• In a move that could give a powerful lift to intercity passenger rail infrastructure projects, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has begun taking applications for about $2.3 billion in a new round of grants from its Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program.
• In announcing its funding-availability notice, issued on Dec. 7, DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration noted that $2.2 billion for the upcoming round of partnership program grants comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
• The new program also significantly widens the types of eligible projects, including those to expand or launch new intercity passenger and high-speed rail services, as well as projects to improve rail safety, reliability and performance, planning, and final design costs.

• The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday a monumental milestone in nuclear fusion research: a "net energy gain" was achieved for the first time in history by scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
• Though nuclear fusion technology has been around since the creation of the hydrogen bomb, using that technology to harness energy has required decades of research and has been considered the holy grail of energy creation.
• Existing nuclear power plants—responsible for about 10% of the world’s electricity—generate electricity by nuclear fission, which creates radioactive waste that can last thousands of years.
• Fusion doesn’t produce such waste, nor does it produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. And the hydrogen atoms that fuel fusion reactions are in an essentially limitless supply.

Alliance Technical Group, LLC (Alliance), an Alabama-based environmental testing, monitoring, and analysis company backed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (MSCP), has acquired GBMc & Associates, Inc. (GBMc), an Arkansas-based multimedia environmental consulting firm that utilizes regulatory, scientific, and engineering expertise to provide environmental compliance and regulatory support for industrial and municipal clients nationwide. The acquisition of GBMc will strengthen Alliance’s consulting business and enable Alliance to serve their clients’ needs in environmental compliance and regulatory support.

EFCG is pleased to have served as the financial advisor to Alliance, making it our 11th deal of the year.

Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. (Geosyntec), a Florida-based consulting and engineering firm working with private and public sector clients to address problems involving the environment, natural resources, and civil infrastructure, has entered into an agreement to acquire Red Earth Engineering Pty Ltd (REE), an Australia-based engineering consultancy providing tailored solutions and strategic advice in the areas of mining, mineral processing, oil and gas, and infrastructure. The acquisition of REE will enhance Geosyntec's engineering expertise in water balance, hydraulic, hydrologic, and dam-break modeling, in addition to their strong record of supporting clients with civil, geotechnical, and hydraulic/hydrologic engineering services.