Watt It Takes
Emily Kirsch
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Watt It Takes tells the stories of founders that are making our zero-carbon future a reality — their upbringings, their risks, their failures, and their breakthroughs that are transforming our world. Hosted by Powerhouse Founder and CEO and Powerhouse Ventures Managing Partner Emily Kirsch. New episodes are released every month.
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4 days ago
Charm Industrial Co-Founder and CEO Peter Reinhardt
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we need to return Earth’s atmosphere to 280 parts per million of CO2 for the health of human existence and that of the planet. To achieve that goal, industry experts believe we’ll need to be removing 10-20 billion tons of carbon per year by 2050.
Removing carbon is exactly what this month’s Watt It Takes guest, Peter Reinhardt, Co-Founder and CEO of Charm Industrial, is doing.
The team at Charm has developed a novel process for removing carbon using biomass that is converted to bio-oil via pyrolysis, and then injected into wells deep underground, where it is permanently stored for thousands of years if not millennia. Charm is also developing a process for fossil-free ironmaking.
Charm has raised $125M, has a team of 50, and is scaling their carbon removal operations. I spoke to Peter about Charm’s mission to turn the tide of global climate change with carbon removal; from his childhood as a self identified “hard core math nerd” with a passion for the environment, to his early career as a ridiculously successful tech entrepreneur, to switching gears and delivering a carbon removal process to a planet that needs it now more than ever.
_Sponsors_
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures and SPAN._
_Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit shell.com/ventures to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_SPAN are the makers of the award-winning SPAN Panel—a smart electrical panel that enhances how homeowners interact with their energy. Interested in advancing your career at one of the premier companies in Climate Technology or getting SPAN installed in your home? Visit www.span.io to learn more._
_About Powerhouse and Powerhouse Ventures_
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations and investors to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate._
_Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at powerhouse.fund/subscribe._
_To hear more stories of founders building our climate positive future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review._
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Oct 30, 2023
Commonwealth Fusion Systems Co-Founder and CEO Bob Mumgaard
According to researchers around the world, fusion could be a nearly waste-free, carbon-free, and all-geography answer to creating enough dispatchable power to get us through the energy transition. To achieve this, all components of a fusion power plant need to be built so that when fusion energy becomes a reality, we have the industry, infrastructure, and processes in place to distribute the power, and it has to be cost competitive. This is exactly what Bob Mumgaard, Co-Founder and CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), is building.
Today, CFS has more than 600 employees, has raised $2B, and is executing on their plan to make the “holy grail” of fusion energy possible.
Guest host Lara Pierpoint sat down with Bob to learn more about his journey, the CFS story, and the work being advanced by his team.
_Sponsors _
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures and SPAN._
_Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit __shell.com/ventures__ to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_SPAN are the makers of the award-winning SPAN Panel—a smart electrical panel that enhances how homeowners interact with their energy. Interested in advancing your career at one of the premier companies in Climate Technology or getting SPAN installed in your home? Visit __www.span.io__ to learn more._
_About Powerhouse and Powerhouse Ventures _
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations and investors to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. _
_Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at __powerhouse.fund__, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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Aug 31, 2023
Petra Co-Founder and CEO Kim Abrams
Climate change-fuelled natural disasters and vulnerable transmission infrastructure have defined some of the worst natural disasters of the past decade, including the 2020 wildfires in California. It’s clearer than ever that in high-risk areas, above-ground transmission lines need to be dug underground to protect communities from fires and to ensure their access to electricity in the face of increasing natural disasters. And that’s exactly why this month’s Watt It Takes guest, Kim Abrams, founder and CEO of Petra, is building a trenchless digging platform to make undergrounding utilities easier and more cost-effective.
Today, Petra has 72 employees across multiple continents, has raised $45M, and is winning contracts to underground transmission in the US and Colombia.
Guest host Lara Pierpoint sat down with Kim to learn how they're enabling utility undergrounding, more about their trenchless technology making it all possible, and the story behind how she founded Petra.
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by SPAN._
_SPAN are the makers of the award-winning SPAN Panel—a smart electrical panel that enhances how homeowners interact with their energy. Interested in advancing your career at one of the premier companies in Climate Technology or getting SPAN installed in your home? Visit __www.span.io__ to learn more._
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at __powerhouse.fund__, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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Jul 27, 2023
Lunar Energy Founder and CEO Kunal Girotra
From induction cooktops and heat pumps to the rooftop solar needed to power it all and the batteries to store excess energy for use during blackouts, we’ve had incredible success building the tools we need to decarbonize our homes. But to the regular consumer, the universe of electrified solutions can be overwhelming. What we need is a home battery system and an integrated ecosystem of all electric products to make it easier than ever for homes to switch from gas to electricity, alongside software solutions to help manage residential energy production, storage, and usage. And that’s exactly what this month’s Watt It Takes guest, Kunal Girotra, Founder and CEO of Lunar Energy, is building.
Lunar emerged from stealth last year with $300M in funding from SK Group and Sunrun, now has 250 employees, and publicly unveiled their integrated residential energy product last week.
Emily sat down with Kunal to learn about how they're building the future of residential electrification, his journey from growing up in India to leading energy at Tesla, and the story behind the growth of Lunar Energy.
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures and SPAN._
_Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit __shell.com/ventures__ to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_SPAN are the makers of the award-winning SPAN Panel—a smart electrical panel that enhances how homeowners interact with their energy. Interested in advancing your career at one of the premier companies in Climate Technology or getting SPAN installed in your home? Visit __www.span.io__ to learn more._
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at __powerhouse.fund__, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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Jun 30, 2023
Lilac Solutions Founder and CEO Dave Snydacker
If the world is going to make the switch from fossil fuels to clean energy, we’re going to need lots of energy storage, and a lot of lithium. The global transition to clean energy is expected to trigger a 40-fold increase in the demand for lithium by 2040.
Lithium is in high demand, but current methods for lithium extraction make it difficult and expensive to source. Conventional extraction methods take up lots of land, use lots of water and energy, and often have devastating environmental impacts.
Traditional lithium extraction uses massive evaporation ponds, where lithium-rich-brine, (meaning saline groundwater that is rich in lithium) is pumped to the surface and evaporated until it can be processed and extracted.
These projects often require as much as 10,000 acres of land, and only recover 40% of the lithium available in the brine.
To make the lithium ion batteries we need to power our electrified world, and more specifically to power the electrification of transportation, we’ll need to source lithium in a way that doesn’t harm the environment, yields tons of high purity lithium concentrate, and uses as little land as possible. And that’s exactly what this month’s Watt It Takes guest, Dave Syndacker, Founder and CEO of Lilac Solutions, is building.
Lilac Solutions created superior ion exchange beads using ceramic materials that absorb lithium from brine. Lithium rich brine is pumped into a vessel containing the ion exchange beads, which absorb the lithium. Then, hydrochloric or sulfuric acid is used to flush out the lithium to produce lithium chloride or sulfate. Those intermediate forms of lithium are then converted to lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide which get used to make batteries.
Emily spoke to Dave about his journey to becoming a founder, from his childhood on the beach in Rhode Island, to leading seminars about battery technology at Northwestern where a few provocative questions from fellow students put Dave on the path to create Lilac.
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures and SPAN._
_Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit __shell.com/ventures__ to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_SPAN are the makers of the award-winning SPAN Panel—a smart electrical panel that enhances how homeowners interact with their energy. Interested in advancing your career at one of the premier companies in Climate Technology or getting SPAN installed in your home? Visit __www.span.io__ to learn more._
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at __powerhouse.fund__, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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May 31, 2023
Nithio Co-Founder and CEO Kate Steel
As we speak, there are 600 million people in Africa who lack access to even basic electricity. That’s driven in part by low levels of domestic and foreign investment into electricity infrastructure across the continent: over the last decade, just 3% of capital invested into energy infrastructure worldwide went to Africa.
To enable universal energy access in Africa, we’ll need innovative climate financing solutions that get the right kind of capital to the right kind of projects at the right time.
And that’s exactly what Kate Steel, Co-Founder and CEO of Nithio, is doing. Nithio uses AI-powered analytics to help investors, local banks, and grant-makers understand payment patterns, credit risk, and portfolio quality in the distributed energy space. They also operate a financing vehicle called Nithio FI that provides loans to distributors that need capital to reach the millions of households with no or unreliable energy access.
In this episode, Emily sits down with Kate to hear about the high school ditch day that introduced her to engineering, her journey in energy access, and the work Nithio is doing financing electricity access across Africa.
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures and SPAN._
_Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit __shell.com/ventures__ to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_SPAN are the makers of the award-winning SPAN Panel—a smart electrical panel that enhances how homeowners interact with their energy. Interested in advancing your career at one of the premier companies in Climate Technology or getting SPAN installed in your home? Visit __www.span.io__ to learn more._
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at __powerhouse.fund__, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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Apr 25, 2023
Sublime Systems CEO and Co-Founder Leah Ellis
Concrete is the second most-used material in the world, right behind water. It’s everywhere – in our bridges, our buildings, our homes, our roads. It’s the literal foundation for much of our lives.
And cement is a key ingredient in that foundation. It acts as the glue that binds together the water and aggregate to make concrete. Globally, we produced more than four billion tons of cement in 2021, and demand is expected to grow.
But for each ton of cement produced, a ton of carbon is emitted due to the fossil fuel-powered heat and reactions needed to produce it. Altogether, the cement industry accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions. To build our net-zero future, we'll need even more concrete for new and existing infrastructure, but we'll also need to clean up cement production to prevent ever increasing emissions.
And that's what this month's Watt it Takes guest, Sublime Systems CEO and co-founder Leah Ellis, is doing.
Leah and her colleagues at Sublime Systems are decarbonizing the cement industry by creating a process that produces cement with electricity instead of fossil fuels.
Emily spoke with Leah about developing the science behind low carbon cement. They also talked about the importance of getting experience in the industry while she was still an academic, and Sublime's ultimate goal of launching a plant capable of producing a million tons of cement a year.
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures. Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit __shell.com/ventures__ to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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Apr 12, 2023
Leap CEO and Co-Founder Thomas Folker
The U.S. is on track to deploy 550 gigawatts of new renewables on the grid by 2030. That's a massive amount of solar, wind, and other renewables powering buildings, EVs, appliances, and industrial processes in our increasingly electrified world.
Last year electric vehicles (EVs) hit a massive milestone by making up 5% of all new car sales in the U.S. And Bloomberg estimated that more than half of new car sales could be EVs by 2030.
That future looks bright, but to keep the headlights on and the wheels turning, the grid will have to be prepared to provide power at triple its current capacity by 2050. Fossil fuel peaker plants have been filling in the gaps left by renewables during times of peak demand. But to reach net-zero by 2050, the U.S. will need more sources of firm power that don't come from coal or natural gas.
Thomas Folker, CEO and co-founder of Leap, a Powerhouse Ventures portfolio company, is working to solve that problem.
Leap has built the platform needed to turn all of our various grid-connected devices into virtual power plants that can be called upon during times of high demand. Thomas and the team at Leap are helping to prevent the use of fossil fuel power plants called peaker plants, many of which only run during times of high energy and don't actually run on a daily basis.
Virtual power plants, or VPPs, aggregate the combined power of EVs, rooftop solar, residential and commercial batteries and other distributed energy resources, or DERs, and make that energy available to areas of high demand. Leap's API makes it simple for these smart, grid-connected devices to collectively act as virtual power plants, and their platform allows their customers to sell that energy to buyers.
I spoke with Thomas about leveraging software solutions to solve hard, real-world problems on the grid. We also talked about how his early roles helping build energy projects both big and small gave him a realistic view on what it takes to make lasting change.
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures. Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit __shell.com/ventures__ to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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Mar 16, 2023
Vibrant Planet CEO and Co-Founder Allison Wolff
Forests make up a third of all land on Earth, and they're one of our major defenses against a warming world. 45% of the carbon stored in land exists in forests.
Today, our forests are struggling to adapt to human activity and a rapidly changing climate. Deforestation and wildfires continue to ravage habitats like the Amazon. In the U.S.destructive wildfires have increasingly ravaged the West. To protect these valuable ecosystems and carbon sinks, we need to radically change the way we restore, conserve and expand these landscapes.
And that's exactly what Vibrant Planet CEO and co-founder Allison Wolff is doing.
Allison and the Vibrant Planet team are modernizing forest conservation and restoration with a product called Land Tender, a digital platform that leverages data to help Forest Services, municipalities and tribal lands better manage their conservation and restoration efforts. Allison describes it as the operating system for forest restoration.
By digitizing forest conservation and restoration, Land Tender makes it easy for municipal fire districts, conservations districts, nonprofits, and NGOs to coordinate and plan with each other.
Different interventions like removing vegetation and prescribed burns can be mapped over time using machine learning and AI to adjust treatments accordingly.
Emily spoke with Allison about the process of merging nature-based climate solutions with cutting edge technology, how she developed Land Tender, and Allison’s long career pushing big tech companies to make positive choices for people and the planet.
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures. Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit __shell.com/ventures__ to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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Feb 14, 2023
Via Separations CEO and Co-Founder Shreya Dave
Industrial processes are one of the hardest sectors of the economy to decarbonize. Fossil fuels have been the go-to way of powering the facilities that make paper, plastics, food, beverages, and chemicals.
Slashing greenhouse gas emissions from industry means changing the way companies produce their raw materials.
The problem: sometimes the hardest sectors to decarbonize are the ones that may not believe in climate change at all, and thus don’t feel the need to change their practices.
And that's what Shreya Dave, CEO and co-founder of Via Separations, is changing.
Shreya and the team at Via Separations are making it attractive for their customers to decarbonize by providing a cheaper alternative to an often overlooked source of emissions: chemical separations and purification.
The traditional way of separating desirable materials is very resource-intensive. Shreya likens the whole process to separating pasta from water in a pot. The water, which is the waste product, is boiled off using heat from fossil fuels to get to just the cooked pasta, or the desirable material, at the bottom of the pot.
Via Separations is changing the way separations are done by developing and deploying filtration systems that act like a pasta strainer, filtering out the waste product using less energy and producing less emissions.
The energy savings can't be understated. Chemical separations and purification make up a whopping 12 percent of the country's yearly energy consumption. That's on par with all the energy used in gasoline powered cars and trucks in the U.S. every year.
Emily spoke with Shreya about the work needed to scale the tech, the importance of speaking to customers about their needs, and the industries Via Separations is going after first.
_Watt It Takes is brought to you by Shell Ventures. Shell Ventures specializes in unlocking deployment opportunities to help their portfolio companies scale, access customers and commercialize their solutions. Visit __shell.com/ventures__ to learn more about how they can help your company reach the next level of growth._
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more at powerhouse.fund, and you can subscribe to our newsletter at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/subscribe__._
_To hear more stories of founders building our carbon-free future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review on Apple podcasts._
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Dec 28, 2022
Electric Hydrogen CEO Raffi Garabedian
Large swaths of the global economy are very hard to decarbonize with renewables and batteries alone. Steel, cement, aviation – these industries are run on the high heat and explosive force of burning fossil fuels.
Together, these activities make up the industrial basement of society; the often overlooked and essential sectors of the economy that can only be made possible, in part, by burning liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.
Cleaning up these sectors requires an energy-dense alternative that can go the distance.
And that's exactly what today's guest, Electric Hydrogen CEO and co-founder Raffi Garabedian, is building.
Raffi and the team at Electric Hydrogen are building the electrolyzers and supporting infrastructure that can produce the clean, green hydrogen needed to fuel our net-zero future.
Hydrogen has the potential to replace the role of petrochemicals altogether. Burning hydrogen could generate the high temperatures that heavy industry requires – without any added carbon…
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Dec 20, 2022
Raptor Maps CEO and Co-Founder Nikhil Vadhavkar
Over the last decade, solar growth has exploded. Just last year, the U.S. added a record 13 gigawatts of utility-scale solar to the grid. And despite supply chain disruptions and inflation, the average solar panel cost still dropped by 11%.
New solar plants are now cheaper to build than new gas or coal-fired power plants. But according to the Department of Energy, for the country to achieve a zero-carbon grid by 2050, we'll need 1,600 gigawatts of solar compared to the 13 we added last year. This means solar will have to break through its current single digit share on the grid. And doing that means drastically rethinking the way developers, owners, and operators keep tabs on new and existing solar projects. That's exactly what Nikhil Vadhavkar, CEO and co-founder of Raptor Maps, is doing.
Raptor Maps help utility scale solar owners and operators to build, monitor, maintain, and expand their solar plants. Before Raptor Maps, each solar farm operated in its own silo, essentially discon…
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Dec 6, 2022
Nth Cycle CEO and Co-Founder Megan O'Connor
To deploy enough solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and lithium-ion batteries needed to decarbonize the grid, we'll need more of the critical minerals that make these technologies possible.
Growing demand for clean technology means an even bigger need for lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and other minerals. Right now the world is on track to double its overall mineral requirements for clean technology by 2040. Yet our domestic mining capacity for these materials is a fraction of what exists overseas.
And with the Inflation Reduction Act requiring EV manufacturers to source at least 40% of their critical materials for EV batteries domestically by 2024, demand has already quickly surpassed supply. Battery recycling could help us make up the difference, but today the U.S. recycles less than 5% of its lithium-ion batteries.
And that's exactly what Megan O'Connor, CEO and co-founder of Nth Cycle, is changing.
Megan and the Nth Cycle team believe they can cut thro…
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Nov 1, 2022
Sealed CEO and Co-Founder Lauren Salz
The energy we use in our homes remains one of the largest sources of emissions in the country. About 20 percent of our energy-related GHG emissions comes from the fossil fuels used to power gas furnaces, stoves, water heaters, and AC units.
With the U.S. predicted to add more than 62 million new homes by 2050, getting fossil fuels out of our houses, apartments and condos is crucial. And we have the tools to do it.
Weatherization, insulation, and heat pumps can drastically reduce emissions. But we need to increase consumer awareness and decrease upfront costs for the improvements and technologies needed to decarbonize our homes.
Getting there means incentivizing homeowners to view residential energy solutions not as a financial risk, but as a comfort and savings reward. And that's exactly what Lauren Salz, CEO and co-founder of Sealed, is doing.
Sealed takes the guesswork out of decarbonizing homes by pairing homeowners with contractors and footing the initial bill themselves. By ty…
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Sep 7, 2022
Terabase Energy CEO and Co-Founder Matt Campbell
Earlier this year, solar reached a historic milestone: 1 terawatt of capacity around the world. One trillion watts is a huge achievement. But solar still only makes up 3 percent of the world's electricity.
To deploy dozens of terrawatts in the coming years, we'll need to do something about the bottlenecks holding back the planning, design, and construction of the massive solar farms that will make up a renewable-powered grid.
Enabling dozens of terawatts of solar development is exactly what this month’s guest, Terabase Energy CEO and co-founder Matt Campbell, is doing.
Terabase's mission is to accelerate the build out of utility-scale solar by combining new modeling and design tools with robotics and automation. This combination of modeling software and automation robots is already bringing strong results.
Today, Terabase has over 500 engineering, procurement and construction companies, developers, and independent power producers using their platform. Ten gigawatts worth of solar…
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Aug 11, 2022
SPAN CEO Arch Rao
Our homes account for 20 percent of America’s greenhouse gas emissions. The fastest way to cut those emissions is to electrify the systems that heat, cool, and power our homes with heat pumps, solar, batteries, and EVs.
These technologies are the pillars of residential electrification. But, as more and more homeowners seek to electrify, they’re discovering that a key piece of antiquated technology in their homes is holding them back from their all-electric dream: their electrical panel.
That's why our guest, SPAN founder and CEO Arch Rao, is building the electrical panel of the future.
Arch and the team at SPAN decided it's time to reimagine the circuit breaker as an enabler of decarbonization. The Span panel gives detailed data on energy use from every device through a companion app – making it easy for homeowners to see how they're saving the most energy, how efficiently each appliance is running, and how to control distributed energy resources.
Emily sat down with Arch to…
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Jun 29, 2022
Antora Energy CEO Andrew Ponec
Heavy industries like manufacturing, food processing, mining, and construction require a staggering amount of energy, often in the form of heat.
But until recently, there hasn’t been a good way to generate that amount of heat using electricity. As a result, we burn fossil fuels to make these essential materials and products. About a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from these industrial processes.
Learning how to generate these high temperatures without burning fossil fuels is a really difficult problem, but it’s a necessary step in cleaning up some of the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors of our economy.
That’s the challenge our guest, Antora Energy CEO and Co-founder Andrew Ponec, is tackling.
Antora's thermal energy storage solution takes the electricity generated from renewables and stores it in the form of heat using carbon blocks – at a cost and efficiency comparable to traditional battery technology. The radiating light emitted by the carbon can als…
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Jun 1, 2022
TeraWatt Infrastructure CEO Neha Palmer
Tens of millions of delivery vans and semi trucks move around the clock to keep supply chains humming. These medium- and heavy-duty vehicles make up more than 25 percent of transportation emissions in the US — even though they only make up 10 percent of all vehicles on the road.
We need to electrify medium and heavy-duty vehicles to meet our climate goals. But, how do we build and operate the charging infrastructure to power them?
That charging network is exactly what our guest, TeraWatt Infrastructure CEO Neha Palmer, is building.
TeraWatt develops, owns, and manages charging infrastructure for these large vehicles. The company integrates hardware, software, and grid services along with on-site chargers. TeraWatt has a growing portfolio of land in strategic locations across the country that enables it to build and operate that charging infrastructure.
TeraWatt brings together a team of experts from data centers, transportation logistics, and electric cars. The more complex the h…
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May 10, 2022
Our Friends from The Big Switch
Normally, we’d be bringing you an episode featuring an entrepreneur who’s making our climate-positive future a reality. But behind every founder with a big idea are scientists, engineers and policymakers working hard to turn those big ideas into reality. And right now, a lot of them are tackling one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis – carbon
So today, we have something new for you. As a bonus, we’re bringing you an episode of one of our favorite podcasts, The Big Switch.
It’s hosted by the amazing Dr. Melissa Lott, Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. In this episode of The Big Switch, we learn how pervasive carbon is in our lives. And how embedded carbon, in particular, hides inside our phones, our computers, our cars and even - our kitchen appliances.
Enjoy the show and we’ll be back with a new episode of Watt It Takes at the end of the month.
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global…
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May 4, 2022
Watershed Co-Founder Taylor Francis
With 93 Fortune 500 companies committing to net-zero targets, and with the SEC preparing to require public companies to disclose climate risks, corporations are beginning to think deeply about how to track and manage their emissions.
That’s why Watershed Co-Founder and CEO Taylor Francis and his team built a platform to simplify the process — and help companies to decarbonize faster.
From his co-founder’s guest bedroom, Taylor and his friends used their tech experience and climate passion to create Watershed, a carbon accounting company that helps corporations measure, reduce, and report their emissions. It gives companies the capability to monitor emissions -- and the tools to actually cut them.
Emily sat down with Taylor to learn how Watershed got started, how they got their first customers, and to dig into the nuances of the carbon management space.
_Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and…
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Apr 5, 2022
Mainspring Energy CEO & Founder Shannon Miller
_We’re running a contest! Through April 19, each review __on Apple podcasts__ or share on social media (using #WattItTakes) will enter you to win a limited-edition Watt It Takes crewneck — and enable more people to hear inspiring stories about entrepreneurs making our climate-positive future a reality._
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly, we need to electrify large swaths of the economy. But that requires a steady supply of renewable power. And that's where things get tricky.
Historically, we’ve turned to natural gas or batteries for backup power when resources like wind and solar can’t meet demand. But today’s batteries aren’t always cost-effective, especially at an industrial scale. Plus, they only provide energy for short periods of time.
The other option: Generators.
Generators can provide power whenever it’s needed and ensure that essential sites like grocery stores and hospitals always have access to reliable electricity. But today’s generators burn lo…
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Mar 2, 2022
Monolith Co-Founder & CEO Rob Hanson
_We’re running a contest! Through March 15th, each review __on Apple podcasts__ or share on social media (using #WattItTakes) will enter you to win a limited-edition Watt It Takes crewneck — and enable more people to hear inspiring stories about entrepreneurs making our climate-positive future a reality._
Heavy industry is one of the hardest parts of the economy to decarbonize. Making steel, cement, and chemicals takes a lot of heat, a lot of electricity, and a lot of expensive equipment.
Take hydrogen: a gas used to produce ammonia for fertilizer or refine petroleum. Hydrogen is also a promising fuel source for transportation and electricity that's attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in global investment.
Every year, the world produces millions of tons of hydrogen through a dirty process where steam and natural gas react – creating lots of CO2 and carbon monoxide.
For hydrogen to be a truly clean fuel, we have to change how it's made.
Our guest, Monolith co-founder an…
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Feb 9, 2022
ChargerHelp! Co-Founder Kameale Terry
There are 46,000 public EV charging stations across the United States. But with 32% of charging stations down at any given time, maintaining them is a big challenge for the industry.
Minimizing charger downtime isn’t easy – differences in manufacturers, network providers, and utilities can mean wide variation in hardware or software between stations. That complexity can make fixing technical problems a challenge.
And that's exactly what our guest, ChargerHelp! Co-founder and CEO Kameale Terry, is working to solve.
ChargerHelp's purpose is to give EV drivers the best experience possible. It analyzes operational data about chargers across the US – and then sends skilled personnel to fix them when they're down.
Since the company's founding in 2020, ChargerHelp! has raised $2.75 million and racked up a powerful list of customers. But the mission isn't just technical – it's also human. ChargerHelp! hires local technicians, pays them a living wage, and works with partner groups t…
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Dec 21, 2021
Remix Co-Founder Tiffany Chu
Electrifying cars and trucks is an essential part of decarbonizing mobility. But there's another vital piece in the race to zero-emissions transportation: public transit.
Transit tech is emerging as one of the most exciting areas in the climate space. It's made up of companies using technology to get people out of their cars and onto shared vehicles like vans, buses, and trains. And the need has never been greater.
When the pandemic threw public transportation systems around the world into turmoil, transit tech companies stepped in – reshaping routes overnight, enabling essential workers to get to their jobs. These same technologies can also be used to decarbonize transportation.
That's where our guest, Remix co-founder Tiffany Chu, focuses her energy.
Tiffany co-founded Remix, starting as COO before becoming CEO in 2019. She stayed in that role until March of 2021, when Remix was acquired by Via, a public transit networking company, for $100 million.
Today she's the senior vice…
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Dec 7, 2021
Fervo Energy Co-Founder & CEO Tim Latimer
Starting in the 1960s, the United States became a world leader in building large-scale geothermal power plants.
That changed in the mid-2000s with the fracking boom. Drillers turned their attention to oil and gas. And as wind, solar and batteries got cheaper, bankers and developers put their money into those resources.
Today, geothermal development around the world has flatlined.
But a small legion of clean energy entrepreneurs is working quietly in the background on innovations that could catalyze the geothermal industry once again.
One of those entrepreneurs is Tim Latimer, Co-Founder and CEO of Fervo Energy.
Fervo Energy is a geothermal developer using advanced drilling techniques from fracking in the oil and gas industry to make it easier to find and harness heat underground.
Tim calls the 2020s "the geothermal decade." We can't transition to a zero-carbon grid without round-the-clock clean energy resources to supplement wind and solar - and geothermal offers that always-on f…
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Nov 22, 2021
Alex Blumberg, Host of ‘How to Save a Planet’
There are a lot of nuances to the way people perceive our warming planet. But media coverage of the issue is often catastrophic, scientifically dense, or framed exclusively around politics.
So how do we talk about climate in a way that resonates across diverse groups of people?
That's what our guest, Alex Blumberg, kept asking himself.
Alex is an acclaimed audio journalist. He’s the co-founder of Gimlet Media and host of the Spotify climate solutions podcast _How to Save a Planet_.
Alex has pushed the boundaries of audio storytelling. His startup-turned-podcast-empire, Gimlet Media, was one of the first breakthrough podcast companies, focusing on ambitious explanatory journalism and rich narratives. In 2019, Gimlet was acquired by Spotify for $230 million.
Alex is known for a very specific brand of storytelling -- blending rigorous reporting with a casual, conversational delivery. He does it with a very deliberate purpose: to make complex topics accessible.
So what does Alex th…
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Oct 26, 2021
Aurora Solar Co-Founder Samuel Adeyemo
The United States recently surpassed 100 gigawatts of installed solar capacity, enough to power nearly 20 million homes.
But to decarbonize the power grid by 2035 and meet growing demand, the Department of Energy estimates that we'll need 1,000 gigawatts of solar capacity, providing 40% of the nation's electricity in just 15 years.
That means, on average, we'll need to install solar at quadruple the rate we did in 2020.
We can't achieve that growth without creative new ways to install solar in as many places as possible.
That’s where our guest, Aurora Solar Co-Founder & CRO Samuel Adeyemo, comes in.
Aurora is tackling one of the biggest problems in the rooftop solar industry: "soft costs."
The cost of solar panels has fallen 99 percent since 1980. But the cost of everything else involved in installing those panels — the paperwork, the design, the sales process — is now higher than the hardware itself.
Aurora makes software designed to tackle them all together.
Over the la…
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Sep 28, 2021
Arcadia Founder & CEO Kiran Bhatraju
Ninety percent of Americans want to see more renewable energy on the grid. But two-thirds of them can't directly access wind and solar — because they don't own their rooftop, can't afford the upfront cost, or can't get it from their monopoly utility.
That’s where our guest, Arcadia Founder & CEO Kiran Bhatraju, comes in.
“We started Arcadia to give everyone access to clean energy. It was as simple as that,” says Bhatraju. “This is a very closed, balkanized industry. And so the core idea was to build technology to make it incredibly simple for anyone that pays a power bill to access clean energy.”
Arcadia is a service that connects people across the country to solar and other renewable energy projects. Virtually anywhere in the country, customers can sign onto the platform and subscribe to community solar, or buy zero-carbon power.
The company's mission is to make these subscriptions as simple, transparent, and equitable as possible. And to decarbonize grids as quickly a…
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Aug 31, 2021
Tesla Co-Founder & Founding CEO Martin Eberhard
When it comes to climate tech companies, there's only one name that's known around the world: Tesla.
Tesla has arguably been the defining climate tech success story of the 21st century, driving demand for electric vehicles and becoming one of the world's most valuable companies.
When people think of the person behind Tesla, they think of Elon Musk. But Musk wasn't there from the very beginning — he was an early investor in the company, and didn't become CEO until five years after its founding.
Martin Eberhard was there from the start. And as co-founder and founding CEO, he'd already spent years building a new kind of electric car that people would actually want to drive.
Martin started Tesla with his co-founder Marc Tarpenning in 2003 during the dark ages of electric cars. Automakers had lobbied against policies promoting EVs in the 90s, and then killed their own battery-powered models. It took years of trial and error before Tesla hit the scene with the first Roadster.
Martin…
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Aug 10, 2021
Malta CEO Ramya Swaminathan
There's a race going on to build the next generation of energy storage technologies using gravity, chemicals, or heat to store clean electricity for long periods of time.
And that's where our guest, Ramya Swaminathan, comes in.
Ramya is the CEO of a company called Malta. Malta is building an electro-chemical battery that converts renewable electricity into heat. It's like a giant version of the heat pump in your air conditioner, using commercially-available, off-the-shelf parts.
Malta's heat-pump battery could provide energy to the grid for half a day -- and potentially, multiple days.
In 2018, Malta was spun out of X, the moonshot factory established by Google's parent company. Since then, Malta has raised more than $76 million to commercialize its storage system. Investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a firm started by Bill Gates; Dustin Moskowitz, a Facebook founder; and Alfa Laval, a Swedish company that makes heating and cooling equipment for heavy industry.
Malta ai…
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Jul 14, 2021
Powerhouse Founder & CEO Emily Kirsch
Over the past four years, we’ve interviewed 40 incredible founders and CEOs on _Watt It Takes._
Our guests have inspired emerging and established leaders across the industry. And each one of these conversations has helped Emily on her own founder journey.
With that in mind, in this episode of _Watt It Takes_, we’re turning the mic around to tell Emily’s story and the story of Powerhouse.
Today, Powerhouse is an innovation firm and venture fund — working with the world’s leading companies to help connect them to hundreds of climate tech startups every year, and investing directly in software-focused clean energy and mobility startups through Powerhouse Ventures. Emily’s path to start Powerhouse was anything but conventional.
_We’re brought to you by Google. Google is pioneering the electricity systems of the future with its effort to source 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 -- so that everyone can have round-the-clock, carbon-free energy everywhere they operate, in every…
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Jun 15, 2021
‘Clean Energy Yoda’ Andy Karsner
Andy Karsner is a highly influential entrepreneur, investor, diplomat, and strategist working to transform the world’s energy systems.
In June, he was voted onto ExxonMobil’s board by activist shareholders as a way to hold the oil giant accountable on climate change.
Back in the 90s, Andy was developing large gas and diesel power plants. But then he found the wind business. Andy started a company called Enercorp, which developed some of the earliest large-scale wind farms around the world.
In 2005, Andy was chosen by President George W. Bush to lead the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. That meant directing R&D and deployment efforts across wind solar, fuel cells, biofuels and other up-and-coming technologies.
Today, he’s a Senior Strategist and Space Cowboy X, the innovation lab run by Google's parent company Alphabet. He also co-founded a non-profit investment group called Elemental Excelerator, which has invested $43 million into cl…
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May 18, 2021
SHYFT Co-Founder Ugwem Eneyo
Africa is becoming a dynamic market for clean, distributed energy. All across the continent, solar, batteries, generators, and microgrids are giving people energy cheaply — and providing greater reliability in a region where many central grids remain unreliable.
But that dynamism can come at a cost. Systems are often complex. They lack standards. And it’s often difficult for buildings and businesses to manage and integrate them in concert with an incomplete grid.
And that's where our guest, Ugwem Eneyo, comes in.
Ugwem is the Co-Founder and CEO of a company called SHYFT Power Solutions. SHYFT has built a platform that makes it simple to optimize distributed energy resources and integrate them with centralized power grids in Sub-Saharan Africa.
SHYFT has raised nearly $4 million in seed funding to expand its platform across Nigeria—a country where the majority of citizens still don't have a reliable grid connection.
SHYFT has won the MIT Clean Energy Prize, the California Cli…
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Apr 20, 2021
OhmConnect Co-Founder Matt Duesterberg
Power plants are massive, complicated pieces of machinery. Gears. Pipes. Boilers. Generators. Instruments.
But a new kind of model is taking shape: one that combines smartphones, software, and smart devices in homes. It’s called a virtual power plant. And it’s what our guest, Matt Duesterberg, is working to build every day.
Matt is the co-founder of a company called Ohmconnect. It was founded in 2014 to make it easy for individuals to help clean up the grid.
In December 2020, OhmConnect picked up a $100 million investment from Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners. The money will help the company build a 550-megawatt virtual power plant made up of hundreds of thousands of households across California -- the largest project of its kind.
In 2013, Matt joined a Powerhouse hackathon to start working on the idea. It’s come a long way since then. So, we invited him to a live conversation to hear about the sacrifices, close calls, and conflicts that he’s dealt with while building OhmCo…
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Apr 6, 2021
Sunrun Co-Founder Lynn Jurich
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Lynn Jurich, the co-founder and CEO of Sunrun.
Sunrun was a pioneer in the early days of residential solar. Today, it’s the biggest installer of home solar systems in America -- and one of the industry’s biggest success stories.
Sunrun also partners with utilities on using batteries and rooftop systems to create virtual power plants. Lynn talks about how she convinced homeowners and banks to invest millions during the great recession in a new kind of solar service — kicking off the residential solar boom.
_We’re brought to you by Google. Google is pioneering the electricity systems of the future with its effort to source 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 -- so that everyone can have round-the-clock, carbon-free energy everywhere they operate, in every hour of the day. __Learn more._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ve…
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Apr 6, 2021
Green Jobs Pioneer Van Jones
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with CNN host and green-jobs pioneer Van Jones.
Van may be best known for “The Van Jones Show” and “The Redemption Project,” which both air on CNN. He is also the author of three best-selling books, including “The Green Collar Economy.”
But long before his high-profile career, Van was a powerful voice for bringing clean energy jobs to black and brown communities. He helped spearhead the Green Jobs Act of 2007, the first time the country deliberately trained workers for the future clean economy.
This conversation was recorded in front of a remote live audience in the fall of 2020.
_We’re brought to you by Google. Google is pioneering the electricity systems of the future with its effort to source 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 — so that everyone can have round-the-clock, carbon-free energy everywhere they operate, every hour of the day. __Learn more._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them l…
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Apr 6, 2021
BlocPower Founder Donnel Baird
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Donnel Baird, the founder and CEO of BlocPower.
BlocPower is a Brooklyn, New York startup electrifying and weatherizing buildings in underserved communities — slashing pollution and saving money. This includes housing units, churches, community centers.
BlocPower was founded in 2012. It has raised venture capital from Kapor Capital and Andreesen Horowitz. But that process was not easy for a company with a mostly Black leadership team. As a black founder, Donnel was turned down 200 times before any venture firms were willing to back his vision.
The mission for Donnel isn’t about just about hitting milestones for investors. It’s about changing the fabric of underserved communities that are plagued by pollution and energy poverty. That’s because Donnel has lived it himself.
The conversation was recorded in front of a live, remote audience at the end of 2020.
_We’re brought to you by Google. Google is pioneering the electricity sy…
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Apr 6, 2021
Nest Co-Founder Matt Rogers
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Matt Rogers, the co-founder of Nest.
Nest is best known for its elegant learning thermostat, the first major breakout hit in the smart home space. Google later acquired the company for $3.2 billion.
Matt is a former Apple engineer who applied design principles from the iPod and the iPad to smart thermostats — jolting an industry badly in need of change.
This conversation was recorded live at Powerhouse’s headquarters in 2019.
_We’re brought to you by Google. Google is pioneering the electricity systems of the future with its effort to source 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 — so that everyone can have round-the-clock, carbon-free energy everywhere they operate, every hour of the day. __Learn more._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform…
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Apr 6, 2021
Solstice CEO Steph Speirs
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Steph Speirs, the CEO of Solstice.
Solstice is a community-solar company with a mission to bring clean electricity to underserved communities.
Steph Speirs grew up as one of three kids, a first generation immigrant, in Hawaii. She knows what poverty can feel like, or how a poor credit score can sink a human being.
Steph wanted to use her seat at the table to make room for others. Solstice’s motto is “Solar for every American.”
This conversation was recorded in front of a remote, live audience in the fall of 2020.
_We’re brought to you by Google. Google is pioneering the electricity systems of the future with its effort to source 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 — so that everyone can have round-the-clock, carbon-free energy everywhere they operate, every hour of the day. __Learn more._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Power…
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Apr 6, 2021
Executive Producer Stephen Lacey
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Stephen Lacey, the founder of Post Script Audio.
Stephen has been the creative force behind many of the top podcasts about climate change and clean energy. And, he also happens to be our executive producer. He’s been making podcasts about the energy transition since 2006. This was the dawn of on-demand audio and the modern clean energy industry—and he had a front-row seat to both.
The conversation was recorded in front of a live, remote audience in December 2020.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean tec…
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Apr 6, 2021
EVgo CEO Cathy Zoi
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Cathy Zoi, the CEO of EVgo — one of the country’s largest electric vehicle charging networks.
Cathy has seen it all. She’s studied and worked in oil, gas and clean energy since the Reagan Era. Now at the helm of EVgo, she’s convinced the future of mobility is coming fast.
Cathy was on the team that developed the original Energy Star rating when she worked at the Environmental Protection Agency. She was chief of staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy in the Clinton-Gore Administration.
The conversation was recorded in front of a live, remote audience at the end of 2020.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that i…
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Apr 6, 2021
Bloomberg New Energy Finance Founder Michael Liebreich
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Michael Liebreich, the founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Michael had been many things, from entry-level analyst to Olympic skier to a crestfallen dot-com entrepreneur. And then in the mid-2000s, he found his home in the clean energy economy.
Unemployed, he used a team of interns to begin compiling data on clean energy investment. And that turned into a 140-employee business that Bloomberg LP purchased in 2009.
This conversation was recorded in front of a live remote audience in the fall of 2020.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help th…
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Apr 6, 2021
Opower Co-Founder Dan Yates
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Dan Yates, the co-founder and former CEO of Opower.
Opower was based on a simple premise: send paper mailers to utility customers comparing their electricity use to their neighbors. And if people saw they were doing poorly, they’d make changes. It worked.
Over time, Opower inked deals with the world’s biggest power companies and started processing vast amounts of smart meter data -- making it arguably the biggest energy efficiency success story in business. The company went public in 2014 and was sold to Oracle in 2016.
This conversation was recorded in front of a remote live audience in the summer of 2020.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working tow…
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Apr 6, 2021
Natel Energy Co-Founder Gia Schneider
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Gia Schneider, the co-founder and CEO of Natel Energy.
Natel is commercializing a turbine for low-head hydro applications—at locations like old dams, irrigation canals and run-of-river projects. And it’s designed to protect wildlife and drastically cut the ecological impact of hydropower.
Gia has a long history in energy. She worked at Constellation Energy and in Accenture’s utility practice. She started the energy and carbon trading desks at Credit Suisse. And in 2009, she launched Natel with her brother Abe.
This conversation was recorded in front of a remote live audience in the spring of 2020.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a wo…
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Apr 6, 2021
Otherlab Founder Saul Griffith
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Saul Griffith, the founder and chief scientist at Otherlab.
Otherlab is an R&D incubator and accelerator that helps pair startups in robotics and renewable energy with government labs and corporate investors. It has partnered with NASA, the Navy, the Department of Energy, Google, Facebook, GE and Ford to help build and fund projects in energy, automation, and robotics in service of 100% decarbonization.
Saul has a PhD in materials science and information theory. He’s co-founded over a dozen companies.
This conversation was recorded in February, 2020 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA. It was our last in-person recording before the pandemic.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizatio…
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Apr 6, 2021
Blueprint Power Co-Founder Robyn Beavers
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Robyn Beavers, the co-founder and CEO of Blueprint Power.
Blueprint works with real estate companies to turn their buildings into power plants. It has a piece of software that helps building owners optimize their use of co-generation, fuel cells, solar or batteries.
Robin has a long history in the tech, real estate, and the energy world.
This conversation was recorded in January 2020 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology in…
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Apr 6, 2021
Imprint Energy Co-Founder Dr. Christine Ho
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Dr. Christine Ho, the co-founder and CEO of Imprint Energy.
Imprint is the company created to commercialize Christine’s invention: a tiny, zinc-based solid-state battery that can be screen printed. It’s being integrated into sensors and other tiny devices, helping power the internet-of-things.
Today, Imprint is licensing its technology to multiple manufacturers, and it’s printed hundreds of thousands of batteries.
This conversation was recorded in 2020 at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help t…
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Apr 6, 2021
Opus 12 Co-Founder Dr. Etosha Cave
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Dr. Etosha Cave, the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Opus 12.
Opus 12 is a team of engineers, electrochemists and materials scientists working on a technology that converts carbon dioxide into usable products.
If the tech works at commercial scale, it would be a vital solution for slashing CO2 from industrial sources. The company has brought in about $20 million in funding.
This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead…
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Apr 6, 2021
Form Energy Co-Founder Mateo Jaramillo
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Mateo Jaramillo, the co-founder and CEO of Form Energy.
Form is working on a new kind of long-duration battery that could change the power sector.
In the early 2000s, Mateo deployed some of the first battery systems in New York for demand response — seeing the grid services potential well before anyone else did. He went on to start the storage unit at Tesla, launching and building the Powerwall business.
This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at the Prelude Venture Low Carbon Forum in Sonoma, CA.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations…
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Apr 6, 2021
Zola Electric Co-Founder Xavier Helgesen
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Xavier Helgesen, the co-founder and former CEO of Zola Electric.
Zola is a provider of solar and storage systems in Africa. Since its founding in 2012 as Off-Grid Electric, the company has served over a million people with clean power in five countries.
Over the years, Zola has evolved from a small, scrappy startup that offered basic energy packages into a hardware software company that installs sleek, scalable power systems that rival the grid in performance.
This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_…
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Apr 6, 2021
StreetLight Data Founder Laura Schewel
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Laura Schewel, the founder and CEO of StreetLight Data.
While at UC Berkeley, Laura got interested giving EV owners more information about how they were driving their cars. She ended up uncovering a data gold mine in the process.
Laura built a company that now processes over 100 billion data points and provides transportation and urban planners with a granular view of how roads, bike lanes and sidewalks are being used.
This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporati…
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Apr 6, 2021
Sila Nanotechnologies Co-Founder Gene Berdichevsky
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Gene Berdichevsky, the co-founder and CEO of Sila Nanotechnologies.
Sila is developing a new lithium-ion battery chemistry that uses silicon in place of graphite, leading to an improvement in battery density by 20 percent.
Gene was the seventh employee at Tesla, where he developed the Roadster’s battery. For the last nine years, his team at Sila has been working on a drop-in replacement for today’s lithium-ion batteries.
This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with leading co…
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Apr 6, 2021
Dandelion Co-Founder Kathy Hannun
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Kathy Hannun, the co-founder and president of Dandelion.
Dandelion is a company reinventing home geothermal systems. The company uses a proprietary drilling technique, simple product design, and financing to cut the cost of ground-source heating and cooling.
For seven years, Kathy was on a team at Alphabet X — formerly Google X — evaluating technology moonshots. That’s where she stumbled upon the opportunity in home geothermal.
This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100% carbon-free._
_Powerhouse partners with l…
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Apr 6, 2021
Solar Technology Veteran Terry Jester
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Terry Jester, a solar technology veteran.
Terry has seen it all in her four-decade career in solar and electronics. As both an engineer and an executive, she’s learned that timing is everything in the energy business.
Terry started her solar career in the late 1970s. She’s since held operations and engineering positions at Shell, Siemens, SunPower, and Solaria — witnessing the initial evolution and eventual explosion of solar firsthand.
This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at the Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy forum in Denver, CO.
_This podcast is brought to you by __DLA Piper__, a full-service global law firm that works with leading technology companies and their investors to meet all their legal needs. _
_It’s also brought to you by __AES__, a fortune-500 company helping organizations transition to new, smarter and cleaner solutions. AES is working toward a world that is 100%…
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Apr 6, 2021
Former NRG CEO David Crane
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with David Crane, the former CEO of NRG.
Today, David is a clean energy investor. Back in 2015, he was CEO of NRG, one of the biggest power producers in America. And he was fired by his board for his ambitious plan to make the company a renewable energy titan.
This conversation was recorded in 2019 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at _
_https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Wunder Capital Co-Founder Bryan Birsic
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Bryan Birsic, the co-founder and former CEO of Wunder Capital.
Since its launch in 2014, Wunder has exploded onto the solar scene. It quickly became the top financier in commercial solar—which is a big deal, because commercial solar is extremely hard to finance. But Wunder cracked the code.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Solar Impulse Co-Pilot Bertrand Piccard
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Bertrand Piccard, the co-pilot of Solar Impulse, the first solar-electric plane to circumnavigate the globe.
Bertrand is a Swiss aviator who spent 15 years of his life obsessed with flying a solar airplane across the world. He didn’t just see it as a novel technical feat—he wanted to prove the extraordinary capabilities of renewable energy.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Sunnova Founder John Berger
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with John Berger, the Founder and CEO of Sunnova.
Sunnova is a Texas-based company putting hybrid solar-battery systems on homes across the country. The company is backed by players you wouldn’t expect: oil & gas investors who are looking for the next big thing in energy.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Proterra Co-Founder Ryan Popple
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Ryan Popple, co-founder and executive director of Proterra.
Proterra is one of the largest makers of electric buses and chargers in the world. Electric buses are quickly gaining market share—and Proterra has a pipeline of sales that covers 10% of the U.S. transit fleet. But it took many years to reach that stage. Proterra has faced numerous technical redesigns and lumpy consumer adoption over the years.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Advanced Microgrid Solutions Founder Susan Kennedy
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Susan Kennedy, the founder of Advanced Microgrid Solutions.
AMS created a platform for managing battery storage across buildings, turning them into virtual power plants. The company raised $34 million from a “who’s who” of strategic investors—and was eventually acquired by the battery developer Fluence.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Sunfolding Founder Leila Madrone
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Leila Madrone, the founder and chief technology officer of Sunfolding.
Leila is a former NASA engineer who used her expertise to create a new kind of tracking system that eliminates expensive components and reduces the installed cost of solar.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Mosaic Co-Founder Billy Parish
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Billy Parish, the co-founder and CEO of Mosaic.
Mosaic is the top underwriter of home solar loans in America. It is creating the financial tools for homeowners to easily get solar on their roofs. Billy didn’t start in finance: he actually dropped out of Yale to pursue a career in activism.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Generate Capital Co-Founder Jigar Shah
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Jigar Shah, the co-founder of Generate Capital.
Jigar is one of the most well-known entrepreneurs and investors in the world of climate tech. He helped pioneer a financial model that allowed solar to scale massively in the US. He’s been responsible for financing billions of dollars in clean energy projects.
Today, he runs the loan programs office at the Department of Energy — directing the power of the government to finance zero-carbon energy.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Sungage Financial Co-Founder Sara Ross
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Sara Ross, the co-founder of Sungage Financial.
Sungage is a company that makes it easy for homeowners to finance solar or energy efficiency projects. In 2009, Sara turned her Massachusetts farmhouse into a net-zero home -- but it was expensive and difficult. She became obsessed with improving the process.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
DBL Partners Founder Nancy Pfund
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Nancy Pfund, founder and managing partner of DBL Partners.
Nancy is one of the most recognizable VCs in the clean energy space. DBL made early investments in companies like Tesla, PowerLight, and Nextracker. Nancy has been featured by Forbes and Fast Company as one of the most creative people in business.
This conversation was recorded in 2018 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Greentech Media Co-Founder Scott Clavenna
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Scott Clavenna, the co-founder of Greentech Media.
Launched in 2007, Greentech Media quickly became the premiere brand in cleantech journalism and research. The company took a forward-thinking and sometimes-edgy approach to covering the emerging world of cleantech and climatetech.
This conversation was recorded in 2017 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Nextracker Founder Dan Shugar
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Dan Shugar, the founder and CEO of Nextracker.
Dan lives, breaths and bleeds solar. Some call him the "King Midas" of solar, because he's turned so many ventures into gold. He’s been responsible for some of the biggest and most consequential solar projects and companies ever built.
This conversation was recorded in 2017 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at _
_https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
Sungevity Co-Founder Andrew Birch
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Andrew Birch, the co-founder of Sungevity.
Sungevity was an early success story in residential solar. But after 10 years in business, it went bankrupt in 2017.
In this interview, recorded five months after the company’s collapse, Birchy joined us on stage to talk about what happened. His story tells us a lot about the turbulence that defines the solar industry.
This conversation was recorded in 2017 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 6, 2021
SunPower Founder Dick Swanson
In this episode: Emily’s conversation with Dick Swanson, the founder of SunPower, one of the most successful solar companies of all time.
Dick is a solar legend, who has been working to make solar cheaper and better since the 1970s.
This conversation was recorded in 2017 in front of a live audience at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, CA.
_Powerhouse partners with leading corporations and investors to help them lead the next century of clean technology innovation. Our fund, Powerhouse Ventures, invests in founding teams building innovative software to rapidly transform our global energy and mobility systems. You can learn more about Powerhouse at __https://www.powerhouse.fund/_
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Apr 5, 2021
Trailer: Watt It Takes
_Watt It Takes_ is a monthly podcast that tells the stories of founders and entrepreneurs who are building the carbon-free future -- their upbringings, their risks, their failures, and their breakthroughs that are transforming our world.
Stay tuned to our new season in 2022. Subscribe to _Watt It Takes_ today everywhere you get podcasts.
Follow Powerhouse for more details on upcoming episodes.
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