The Station is a weekly publication devoted to all issues transportation. Enroll right here — simply click on The Station — to obtain the complete version of the publication each weekend in your inbox. This can be a shorter model of The Station publication that’s emailed to subscribers. Need all of the offers, information roundups and commentary? Subscribe for free.
Welcome again to The Station, your central hub for all previous, current and future technique of shifting folks and packages from Level A to Level B.
Completely satisfied Labor Day weekend to all my US and Canada-based readers! In case you’re utilizing the three-day weekend to take a highway journey, journey protected.
For these in California, you could be requested to curb your power use this vacation weekend. Notably, in the event you personal an EV. California’s energy grid supervisor is asking on EV homeowners to keep away from charging at peak instances (4 p.m. to 9 p.m.) as a part of broader effort to maintain the state’s grid up and operating throughout this warmth wave.
The “alert” received me fascinated about California’s latest determination to ban new gasoline vehicles by 2035 and what a flood of EVs may do to an already decrepit energy grid.
Talking of EVs, possibly you’re seeking to purchase one? I wrote up a information to the brand new EV tax credit score that you could be discover useful. It’s extra sophisticated lately. This information tackles new EVs; look out for an additional article on used EVs and the tax credit score.
And at last, if you wish to try DailyTech Disrupt (and I counsel you do), here’s a little present for my readers. Go to this hyperlink and kind within the code STATION to get 15% off passes, excluding on-line and expo tickets.
Let’s go.
You may all the time e mail me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com to share ideas, criticisms, opinions, or suggestions. You can also ship a direct message to @kirstenkorosec
Micromobbin’
Rebecca Bellan is on a well-earned trip and so this week’s micromobbin’ can be transient.
First up is a TC+ article by Bellan that explores why the largest marketplace for micromobility will find yourself being within the business house, not targeted on shoppers.
In different scootin’ and bikin’ information …
Lime, Spin and Veo are in Milwaukee as a part of a brand new shared scooter pilot that launched this week.
The Atlantic’s “The E-bike is a Monstrosity” column sparked outrage and criticism on social media and even impressed some to jot down counterarguments like this one in Outdoors entitled “The E-bike is Pure Pleasure.”
Vermont turned the primary state to supply an ebike rebate.
Byeeeeee.
Deal of the week
The deal-making this summer season has slowed to a drip. The distinction from final summer season — when the deal move was extra like a fireplace hose — is putting.
Whereas the tempo of offers has slowed, the will for capital has not. It’s significantly palpable within the EV and mobility SPAC world the place corporations as soon as awash with capital in a high-flying market are attempting to get that spigot turned again on.
Lucid and Nikola are amongst a couple of EV SPACs which might be looking for money infusions via inventory choices to convey their delayed automobiles to market.
The CEO of self-driving tech agency Aurora has floated quite a few choices to the board to increase the corporate’s runway past mid-2024. And final month, Faraday Future (which I’m shocked is even nonetheless right here) stated it is going to require extra funds by early September 2022 to be able to proceed operations. For these holding monitor, that’s now.
The upshot? I anticipate extra of this exercise via the top of the 12 months. It’s going to get determined for some.
Different offers that received my consideration this week … (subscribe for all of the offers)
Ascend Components, a U.S.-based lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered supplies firm, acquired a $50 million funding from SK ecoplant, the environmental unit of Korean conglomerate SK Inc.
Populus, the transportation knowledge startup, raised $11 million in a Sequence A spherical to scale its present product in addition to its curb administration software program. The spherical was co-led by Zero Infinity Companions and Climactic with participation from Comcast Ventures and Robert Downey Jr.’s FootPrint Coalition Ventures.
SparkCharge, the cell EV charging community supplier, raised an extra $7 million from Cleveland Avenue that’s an add-on to its beforehand introduced Sequence A spherical. The overall increase is now $30 million.
Need to learn extra? The Station’s weekly emailed publication additionally features a roundup of AV, EV and different information and a “A Little Chook,” a bit by which I share verified insider information. Enroll! It’s free!