Invest in CleanTechnica
CleanTechnica has been actively educating people about cleantech for more than a decade now. I don’t know about you, but I genuinely feel it’s time to blow the lid off and truly accelerate the cleantech revolution. With that in mind, we are going to start seeking equity investment for the first time ever, and hope to raise $2–4 million early next year. Ready to join our potential investor list? Click here. Not ready yet? Read on for more info.
Part of the reason is climate anxiety. With the most recent IPCC report, I have crossed the line of “there’s no more futzing around.” Part of it is frustration with FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). FUD is actively spread by parties that stand be on the wrong side of history and lose a lot of money if we shift our economy too quickly. I understand and empathize more than I ever have with the folks working in dirty energy, and at the same time, it is clear that it is time to make the transition ASAP (see point #1) — but to do so equitably and with as little damage as possible (hopefully none!) among the working class. CleanTechnica shines a light on FUD and counters it at every turn, but our reach is minimal compared to so many well-funded PR machines and media organizations that can drown out our voice with chaos and noise designed to confuse.
Investing in CleanTechnica will give you an ownership stake in one of the most well-respected clean energy news organizations out there. It will give you early entrance to a company that is a leader in a field that is only going to get more and more massive with every passing day. We are in it for the long haul, and there’s so much to do.
Here’s what our plan is for the money:
- Hire some talent to help us make the next leap. We believe it is time to bring on some more people qualified to take a media organization into the next phase — multimedia, operations, and partnerships.
- Promote ourselves. Did you know we’ve never spent a dime on marketing ourselves? Everything we’ve done is just organic — we’ve earned every reader we have (thank you all for being so great; for reading, sharing, commenting, and contributing to a cleantech future).
- Be creative. We have so many back-burner projects that never seem to see the light of day, projects that could help us reach more people with positive, need-driven messaging to help them make the transition. We have ideas for documentaries, posters, books, conferences. …
- Expand our platforms. We have a great podcast, which we’d like to expand, and we have a YouTube channel that is still fairly nascent. Heck, our Instagram just got started (it took us more than 2 years to get the person using the CleanTechnica handle to give it back to us even though we own the trademark.)
- Reach WELL beyond the early adopters. You know who needs electric cars, clean power, and healthy food? Everyone. You know who we’re primarily reaching? Rich, white males. As a society, we desperately need to get cleantech into every community.
So … want to join us?
Invest in CleanTechnica! Click here to add your name to our list of potential investors, and I will personally be reaching out to you to check in within the next few months.
On behalf of Zach, Derek, Danielle, all of the writers, and the rest of our amazing team, thank you!
Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality? Consider becoming a CleanTechnica Member, Supporter, Technician, or Ambassador — or a patron on Patreon.
Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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