal. (16. Sept. 23)

🚀 EZVolt, a Brazilian startup providing electric vehicle charging services, has raised $2 million in funding from Vibra Venture. (11. Sept. 23)

🚀 Fernride, a Munich-based autonomous trucking company, has raised an additional $19 million for its Series A, bringing the round’s total to $50 million. Investors included Deep Tech & Climate Fonds, Bayern Kapital and Munich Re Ventures. (20. Sept. 23)

🚀 FM Capital announces a $10M investment in Element Energy, a Menlo Park-based battery management system to improve the safety, energy throughput, and useful life of lithium-ion battery packs. (17. Sept. 23)

🚀Glydways, a San Francisco-based on-demand robotaxi developer, raised $56 million in Series B funding. New Science Ventures led the round and was joined by The ACS Group, Gates Frontier, and Khosla Ventures. (6. Oct. 23)

🚀 Harbinger Motors, a Garden Grove, CA-based automotive manufacturer, raised $60M in Series A funding. The round was led by Ridgeline and THOR Industries. (20. Sept. 23)

🚀 Kolors acquired Urbvan, a Mexico City-based B2B transportation mobile app, from SWVL for $12 million in cash. (13. Sept. 23)

🚀Konnect.ai, a Texas-based AI-powered customer service platform for automotive dealerships, raised $5.5 million in seed funding from Silverton Partners. (5. Oct. 23)

🚀 Mecho Autotech, a Nigerian startup offering automotive spare parts, vehicle repairs and maintenance services, has raised a $2.4 million pre-Series A round. (14. Sept. 23)

🚀 Metergrid, a German startup specializing in tenant electricity, has successfully completed a seed investment round, raising €2.7 million. The round was led by 468 Capital, a Berlin-based venture capital firm. (27. Sept. 23)

🚀 Mottu, a São Paulo startup that rents motorcycles and supplies delivery couriers for restaurants, retailers, and e-commerce businesses, raised a $50 million Series C round co-led by QED Investors and Bicycle Capital. (15. Sept. 23)

🚀 Openvolt, a Dublin-based company with a mission to enable new energy solutions by unlocking access to energy data, has raised a pre-seed round of €1.5 million led by Berlin-based early-stage investor Cavalry Ventures, with participation from climate investor Übermorgen Ventures. (21. Sept . 23)

🚀 Orbee, Inc., a California-based technology service provider for the automotive industry, announced the closing of its oversubscribed Series A financing round, which raised $4.0 million led by venture firm FM Capital. (14. Sept. 23)

🚀 Parade, a San Francisco-based platform for booking and managing freight trucks, raised $17 million in pre-Series B funding led by I Squared Capital. (14. Sept. 23)

🚀Sensigo, a California-based AI-powered platform designed to predict part failures, recommend replacements, and procure new parts for automotive repairs, raised $5 million in seed funding from UP. Ventures and German automaker Porsche. (5. Oct. 23)

🚀 Tap Electric, a Dutch startup focused on improving driver experience with solutions for electric vehicle drivers and charger owners, announced it has closed €1 million seed funding round led by LUMO Labs, Shamrock Ventures, and Fair Capital Partners Impact Investing. (15. Sept. 23)

🚀 Vero, a New York-based wholesale vehicle financing startup raises $8.5M (link). Led by BankTech Ventures. (20. Sept. 23)

🚀 Yotta Energy, an Austin startup that is developing solar battery technology for rooftops and EVs, raised an $8 million Series A round led by Evergy Ventures. (19. Sept. 23)

🚀Zerobroker, California-based broker-free shipping software raised $6.5 million in seed funding from Flexport, FundersClub, and Streamlined Ventures. (4. Oct. 23)

A piece of good news

🐶 The Pet Effect is real! Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure. According to Nancy Gee, a professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Human-Animal Interaction at Virginia Commonwealth University, evidence is accumulating that levels of the stress hormone cortisol drop in people after just 5 to 20 minutes spent interacting with dogs. She adds, ‘We also see increases in oxytocin, the feel-good bonding hormone. Other studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood. The unconditional love of a pet can do more than keep you company, however, it’s important to remember that comes with a serious commitment that shouldn’t be taken lightly.