FOAK Climate Tech Monthly — June 2026

June served up a mixed plate: real construction milestones in nuclear, hydrogen aviation in a tailspin, and a green hydrogen project in Paraguay that went from FID to near-death in two months. Let's dig in.

The Good News

Kairos Power Hermes is the headliner this month. Construction is officially underway on the first licensed SMR demonstration reactor in the US in decades, at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Federal cost-sharing helped tip this into reality alongside TerraPower. Shovels in the ground, but my bets are still on the downside - as SMRs don't make much economic sense for electricity. I'll be happy to be proven wrong though.

LKAB got its environmental permit to build a fossil-free sponge iron plant at Malmberget, Sweden, using hydrogen DRI. A permit isn't for pouring concrete, but in the Swedish environmental court, this is a genuine gate cleared.

ACME Odisha locked in a 25-year Contract-for-Difference subsidy from the Japanese government for 228,000 TPA of green ammonia, with a seven-company Japanese consortium as buyers. I have a hope that the Japanese government can be trusted with long-term promises, unlike the government of Paraguay.

NEOM Green Hydrogen seems to be finally moving from headlines to contracts. Air Products is finalising a deal with Yara for renewable ammonia offtake from the project — while simultaneously killing its Louisiana clean energy complex and eating up to $2.9B in charges. The NEOM project, with its 257 wind turbines and Manhattan-sized solar farm, appears to be the survivor in Air Products' portfolio triage. For now.

The Bad News and Warning Signs

ATOME Villeta. Paraguay government seems to be devastated by their national team's loss to France in the World Cup, so they are taking it out on one of my favourite FOAKs to track, Paraguay-team style. Two months after FID on its $665M green hydrogen fertiliser plant in Paraguay, the government unilaterally revoked the power decree underpinning its PPA. Shares suspended on AIM. The company is now hinting that it might move the whole project to another country. A reminder: your government-backed PPA is only as solid as the government behind it.

Brevik CCS drew scrutiny from Der Spiegel, raising doubts about the sustainability of the Norwegian cement CCS pilot. Not a project collapse, but negative press from credible outlets at this stage is not what you want.

ZeroAvia founder Val Miftakhov stepped down as CEO after a rough stretch of workforce cuts and delayed certification. A defence partnership with Marshall Aerospace was announced, but a founder exit during a pivot rarely signals strength. It seems that the final bastion of hydrogen aviation is crumbling. The only questions that I have - why does it take so long?

The Noise

Commonwealth Fusion Systems had a busy PR month — Middle East investment from Plynth Energy, a UKAEA partnership, and papers claiming ARC "will work." All fascinating, but I'd rather see a field report.

Eavor-Loop Geretsried was mentioned in a general geothermal think piece. No project-specific progress reported.

Lyten agreed to pay €60M for Northvolt's site in Heide, Germany. Might be a good deal property-wise, but acquiring a bankrupt facility is not the same as producing batteries.

Key Takeaways

• Kairos Hermes breaking ground is the most important US advanced nuclear milestone in years. Federal cost-sharing works when paired with a company that actually has a license and a site. Watch execution closely.

• Sovereign risk kills projects as surely as bad engineering. ATOME went from FID to share suspension in weeks because the government changed its mind.

Next month: Will Linglong One hit its fuel-loading milestone? And does SPARC have anything to show beyond partnerships? See you in August.