The Return of Energy Security: Why Competitiveness Is Becoming the Primary Driver of the Energy Transition

When the Strait of Hormuz closed in early 2026, LNG cargoes were diverted and European gas prices surged within days. Seth Kirkham’s latest paper argues that energy security has become inseparable from whether factories run and economies remain resilient — and that the stakes extend far beyond AI, as Europe targets electricity at 46% of final energy consumption by 2040.

For investors, the consequence is about pace rather than theme: “We do not view energy security as an investment thesis… [we] assess whether a greater emphasis on energy security changes the timing or scale of the opportunity. Across much of our portfolio, we believe it does.”

Read the paper

Energy Is the Exposed Flank in Europe’s Rearmament

Writing in Semafor, Secretary John Kerry makes the defense case for the same shift: “Deterrence in this decade will be counted in megawatts as well as divisions.” Energy has cost European taxpayers roughly €650 billion over four years, a price tag that would dominate military planning had it been inflicted by a hostile force. His prescription: treat storage and grid infrastructure as defense assets eligible for NATO funding and build sovereign generation that cannot be weaponized through supply disruption.

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📍 In Montreal, Canada, at the Climate Solutions Prize (CSP) Family Office Forum, Joseph Sumberg spoke about scaling climate solutions. His takeaway: family offices have played an instrumental role in catalyzing investment in nascent categories, and profitable decarbonization in U.S. real estate is no exception.

📍 In Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, at the Dynamo Summer Summit convened by Meade Harris (thank you!), two things stood out to Chris Creed:

• With hyperscalers and data centers signing PPAs at an unprecedented pace, one attendee compared the market to the Seinfeld car-rental scene: “You know how to take the reservation, you just don’t know how to hold the reservation. And that’s really the most important part of the reservation — the holding. Anyone can just take them!” In today’s energy market, the equivalent is simple: signing a PPA is one thing; delivering the power is what matters.
• Project finance keeps growing, but it depends on predictable cash flows — which require quality offtake, EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contracts, and clear timelines. Some projects check every box; many come close but fall short. Infrastructure credit and hybrid capital funds have grown to fill part of the gap, but we are seeing that they remain far smaller than the pipeline of quality projects. We believe that mismatch is the opportunity.

New Private Markets: Real Estate Climate Funds: Who Manages Them, What Makes Them Unique and Why Now Is the Time to Launch One

Charles Avery of New Private Markets examines the handful of managers that have built dedicated real estate decarbonization strategies and why those that cleared the bar, including Galvanize, now have significant tailwinds. Joseph Sumberg shares why he believes the strategy is difficult for generalists to stand up and why the opportunity is larger than it looks.

Read more here

Bisnow: CRE’s ESG Retreat Masks Growing Spending on Climate Risk

Bisnow examines how climate risk is becoming a core underwriting input for commercial real estate even as the industry retreats from ESG language. Joseph Sumberg shares how Galvanize uses in-house climate data and analysis to translate physical risks into actionable investment decisions, including resilience investments and market opportunities traditional underwriting can miss.

Read more here

Across our venture and growth portfolio, companies are scaling technologies and systems that support electrification, resilient infrastructure, and data-driven decision-making:

• Crusoe announced a partnership with ON.energy to deploy 5 GW of medium-voltage “AI UPS” systems across multiple hyperscale campuses, as well as a strategic partnership with Aalo Atomics targeting the first nuclear-powered AI factory.
• DISA launched DISA Uranium Corporation, a domestic uranium recovery and production platform.
• First Street’s acquisition by MSCI was completed, folding its physics-based climate risk data into MSCI’s platform.
• Lydian raised a $43 million Series A to fund an East Texas commercial demonstration plant for synthetic aviation fuel.
• Octopus Energy partnered with Santander to launch the U.K.’s first high-street bank mortgage for Zero Bills homes, allowing eligible buyers to borrow up to £30,000 more based on guaranteed decade-long energy savings.
• WindBorne Systems raised a $37 million Series B to accelerate expansion of its sensing network and further develop its AI forecasting platform.
• X-energy joined Project Prometheus as a founding Tier 1 partner, a three-year AI-for-nuclear initiative led by Idaho National Laboratory, NVIDIA, and AWS.

• Associate, Venture and Growth (New York, NY, or San Francisco, CA)
• Analyst or Associate, Investor Partnerships (New York, NY)

Explore open roles across our Venture & Growth portfolio companies and opt into our talent network.

Have a referral? Email portfoliotalent@galvanizeclimate.com

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