Daily Business Report: March 25, 2024
Lithium: The Next Gold Rush
Lithium is essential for batteries in electric cars, storing renewable energy, and even smartphones. That’s why demand for lithium is projected to grow 20x by 2040.
So when EnergyX revealed their technology could extract 300 percent more lithium than traditional methods, investors everywhere took note. General Motors included. GM is the lead investor in EnergyX’s $50 million funding round.
The U.S. doubled imports of lithium-ion batteries for the third consecutive year in 2022, and with EV demand growing yearly, U.S. lithium mines must ramp up production or rely on other nations for their supply of refined lithium.
To determine if the domestic U.S. lithium opportunity can meet demand, Visual Capitalist partnered with EnergyX to determine how much lithium sits within U.S. borders.
U.S. Lithium Projects
The most crucial measure of a lithium mine’s potential is the quantity that can be extracted from the source.
For each lithium resource, the potential volume of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) was calculated with a ratio of one metric ton of lithium producing 5.32 metric tons of LCE. Cumulatively, existing U.S. lithium projects contain 94.8 million metric tons of LCE.
Fact: 600,000 metric tons of LCE could be extracted from Salton Sea, California every year. Source: Controlled Thermal Resources.
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County extends Emergency Temporary Lodging Program
On March 12, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to extend the Emergency Temporary Lodging Program. The program, which was launched on Feb. 10, has provided emergency temporary lodging to nearly 900 families who were displaced by flooding from the Jan. 22 storm.
County Emergency Temporary Lodging Program participants will have their eligibility reviewed on a routine basis. Depending on their eligibility and other factors, households in the program may be extended up to May 11. Program participants will be contacted before April 15 to determine their long-term housing plan.
The county, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are working together to help families displaced by the flooding.
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Pfizer joins BD at Breakthrough Properties’ Torrey View campus
Pharmaceutical powerhouse Pfizer, a key player in the local life sciences industry, has signed a 15-year lease for 230,000 square feet to house its growing Pfizer Oncology arm at Breakthrough Properties’ Torrey View campus. Joining BD at the complex, Pfizer will take over two research and development buildings to advance cancer treatments, making its expansion the largest new biotech lease since 2022.
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The feds want to study giving cash to renters.
Will Californians be included?
By Marisa Kendall | CalMatters
Guaranteed income has become a buzzword in California, as the state struggles to stop people from getting priced out of their homes and landing on the streets.
The latest entity pushing to give cash directly to people in need isn’t a nonprofit or an uber-progressive politician — it’s a massive federal agency not typically known for its innovation.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is encouraging local housing authorities to experiment with giving cash directly to renters in pilot programs it wants to follow. It wants to know if this simplified method, which cuts down on red tape and puts more power in tenants’ hands, works better than its decades-old approach: a voucher system where money flows from the federal government, to the local housing authority, to the landlord’s pocket.
If the tests succeed, they could inspire national change.
“This could be a significant seachange in how HUD implements subsidies,” said Jimar Wilson, vice president of the Southern California market for national housing nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, which is considering getting involved in the test program.
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Feeding San Diego receives $75,000 from Life Science Cares San Diego
Feeding San Diego has received a $75,000 grant from Life Science Cares San Diego, a non-profit organization activating the financial and human capital of the life sciences industry and partnering with local nonprofits to disrupt the cycle of poverty and inequity in our community. Through the organization’s grantmaking, they have allocated funds to support Feeding San Diego’s mission of providing nutritious meals to anyone in need while maximizing food rescue.
City Heights Community Development Corporation awarded $3.3 million
The California Air Resources Board has awarded the City Heights Community Development Corporation $3.3 million to develop enhanced bike and pedestrian infrastructure. The work will connect the upcoming Cuatro affordable housing complex to the nearby City Heights Transit Plaza and The Boulevard Transit Plaza. The funding also will support community outreach and engagement.
Fleet Science Center hosts partial solar eclipse viewing party
The Fleet Science Center will host a viewing party for the partial solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. It will be held outside the Fleet in front of the Bea Evenson Fountain, beginning at 9 a.m. The partial solar eclipse will begin at 10:03 a.m. when the Moon appears to touch the Sun’s edge. The climax, when the Moon is closest to the center of the Sun, will be visible from San Diego at 11:11 a.m.
Capstan Therapeutics raises $175 million in Series B funding
Local biotech Capstan Therapeutics, which pioneers CART-T cell technology at Alexandria GradLabs, secured $175 million in Series B funding and backing from pharma giant Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, and Pfizer. Capstan will use this round of funding to advance its lead therapy to clinical trials and expand its 79-employee workforce.
San Diego Wave FC, PNC Bank partner to restore Border YMCA soccer field
Giving back to the community, PNC Bank and San Diego Wave FC partnered to rehabilitate the Border View Family YMCA’s soccer field, a vital community resource for youth development in San Ysidro. Set to open in late April, the new field will host programming for all sports, with a focus on youth and adult soccer leagues.
WD-40 Company acquires Brazilian distributor Theron Marketing
WD-40 Company announced that a definitive agreement has been entered into acquiring the company’s current Brazilian marketing distributor and long-time business partner, Theron Marketing Ltda. WD-40 Company and Theron Marketing have worked closely together to market and sell WD-40 Brand products in Brazil. Theron Marketing was established in 1997 to focus solely on the distribution and sales of WD-40 Company products in Brazil and does not market or sell any other products.
SSA Marine introduces zero-emissions cargo
handling equipment at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal
SSA Marine announced that it has put into service the first of six pieces of zero-emissions cargo handling equipment that the company will introduce at the Port of San Diego’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal over the next 12 to 18 months, while the Port of San Diego has completed the initial installation of the electrical infrastructure needed to support the operation of this equipment. The first piece of zero-emissions equipment that SSA Marine is putting into operation at the terminal is a 55,000-pound capacity Wiggins Yard eBull battery electric forklift.
San Diego Community Power, Averon Energy
partner on 200MW energy storage facility
San Diego Community Power just added another battery storage facility to its roster of energy projects. The community choice energy program that purchases power for six cities and unincorporated areas of San Diego County reached a 15-year agreement with Arevon Energy Inc.to build an energy battery facility in Carson. The Avocet Energy Storage Project will be the largest stand-alone facility in SDCP’s portfolio, with capacity of 200 megawatts and 800 megawatt-hours.
Contineum Therapeutics files to go public
Contineum Therapeutics has filed to go public, becoming San Diego’s second biotech IPO of 2024. The company submitted its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission a little over a week after Boundless Bio filed San Diego’s first initial public offering of 2024. Contineum, which changed its name from Pipeline Therapeutics in November, is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for the treatment of neuroscience, inflammation, and immunology, conditions such as lung scarring with no known cause.
Carlsmed raises $52.5 million in Series C financing
Carlsmed, an AI-enabled personalized surgery Medtech company, announced a $52.5 million Series C funding round led by U.S. Venture Partners and B Capital. Proceeds will be used to advance the commercialization of its aprevo personalized spine surgery platform for lumbar fusion procedures and developing aprevo for cervical fusions that will launch in 2025. Carlsmed implantable devices and software platforms are FDA-cleared for lumbar spine fusion.
U.S. Commercial Service Export Compliance Roadshow
Join World Trade Center San Diego for a dynamic one-day program on April 17 featuring speakers from the U.S. Commercial Service, the Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and more. Whether you are a seasoned exporter or new to the international market, this event will equip you with the network, knowledge and tools necessary to navigate exporting while adhering to critical regulations. Register here.
