Inevitable

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Inevitable episodes

October 14From Twilio to Fusion with Jeff Lawson
Jeff Lawson is the co-founder and CEO of Inertia, a fusion energy company working to commercialize inertial confinement fusion using advanced lasers and mass-manufactured fusion fuel targets. Lawson previously co-founded and led Twilio, scaling the company from an idea into a public company, and is now applying his product and company-building experience to one of energy’s most technically challenging problems.
In this live episode of Inevitable from Climate Week NYC, Lawson explains why he believes the breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory demonstrated that the fundamental physics of fusion can work, while the remaining challenge is largely one of commercialization, manufacturing, and scale.
The conversation explores how Inertia is approaching the laser and fusion-target supply chains, why Lawson believes factory economics can transform the cost of fusion, and how lessons from software, semiconductors, SpaceX, and consumer technology are influencing the company’s approach to experimentation and manufacturing.
Special thanks to J.P. Morgan for hosting the live taping of this episode in their new space on Park Ave.
Episode recorded on September 22, 2026 (Published on October 14, 2026).
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of Inertia
(2:28) Applying product thinking to fusion energy
(4:41) Building a culture of experimentation and learning
(7:05) Why “blow it up already” became an Inertia value
(9:11) How Jeff Lawson got into fusion
(11:20) What Inertia is building
(12:36) The basics of inertial confinement fusion
(14:14) Why the Lawrence Livermore laser isn't economical for commercial power
(14:47) Modernizing fusion lasers with semiconductor technology
(17:10) Scaling the laser diode supply chain
(19:41) The challenge of manufacturing fusion targets
(20:58) Applying mass manufacturing to fusion targets
(23:33) Designing a fusion power plant for utility buyers
(25:24) Fusion, AI data centers, and the timeline to new power
(26:47) Fusion as an energy source for industry and global markets
(28:09) What fusion could look like in 2050
(29:32) Why factory economics could shape the future of energy
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
31 min
September 29Uplift: Making Temporary Housing Deployable Anywhere
Charlie Nitschelm is the co-founder and CEO of Uplift, a company building affordable, rapidly deployable temporary housing. Uplift’s first product is a 90-square-foot, off-grid home designed for one to two people that can be transported fully assembled, placed with a standard forklift, and self-level without a foundation or skilled labor for deployment.
In this episode of Inevitable, Nitschelm explains how his experience at SpaceX and Starlink, followed by an intensive period of studying homelessness, poverty, and other social challenges, led him to think about housing as a problem that could benefit from a fundamentally different architecture.
The conversation explores how Uplift is designed to work immediately after deployment, including its approach to power, water, sanitation, connectivity, and remote monitoring. Nitschelm also discusses the company's manufacturing ambitions and its potential applications in workforce housing, disaster response, global shipping, ADUs, and affordable housing developments.
Episode recorded on September 15, 2026 (Published on September 29, 2026)
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of Uplift
(1:38) Charlie’s path from SpaceX and Starlink to Uplift
(3:57) Learning about homelessness, poverty, and other social challenges
(8:22) Why housing needs a fundamentally different architecture
(12:00) Why eliminating skilled labor is central to Uplift’s design
(16:49) Forklift deployment and off-grid utilities
(23:33) Starlink, solar power, and building a connected fleet
(25:03) Applying car manufacturing principles to housing
(28:07) Workforce housing and infrastructure projects
(32:16) Why disaster housing can take months to deploy
(34:12) Global shipping, ADUs, and affordable housing applications
(37:04) “Speed to sleeping” and the economics of temporary housing
(39:58) Uplift’s manufacturing ramp and the path to HUD approval
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
46 min
September 16Michael Thomas: Inside America's Off-Grid Data Center Boom
Michael Thomas is the founder and CEO of Cleanview, a data and research platform tracking more than 10,000 clean energy projects and thousands of data center projects across the country. Back for his third appearance on Inevitable, Thomas has spent the past year investigating the explosive growth of AI infrastructure and the increasingly extreme measures companies are taking to get power online.
In this episode of Inevitable, Thomas explains how the AI boom has transformed the data center market and why companies are increasingly building their own power generation rather than waiting years for grid interconnection. He breaks down the rise of off-grid and “behind-the-meter” data centers, including xAI’s Colossus, Meta’s rapid-deployment data centers, and Amazon’s massive natural gas project in Texas.
The conversation also explores the economics driving the race to power, the environmental and political backlash against data centers, and whether building gas generation today will accelerate or undermine the transition to cleaner energy. Thomas shares what his research reveals about electricity prices, water use, local pollution, and the growing public distrust of Big Tech.
Finally, Thomas discusses the tension between AI growth, U.S. competitiveness, and climate goals—and why he sees providing objective information about these projects as one of the most important roles he can play.
Episode recorded on September 2, 2026 (Published on September 16, 2026)
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
59 min
September 08Turning Data Centers Into Grid Assets with ON.energy
Alan Cooper is co-founder and CEO of ON.energy, a Miami-based company building battery-backed power systems for AI data centers. Its flagship product, AI UPS, sits between the grid and a data center, creating a buffer that isolates the grid from the massive volatility of AI workloads while providing uninterrupted power to the entire campus.
In this episode of Inevitable, Cooper explains how a career spanning oil and gas, geothermal, battery storage, and grid services ultimately led to ON.energy's focus on AI infrastructure. He breaks down why gigawatt-scale AI data centers create a fundamentally different challenge for the grid, and how ON.energy's series-connected battery architecture can act as an electrical "firewall" between the grid, onsite generation, and the data center.
The conversation explores ON.energy's evolution from a battery storage project developer into a technology company, its proprietary hardware and software stack, and the role of power controls in making massive data center projects more resilient and easier to interconnect. Cooper also discusses the company's path to market, extensive technical validation, business model, and largely bootstrapped approach to growth.
Finally, Cooper argues that data centers don't have to be a liability for the grid. With the right infrastructure and regulatory framework, he believes they can become active grid participants—and potentially make the energy system more robust.
Episode recorded on August 26, 2026 (Published on September 8, 2026).
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of ON.energy

(2:24) Alan's background in oil and gas, geothermal, and battery storage

(5:57) Alan's perspective on Venezuela and enhanced oil recovery

(10:35) How the 2014 oil crash led to ON.energy

(12:25) ON.energy's evolution from battery storage developer to technology company

(15:32) Traditional BESS vs. AI UPS

(16:15) How AI UPS creates a buffer between the grid and data centers

(17:20) Why AI data centers create unique challenges for the grid

(20:16) Using AI UPS with onsite generation and off-grid power

(21:41) How ON.energy can simplify data center interconnection

(23:14) ON.command and the importance of software controls

(24:15) ON.energy's proprietary hardware architecture

(25:35) Building supply-chain certainty at massive scale

(27:25) ON.energy's path from resiliency projects to AI infrastructure

(29:03) Battery storage as the "Swiss army knife" of the electric sector

(30:01) Technical validation at the Department of Energy's Flatirons Campus

(31:56) ON.energy's business model

(34:31) Why AI's large-load problem is here to stay

(35:52) AI training vs. inference and the future of data center infrastructure

(38:12) Why AI infrastructure can create American jobs

(39:27) Building ON.energy through bootstrapping and disciplined capital allocation

(41:48) Turning data centers into grid assets
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
44 min
September 01Fourier Is Solving Long-Duration Storage with On-Site Hydrogen
Siva Yellamraju is the co-founder and CEO of Fourier, a company building modular, on-site hydrogen systems for long-duration energy storage and distributed hydrogen production. Fourier’s approach combines lithium-ion batteries for short-duration needs with hydrogen storage for longer durations, packaged into a single system designed to operate like a microgrid.
In this episode of Inevitable, Yellamraju explains why hydrogen has long been considered promising for multi-day, seasonal, and even multi-year energy storage, but has struggled because of the cost and complexity of transporting it. He argues that producing hydrogen where it is needed can remove that transportation challenge and unlock a different cost curve for long-duration storage.
The conversation explores Fourier’s modular “hydrogen blade” architecture, its first storage deployment in Gujarat, India, and the growing demand for alternatives to diesel generators as data centers require increasingly large amounts of backup power. Yellamraju also discusses why levelized cost of storage matters more than round-trip efficiency, India’s potential role in energy manufacturing, and his transition from software and data centers into building physical energy infrastructure.
Note: Fourier is an MCJ portfolio company.
Episode recorded on August 5, 2026 (Published on September 1, 2026).
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of Fourier

(1:33) Why hydrogen could work for long-duration energy storage

(4:12) Why centralized hydrogen production creates a transportation problem

(5:31) Making hydrogen storage operate like a battery

(7:08) Why levelized cost matters more than round-trip efficiency

(10:08) How hydrogen stores and returns energy

(12:22) How long hydrogen can remain stored

(13:45) Fourier’s battery-plus-hydrogen microgrid architecture

(14:24) Why Fourier uses a modular “hydrogen blade” design

(15:51) Combining lithium-ion batteries with hydrogen for all storage durations

(16:19) How Fourier’s software optimizes storage, lifetime, and ROI

(17:47) Fourier’s first commercial storage deployment in Gujarat

(19:53) Why Fourier is expanding from hydrogen feedstock into energy storage

(20:32) How AI and data center growth accelerated demand for long-duration storage

(24:24) Replacing diesel generators and solving multiple power needs with one system

(26:55) How hydrogen storage compares with iron-air batteries

(27:50) Why India could become a major energy manufacturing and hydrogen hub

(30:10) The engineering and manufacturing talent Fourier is hiring

(30:39) Transitioning from software to physical energy infrastructure

(34:11) Scaling Fourier to meet growing demand for energy storage
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
Connect with MCJ:
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
37 min
August 25Willie Phillips, Former FERC Chairman: The Grid Is America's Economic Nervous System
Willie Phillips is the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and now a partner at Holland & Knight. During his time at FERC, Phillips helped lead major reforms to transmission planning and the electric grid’s interconnection process. He now advises the companies and utilities he once regulated, giving him a unique perspective on how developers can navigate the regulatory system.
In this episode of Inevitable, Phillips explains how FERC works, what companies routinely get wrong when engaging with regulators, and why early participation and pre-filing conversations can dramatically improve the odds of success. He also breaks down the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine and how his team designed Order 1920 around reliability and existing legal precedent.
The conversation then turns to the bigger challenge facing the U.S. grid: rapidly growing electricity demand from AI, data centers, electrification, and industrial activity. Phillips argues that the grid was not built for this moment and that the country needs faster, more coordinated planning while preserving the role of states and regional authorities.
Finally, Phillips discusses large loads, behind-the-meter generation, vertically integrated utilities, and the possibility that hyperscalers could become major power generators. He argues that regulators, utilities, and technology companies have an opportunity to work together to build the infrastructure needed for the next era of the American economy.
Episode recorded on July 29, 2026 (Published on August 25, 2026).
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of FERC and Willie Phillips’s career

(6:31) How companies can successfully navigate the FERC process

(9:07) What overturning Chevron means for federal regulators

(12:00) Order 1920 and the need for long-term transmission planning

(13:35) Reforming the interconnection queue

(15:39) How FERC navigated legal uncertainty around grid reform

(17:29) Why America needs to “do big things” with the electric grid

(20:42) FERC, states, and the future of grid planning

(23:33) America’s energy infrastructure race with China

(25:02) Why large loads are transforming the grid

(27:07) A 21st-century economy running on 20th-century rules

(28:18) FERC’s approach to accelerating large-load interconnections

(30:15) Why reliability, affordability, sustainability, and speed matter

(31:30) The jurisdictional questions around large loads

(33:06) Organized markets vs. vertically integrated utilities

(37:40) Reliability, affordability, and the value of invisible infrastructure

(40:35) Behind-the-meter generation and co-location

(43:17) Could hyperscalers become major power generators?

(44:09) Turning hyperscalers into partners in building the grid

(46:09) Why the energy transition needs the voice of investors and innovators
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
Connect with MCJ:
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
49 min
August 18Aalo Atomics on Beating the Odds to Reach Criticality
Yasir Arafat is the co-founder and CTO of Aalo Atomics, a company developing factory-manufactured modular nuclear power plants designed for AI data centers. Before founding Aalo, Yasir led the MARVEL microreactor program at Idaho National Laboratory.
In this episode of Inevitable, Yasir explains how Aalo became one of four U.S. nuclear startups to achieve criticality by the July 4, 2026 deadline. He breaks down what criticality means, why the milestone matters, and how the team went from a small startup to sustaining a nuclear fission chain reaction in less than a year.
The conversation explores why Yasir believes nuclear's biggest challenges are speed and economics rather than safety or reliability, and how Aalo is trying to address both through factory-based manufacturing. Yasir also shares how the company built its own reactor building in 36 days, tested its full-scale reactor systems, developed scalable fuel assembly manufacturing, and partnered with Idaho National Laboratory to learn how to operate a real reactor.
Finally, Yasir outlines Aalo's path from its zero-power Critical Test Reactor to Aalo-X, a full-powered reactor designed to generate electricity and power a co-located AI data center, and ultimately to the company's commercial Aalo Pod. The discussion also covers DOE demonstration pathways, future NRC licensing, the resurgence of nuclear innovation, and why Yasir believes multiple reactor technologies and companies will be needed to scale nuclear energy.
Note: Aalo Atomics is an MCJ portfolio company.
Episode recorded on August 6, 2026 (Published on August 18, 2026).
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of Aalo Atomics

(2:00) What criticality means in a nuclear reactor

(3:38) Why the July 4 deadline was set and why it mattered

(7:07) The final 24 hours before Aalo reached criticality

(9:24) How accurately Aalo's reactor matched its physics models

(11:43) From the MARVEL microreactor to founding Aalo Atomics

(13:56) Why Aalo is focused on nuclear speed and economics

(17:05) Why Aalo built a zero-power critical test reactor first

(19:01) Building a nuclear reactor building in 36 days

(19:21) What Aalo tested beyond the reactor itself

(20:53) Building fuel assemblies for the next 100 reactors

(23:43) Why organizational readiness matters as much as reactor technology

(24:05) Running the CTR and Aalo-X projects in parallel

(24:56) Excavating through unexpectedly difficult basalt rock

(26:03) The progression from CTR to Aalo-X to the Aalo Pod

(29:29) Partnering with turbine suppliers and Crusoe

(31:27) The timeline for powering a co-located AI data center

(32:09) How DOE authorization supports first-of-a-kind reactor demonstrations

(34:01) Moving from DOE demonstrations toward NRC commercial licensing

(42:03) Why Aalo is betting on the next generation of sodium-cooled reactors
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
Connect with MCJ:
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
46 min
August 11How Overstory Cuts Outages and Wildfire Risk for Utilities
Fiona Spruill is CEO of Overstory, a company helping electric utilities reduce power outages and wildfire risk using satellite imagery, aerial data, and AI-powered vegetation intelligence. Since joining as employee number 10 and later stepping into the CEO role, Spruill has helped Overstory evolve from a vegetation mapping startup into a resilience platform serving many of North America's largest utilities.
In this episode of Inevitable, Spruill explains why vegetation management is one of the largest operating expenses for utilities and how improving grid resilience starts with better risk prioritization—not simply collecting more data.
The conversation explores how Overstory combines satellite imagery, computer vision, and customer data to help utilities identify vegetation threats, wildfire fuels, and infrastructure risks before disasters occur. Spruill also discusses selling into the utility industry, the growing importance of resilience as climate risks expand beyond the western U.S., and how the company navigated an extraordinary leadership transition following the loss of co-founder and CEO Indra den Bakker.
Note: Overstory is an MCJ portfolio company
Episode recorded on July 22, 2026 (Published on August 11, 2026).
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of Overstory

(4:44) Why vegetation management is one of utilities' biggest expenses

(6:17) How Overstory helps prevent outages and catastrophic wildfires

(7:33) From vegetation mapping startup to grid resilience platform

(9:14) Why utilities need better prioritization

(12:03) What utilities see inside the Overstory platform

(14:12) How satellite imagery, aerial data, and AI power the product

(17:31) Supporting wildfire prevention and public safety power shutoffs

(19:16) Where Overstory fits within utility resilience strategies

(21:21) Lessons from selling climate technology to utilities

(25:18) Serving both rural co-ops and North America's largest utilities

(28:21) How wildfire risk is expanding globally

(30:26) Fiona's leadership journey and Overstory's evolution

(34:44) Building a global remote-first company and culture

(38:21) Overstory's fundraising journey and investor partnerships

(42:09) Measuring climate impact through operational change
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
Connect with MCJ:
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
46 min
August 04Turning Unused Home Power into a Controllable Resource with SPAN
Arch Rao is Founder and CEO of SPAN, the company behind the smart electrical panel that has expanded into utility grid management with SPAN Edge and distributed AI infrastructure with XFRA. What began as a smarter way to manage home electricity has evolved into a platform designed to digitize the electric grid, enable mass electrification, and unlock new AI compute capacity using existing residential infrastructure.
In this episode of Inevitable, Rao explains why SPAN's vision has grown beyond the home electrical panel, how utilities are using software-defined power management to avoid expensive infrastructure upgrades, and why distributed AI inference could become a new class of digital utility. He also discusses the intersection of electrification, grid modernization, and AI demand, arguing that the next major energy transition is the digitization of the electric grid itself.
Note: SPAN is an MCJ portfolio company
Episode recorded on July 8, 2026 (Published on August 4, 2026).
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of SPAN

(1:53) How SPAN evolved from smart panels to grid infrastructure

(3:41) The inspiration behind XFRA and distributed AI compute

(5:21) What an XFRA node looks like and how it works

(6:04) Why homeowners would host AI compute infrastructure

(8:06) The homeowner business model: free panels, batteries, and lower utility bills

(10:48) Why SPAN is focused on new home developments

(11:56) How SPAN Edge helps utilities avoid costly service upgrades

(16:35) SPAN's go-to-market evolution

(17:16) Lessons from customer behavior and software adoption

(20:53) How SPAN Edge creates value for utilities

(26:16) Securing distributed AI infrastructure in residential neighborhoods

(27:48) Who is buying XFRA compute today

(29:45) Why distributed infrastructure offers flexibility over traditional data centers

(31:04) XFRA as a new form of digital infrastructure

(32:50) How SPAN differs from virtual power plants (VPPs)

(34:56) Why the real energy transition is analog-to-digital

(36:43) Why talent is SPAN's biggest hiring priority
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
Connect with MCJ:
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
38 min
July 28Faster, Safer, Cheaper: How TerraFirma Is Rebuilding Construction
Noah Schochet is the co-founder and CEO of TerraFirma, a construction technology company rethinking how infrastructure gets built. Founded by two former SpaceX engineers, TerraFirma combines robotics, remote operations, and software into a construction business that performs projects directly rather than selling technology. By vertically integrating its tools with field operations, the company aims to make construction dramatically faster, safer, and more affordable while addressing labor shortages and enabling the next generation of infrastructure.
In this episode, Noah shares how his experience building Starship at SpaceX inspired TerraFirma, why he believes construction—not autonomy—is the real bottleneck to civilization-scale progress, and why robotics companies should focus more on delivering outcomes instead of products. He also explains TerraFirma's remote-operated construction model, its approach to rapid iteration, and why the future of construction still depends on people empowered by better technology.
Episode recorded on June 25, 2026 (Published on July 28, 2026).
In this episode, we cover:
(0:00) An overview of TerraFirma

(1:04) How SpaceX inspired the creation of TerraFirma

(4:47) Why construction has fallen behind other industries

(9:33) The structural reasons construction is slow to modernize

(12:33) Why the goal isn't autonomy—it's better construction

(14:25) TerraFirma's construction-first business model

(17:11) Why customers buy outcomes, not robots

(20:54) How TerraFirma's retrofit robotics and software platform works

(25:53) Operating multiple construction machines from a mission control center

(29:01) How robotics could reshape construction jobs instead of replacing them

(32:02) Early customer adoption across data centers, housing, and hazardous environments

(34:20) Winning projects by building faster, cheaper, and safer

(36:13) The biggest challenge to transforming construction

(38:32) Hiring builders with extreme ownership and mission alignment

(42:55) TerraFirma's $100 million Series A and plans to scale
Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
Connect with MCJ:
Cody Simms on LinkedIn
Visit mcj.vc
Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter
*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
45 min

About Inevitable

From the publisher's feed

Join Cody Simms each week as he engages with experts across disciplines to explore innovations driving the transition of energy and industry. Inevitable is an MCJ podcast. This show was formerly known…