A Positive Climate

Nick and Alex chat to Ned Ekins-Daukes from UNSW about their breakthrough to create solar energy in the dark.

This is a wide ranging chat about how solar panels could generate all of Australia's electricity at night, where climate solutions come from, the role of UNSW and universities in creating them, the legend of Martin Green, how to commercialise early stage technology, and a little lesson on the correct way to pronounce “solar photovoltaic”.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We chat to Tim Dawson, the founder of PV industries, an Australian startup on a mission to recycle solar panels (and soon, batteries too!). 

In Australia we have A LOT of solar! Currently over 3 million (or 1 in 3) households have solar. Australia has over 25 GW of solar capacity now installed which on a per person basis is 1kw per person, 30% greater than any other country. But what will happen to all these solar panels once they reach the end of their life? 

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If you enjoy the show, we’d love it if you subscribed and gave us a rating on Apple or Spotify! You can also follow us: on www.instagram.com/apositiveclimatepodcast, Twitter, LinkedIn or send us a comment at [email protected]

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Tim Dawson, co-founder and CEO of PV Industries is on a mission to ensure that solar panels can be 100% recycled. PV Industries has created a recycling line that can pull apart a solar panel into its raw components and then sell them to various industries for reuse. 

In the episode we cover: 

• How Tim and his co-founders started the business
• What happens to solar panels at the moment once they stop working
• The key inputs to a solar panel and those that are the most valuable to recover
• The future of solar, solar recycling and what other industries might need to consider either recycling or a whole reinvention of their mode of doing business

Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic

• If you liked the sound of Tim’s description of an “Emu Parade”, you can follow along here
• Solar recycling: has anyone worked out how to do it yet?
• And... if the circular economy gets you going, you should speak to Cam Kaufman

About the podcast

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference.

Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you!

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex provides a primer on hydrogen's role in our future clean economy and then we interview Tom Campey from Hysata (11:21) an Australian startup with a breakthrough electrolyser technology.  

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If you enjoy the show, subscribe! We'd love it if you gave us a rating on Apple or Spotify! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or send us some comments at [email protected]

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Hydrogen gets a lot of hype in the media as a future technology, the “swiss army knife” for a decarbonised future. This week we chat with Tom Campey, Chief Commercial Officer from Hysata - a startup based out of Wollongong in Australia that has created the world's most efficient electrolyser technology (from the University of Wollongong). 

In the episode we cover: 

• The basics of hydrogen - from our own hydrogen expert, Alex McIntosh 
• The role of hydrogen - where will it win? 
• How an electrolyser works 
• How the Hysata electrolyser is a gamer changer, their journey to date and how they intend to commericalise their technology 
• When will hydrogen become commercial? 

Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic

• Hysata’s article in Nature
• Michael Liebrich’s hydrogen ladder 
• A video explainer of the Hysata technology

About the podcast

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference.

Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you!

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom White from CarsGuide presents the state of play for electric vehicles in Australia. 

Tom has a very cool job! He gets to drive and review all the latest electric vehicles that are coming to Australia. He also recently released the EVGuide Report for all the latest stats, facts and figures on Electric Vehicles

So what better person to chat to (after our Season 1 chat to Tim Washington) to focus on where things are at for EVs including:

• What are the top selling models currently?
• What are the coolest new releases?
• How and WHEN Australians can get their hands on the latest models?
• Answers to key questions on range, recharging, vehicle to grid, how long EVs last for, when we’ll see a second hard market and much more
• The FUTURE of electric passenger transport (and will it involve hydrogen?)

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If you enjoy the show, subscribe ! You can also follow us: on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or say hi at [email protected]

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Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic

• CarsGuide’s EV reviews
• Some of the Aussie companies mentioned in the show
• JET Charge
• Chargefox 
• JOLT
• Re:Start
• Relectrify


• Nick’s favourite looking EV model - the Totem Automobili

About the podcast

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference.

Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you!

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lily Dempster from One Small Step chats to us about how to address your personal carbon footprint.

Welcome to Season THREE of A Positive Climate! We’re excited to have a new season of another ten episodes, released fortnightly on Tuesdays in Australia. HIT THE FOLLOW / SUBSCRIBE button in your podcast app

One Small Step is a mobile app that aims to be your personal sustainability coach. It provides you with tailored programs to help you cut your carbon footprint. It uses behavioural science to make green living simple, easy and fun. Lily has just moved over to the US to continue to scale the business. Give it a download!

We wanted to bring Lily on not only to share what you can do but also how we should think about what to do. Should we feel guilty when we forget our keep cups? Should we procreate? The big questions!

We cover a lot on this episode including:

• Tips and tricks to have less of an impact on the environment and climate
• Whether consumers can truly impact the needle on carbon emissions compared to big business
• The biggest sources of personal emissions
• Australia’s (unwanted) place near the top of the global carbon emitter leaderboard   
• Carbon offsetting and donating to climate charities 
• A speed round of submitted questions to Lily from our audience!

If you enjoy the show, subscribe! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or say hi at [email protected]

Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic

• https://founderspledge.com/stories/climate-and-lifestyle-report

About the podcast

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference.

Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you 

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex and Nick wrap up 2021 and the end of our second season with a wide ranging chat: the current state of cleantech, some BOLD predictions about the future, the zaniest climate solutions of 2021 and what we’re excited about for 2022! 

We cover a lot on this episode:

• Australia’s opportunity to be a renewable energy superpower;
• the hydrogen economy; 
• when we might get to high levels of EV uptake; 
• what our dinner plates might look like in 2025;
• Our favourite moments of Season 1 and 2; 
• Cleantech startup success stories from 2021; and 
• the positive mood at the end of the year around Australian cleantech startups. 

Alex also briefly talks about cows urinating and Nick covers bees offering pollination as a service.  

It's been a huge year and we couldn’t be more proud of the growth of this little podcast in such a short space of time. A HUGE thank you to all our loyal listeners for your continued support. We look forward to bringing you even more great episodes in 2022!

If you know any amazing companies we should profile in 2022 send us an email via [email protected]. 

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If you enjoy the show, subscribe! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or say hi at [email protected]

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

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About the podcast

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay.

We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you!  

Say hi on Instagram, Twitter or our website. 

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Music by the late, great Nick Weaver.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zoomo’s Mina Nada chats to Nick and Alex about the role of electric bikes in the future of our cities.

Electric vehicles are a key pillar of our shift to zero carbon transportation. And when we hear the words "electric vehicles" most of us think about cars. But what about e-bikes? In the US for example they outsold cars by over 2 to 1 last year! And they are growing at 16 times faster than general cycling. 

We wanted to feature ebikes because the reality is they’re not replacing walking or the humble push-bike - they’re replacing trips commonly made by cars and even trucks. And it’s because they’re up to 60% faster at getting you what you need. 

So there’s a good chance your delivered pad-thai came to you on an e-bike and a really good chance it came to you on a Zoomo bike. Zoomo is riding a number of waves: electrification, the rise of the gig economy and consumers LOVE of on-demand products. The waves are so large that they just raised a A$80m funding round to continue to expand their business globally. Their co-founders recently won the TrailBlazer Award at the 2021 Young Entrepreneur Awards so we were lucky to have their CEO Mina Nada to chat e-bikes. 

In this episode we cover:

• The role of e-bikes in addressing the zero carbon transportation challenge
• What is driving the explosion of e-bike usage around the world
• An e-bikes for dummies speed round (costs, charging times, range, theft)
• Why Zoomo is unique and why the bikes are flying off the shelves
• How Australia can go about creating a bike culture

Oh and if you listen to this and think - “Geez I wish i knew more about the batteries powering transportation”- we have an episode for that too!

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If you enjoy the show, subscribe! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or say hi at [email protected]

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

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About the podcast

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay.

We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you!  

Say hi on Instagram, Twitter or our website. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christaan Jordaan of Sicona and Novalith talks to us about Australia’s great opportunity in batteries.

Yes, the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. But there’s lots of technologies for those in between times - some are old, some are new but all of them are getting much much better. Pumped hydro, hydrogen, thermal storage and of course, BATTERIES.

Batteries are getting cheaper, more efficient and more omnipresent. But where will all the materials come from and what role can Australia play?

Nick and Alex chatted to Christiaan who is involved in not one but TWO impressive Australian startups targeting this huge economic opportunity. The first Sicona, is innovating within the battery, helping to improve the efficiency via unique anode materials. The other is Novalith, which is commercialising a technology to make the extraction of lithium - a key battery material - more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

We cover a lot in this episode including:

• The role of batteries in addressing climate change
• Christiaan’s unique perspective on the industry (having worked at one stage in a graphite mine in Mozambique)
• The key materials in the battery supply chain and where they come from
• The exciting opportunity for both Sicona and Novalith
• Some of the inspiring international companies innovating in battery technology

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Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic

• A TED-talk primer on how batteries work

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If you enjoy the show, subscribe! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or say hi at [email protected]

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

***

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay.

We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you!  

Say hi on Instagram, Twitter or our website.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gordon Renouf from Good On You, chats to us about sustainable fashion. 

We all want to look good and stay up with the latest trends but how do we do this in a sustainable and ethical way? It's an area definitely worth solving as the global apparel industry accounts for an estimated 8% of emissions! That’s on par with the steel sector.

It's a complex topic and one that is so confusing. Thankfully Gordon and his co-founder Sandra Capponi started Good on You, the #1 sustainability ratings platform for fashion brands. It independently rates brands and gives you an easy to understand overview of their supply chain sustainability and ethics. 

In this episode we cover: 

• The challenges of the fashion industry to decarbonise
• Top tips for ensuring your fashion habits are more sustainable: hint - it’s just buying what you need
• Why Sydney’s love of linen might make it a more sustainable city than Melbourne 
• Whether or not sustainable fashion is a class issue
• New types of emerging materials: like leather that’s made from mushrooms! 

This a topic we want to learn more about so if you know any amazing brands doing great things send us an email at [email protected]

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Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic

• This Vogue article outlines some of the awesome companies doing work in leather alternatives. 
• The 5 R’s of Fashion: Reduce, Rewear, Recycle, Repair and Resell
• Good on You "Made From" article series also touches on alternative sustainable fabrics. 
• What to do about microfibres in your clothing. 
• Also, you might want to check out some other great sustainable fashion podcasts including The Wardrobe Crisis with Clare Press and the Sustainable Fashion Forum.

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If you enjoy the show, subscribe! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or say hi at [email protected]

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

***

About the podcast

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay.

We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you!  

Say hi on Instagram, Twitter or our website. 

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Music by the late, great Nick Weaver.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charley Daitch from Amazon Web Services (AWS) joins us to talk about the work he’s doing in renewable energy and how Amazon will get to net zero emissions by 2040. 

Amazon is one of the world’s largest and best known brands. Their operations are both everywhere and nowhere at the same time. You see the website, the streaming service, the Kindles and the packages but what you don’t see are the logistics warehouses, their share of global shipping and their hosting of the web on AWS.

It is a sprawling business with as many employees as the city of Adelaide. And for a business that big it begs the question: how on earth are they going to decarbonise?

We thought it was a fascinating question to ponder in the week of COP26 as many countries were committing to net zero targets. 

Charley Daitch leads AWS’s Energy team and we spoke to him about a number of topics:

• How Amazon thinks about the climate challenge as a business
• Their shift to being the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the world
• Their involvement in the Climate Pledge: an initiative that has galvanised over 200 corporates (responsible for almost 6% of global emissions) to reach Net Zero by 2040 
• Their investment in Rivian - an extremely awesome electric vehicle business. We want one (or at least we want one of their staff on the podcast, call us!)   
• Their efforts across aviation, transport, cardboard boxes, data centres and especially, Charley’s area of expertise, energy 

We think there are really positive signs of leadership but challenges ahead as there will be for all countries in reaching net zero. While Amazon’s carbon emission intensity (i.e. emissions per dollar of revenue) was down 16% last year its total emissions were still up 19% due to increased sales volume. The struggle of a booming business! 

You can read all about their stats and strategies here. 

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Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic

• The Amazon Climate Fund’s recent investment in ZeroAvia, a zero emission aviation business 

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If you enjoy the show, subscribe! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or say hi at [email protected]

Music by the late, great Nick Weaver

Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather Jenkins

***

About the podcast

A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay.

We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.

If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you!  

Say hi on Instagram, Twitter or our website.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.