👋 Hello friends,

Thank you for joining this week's edition of The Saturday Morning Newsletter. I'm Drew Jackson, and today we're exploring 11 articles, essays, companies, ideas, podcasts, videos, or thoughts that caught my attention this week for their potential to significantly impact our future.

Before we begin: The Saturday Morning Newsletter by Brainwaves arrives in your inbox every Saturday, a concise and casual digest of current events, optimistic news stories, and other interesting tidbits about venture capital, economics, space, energy, intellectual property, philosophy, and beyond. I write as a curious explorer rather than an expert, and I value your insights and perspectives on each subject.

Time to Read: 4 minutes.

Let’s dive in!

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#1: Accure Battery Intelligence

Description: Accure Battery Intelligence is a battery analytics company.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Accure Battery Intelligence recently raised $16M in venture capital funding. To boost the renewable energy transition higher and faster, technology-enabled solutions are the next step in the process. Accure is helping battery companies get more performance from their products, optimizing their outcomes.

#2: K2 Space

Description: K2 Space is a satellite development company.

Why Is This Company Interesting? K2 Space recently raised $110M in venture capital funding. K2 Space is developing mass-production satellites, at a lower cost per satellite. Their broad supply chain drives a quicker build-to-market, enabling large payload volume while performing on excellent unit economics.

#3: Carbon Zero

Description: Carbon Zero is a regenerative agriculture startup.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Carbon Zero recently raised $3.5M in venture capital funding. By turning agricultural waste into a product called “biochar”, they can enhance soil quality and future crop yields. Their technology is capable of producing 5 times more biochar than current solutions on the market. In addition, their process stabilizes CO2 emissions, mitigating these emissions from waste breakdown.

#4: Vema Hydrogen

Description: Vema Hydrogen is a hydrogen developer.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Vema Hydrogen recently raised $13M in venture capital funding. Vema’s solution stimulates the production of geologic hydrogen (hydrogen below the surface of Earth) at a 50% lower cost than existing solutions (fossil fuel is the current solution with the lowest cost). This technology could be a game changer in global decarbonization.

#5: Karman+

Description: Karman+ is developing autonomous mining spacecraft.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Karman+ recently raised $20M in venture capital funding. Karman+ is developing spacecraft to mine asteroids and supply affordable natural resources in space. Their technology is lean, modifying off-the-shelf tech to fit their needs, making their model capable of scaling very rapidly if successful.

Inc.: Wind Energy Starts to Wind Down in the U.S.

Since the beginning of the year, wind energy projects have pulled back in the US. This dramatic downturn is characterized by lengthy delays, cost increases, and even failures of many offshore projects. Federal support has ended in the US, leaving many of these projects underwater—the result: mass cancelations.

American Enterprise Institute: The Collapse of Offshore Wind Power Is Only the Beginning

The clean energy transition has been aided by massive subsidies, guaranteed market shares, and other policy protections, but is now beginning to collapse in the US and Europe. It’s very difficult without these protections to be competitive in the free market. It’ll be interesting to see the trends over the next 5-10 years as we potentially stop transitioning or continue but at a high cost.

New Atlas: France Runs Fusion Reactor for Record 22 Minutes

The French CEA reactor ran for 22 minutes this month, beating the new record from earlier this year when a Chinese reactor ran for 16 minutes. As we continue to see longer and longer sustained reactions, the next milestone may be 30 minutes, 1 hour, or even 24 hours. This exciting rate of development shows promise for the future of nuclear fusion.

Space.com: NASA and General Atomics Test Nuclear Fuel for Future Moon and Mars Missions

General Atomics in collaboration with NASA, tested a new nuclear thermal propulsion reactor fuel to see if it was capable of functioning in space. The test results were positive, bringing the next positive milestone for the future of space rocket propulsion.

"We're very encouraged by the positive test results proving the fuel can survive these operational conditions, moving us closer to realizing the potential of safe, reliable nuclear thermal propulsion for cislunar and deep space missions," General Atomics president Scott Forney said in a statement.

The Conversation: How to Talk About Philosophy with Little Kids

Kids often ask their parents deep philosophical questions. What’s the best way to respond? It can be difficult knowing that—and it also probably depends on the type of kid they are. This article gives some ideas and thoughts surrounding this question.

The 8 Stages of Burnout

1) Excessive drive: pushing yourself too hard, constantly striving for perfection

2) Ignoring self-care: skipping meals, exercise, hobbies, and sleep becomes a regular thing

3) Denial of problems: ignoring signs of stress and convincing yourself everything is fine

4) Withdrawal: distancing yourself from friends, family, and colleagues

5) Behavioral changes: increased irritability, impatience, and quickness to anger

6) Depersonalization: feeling disconnected from your own emotions and body

7) Apathy: constantly feeling empty and lacking purpose

8) Depression: persistent sadness, hopelessness, and feeling overwhelmed by all areas of life

Take a minute to review your life and see if any of these apply - maybe it’s time to take a step back from some things.

See you Wednesday for Brainwaves,

Drew Jackson

Twitter: @brainwavesdotme

Email: brainwaves.me@gmail.com

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this content are my own and do not represent the views of any of the companies I currently work for or have previously worked for. This content does not contain financial advice - it is for informational and educational purposes only. Investing contains risks and readers should conduct their own due diligence and/or consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Any sponsorship or endorsements are noted and do not affect any editorial content produced.