Today: Facing low demand, climate-tech companies can choose between combining or going out of business, say experts; the reactors that run on nuclear waste; U.S. joins forces in its critical minerals race against China.

Welcome back: Google-backed carbon-removal startup Terradot is acquiring Eion, a similar but smaller venture, in a sign that the market for companies specializing in technical solutions to decarbonization is consolidating, WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Yusuf Khan reports.

Despite the fall in fundraising, the number of buyers in the market is increasing. “2025 was the lowest amount of investment but the highest amount of offtake,” said Pranav Balaji of carbon removal database Allied Offsets. Last year, 291 different buyers signed carbon removal offtake deals or retired credits from registries, up from 264 in 2024, according to Allied.

• Global investment in the energy transition grew by 8% to a record $2.3 trillion last year, according to BloombergNEF. (Bloomberg)
• Companies canceled or downsized more than $34 billion in U.S. clean energy projects last year. (E&E News)
• The Greenhouse Gas Protocol finalized its standard for land-sector emissions, here's how it will impact your company. (Trellis)

Several European investors have backed an $85 million growth investment in nuclear-energy startup Newcleo, which is developing a small modular reactor that runs on recycled fuel rods.

WSJ Pro's Luis Garcia reports that Paris-based Newcleo aims to expand into the U.S., where it expects to benefit from the more favorable regulatory environment under the Trump administration. The company last year signed an agreement with Oklo, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of small modular reactors backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, to invest as much as $2 billion in nuclear-fuel reprocessing infrastructure in the U.S.

Newcleo reactors would use recycled nuclear waste as fuel and lead as a coolant instead of the more common water and sodium. The company has secured sites to set up reactor and fuel manufacturing plants in France, while building nonnuclear testing systems in Italy that can simulate the operations of a reactor to speed up regulatory approval of components.

• Fusion startup Avalanche Energy has raised $29 million to develop desktop reactors that can power satellites and drones. (Bloomberg)
• A stretch of extreme cold weather tested America’s electrical grid in the last two weeks. Nuclear and batteries came through. (Barron's)

The U.S. this week agreed to work with Japan, Mexico and the European Union on the development of critical minerals used by automakers, arms producers and other industries, the Journal’s Gavin Bade reports.

Under the proposed agreements, the nations will work together to identify critical minerals necessary for certain industries and develop policies to encourage their mining and processing into products such as rare-earth magnets, U.S. officials said. Such minerals are used in components critical for the production of electric vehicles and wind turbines as well as high-end military technologies.

The move builds on President Trump’s efforts to combat China’s dominance in the sector. The administration is developing a roughly $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals—called Project Vault—aimed at helping U.S. manufacturers navigate future supply shortages and overcome future reliance on China for rare earths and metals. The move borrows from Beijing’s longstanding playbook, the WSJ’s Jon Emont writes. 

• Venture capitalists invested more than $628 million in U.S. startups working on rare earth minerals in 2025. (Bloomberg)

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• Jeep maker Stellantis said it would book charges of about $26 billion, the latest automaker to flush out big investments in electric vehicles. (WSJ)
   
• Amazon’s shares dropped around 10% after the company announced a nearly 60% increase in 2026 AI-related capital spending. (WSJ)
   
• Talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore to form the world’s largest copper producer collapsed due to disagreements over price. (WSJ)
   
• Nike is being investigated for alleged discrimination against white workers in its efforts to diversify its workforce. (WSJ)
   
• Google signed a 15-year offshore wind deal with European energy provider EnBW to power AI infrastructure in Germany. (ESG Today)
   
• Peloton Chief Financial Officer Liz Coddington will join clean energy company Palmetto as its new finance chief. (WSJ)
   
• Solar supplier Enphase Energy's stock soared 35% after earnings. Why some clouds are lifting for the industry. (Barron's)
   
• Danish wind company Orsted backed guidance despite hefty impairments, tariffs and regulatory challenges in the U.S. (WSJ)
   
• Tesla's former energy chief has secured more than $230 million to expand his battery startup into new markets. (Bloomberg)
   
• Canada is ditching its electric-vehicle sales mandate and replacing it with more stringent tailpipe-emissions standards. (WSJ)
   
• Climate change is reshaping the Winter Olympic Games, as declining snowfall and rising temperatures in key locations spark concerns. (FT)
   
• Global food prices declined for the fifth consecutive month, with the FAO’s food price index falling 0.4% in January. (WSJ)

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business gives you an inside look at how companies are tackling sustainability. Send comments to bureau chief Perry Cleveland-Peck at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com and reporters Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com and Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com. Follow us on LinkedIn at perrycp, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.