Europe's Biggest

$14.6B

Nscale’s post-money valuation after closing the largest Series C in European history — from a company founded in 2024 that counts Microsoft and OpenAI as customers and has Goldman and JPMorgan on IPO retainer.

Today’s Menu

$2.0B / $14.6B: Nscale raised a $2 billion Series C led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries, valuing the AI infrastructure platform at $14.6 billion.

1.4 GW / $840M: Atlas signed a global framework agreement with Caterpillar covering about 1.4 GW of gas-generation equipment and about $840 million of purchase obligations through 2029.

4 mtpa / $5.7B: Texas LNG and Kiewit signed a lump-sum turnkey EPC contract, one of the final steps before FID for the 4 mtpa Brownsville project backed by an initial $5.7 billion bank debt package.

24 wells / 100,000 bpd: Woodside and Pemex kicked off the Trion drilling campaign in Mexico deepwater, tied to a floating production unit sized for about 100,000 barrels per day.

C$700M / 422 MW / 1,688 MWh: Aypa Power and Six Nations closed about C$700 million of financing for two Ontario battery projects targeting mid-2027 operations.

$12B / 4.4 GW / 8.8 GWh: TPG completed the Google sale of Intersect and launched IPX Power, a grid-tied clean-power platform with 4.4 GW of solar and 8.8 GWh of storage in construction or operation.

$525M: Frontera said GeoPark will not match Parex’s offer, clearing the way for definitive agreements on the $525 million deal.

Lead Story

AI Infrastructure

Nscale closes a $2B Series C at a $14.6B valuation — the largest in European history

A two-year-old European GPU cloud founded in 2024 just out-raised every Series C in European history — with Goldman and JPMorgan already on IPO retainer.

Nscale raised $2B in Series C funding led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries at a $14.6B post-money valuation, with participation from Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, NVIDIA, Point72, and others; Goldman and JPMorgan served as placement agents and IPO underwriters. Founded in 2024 with Microsoft and OpenAI as customers, Nscale also rolled its Aker-Norway JV fully into the company and added Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker, and Nick Clegg to the board.

AI Infrastructure

Atlas locks in 1.4 GW of Caterpillar gas generation for private-grid buildout — $840M in purchase obligations through 2029

Atlas executed a global framework agreement with Caterpillar covering about 1.4 GW of gas-generation equipment — CG260-16 and G3520 units — with $840M in purchase obligations and orders running 2027–2029. Successful deployment takes Atlas’s owned-and-operated fleet to about 2.0 GW by 2030.

LNG

Texas LNG and Kiewit sign a lump-sum turnkey EPC contract — one of the final steps before FID on the 4 mtpa Brownsville project

Texas LNG and Kiewit executed a lump-sum turnkey EPC contract for the 4 mtpa Brownsville facility, which Texas LNG called one of the final steps before FID. The project has a $5.7B initial bank debt package in place and remains on schedule for an early-2026 FID; the RWE SPA covers 1 mtpa for 20 years.

Offshore / E&P

Woodside and Pemex launch the 24-well Trion drilling campaign — first oil targeted for 2028

Woodside (60%) and Pemex (40%) commenced the 24-well Trion drilling campaign in ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico, with Transocean’s Deepwater Thalassa arriving March 5. The Tláloc FPU is sized for ~100,000 bpd; first oil remains on track for 2028.

Battery Storage

Aypa and Six Nations close C$700M financing for 422 MW / 1,688 MWh of Ontario battery storage

Aypa Power and Six Nations closed about C$700M (US$512M) from an eight-bank syndicate for the Elora and Hedley battery projects — 422 MW / 1,688 MWh combined, won under Ontario’s LT1 procurement. Commercial operations target mid-2027; Aypa’s broader pipeline exceeds 22 GW.

Quick Hits

Clean Power

• TPG closes Intersect / launches IPX Power — $12B EV; IPX opens with 4.4 GW solar + 8.8 GWh storage in construction or operation.

Critical Minerals

• Smackover Lithium — Trafigura binding offtake — 8,000 tpa / 10 years; covers >40% of 22,500 tpa phase one; FID 2026, first production 2028.

E&P / M&A

• Frontera → Parex — GeoPark declines to match; Frontera enters definitive agreements with Parex at $525M.

Offshore Wind

• RWE / Vestas — Vanguard East — 92 × 15 MW turbines (~1.38 GW); FID summer 2026; COD 2030.

Midstream

• Five Point — San Mateo CV close — 720 MMcf/d processing, 660 miles pipeline, 475,000 bpd water disposal; lead LPs: North Hudson, EOC, Hamilton Lane.

Midstream / Capital Markets

• Genesis — $900M revolver + $110M preferred retirement — matures March 2031; saves ~$12M/yr in run-rate cash costs.

Power / Net Zero

• Net Power resets Project Permian to 80 MW — Siemens A35 + Entropy CCS; FID 2H 2026; COD early 2029; $379M cash on hand.

Almost Headlines

Clean Power

Repsol may bring new investors into its U.S. renewables platform — about 2.8 GW operating or under construction, development pipeline exceeds 15 GW

Nuclear

Greece is opening the door to SMRs — Athens will set up a ministerial committee to study small reactors as it phases out its last lignite units by 2028

Nuclear / Geopolitics

South Korea confirms serious talks to invest in U.S. nuclear — Korean officials say discussions are active and bilateral; no project or dollar figure announced yet

Clean Power

U.S. solar lost momentum in 2025 — installations fell to 43 GW from nearly 50 GW in 2024; utility-scale down 16%, community solar down 25%

Critical Minerals / Clean Power

Controlled Thermal Resources goes public via SPAC at $4.7B EV — Salton Sea lithium-and-geothermal developer; targets 300,000 tpa LiOH and 2 GW geothermal by 2035

Critical Minerals

Critical Metals approved a $30M acceleration program for Tanbreez — targeting first ore Q4 2028 or Q1 2029, concentrate exports by Q3 2029

THE READING LIST

FTEurope and Asia battle for LNG as Iran war chokes supply — who is scrambling for supply

BloombergOil traders line up $7 billion in credit to weather war turmoil — who is scrambling for liquidity

WSJChina has spent years preparing for the Iran oil crisis — who is not scrambling at all

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