Welcome to Season Eleven of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we're exploring the talent equation, examining the people, skills, and leadership required to accelerate the energy transition. From workforce strategy and culture, to talent development and organisational growth, we'll explore what it really takes to build the teams driving the sector forward.

In this episode, Jenny Gladman and Joe Riley are joined by Dr John Heinlein, Chief Marketing Officer at Sonatus, a company developing AI-enabled technology for software-defined vehicles.

John's career didn't follow the path his qualifications might suggest. With a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford, he began by leading engineering teams before a CEO spotted something John hadn't yet recognised in himself: he was a natural marketer. That unexpected intervention changed the direction of his career.

It's a story that opens up a much bigger conversation about how we recognise talent. What happens when leaders look beyond the job someone is doing today and consider what they could become? And how can people be given the space to test unexpected strengths without making every career move feel like an irreversible leap?

John reflects on the mentors, critics, and opportunities that have shaped his own journey, from learning to find value in difficult feedback to deliberately remaining a student as his career has progressed. He also explores why diversity of thought produces better answers, why storytelling matters when bringing complex innovation to market, and why technical and human skills are far from competing strengths.

Against the backdrop of AI and the rapidly evolving automotive ecosystem, the conversation is a reminder that innovation depends on more than technology. Sometimes, it begins with someone recognising potential that hasn't yet found its job title.

01:28 - Introduction to John

Connect with your hosts, Jenny Gladman and Joe Riley, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.

Welcome to Season Eleven of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we're exploring the talent equation, examining the people, skills, and leadership required to accelerate the energy transition. From workforce strategy and culture, to talent development and organisational growth, we'll explore what it really takes to build the teams driving the sector forward.

In this episode, Jenny Gladman and Chloe England are joined by Tony Burkart, Senior Vice President of Public Policy & Public Affairs at Beale Infrastructure - a leader helping shape how digital infrastructure is developed, communicated and integrated into local communities.

As demand for data centres continues to grow, Tony argues that success depends on far more than power, land, and capital. The future of infrastructure will be determined by trust: how developers engage with communities, communicate their purpose, and create lasting local value long before construction begins.

The conversation explores why workforce development, community partnerships, and public policy have become essential parts of infrastructure delivery, and why attracting the right talent means looking beyond technical expertise alone. From skilled trades to public affairs, Tony explains why people remain at the heart of every successful project.

This episode offers a fresh perspective on one of the industry's biggest challenges: as digital infrastructure scales at pace, how do we ensure the communities hosting it grow alongside it?

01:34 - Introduction to Tony

07:19 - Beale takes a community-first approach - what's changed that makes early community engagement so essential?

Connect with your hosts, Jenny Gladman and Chloe England, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, Tony Burkart, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.

Welcome to Season Eleven of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we're exploring the talent equation, examining the people, skills, and leadership required to accelerate the energy transition. From workforce strategy and culture, to talent development and organisational growth, we'll explore what it really takes to build the teams driving the sector forward.

In this episode, Jenny Gladman and Chloe England are joined by Karl Andersen, Founder & CEO of Lektra - an entrepreneur operating at the intersection of AI, energy, and digital infrastructure.

As excitement around AI continues to accelerate, Karl poses a different question: what happens when our energy systems can no longer keep up? He argues that the future of AI won't be limited by computing power, but by something far more fundamental - access to electricity.

The conversation explores why ageing grids are struggling to support the next wave of technological growth, why decentralised energy could reshape the way communities interact with power, and what a more resilient 'Grid 2.0' might look like. But beyond the technology itself, this episode is ultimately about people: the leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers needed to build entirely new systems from the ground up.

Karl also shares a refreshingly human perspective on leadership, entrepreneurship, and the importance of bringing together diverse thinkers who are willing to challenge assumptions and embrace complexity.

This episode offers a thought-provoking look at one of the biggest questions facing the energy transition: if AI is moving at extraordinary speed, can our infrastructure - and our workforce - evolve quickly enough to support it?

01:18 - Introduction to Karl

Connect with your hosts, Jenny Gladman and Chloe England, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, Karl Andersen, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.

Welcome to Season Eleven of Conversations in Cleantech!

After spending more than two decades in financial markets, Arne made the move into renewables to help build something tangible and impactful. He reflects on that career transition, the lessons learned from leading in highly regulated industries, and the realities of scaling a growing business in a market defined by constant change.

Connect with your hosts, Jenny Gladman and Paul Mazalov, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, Arne Weinig, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.

Welcome to Season Ten of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we’re deconstructing digital infrastructure - one of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the energy transition. From hyperscalers and AI demand to talent, capital, software and sustainability, we’ll explore how data infrastructure gets built, powered, financed, staffed and scaled.

John shares the story behind Soluna’s model: co-locating modular data centres with renewable energy projects to utilise otherwise curtailed power behind the meter. By bringing compute directly to stranded renewable generation, Soluna is helping unlock new economics for clean energy while supporting the rapid growth of AI and digital infrastructure.

The conversation explores grid congestion, renewable-powered compute, the growing energy demands of AI, and why data centres could become a catalyst for accelerating clean energy deployment rather than competing with it.

John also reflects on his journey from Intel and multiple successful technology ventures to building Soluna, alongside his views on entrepreneurship, innovation, and the importance of diversity within the technology sector.

As Season Ten comes to a close, this episode offers a fascinating look at one of the industry’s most ambitious intersections: the future of energy and the future of compute.

01:13 - Introduction to John

Connect with your host, Chloe England, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, John Belizaire, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.

Welcome to Season Ten of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we’re deconstructing digital infrastructure - one of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the energy transition. From hyperscalers and AI demand to talent, capital, software and sustainability, we’ll explore how data infrastructure gets built, powered, financed, staffed and scaled.

As data centre demand accelerates and electricity systems face mounting pressure, the conversation explores how AI, storage and flexible load could reshape the way power is bought, balanced and delivered. Drawing on experience across energy consulting, grid-scale storage and energy trading, David shares how the grid is evolving from a one-way system into a far more dynamic network of generation, demand and real-time optimisation.

From the rise of controllable load resources to the growing role of battery storage and flexible demand, this episode unpacks how digital infrastructure and energy markets are becoming increasingly intertwined - and why smarter coordination may be just as important as new generation capacity.

For anyone interested in where energy software, AI and data centre growth collide, this is a conversation well worth your time.

02:05 - Introduction to David

07:01 - At Brightsmith, we talk about “living your purpose” - what does that mean to you personally?

Connect with your hosts, Jow Riley and Chloe England, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, David Miller, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.

Welcome to Season Ten of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we’re deconstructing digital infrastructure - one of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the energy transition. From hyperscalers and AI demand to talent, capital, software and sustainability, we’ll explore how data infrastructure gets built, powered, financed, staffed and scaled.

In this episode, Jenny Gladman and Ric Ashworth-Lord are joined by Dr Ryan Hatcher, CEO & Founder at Phoenix Semiconductor - a leader working at the intersection of advanced electronics, supply chain resilience and critical infrastructure.

While much of the spotlight falls on cutting-edge chips, Ryan brings attention to a less visible but equally critical layer: legacy semiconductors. These “older” technologies underpin everything from energy systems and transport to defence and data centres - yet their supply chains are increasingly fragile, overlooked, and difficult to replace.

Drawing on experience across Samsung, Lockheed Martin and now Phoenix Semiconductor, Ryan explains why mature-node manufacturing has become strategically important, how decades of optimisation have exposed systemic vulnerabilities, and why resilience across the full semiconductor ecosystem is now essential.

From supply chain shocks and obsolescence risk to the realities of scaling manufacturing and securing long-term capacity, this conversation shines a light on the infrastructure beneath the infrastructure.

01:02 - Introduction to Ryan

Find your guest, Dr Ryan Hatcher, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.

Welcome to Season Ten of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we’re deconstructing digital infrastructure - one of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the energy transition. From hyperscalers and AI demand to talent, capital, software and sustainability, we’ll explore how data infrastructure gets built, powered, financed, staffed and scaled.

In this episode, our host Jenny Gladman is joined by Patrick Lynch, Executive Managing Director at CBRE - a market leader with a front-row seat to some of the industry’s biggest infrastructure decisions.

With more than three decades in digital infrastructure, Patrick brings a rare perspective on how the market is evolving under real-world constraint. As demand accelerates and supply struggles to keep pace, he shares how power availability is reshaping site selection, why speed-to-market has changed deal dynamics, and what it now takes to deliver capacity at scale.

From hyperscale growth and edge deployment to supply chain pressure and talent gaps, this conversation offers a practical look at how digital infrastructure is really being built.

For anyone curious about where the market is heading - and what it will take to keep up - this is a conversation well worth your time.

01:01 - Introduction to Patrick

Connect with your host, Jenny Gladman, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, Patrick Lynch, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production

Welcome to Season Ten of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we’re deconstructing digital infrastructure - one of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the energy transition. From hyperscalers and AI demand to talent, capital, software and sustainability, we’ll explore how data infrastructure gets built, powered, financed, staffed and scaled.

In this episode, hosts Jenny Gladman and Isabella Rova are joined by Sofie Käll, CIO, and Anna Søndergaard, Co-Founder, Partner & CEO at The Footprint Firm - two investors approaching digital infrastructure not from the centre of the asset, but from the edges of the system.

As data centres place growing pressure on grids, water, cooling and materials, Sofie and Anna offer a different lens on what it means to invest in the future of digital infrastructure. Rather than backing the assets themselves, they focus on the technologies, services and efficiencies that can reshape the ecosystem around them - from grid balancing and energy storage to cooling innovation and software optimisation.

This conversation explores what early-stage capital can realistically do in a market defined by speed, scale and physical constraint. It also digs into the balance between commercial viability and impact, the challenge of proving deep tech in real-world systems, and why some of the most meaningful opportunities may lie not in the “moonshots”, but in the less glamorous solutions that quietly improve performance at scale.

For anyone curious about how venture thinking, systems change and sustainability intersect in the digital infrastructure buildout, this episode offers a sharp and refreshing perspective.

01:02 - Introduction to Sofie and Anna

Find your guests, Sofie Käll and Anna Søndergaard, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.

Welcome to Season Ten of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we’re deconstructing digital infrastructure - one of the fastest-growing and most influential parts of the energy transition. From hyperscalers and AI demand to talent, capital, software and sustainability, we’ll explore how data infrastructure gets built, powered, financed, staffed and scaled.

As AI demand accelerates and grid capacity tightens, megawatts have become more than an input; they’ve become the defining constraint on digital infrastructure growth. Drawing on decades in wholesale energy markets, renewables and structured transactions, Gene shares a clear-eyed view of what it really takes to secure, structure and deliver power at hyperscale.

From grid realities and renewable procurement to the complex balancing act between reliability, speed and sustainability, this conversation explores how the energy and data centre worlds are rapidly converging - and why solving the power challenge will require far deeper collaboration across industry, utilities and policymakers.

For anyone curious about what it actually takes to power the next generation of compute, this is a conversation well worth your time.

01:04 - Introduction to Gene

Connect with your hosts, Jenny Gladman and Chloe England, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, Gene Alessandrini, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

This is a Loaded Hype production.