Invested In Climate

The climate transition will require trillions of dollars of investment, but many of the biggest opportunities still face structural financing barriers because our financial system was not designed for a challenge of this scale and complexity. As investors, entrepreneurs, and institutions work to accelerate the transition, there is a growing need for new financial models that can bridge those gaps and unlock capital more effectively.

Today, we’re joined by Bob Zulkoski of Conduit Capital, a firm taking a very different approach to climate finance. Rather than building one big fund, Conduit is creating platforms designed to unlock private capital at scale — from financing energy-efficiency upgrades in commercial real estate, to launching climate-transition SPACs, to developing a new blended-finance vehicle aimed at helping impact investment managers bridge what Bob calls the “Pioneer Gap.” Bob calls the model radical collaboration, and the goal is not just to invest well, but to prove new models that others can replicate.

• 1:19 – Framing the Climate Finance Challenge and Introducing Bob Zulkoski
• 2:34 – What Is Conduit Capital? Vision and Radical Collaboration
• 3:48 – Replication as Theory of Change: Paving the Way for Competition
• 5:23 – Business Model: Non‑Concessionary, Patient, Impact at Scale
• 6:41 – Introducing Sustainable Credit Partners (SCP) and Mid‑Market CRE
• 8:09 – The Retrofit Problem: Aging Buildings, Spiking Energy Costs, Brown Discount
• 10:04 – SCP’s Lending Model: Easier, Cheaper, Faster for Borrowers
• 11:34 – Underwriting + GreenGen Partnership and Education Role
• 13:55 – SCP Traction: Origination Targets, Pipeline, Institutional Capital
• 16:02 – Loan Sizes, Typical Collateral, and Brown Discount Mitigation
• 16:48 – Three “Superpowers”: Market Familiarity, GreenGen + Climate First Bank, Moody’s
• 19:53 – Who Else Should Do This? Scaling via Competition and Green CLOs
• 22:48 – Introducing Climate Transition SPACs and Market Backdrop
• 23:01 – Rethinking SPACs: Tool for Climate Transition and Valuation Gaps
• 27:37 – First SPAC: Energy Transition Special Opportunities and Target Sectors
• 29:48 – Why Regenerative Agriculture Belongs in Climate SPACs
• 32:19 – Defining the Pioneer Gap vs. Missing Middle/Valley of Death
• 35:30 – The Pioneer Gap Impact Platform Fund and Alliance Structure
• 37:50 – Blended Finance Stack: Catalytic, Mezzanine, and Market Capital
• 39:08 – Why This Is the “Best of Times” for Climate Investing
• 41:40 – Closing Reflections

• Sustainable Credit Partners (SCP)
• GreenGen
• Moody’s Investors Service
• Climate First Bank
• C‑PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy)
• Climate Transition Special Opportunities SPAC
• Spring Lane Capital
• Pioneer Gap Alliance & Pioneer Gap Impact Platform Fund

• Bob Zulkoski
• Jason Rissman

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Climate philanthropy does far more than fund advocacy and conservation—it bridges critical funding gaps for breakthrough technologies that traditional, financially driven investors often overlook. In this special episode, we continue our ongoing Climate Philanthropy series in partnership with the Skyline Foundation to explore how non-profit support accelerates the climate tech pipeline.

Shereen D’Souza (Climate Solutions Portfolio Lead at Skyline Foundation) sits down with two powerhouse CEOs from her grantee portfolio, Deepa Lounsbury of LabStart and Andrew Chang of New Energy Nexus, to discuss what it really takes to move climate innovation from a university lab to global deployment.

Bringing a "hard tech" climate startup from initial lab concept to commercial scale takes an average of 10 years, and every single step of that journey faces a unique "valley of death." Because scaled deployment looks drastically different depending on the geography, supporting entrepreneurs requires a highly specialized ecosystem.

This conversation highlights how philanthropy strategically funds distinct, critical phases of the lab-to-market pipeline to scale viable climate solutions faster.

• 0:58 – Why climate philanthropy & Skyline partnership
• 3:35 – LabStart vs. New Energy Nexus focus
• 4:09 – Guest intros: Deepa (LabStart) & Andrew (New Energy Nexus)
• 4:46 – Deepa’s background in climate, VC, and CalSEED
• 6:20 – What LabStart does & “deep climate tech” focus
• 8:02 – Andrew’s overview of New Energy Nexus global model
• 9:43 – Programs: bootcamps, grants, CalSEED, and global south focus
• 11:16 – What it looks like to be a New Energy Nexus entrepreneur
• 11:54 – Philippines rooftop solar opportunity: Solar Innovation Program
• 12:48 – Pakistan rooftop solar boom and Climate Innovation Pakistan
• 13:40 – CalSEED structure and impact in California
• 13:58 – What it looks like to be a LabStart entrepreneur
• 14:55 – LabStart Discover and Launch phases
• 15:54 – Why philanthropy is needed in climate tech innovation
• 18:36 – Philanthropy in the global south and hyperlocal impact
• 22:10 – LabStart success story: architect-turned-3D housing founder
• 24:32 – Additional LabStart founders and outcomes
• 25:25 – How much philanthropic capital is needed
• 27:17 – IEA investment gap and catalytic examples from Indonesia
• 29:43 – Why fund new technologies vs. only deployment
• 32:06 – How country pathways shape New Energy Nexus engagement
• 33:02 – California deployment example: ThermoShade
• 33:58 – Indonesia fishermen & electric motorboats case: Volto Sea
• 34:51 – Pakistan PakPlug EV charging app
• 35:22 – What else the ecosystem needs: Andrew on subnational governments
• 37:34 – What else the ecosystem needs: Deepa on IP & ecosystem gaps
• 41:02 – Five-year vision & asks: Deepa and LabStart
• 43:49 – Five-year vision & asks: Andrew and New Energy Nexus
• 47:26 – Closing thanks from Shereen

• Invested in Climate: Climate Philanthropy series
• Skyline Foundation
• LabStart
• New Energy Nexus
• Project Drawdown
• Jamil Wyne
• CalSEED
• Solar Innovation Program
• Climate Innovation Pakistan
• CalTestBed
• AusTestbed
• ThermoShade
• Swap Energy
• Xuraya
• Volto Sea
• PakPlug
• Schmidt Family Foundation
• Boundless Earth
• Atlassian Foundation
• California Energy Commission (CEC)
• New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
• Mubadala Investment Company (Abu Dhabi)
• Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)
• International Energy Agency (IEA)
• Elemental Impact
• Activate
• Renewables First

• Shereen D’Souza
• Deepa Lounsbury
• Andrew Chang
• Jason Rissman

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Today, we’re diving into a part of the climate transition that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as solar panels, electric vehicles, or AI: the materials, minerals, and manufacturing systems that make modern civilization possible. Steel alone accounts for roughly 7–8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the energy transition is driving unprecedented demand for critical minerals, advanced materials, and domestic manufacturing capacity. These sectors offer incredible investment opportunities, and that’s the focus of my guest, Kavita Patel.

Kavita is a portfolio manager for venture investment for MUUS & Company (MUUS), the family office of TIGER 21 Founder and Chairman, Michael Sonnenfeldt, and his family.

We discuss opportunities ranging from critical mineral recycling to next-generation building materials, what she’s learned investing through the ups and downs of climate tech, and why she believes some of the most compelling opportunities today may be hiding in sectors many investors overlook.

We also explore where climate capital is flowing, where it may be underinvesting, and how investors can think rigorously about both financial returns and real-world climate impact.

I learned a lot from this conversation, and I think you will too. Here we go.

• 01:12 – Introducing guest: Kavita Patel of MUUS & Company
• 02:35 – Kavita’s background and path into climate investing
• 05:24 – From BlackRock and ESG to climate venture
• 07:19 – What is MUUS & Company? Climate thesis and focus areas
• 09:35 – Why critical minerals, materials, and domestic manufacturing
• 11:30 – Is materials & mining underhyped for investors? Market overview
• 13:17 – Venture timelines in hardware and industrial innovation
• 15:13 – Portfolio example #1: Nth Cycle’s critical minerals recycling
• 18:28 – Mining’s environmental impact and why focus on recycling
• 20:08 – Portfolio example #2: InventWood as a low‑carbon steel replacement
• 22:53 – No green premium: solving top pain points in B2B climate tech
• 23:03 – Where climate capital is flowing vs. where it should go
• 25:22 – What Kavita has learned from founders through market cycles
• 29:01 – Common fundraising pitfalls for climate founders
• 32:20 – Building the capital stack: partners, family offices, and non‑dilutive capital
• 35:15 – Measuring impact: MUUS’ use of the Crane tool
• 38:16 – Closing thoughts

• MUUS & Company (MUUS)
• TIGER 21
• Nth Cycle (critical minerals refining & recycling)
• Trafigura (metals & commodities trading group)
• InventWood (wood-based high‑performance material)
• CRANE – Carbon Reduction Assessment for New Enterprises
• International Energy Agency (IEA)

• Kavita Patel
• Jason Rissman

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Most people assume the main barrier to clean energy in America is technology or cost. Neither is true anymore. The sun is cheap. The wind is free. The turbines work. What doesn't work is the system we've built around them. Between 70 and 90 percent of renewable energy projects started in the US never reach construction. The ones that survive face a gauntlet of federal reviews, local ordinances, interconnection queues stretching years, and organized opposition campaigns funded by interests that don't want to see the grid change. We're talking about over 2,000 gigawatts of clean energy projects sitting in line waiting to plug into the grid — enough to power the country many times over.

Today's guest is doing something about this problem. GoodPower is a nonprofit organization using research, strategic communications, campaigns, and even technology to accelerate the transition to renewable energy around the world. In this conversation, I’m joined by Leah Qusba, GoodPower’s CEO, who has been with the organization for almost 17 years.

We spoke about GoodPower's history and evolution, its work in changing culture, building political power, accelerating an economy that works for all, and much more.

Leah reflects a fast-growing school of thought — calling it the abundance mindset, after Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein's influential book — that sees future-forward infrastructure as the key to unlocking tremendous economic opportunity. It's a compelling, inspiring perspective that has spread quickly and is already driving real policy and investment.

So buckle up and enjoy.

• 01:31 – Clean energy bottlenecks & introduction of GoodPower
• 03:15 – Welcoming Leah Qusba
• 04:03 – Founding story of Good Power (formerly ACE)
• 04:44 – From youth education to campaigns and power-building
• 05:31 – Why rebrand from Action for Climate Emergency to GoodPower
• 05:49 – Moving from alarm to hope and economic opportunity
• 07:11 – Core problem: speeding up an inevitable energy transition
• 08:19 – Shift from “protecting environment” to building clean energy
• 09:22 – Strategic plan overview & Pillar 1: shifting culture at scale
• 09:44 – Operating in culture & early bet on the creator economy
• 11:05 – Lessons from supporting climate-focused creators
• 13:06 – Surprising creators: rural and agricultural influencers
• 15:10 – Laying cultural groundwork and de‑politicizing renewables
• 17:35 – Pillar 2: building political power in the U.S.
• 19:13 – Climate as a voting issue vs. economic priorities
• 21:52 – Mobilizing climate‑first nonvoters & social norms of voting
• 24:46 – Pillar 3: building a “good economy for all”
• 27:58 – Under the hood: siting and permitting campaigns
• 31:05 – Beyond core pillars: funding models and nonprofit evolution
• 33:15 – How listeners can help locally & post‑election accountability

• GoodPower
• GoodPower Strategic Plan
• Environmental Voter Project (We featured CEO Nathaniel Stinnett on Ep #94!)

• Leah Qusba
• Jason Rissman

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Whether or not we want to acknowledge it, we’re in a new era of climate investing. Unprecedented uncertainty, federal policy upheaval in the United States, repeated energy shocks from wars, inflation, high interest rates, a persisting liquidity crunch, the AI data center boom – much has happened, the game has changed and investors are thinking very differently about climate than they did just a few years ago.

Three expert climate finance advisors who have worked in climate finance for decades set out to understand what has changed in climate investing. Dan Firger, Will Coleman, and Bill Tarr are highly respected thought leaders and strategic advisors working with large family offices, foundations and prominent climate investors. They teamed up and interviewed over 150 investors and experts to develop Climate Capital Reset Project, a detailed account of the new thinking defining this new era of climate investing. We spoke about the trends reshaping climate finance today, emerging dynamics, recommendations for capital allocators, considerations for philanthropists, and much more. Dan, Will, and Bill’s report will likely be one of the most influential pieces written on climate finance this year. It’s already the basis for closed-door consultations and convenings with prominent investors, and our conversation shed incredible light on the new paradigms already driving climate finance today.

• 03:01 – Guest Introductions & Backgrounds
• 06:04 – Why the Climate Capital Reset Project Now?
• 08:55 – Trend #1: Unprecedented Market Uncertainty
• 11:13 – Trend #2: AI, Data Centers & the Grid
• 13:23 – Trend #3: Liquidity Crunch & the Missing Middle
• 15:42 – Trend #4: Narratives, Labels & Climate Messaging
• 17:24 – How We Talk About Climate & Climate Investing
• 19:37 – Theme: ‘Ruthless Pragmatism’ in Climate Capital
• 24:00 – Shaping Winners Through Consolidation
• 26:57 – Domestic vs. International: Who Captures the Upside?
• 27:31 – Blended Finance: Misuse, Scarcity & Focus
• 30:48 – Examples of Effective Blended Finance
• 31:56 – Geographic Arbitrage & Emerging Markets
• 34:37 – Corporates’ Role in Climate Tech & Scale
• 38:05 – War in the Middle East, Energy Shocks & Resilience
• 43:24 – New Investment Models & Insurance Innovation
• 46:24 – Long-Duration, Asset-Heavy Climate Businesses
• 48:43 – A Narrow Window for a Climate Capital Reset
• 50:41 – What’s Next for the Climate Capital Reset Project
• 51:41 – Closing & Call to Action

• Climate Capital Reset Project
• Builder’s Vision
• Intersect Power
• Lineage Logistics
• Devoted Health
• Fervo Energy
• Frontier
• Microsoft Carbon Removal
• PJM Interconnection
• ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas)
• USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development)
• Bloomberg Philanthropies
• ReGen Ventures
• More Davidow Ventures (MDV)

• Dan Firger
• Will Coleman
• Bill Tarr
• Jason Rissman

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Education and our ability to respond to climate change are inexorably linked. Major international studies have shown that education is the single strongest predictor of whether or not someone is aware of climate change. In the US, while 74% of Americans support climate action, support is typically 10–20 points higher among those with a college education.

It's not about perceptions on climate change; a more educated workforce is better able to innovate, accelerate the climate transition, and adapt in a less stable world – especially if that education builds climate resilient skills.

One could almost imagine a university designed around this need – and that is exactly what the team at Unity Environmental University are building.

Today, we're joined by Unity President Dr. Melik Khoury who is creating not just a new curriculum, but a new, more inclusive approach to higher ed. Dr. Khoury argues powerfully against the elitism that has underpinned our educational system and climate narratives. We spoke about his background, the role of education in addressing climate change, how Unity is different, and the influence it could have. Dr Khoury’s energy is contagious and we're sure he’ll get you thinking. Enjoy.

1. 03:06 – Dr. Khoury’s upbringing in West Africa and awakening to environmental issues
2. 04:24 – Discovering the real impacts of resource exploitation
3. 06:01 – Choosing higher education transformation as the main lever
4. 08:32 – The core climate problem: beyond politics and single-issue framing
5. 09:04 – Climate as transdisciplinary: food, energy, people, commerce
6. 11:05 – History of Unity Environmental University
7. 13:07 – Transforming Unity’s model and unbundling education
8. 15:14 – New operational model and rethinking the faculty role
9. 15:23 – Scaling Unity and redefining what a university is
10. 19:42 – Preparing students to operate in complex, uncertain systems
11. 20:15 – Embedding climate and sustainability across the curriculum
12. 23:14 – AI’s challenge to traditional notions of knowledge and learning
13. 23:48 – What Unity is learning from its students and their needs
14. 28:14 – What success looks like for a climate-focused university
15. 28:30 – Influencing the broader higher-ed ecosystem
16. 31:47 – How AI is changing higher education and climate learning
17. 32:11 – Why Unity embraces rather than bans AI
18. 35:58 – Concrete AI experiments at Unity (UNA, tutors, automation)
19. 39:31 – Is climate momentum fading? Perception vs. reality
20. 39:57 – Climate’s “brand problem” and the real enemy: ignorance
21. 42:58 – Depoliticizing climate and making the economic case
22. 43:16 – How we broadly attack ignorance through education reform
23. 45:52 – Call for partners and funders to back scalable climate education
24. 45:52 – Closing thanks and episode wrap-up

1. Unity Environmental University

1. Dr. Melik Khoury
2. Jason Rissman

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Imagine for a moment if economic activity made nature and society healthier. It’s a notion that at first might seem absurdly idealistic, and then when you think about it, maybe essential for our survival and thus perhaps what the goal of an economy should actually be. Welcome to the concept of regenerative economics. There’s a growing number of leading thinkers, organizations, policymakers, and even businesses fueling the regenerative movement. With AI and a new geopolitical order creating massive disruption, it’s an important time to consider bold visions for the future.

Today, we’re joined by someone who’s both a bold visionary and practical implementer. Eugene Kirpichov left his dream job at Google in 2020 to found Work on Climate, a community that has now helped tens of thousands of people looking for ways to address climate change. Eugene sees communities as mindbogglingly effective for scaling impact. By helping people realize their potential as climate leaders, Work on Climate is harnessing the power of community to work towards a regenerative economy. Eugene is a guy of big ideas, who thinks about systems strategically and makes things happen. It was a blast talking to Eugene and we suspect you’ll enjoy the conversation as well. Here we go.

1. 00:57 – Regenerative Economics & Introducing Eugene
2. 02:41 – Recent Encounters & Shared Community
3. 03:00 – Eugene’s Early Life in Russia & Tech Beginnings
4. 06:25 – Joining Google & Finding Eugene’s Niche
5. 08:47 – Eugene’s Climate Wake‑Up & Decision to Leave Google
6. 10:30 – Discovering the Climate Solutions Ecosystem
7. 12:56 – Founding Work on Climate
8. 14:18 – Community Power & Founder Success Stories from Work on Climate
9. 15:34 – How Work on Climate Operates & Is Funded
10. 17:36 – Eugene’s Shift: From Climate Jobs to Climate Leaders
11. 21:30 – Examples of Everyday Climate Leadership
12. 24:25 – Three Qualities of a Climate Leader
13. 26:33 – Rethinking the “Most Impactful Thing I Can Do”
14. 29:56 – Eugene’s Long‑Term Vision for Work on Climate
15. 33:02 – What a Regenerative Economy Is
16. 38:18 – How to Build a Regenerative Economy in Practice
17. 44:18 – AI as System Accelerator & Regenerative Tool
18. 48:15 – EPA Ruling, Shared Reality & Coordination
19. 51:32 – What Eugene Is Reading & Learning From
20. 55:07 – Call to Action for Funders & Individuals

1. Work on Climate
2. An Inconvenient Truth
3. An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
4. Work for Climate
5. Eigen Robotics
6. Climate Capital: Tom Chi
7. Relationality: David Jay
8. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Paulo Freire
9. Impact Networks: David Ehrlichman
10. Eugene’s article on the EPA ruling

1. Eugene Kirpichov
2. Jason Rissman

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Frequent listeners know we're always eager to learn about how climate investing needs to change to be more effective. With the attacks on ESG and a new political era, we’re clearly in a new chapter for climate investing and being intentional about the ingredients, language and goals of this new chapter is critical for delivering both solid returns and real impact.

Rob Brown argues that its time to step back from overreach and inauthentic impact goals, and fuel this new chapter with rigor. Rob wears a couple of hats as Director of Climate Research at Resolution Investors and Chief Research Officer at Impact Evaluation Lab. In these roles, Rob bring his decades of investment experience using research and analysis to improve long term thinking, risk management and what he calls mission authenticity, or the ability to really deliver on the kind of impact one promises. Tune in for a deeply fascinating conversation about how climate investing is maturing and the work that still needs to be done for this new chapter. Enjoy.

1. 02:41 – Rob’s career journey & love of solving problems
2. 05:17 – From Just Capital to Impact Evaluation Lab & Resolution Investors
3. 09:52 – How to tell serious impact investors from pretenders
4. 14:34 – Is rigor a cost center? Making the ROI case
5. 19:29 – A lightning history of sustainable investing
6. 23:14 – Why sustainable finance is “deeply stressed”
7. 27:08 – Climate investing as long‑term risk‑adjusted returns
8. 29:27 – Two key shifts: longer horizons & real tech expertise
9. 33:02 – Rigor, incentives, and how the field grows up
10. 36:45 – Why sustainable investing is the future of capital markets
11. 39:11 – Closing remarks

1. Resolution Investors
2. Impact Evaluation Lab.
3. Just Capital
4. Atlas Impact Partners
5. Generation Investment Management

1. Rob Brown
2. Jason Rissman

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We all know that no single investment strategy—and no single asset class—is going to fund the climate innovation we need on its own. Moving real solutions forward takes multiple tools working together. That’s why I’ve long been drawn to catalytic capital and blended finance—using philanthropy to unlock risk-taking and bring more and different kinds of investors along.

That’s what drew me to the work of Elemental Impact and Earthshot Ventures, two organizations founded by Dawn Lippert that are designed to move critical climate technologies from early validation to scale. Elemental uses philanthropic capital to de-risk and accelerate early solutions—but for those solutions to reach real commercialization, venture and private markets have to follow. That’s where Earthshot Ventures comes in, investing early in companies with a strong “why now.” Together, they direct capital into consequential companies to create impact at scale.

In this episode, we’re joined by Dawn, along with Matt Logan, General Partner at Earthshot Ventures. We talk about how Elemental and Earthshot work together in practice, real examples of the companies and projects they’re backing, a new and innovative investment structure they’ve pioneered, and where they see climate investing headed in 2026—and beyond.

This conversation kicks off a new deep dive series with Elemental Impact. Stay tuned for more, and if you’d like to find or propose future series ideas, reach out to us through our website.

What You’ll Learn

1. The Power of Catalytic Philanthropy: How a "slice" of philanthropic capital can act as the nucleus for a project, bringing in banks, corporates, and infrastructure funders.
2. The dSAFE Innovation: How Elemental adapted the Y-Combinator SAFE note into a "Development SAFE" to reduce transaction costs and provide non-dilutive capital for early projects.
3. Community-Led Scaling: Why the "human" half of the solution—customers, cities, and communities—is just as essential as the technology itself for climate tech to succeed in the real world.
4. A VC Lens on Climate: How Earthshot operates as a returns-focused venture fund that only backs climate-positive companies, uses a proprietary outbound-sourcing engine to find founders before they’re fundraising, and targets “cheaper, better, faster—with greener as a co-benefit” business models.
5. The 2026 Investment Frontier: Why Earthshot is doubling down on Space Tech for remote agriculture and wildfire monitoring, and why Robotics is a top category to watch for automating "dull, dirty, and dangerous" climate jobs.
6. A Unique Partnership Model: How a service agreement and shared revenue between a non-profit and a VC fund creates a sustainable ecosystem for innovation.

In today’s episode, we cover:

1. 02:48 2025 temperature check
2. 05:39 Why Dawn started Elemental and then Earthshot
3. 07:39 Matt’s background and path into climate VC
4. 09:49 Earthshot’s thesis and sourcing–picking–winning–helping
5. 11:15 How Elemental and Earthshot are structurally linked
6. 13:34 Philanthropy, donor-advised funds, and recycling returns
7. 16:09 Nitricity case study – low‑carbon fertilizer
8. 18:21 The Development SAFE (dSAFE)
9. 21:31 Earthshot portfolio highlights – KoBold Metals, Etched & SuperCircle
10. 27:01 Workforce, community, and local impact
11. 30:31 Fervo Energy case study – rural apprenticeships
12. 33:46 Policy as alpha in AI, mining, and space
13. 35:48 2025 turbulence, donors, and investor caution
14. 38:00 Moving beyond solar/wind/EVs in philanthropy
15. 38:57 Mining, metals, and transition tradeoffs
16. 41:03 2026 outlook – AI, infrastructure, space, and robotics
17. 47:49 Optimism and “Audacity” for 2026

Resources Mentioned

1. Elemental Impact
2. Earthshot Ventures
3. Nitricity – Low‑carbon, renewable-powered nitrogen fertilizer
4. KoBold Metals – AI-powered mineral exploration for the energy transition
5. Etched – AI accelerator chips built specifically for transformer models
6. SuperCircle – Circular logistics and recycling infrastructure for apparel
7. Fervo Energy – Next‑generation geothermal power developer
8. Hubble Network – Satellite network enabling direct-to-space Bluetooth connectivity
9. ARPA‑E (Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy)
10. International Energy Agency (IEA)
11. Advanced Microgrid Solutions – Distributed energy storage

Connect with Us

1. Dawn Lippert
2. Matt Logan
3. Jason Rissman

Elemental Impact

1. Website: https://elementalimpact.com/
2. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elementalimpact/

‍Earthshot Ventures

1. Website: https://www.earthshot.vc/
2. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthshot-ventures

Invested in Climate

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We’re back with the sixth installment of our Missing Middle in Climate Tech series, produced in partnership with Spring Lane Capital.

As we kick off 2026, this episode offers a timely, grounded conversation with two seasoned investors who bring decades of perspective to where climate investing has been and where it’s headed next. Rather than focusing on predictions alone, the discussion goes deeper into the nuance of how capital is actually being deployed in today’s market.

Rob Day, Co-Founder of Spring Lane Capital, and Raj Atluru, Managing Partner at Activate Capital, trade ideas and reflect on how the climate tech landscape has evolved.

Together, they unpack how investor priorities have shifted over time, the metrics they look for in growth-stage companies, and the opportunities emerging from today’s macro forces, including interest rates, deglobalization, and AI’s rapidly escalating energy demand.

For listeners looking to understand how experienced investors are navigating complexity, risk, and scale in climate tech right now, this is a conversation worth spending time with.

Explore the full Missing Middle in Climate Tech series or reach out with ideas for future collaborations at investedinclimate.com.

1. 02:20 – Guest Intros & The “Missing Middle” Problem
2. 04:39 – A Second Lens on the Missing Middle
3. 07:00 – Origin Story of Activate Capital
4. 10:40 – Energy, Load Growth & Macro Shifts
5. 12:09 – “Why Now?” and Today’s Load Shock
6. 17:27 – Structural Causes of the Missing Middle
7. 19:26 – Heavy Lifting at Growth Stage
8. 25:43 – Hardware Is Back: Fund III Themes
9. 30:16 – Scaling, Learning Curves & Project Execution
10. 33:00 – From Founder-Led to Scalable Sales
11. 40:13 – Being Contrarian (EVs, AI & Hype Cycles)
12. 43:57 – EV Fundamentals & Infrastructure Gaps
13. 45:15 – Policy vs. Interest Rates
14. 47:55 – Home Electrification & Rooftop Solar
15. 48:06 – Speed-Round Predictions for 2026
16. 49:26 – Dry Powder & Exit Fuel
17. 51:50 – Climate Tech Becomes “Just Tech”
18. 53:06 – Closing & Call to Action

1. Spring Lane Capital
2. Activate Capital
3. DFJ (Draper Fisher Jurvetson)
4. SolarCity (historical, now part of Tesla Energy)
5. Enpal
6. Voltus
7. Crusoe Energy
8. XNRGY
9. Aerones
10. Infravision
11. Jetson
12. Muon Space
13. Soluna
14. Lunar Energy

1. Rob Day
2. Raj Atluru
3. Jason Rissman

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