The Climate Tech Podcast with Fexingo: Energy, Sustainability, and Decarbonization Companies

The shipping industry emits nearly a billion tons of CO2 annually, and regulators are starting to demand change. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise of green ammonia as a potential zero-carbon fuel for the world's cargo ships. They break down the economics, the technology, and the race to build the first ammonia-powered vessels. With the first ammonia-ready ships hitting the water in 2026, and companies like Yara and MAN Energy Solutions leading the charge, this episode unpacks what has to happen for green ammonia to scale from pilot projects to a global fuel standard. Expect a deep dive into the ammonia economy, the infrastructure hurdles, and the startups betting big on this molecule.

#GreenAmmonia #ShippingDecarbonization #CleanShipping #MaritimeFuel #ZeroCarbon #Yara #MANEnergy #AmmoniaFuel #SustainableShipping #IMO2050 #ClimateTech #EnergyTransition #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #ClimateAction #FutureFuel

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In episode 144 of The Climate Tech Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the surprising economics of food waste. Americans toss nearly 40 percent of the food they produce, and the EPA estimates that wasted food accounts for about 6 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. But a new wave of startups is turning that waste stream into a revenue source. Lucas walks through the rise of anaerobic digesters, which convert food scraps into renewable natural gas, and highlights a specific facility in California that processes 100,000 tons of organic waste annually, selling the gas to a local utility. He also examines the role of AI-powered sorting robots in reducing contamination, and how companies like Mill are selling compactors that turn household food scraps into shelf-stable material for chicken feed. Luna brings a counterpoint, asking whether the carbon intensity of collecting and processing waste undermines the climate benefits. The conversation lands on a critical question: can food waste become a billion-dollar industry without becoming a greenwashing gimmick?

#FoodWaste #AnaerobicDigestion #RenewableNaturalGas #AI #SortingRobots #Mill #California #EPA #Methane #CircularEconomy #WasteToEnergy #ClimateTech #Sustainability #Startups #Business #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Technology

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In this episode of The Climate Tech Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into the hidden backbone of the electric vehicle revolution: direct lithium extraction, or DLE. With lithium demand set to triple by 2030, the world can't rely on evaporation ponds and open-pit mines forever. Lucas breaks down how a handful of startups are using ion-selective beads, membrane filters, and even solar-powered evaporation to pull lithium from underground brine aquifers in days instead of months. Luna brings up the environmental trade-offs and whether DLE is a genuine silver bullet or just a new set of problems. They also touch on the economics—why these startups are raising hundreds of millions in venture capital and how their tech could slash production costs. If you're tracking EVs, energy storage, or the future of critical minerals, this episode gives you a clear-eyed look at a technology that could reshape the entire supply chain.

#DirectLithiumExtraction #DLE #LithiumStartups #EVSupplyChain #CriticalMinerals #CleanTech #ClimateTech #EnergyStorage #BatteryMaterials #MiningInnovation #Sustainability #Decarbonization #Business #Technology #Investing #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #CleanEnergy

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In episode 142 of The Climate Tech Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore a fresh frontier in renewable energy: ocean thermal energy conversion, or OTEC. While solar and wind dominate the headlines, a new generation of startups is tapping the temperature difference between warm surface water and cold deep water to generate baseload electricity 24/7. The episode centers on one company, OceanCore Energy, which in early 2026 commissioned a 10-megawatt demonstration plant off the coast of Hawaii. Lucas breaks down the physics, the economics, and the engineering hurdles, while Luna brings a skeptical listener's perspective: why hasn't this worked before, and what's different now? They discuss the role of deep-sea mining of rare earths, the potential for island nations, and the surprising byproduct of desalinated water. If you've ever wondered whether the ocean could power our future, this episode explains the tech, the business case, and the real-world test happening right now.

#OceanThermalEnergy #OTEC #RenewableEnergy #ClimateTech #BaseloadPower #CleanEnergy #Hawaii #OceanCoreEnergy #DeepSeaMining #Desalination #IslandNations #Decarbonization #Sustainability #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #ClimateAction

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In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a fresh frontier in climate tech: turning abandoned mine waste into a source of clean energy. They focus on a startup called ReMine Energy, which is using a process called 'tailings-to-energy' to recover residual metals and generate geothermal-like power from flooded mine shafts. The conversation digs into the numbers — one abandoned site in Nevada could power 15,000 homes — and the regulatory hurdles that make repurposing old mines tricky. They also touch on the broader trend of 'brownfield renewables', where former industrial sites are getting a second life. Tune in to hear why mine waste, once a liability, is becoming a surprising asset in the race to decarbonize.

#MineWaste #CleanEnergy #ReMineEnergy #TailingsToEnergy #Geothermal #BrownfieldRenewables #ClimateTech #Decarbonization #Sustainability #RenewableEnergy #Nevada #EnergyTransition #WasteToEnergy #CleanTech #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast

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The voluntary carbon market is booming but plagued by greenwashing and double-counting. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how climate tech startups like Pachama use satellite imagery and machine learning to verify carbon removal projects in real time. They discuss why trust is the carbon market's biggest bottleneck, how technology is solving it, and what it means for companies trying to reach net-zero. With specific examples from forest conservation in the Amazon and the new role of AI, this episode explains why the next big climate unicorn might be a verification platform.

#CarbonCredits #Verification #Pachama #SatelliteImagery #MachineLearning #ClimateTech #NetZero #ForestCarbon #Greenwashing #VoluntaryCarbonMarket #Transparency #AIforClimate #BusinessAndTechnology #Startups #Sustainability #Decarbonization #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast

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Lucas and Luna dive into the world of methane pyrolysis, a technology that splits natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon instead of CO2. They explore how startups like Monolith and C-Zero are turning a climate problem into a valuable byproduct, the economics of 'turquoise' hydrogen, and why this approach could be a game-changer for heavy industry. With natural gas infrastructure already in place, this method offers a bridge to a hydrogen economy while producing carbon black for tires, batteries, and construction materials. How close is it to scale? And can it compete with green hydrogen?

#MethanePyrolysis #CleanHydrogen #Monolith #CZero #TurquoiseHydrogen #Decarbonization #ClimateTech #NaturalGas #CarbonBlack #HydrogenEconomy #EnergyTransition #Startups #Sustainability #ClimateAction #IndustrialDecarbonization #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness

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Episode 138 dives into the emerging world of seaweed-based bioplastics. We focus on Seacell, a startup that grows kelp offshore and processes it into biodegradable polymers that can replace conventional plastic in packaging and textiles. As of July 2026, Seacell just announced a 10,000-ton annual production facility in Maine, backed by $85 million in Series B funding. We explore how the company's proprietary fermentation method converts alginate into a plastic-like material that decomposes in soil within a year. We also discuss the economics: at scale, Seacell's bioplastic costs about $1.20 per pound, versus $0.80 for petroleum plastic — but carbon taxes and corporate sustainability pledges are closing the gap. The episode examines the challenges of ocean farming at industrial scale, competition from other bioplastic feedstocks like corn, and the potential for seaweed to sequester carbon while displacing fossil-based materials. Luna questions whether the carbon footprint of ocean transport and processing undermines the climate benefit. Lucas explains how Seacell's life-cycle analysis shows net-negative emissions when factoring in kelp's growth rate and carbon storage in the ocean floor. A timely look at a material solution that sits at the intersection of climate tech, materials science, and aquaculture.

#ClimateTech #Business #Technology #Seaweed #Bioplastics #Sustainability #Decarbonization #OceanSolutions #CircularEconomy #MaterialsScience #Startups #Investment #CarbonRemoval #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Episode138 #PlasticPollution #Biodegradable

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On July 29, 2026, the EPA finalized new rules requiring oil and gas operators to monitor methane leaks at least monthly using advanced detection methods. That regulatory push is fueling a surge of startups using AI and satellite imagery to spot methane plumes from space. Lucas and Luna dive into the technology behind companies like GHGSat and Kairos Aerospace, which can pinpoint leaks smaller than a car tire from hundreds of miles up. They discuss how these systems combine hyperspectral sensors with machine learning to calculate emission rates, how the data is used for compliance and voluntary ESG reporting, and why the global methane monitoring market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2030. The conversation also touches on the economics: methane capture can pay for itself when sold as natural gas, but the real value for operators is avoiding fines and reputational damage. If these conversations are useful for what you're building or running, this episode is a concrete look at how regulation and technology are converging to tackle the second most potent greenhouse gas.

#ClimateTech #Business #Technology #Methane #Satellites #AI #OilAndGas #Regulation #Startups #Environmental #Decarbonization #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Sustainability #Energy #EmissionsMonitoring #SpaceTech #ESG

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Most carbon removal startups focus on the air — but the ocean holds 50 times more CO2 than the atmosphere. This episode explores a new wave of companies, including Captura, Ebb Carbon, and Planetary Technologies, that are using electrochemistry to extract dissolved CO2 directly from seawater. Lucas and Luna break down how the technology works, why it could also reverse ocean acidification, and the challenge of scaling from pilot plants to megatons. They also compare costs with direct air capture and ask whether the ocean can become a giant carbon sponge fast enough to matter.

#CarbonRemoval #OceanCarbon #ClimateTech #Startups #Captura #EbbCarbon #PlanetaryTechnologies #Electrochemistry #CarbonDioxide #OceanAcidification #DirectOceanCapture #Sustainability #Decarbonization #CleanTech #EnergyTransition #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Technology

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