David Helgason is a partner at Transition. Transition is a venture firm that partners with Seed and Series A founders to accelerate the climate transition. They've come together as founders, investors, operators, engineers, and scientists from across the world with a single mission: building an abundant and resilient society that can thrive within our finite planet.

Prior to starting Transition, David was Co-founder of Unity Technologies, and served as the CEO until 2014. He's still on their board of directors. With his background in the gaming industry, David took interest in green gaming, before stretching that interest into mitigating and adapting to climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy. We have a great discussion in this episode about David's journey, the work that he's doing at transition, how he got started in climate, what types of companies and projects are most interesting to him and his team, and how he sees transition evolving and playing out for all of us.

Capital Series: David Helgason, Transition

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Adam Stein is the Director of Nuclear Energy Innovation at the Breakthrough Institute, where he focuses on the technology, policy, risk and economics of nuclear energy. The Breakthrough Institute is a global research center that identifies and promotes technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges. Among its many projects, the Breakthrough Institute recently launched Build Nuclear Now, a national campaign to mobilize Americans in targeted states to call for regulatory and legislative change to accelerate the licensing and deployment of new, advanced nuclear reactors in the United States.

Adam brings a pro-nuclear perspective to this conversation; and given that, Cody and Adam focus the majority of the discussion on the history of nuclear power in the US and potential paths forward, rather than debating the merits of nuclear (which could of course be a full episode by itself). Adam has a particular interest in advanced nuclear reactors, which represent a broad class of new technologies currently under development and review. This conversation covers these advanced reactors and so much more.

Reframing Nuclear Narratives with the Breakthrough Institute

In today's episode, recorded live during San Francisco Climate Week, we delve into the critical intersection of climate policy and carbon removal. Joining us are two distinguished guests:  California Senator Scott Wiener, the author of the recent landmark climate legislation known as California's SB 253 or the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, and Shashank Samala, the CEO and Co-founder of Heirloom, a pioneering carbon removal company. Shashank was a previous guest on the show in 2021, and we're excited to have him back to weigh in on this important conversation. 

Senator Wiener sheds light on the legislative landscape driving climate action, while Shashank offers insights into the  technologies transforming carbon removal. Together, we explore the convergence of policy and innovation, examining how regulatory frameworks catalyze the adoption and scaling of technological solutions. We pack a lot into this conversation, and we hope you enjoy it!

Live from SF Climate Week with Senator Scott Wiener and Shashank Samala

Dr. Sarah Kapnick serves as the Chief Scientist at NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which plays a critical role in understanding and predicting changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts. Bringing a unique mix of science and finance to NOAA, Dr. Kapnick's background includes a stint as a senior climate scientist at JP Morgan Chase, a leadership role at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and an early career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. She holds a PhD in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from UCLA and an AB in Mathematics from Princeton.

In our conversation, Dr. Kapnick touches on a wide range of topics, including NOAA's extensive work, the importance of resilience and adaptation in today's changing climate, and the challenges of planning for a future that deviates from past assumptions of a stable climate. Highlighting NOAA's efforts in supporting community resilience and innovation, she underscores the agency's commitment to aiding stakeholders in navigating the complexities of our evolving environmental landscape, emphasizing the critical need for investment and focus on adaptation for the remainder of the 21st century.

Exploring NOAA with Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Kapnick

Ning Mosberger-Tang is the founder and president at 1.5 Climate Strategies Group, alongside a host of other climate and civic organizations. 

As one of the pioneering female engineers at Google, Ning played a crucial role in the development of Google's initial advertising platform. Transitioning from Google in 2006, her focus shifted towards combating climate change. Presently, she spearheads multiple organizations dedicated to instigating change. 

This discussion spans her endeavors in political and electoral advocacy, civic engagement, and climate tech investing. With the 2024 election on the horizon, the opportunity to converse with Ning offered invaluable insights into the critical issues at stake, her priorities for the election cycle, and her strategic approach.

Climate Change and Democracy with Ning Mosberger-Tang

Dr. Peter Fiske is the Executive Director at the National Alliance for Water Innovation or NAWI. NAWI is a collection of 19 universities, four national labs and 190 plus US water companies committed to developing new technologies to enable distributed desalination and water reuse. They're a five-year, $110 million research program supported by the US Department of Energy in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources and the California State Water Resources Control Board. They're headquartered at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Northern California. Peter joined Berkeley lab in 2017. Prior to that, he was the Chief Executive Officer at Pax Water Technologies from 2008 until January 2017, when it was acquired by UGSI Incorporated. Peter holds a PhD in geochemistry and material science from Stanford and an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. 

Our conversation today starts with a deep dive into desalination before broadening out into Peter's vision for our water system. Shout-out to former podcast guest Tom Ferguson at Burnt Island Ventures for connecting us with Peter. We've been wanting to learn about desalination and Peter helps us gain a much better understanding of that and so much more.

Capital Series: David Helgason, Transition

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