Green Disruptors: Scaling the Future

In this episode of Green Disruptors: Scaling the Future, Megan Kjar sits down with Fritz Troller, CEO of Thurm, to discuss one of the most overlooked climate opportunities hiding in plain sight: refrigeration and the food supply chain.

Refrigerant gases used in grocery stores and cold storage facilities are among the most powerful greenhouse gases in the world, and small leaks add up to massive climate impact. These “super pollutants” are responsible for a significant portion of near-term global warming — but they’re also one of the fastest problems we can solve.

Fritz explains how Thurm works with grocery stores, distributors, and food processors to reduce refrigerant leaks, transition to climate-friendly systems, and use carbon finance to make sustainable upgrades economically viable. The company also helps divert food waste from landfills, reduce methane emissions, and create new revenue streams through carbon markets.

This conversation explores the intersection of climate technology, finance, and global supply chains — and why the key to scaling climate solutions is making the right decision both environmentally and economically.

Topics covered:

• Super pollutants and why they matter
• Refrigeration and climate impact
• Carbon credits and carbon finance
• Food waste and methane reduction
• Scaling climate solutions globally
• The business model behind climate tech adoption

If you’re interested in climate tech, carbon markets, supply chains, or scalable sustainability solutions, this episode is for you.

Most people think their climate impact comes from things like driving an EV, installing solar panels, or reducing waste.

But what if the biggest climate impact you have is hidden inside your retirement account?

In this episode of Green Disruptors: Scaling the Future, Megan Kjar sits down with Ashwin Devnani, CTO and Chief Product Officer of Investiture, to explore one of the most overlooked levers in climate finance.

In the United States alone, nearly $10 trillion sits in employer-sponsored retirement accounts like 401(k)s. Most employees set them up once and rarely revisit them — but those investments may be funding industries that contribute heavily to carbon emissions.

Ashwin explains how Investiture is helping companies and employees understand the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios, and how simply reallocating a portion of those funds could unlock massive climate impact without sacrificing financial returns.

They also discuss:

• Why retirement investments are often called “zombie money”
• The hidden climate footprint of 401(k) and 403(b) plans
• Why service companies’ largest emissions may come from their investments
• How companies and employees can influence retirement fund options
• The opportunity to redirect even 10% of $10 trillion toward climate solutions
• The challenges startups face when disrupting large financial systems

This conversation highlights an important truth: solving climate change isn’t always about new capital — sometimes it’s about moving the money that already exists.

investature.com

In this episode of Green Disruptors, Megan Kjar sits down with Nick Casas, CEO of Uptime EV Charger, to talk about the realities of EV infrastructure deployment in a changing market.

Nick shares how Uptime approaches enterprise EV charging rollouts, why the company focuses on transparency and education, and what it means to truly listen to customer needs instead of pushing one-size-fits-all solutions. He explains why EV deployment is far more complex than many assume, and how long-term thinking, strong execution, and the right team can create growth even during a slower and more uncertain market cycle.

Megan and Nick also discuss some of the biggest challenges facing the EV sector right now, including power constraints, adoption bottlenecks, policy uncertainty, and the need for practical innovation. Nick highlights the company’s work around mobile charging, battery-backed systems, and hybrid solutions for businesses that do not own their facilities but still need to electrify operations.

The conversation also explores how AI is being used inside the business to improve uptime, remote monitoring, customer communication, and decision-making across teams.

And in true Green Disruptors fashion, the episode closes on a more personal note with a conversation about music, family, creativity, and the things that keep founders energized outside of work.

This episode is for anyone interested in EV charging, fleet electrification, clean energy infrastructure, AI in operations, and what it takes to build resilient companies in the energy transition.

Buildings account for roughly 40% of global energy consumption and carbon emissions, yet one of the biggest drivers of that energy use remains largely invisible: HVAC systems.

In this episode of Green Disruptors: Scaling the Future, host Megan Kjar sits down with Jim Metropoulos, founder of BlueBox Air, to unpack a problem that’s been hiding in plain sight for over a century — biofouling inside HVAC heat transfer coils.

Jim shares how a background far outside traditional engineering led to an accidental but powerful breakthrough: a patented, enzyme-based process that cleans and automates HVAC systems from the inside out — without chemicals, shutdowns, or disruption. The result?

• 30–50% efficiency restoration in fouled systems
• Dramatically lower energy costs and peak load demand
• Improved indoor air quality
• Fast ROI that often pays back in under a year

From hospitals and high-rise buildings to data centers powering AI, this conversation reveals why HVAC is the foundation of the modern world — and why solving this one choke point could meaningfully impact global energy use and emissions at scale.

This episode isn’t about moral arguments or sustainability buzzwords. It’s about performance, economics, and systems that finally work the way they were supposed to.

What does it take to scale a clean energy company without losing focus, culture, or profitability?

In this episode of Green Disruptors, host Megan Kjar sits down with Lev Buslovich, President of Apadana Energy, to explore leadership lessons behind sustainable growth in clean energy.

Lev shares his remarkable personal story—from growing up as a refugee to leading a rapidly scaling energy company—and breaks down the leadership principles that helped Apadana double year over year.

Topics include:

Why focus is critical for scaling

Engineering-driven growth vs. custom chaos

Building teams around strengths

Systems, process, and leadership in clean energy

If you’re a founder, operator, or energy professional thinking about scale, this conversation is for you.

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The conversation with Dave Harper delves into the intersection of renewable energy, indigenous sovereignty, and cultural preservation. It highlights the challenges faced by tribal communities in the development of renewable energy projects and the importance of trust, dignity, and collaboration in this space. Dave's vision for Haraav Energy focuses on uplifting tribal communities and promoting sustainable development.

Takeaways

• Renewable energy and indigenous sovereignty can be in partnership
• Cultural preservation and historical trauma are important aspects of renewable energy projects

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Dave's Background
• 07:06 Collaboration and Funding Challenges
• 27:21 Vision for Haraav Energy

In this episode of Green Disruptors, host Megan Kjar sits down with Tim Raines, a climate tech commercialization advisor specializing in SBIR funding and go-to-market strategy.

Tim shares what separates successful SBIR applicants from those that stall out—and why technical excellence alone isn’t enough. From customer discovery and value propositions to sales, marketing, and founder mindset, this conversation unpacks what it really takes to bring climate technologies out of the lab and into the market.

If you’re a climate tech founder navigating grants, funding uncertainty, or commercialization challenges, this episode offers practical insight and hard-earned lessons from the field.

The clean energy transition isn’t just about building more solar and wind — it’s about making the power grid smart enough to handle them.

In this episode of Green Disruptors, host Megan Kjar sits down with Dan Travers, co-founder of Open Climate Fix, to explore how AI-powered forecasting is transforming the way electricity grids operate.

Dan shares:
• How outdated grid systems struggle with renewable variability
• Why forecasting errors cost utilities millions
• How open-source AI tools reduce risk for grid operators
• The surprising role data plays in accelerating (or slowing) the energy transition
• Why the future of clean energy must be both mission-driven and commercially viable

This conversation is a must-watch for anyone working in climate tech, energy markets, utilities, or AI — or anyone curious about how the energy transition actually works behind the scenes.

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What if you could benefit from solar energy — without installing panels, investing upfront, or taking on risk?

In this episode, Megan Kjar sits down with Jason Kaplan, President of PowerMarket, to explore how community solar is unlocking clean energy savings for renters, apartment dwellers, and businesses across the United States.

PowerMarket manages over 1 gigawatt of community solar projects and partners with municipalities and nonprofits to bridge the trust gap that often slows adoption.

They discuss:

• How community solar works
• Who qualifies
• Why skepticism exists — and how to overcome it
• The political dynamics shaping renewable energy
• The coming shifts in 2026 and beyond
• Why staying cashflow positive in a volatile industry matters

Community solar may be one of the most accessible energy solutions available today — and most people don’t even know it exists.

Learn more at: powermarket.io

What if inspecting a wind turbine or solar farm was as simple as pressing a button?

In this episode of Green Disruptors, Megan sits down with Itai, Chief Revenue Officer at VHive, to explore how AI-powered digital twins are transforming infrastructure management across wind and solar energy.

VHive enables energy companies to use off-the-shelf drones to autonomously scan assets, analyze performance, and generate actionable insights — without scheduling third-party inspection crews. The result? Faster inspections, lower operational friction, and a scalable path forward for renewable asset owners.

We discuss:

• What a true “digital twin” actually means
• DIY drone inspections for wind turbines
• Coordinated multi-drone deployments for large solar farms
• Operational efficiency vs. traditional inspection models
• Scaling an energy vertical inside a high-growth startup
• 100%+ year-over-year growth goals for 2026

If you’re in renewable energy, asset management, infrastructure tech, or climate innovation — this episode is packed with insight.

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