The ZENERGY Podcast: Energy Leadership, Finance, and Technology

Getting to zero by 2050 might be the most difficult challenge humanity has ever taken on. That’s because nearly everything we do in our daily lives contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, from how we plug in to how we grow things, make things, get around, and stay cool and warm.

Breakthrough Energy is committed to supporting new technologies that change the way we live, eat, work, travel, and make things so we can avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change.

Aliya Haq leads the team at Breakthrough Energy that advocates for an ambitious climate and clean energy policy agenda in the U.S., with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. She manages the development of policy ideas and frameworks across multiple sectors to speed up innovation and create demand for clean technology deployment. She also oversees multiple strategies to advance Breakthrough Energy’s policy goals, including coalition building, policymaker education, political engagement, and policy communications.

Show Notes:

[1:29] - Aliya describes her current role at Breakthrough Energy and what the organization’s mission is.

[2:44] - Breakthrough Energy has several projects but Aliya says one of the current exemplary endeavors is in industrial decarbonization.

[4:49] - We need to build clean energy as quickly as possible. This won’t happen with private or public investment alone. They have to work together.

[6:24] - One outside voice is not meaningful to the government. Breakthrough Energy develops relationships with organizations to make sure all voices are elevated.

[8:33] - Aliya discusses current federal funding and political risk.

[11:27] - Assume things are going to stay the same and continue to invest.

[14:01] - Aliya shares her background and why she was driven to work in climate.

[17:01] - Don’t wait for instructions all the time. Identify what needs to be figured out and suggest ways to tackle the problem.

Links and Resources:

Greater New Orleans, Inc. is the regional economic development nonprofit organization serving the 10-parish region of Southeast Louisiana. Their mission is to create a region with a thriving economy and an excellent quality of life, for everyone. The ultimate indication of their success will be the presence of a robust, accessible, and growing middle class in Southeast Louisiana where our children and grandchildren can live and prosper.

GNO, Inc. works together with the business community; local, state, and federal governments; and other regional stakeholders to coordinate, consolidate, and catalyze action on key issues and opportunities that maximize job and wealth creation and retention, are relevant to the region as a whole, and create systematic impact.

Cameron Poole joins the Zenergy Podcast today as an Energy & Innovation Associate with GNO. He is passionate about working with organizations and individuals striving towards a “brighter future for all” through inventive collaborations, and those who advocate for their governing bodies to pursue inclusive and sustainable opportunities.

[1:16] - Cameron shares his background and what inspired him to become involved in climate.

[2:59] - He describes a current and exciting initiative that GNO is dedicating focus on.

[4:39] - They are working on further development of hydrogen while leveraging offshore wind.

[7:55] - Are there customers in the region that GNO works in?

[9:05] - Louisiana is very interested in being a state leader and not relying on federal auctions and the federal government’s pace.

[12:07] - What is the political landscape in Louisiana that impacts this work?

[14:56] - Cameron shares his advice for those who are interested and looking into entering this career field.

Greater New Orleans, Inc. is the regional economic development nonprofit organization serving the 10-parish region of Southeast Louisiana. Their mission is to create a region with a thriving economy and an excellent quality of life, for everyone. The ultimate indication of their success will be the presence of a robust, accessible, and growing middle class in Southeast Louisiana where our children and grandchildren can live and prosper.

GNO, Inc. works together with the business community; local, state, and federal governments; and other regional stakeholders to coordinate, consolidate, and catalyze action on key issues and opportunities that maximize job and wealth creation and retention, are relevant to the region as a whole, and create systematic impact.

Cameron Poole joins the Zenergy Podcast today as an Energy & Innovation Associate with GNO. He is passionate about working with organizations and individuals striving towards a “brighter future for all” through inventive collaborations, and those who advocate for their governing bodies to pursue inclusive and sustainable opportunities.

[1:16] - Cameron shares his background and what inspired him to become involved in climate.

[2:59] - He describes a current and exciting initiative that GNO is dedicating focus on.

[4:39] - They are working on further development of hydrogen while leveraging offshore wind.

[7:55] - Are there customers in the region that GNO works in?

[9:05] - Louisiana is very interested in being a state leader and not relying on federal auctions and the federal government’s pace.

[12:07] - What is the political landscape in Louisiana that impacts this work?

[14:56] - Cameron shares his advice for those who are interested and looking into entering this career field.

Ari Matusiak is the CEO of Rewiring America. He is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Purpose Venture Group, a social impact incubator building ventures to address climate and economic inequality.

He served in the Obama White House as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Private Sector Engagement, where he focused on economic policy related to jobs and competitiveness and oversaw the Administration’s relationship with the private sector. Ari was Chief Strategy Officer at Renovate America, which was the largest residential renewable energy and financing platform in the U.S., financing $3.5 billion of improvements across 150,000 homes. He is Co-Founder of Young Invincibles, a nonprofit delivering economic opportunity to young adults.

In our conversation today, Ari describes encouraging market trendlines and the work Rewiring America is doing to increase awareness and education.

Show Notes:

[1:42] - Ari shares the founding story of Rewiring America and the inspiration he has found to focus his work on climate.

[3:49] - 42% of emissions are tied to decisions people make around their kitchen tables.

[5:57] - Ari describes some of the early conversations when determining the mission and vision of Rewiring America.

[7:55] - It is complicated for people to figure out what to do and the steps to take in their homes.

[9:59] - Aggregating demand in the local market is an important part of shifting the market.

[11:36] - What successful strategies have they employed to aggregate demand in local markets?

[13:44] - Rewiring America has been training Electric Coaches to guide people through what they can do in their homes.

[16:23] - The cost of solar has declined significantly, but the United States has the most expensive solar energy.

[17:40] - The market trend lines are encouraging but in order to keep up with what we need to do from a climate perspective, it's not fast enough.

[20:14] - We need to take the policies we currently have and lean into them.

[21:47] - How will the upcoming election impact current policies and the trendline?

[24:22] - The better we are at getting the benefits out to people, the better we will be at addressing the climate crisis.

Links and Resources:

Because buildings run on guesswork, and energy analysis is hard, there is so much waste. While buildings themselves and the complexity of their electrical load have significantly changed over the past two decades, the tools and processes to manage them haven't evolved to keep up.

Verdigris has developed advanced sensor technology that can be quickly and easily installed into any building’s electrical panels to get granular data down to the circuit level. Their proprietary AI algorithms enrich the data streams, and analytics reveal clear actions to take to increase the efficiency and reliability of the electrically-run equipment in the building. Adaptive automation takes those insights one step further, saving money effortlessly.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Mark Chung, Co-Founder and CEO of Verdigris. Mark is a seasoned engineer with more than 25 years of experience. In his career, Mark has served as principal engineer at a number of famed Silicon Valley startups including NexGen, Pasemi, RMI, and NetLogic. Mark has also co-developed some of the world’s most successful chips such as Opteron, XLP, and A7, among others. Mark is an advisor to several startups and was recognized as one of the “40 under 40” in 2017 by Silicon Valley Business Journal. Mark holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Show Notes:

[1:13] - Mark shares the inspiration for founding Verdigris and the mission behind his work.

[2:48] - Verdigris is a leader in AI based energy management. Mark explains what that means and what sets the company apart.

[4:19] - Verdigris has the most sophisticated enterprise quality tools.

[5:41] - Algorithms improve as you provide more and more data. This led Verdigris, in the early days, to race to this network effect more quickly.

[8:22] - One of the biggest challenges a business faces is managing the reliability of their electrical data and making sure it is reliable, accessible, and accurate.

[10:32] - Mark explains the trend around data centers and cryptocurrency driving demand.

[12:42] - There’s a growing awareness around two particular things that make huge differences on carbon impact.

[14:30] - We’re starting to see the benefit of scaled data and transforming an environment.

[15:51] - We need to grow the capability of business processes and electricity footprint in a way that becomes carbon-neutral.

[17:40] - Mark discusses some of the valuable lessons he learned from his time as an engineer that he was able to take with him as an entrepreneur in this space.

Links and Resources:

Valerie Shen is Partner and Chief Operating Officer at G2 Venture Partners. She oversees all operational aspects of the firm and fund including fundraising / LP relations, recruiting / HR, fund administration, impact reporting, legal, compliance, and marketing.

Prior to business school, Valerie was an analyst at Kleiner Perkins’ $1B Green Growth Fund, where she helped the team found G2. Before that, Valerie was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she worked across four continents, primarily on energy projects. She has also held positions at the U.S. Senate, X (Google’s “moonshot factory”), Goldman Sachs, Jane Street Capital, and The Wilderness Society.

G2 Partners helps founders envision a more sustainable world by enabling them to unlock the full potential of transformative technology in traditional industries. They strive to be an enduring partner, offering insight and intelligence to help teams navigate complexity and make the right decisions. Their deep sector expertise and years of climate tech experience supports ambitious goals and groundbreaking actions.

In our conversation today, Valerie guides us through understanding what G2 is all about and how their unique team, culture, tools, and processes set them apart.

Show Notes:

[1:24] - Valerie shares her background, why she focuses her work on climate, and how she found herself as COO at G2 Venture Partners.

[4:16] - She describes her role and what a typical day looks like for her at such an impactful fund.

[6:37] - Valerie explains what G2 looks for when investing.

[8:30] - What can make a startup positioned well for G2 to invest in?

[10:29] - The team, culture, tools, and processes are the four aspects of the work done at G2. Valerie describes the team and how unique their approach is.

[13:32] - At G2, the team communicates at many different stages in the process.

[16:09] - Sourcing is an integral part of the diligence process. Valerie walks us through how sourcing plays out in practice.

[18:59] - A lot of relationship-building goes into this process and how the firm collaborates and communicates to build a network.

[20:09] - Valerie shares some key criteria and trends that G2 looks for when evaluating potential investments.

[22:36] - She describes recent investments that showcase what makes a startup stand out.

[25:07] - What challenges are faced during this process?

[26:47] - G2 likes to lead the deal. Valerie explains their communications, particularly during board meetings, with companies.

[28:48] - Trends are suggesting that something important to watch is the policy landscape.

Links and Resources:

The science is clear: to avoid the worst impact of climate change, it won’t be enough to just reduce emissions. We’ll also need to permanently remove gigatons of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere and ocean. A wide range of technologies could deliver permanent and measurable carbon removal, from enhanced weathering to biomass carbon removal and storage to direct air capture. And today’s guest joins us today to talk about the promise of the carbon removal industry.

Giana Amador is one of the foremost thinkers on carbon removal and co-founded the first dedicated carbon removal organization, Carbon180, in 2015. At Carbon180, Giana wore many hats — from guiding the team’s strategy and communications to ultimately leading its policy program. During her time as policy director, Giana advocated for landmark carbon removal policies, including the $3.5 billion for direct air capture hubs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the first-ever dedicated carbon removal research program in the Energy Act of 2020. Giana has provided testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee and advised presidential campaigns on carbon removal priorities. Her past research focused on the political economy of renewable energy, with an emphasis on green industrial policy and coalition building.

Giana’s vision is to develop a carbon removal industry that is good for the climate, economy, and community. Carbon removal has the potential to become a massive industry and we can develop that in ways that can help communities, create economic opportunities, and help make our air and water cleaner. How do we ensure that the carbon removal industry scales rapidly with the urgency of the climate crisis, but also in a really high quality way? 

Show Notes:

[1:31] - Giana got into the carbon removal space in 2015 and she explains why.

[2:42] - The United States federal government has a lot of great tools to develop technologies that Giana was able to use after founding Carbon 180.

[4:03] - Giana shares the policies and incentives that have kickstarted the carbon removal field.

[5:55] - One thing that makes carbon removal unique is that there is no pre-existing market or customer for this solution.

[6:50] - Policy is a powerful tool to help with the market barrier.

[9:07] - There is a learning curve involved, especially when it comes to cost.

[11:39] - A lot of companies are starting to see, in addition to climate benefits, the non-carbon economic and community benefits.

[12:54] - The first generation of carbon removal policies were not written for scale.

[14:56] - Giana shares some goals in carbon removal and some of the challenges the Carbon Removal Alliance has in reaching them.

[16:32] - The Carbon Removal Alliances has a set of standards to ensure high quality while the industry scales rapidly.

Links and Resources:

Julia Souder, the Chair of Global Renewables Alliance and CEO of LDES (Long Duration Energy Storage) Council, joins the Zenergy Podcast today for a really interesting conversation about renewable integration, as well as what LDES is and its impacts.

Julia has over 22 years of strategic experience in the energy and environmental sectors. She has been a longtime advocate of clean energy technology, working extensively to support environmentally friendly technologies and equitable policies. Previously she held executive positions at the LDES Association of California, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Clean Line Energy Partners, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and as a Founder at JAS Energies LLC.

The LDES Council’s mission is to replace the use of fossil fuels to meet peak demand by accelerating the market for long duration energy storage. This will cut global emissions and ensure flexibility in electricity supply, while providing flexible, affordable, reliable, and resilient clean energy solutions. The LDES Council’s industry experts provide fact-based guidance to governments and grid operators in the deployment of long duration energy storage to help achieve net zero for electric grids by 2040. The LDES Council provides education and advocacy services to help advance the adoption of long duration energy storage and accelerate carbon neutrality. The LDES Council covers a wide range of LDES technologies and its members span a wide spectrum of innovation, including mechanical, thermal, electrochemical and chemical solutions.

Show Notes:

[1:33] - Julia shares her background and the key highlights of her career that led her to where she is as CEO of LDES Council.

[5:02] - Storage is so critical to hold these renewables.

[6:17] - Be curious about the things that affect the process. This increases your skillset and gives you a big-picture perspective.

[9:07] - Julia explains that a lot of these technologies have existed for a long time, but storage needs to be scalable.

[10:45] - Julia breaks down the cost with LDES and how they are addressing scale.

[11:59] - What are the savings benefits and how does long duration energy storage work?

[14:04] - There has been an increase in support for LDES to address resiliency.

[15:19] - This is a global initiative with regional and local impacts.

[17:08] - LDES Council is working with partners to show countries how to make this more effective and efficient.

[18:47] - When it comes to working with policymakers and stakeholders, there are a variety of challenges.

[21:38] - Julia shares the goals for LDES by 2040.

[22:44] - There are a lot of growth opportunities in LDES and you can learn more about them on the LDES Council website.

Links and Resources:

Welcome to an eye-opening episode where we explore the cutting-edge world of manufacturing carbon-negative materials and products using biochar. Our guest today is Allison Dring, the CEO and co-founder of Made of Air, a company dedicated to revolutionizing the building materials industry with sustainable solutions.

Allison, a trained architect with a passion for environmental sustainability, shares the journey behind Made of Air's inception and its mission to address the carbon footprint associated with traditional building materials. Through innovative processes like biochar production, Made of Air is leading the charge in the carbon removal industry, striving to achieve negative emissions and combat climate change.

In this conversation, we delve into the biochar process, Made of Air's business model that prioritizes the planet as a stakeholder, and their pioneering efforts in creating facade panels and integrating biochar into production. Allison also sheds light on the reception of biochar among industries, the practicality of transitioning to sustainable materials, and the entrepreneurial challenges and triumphs in this space.

Show Notes:

[1:42] - Allison is a trained architect but never entered the profession. Most of her career has been focused on considering environmental problems in building products.

[4:01] - The inspiration for Made of Air came from paying attention to manufacturers and the carbon footprint attached to materials.

[6:09] - The carbon removal industry is about creating negative emissions.

[7:24] - Allison explains the biochar process.

[11:22] - The system was great, but they realized that they were missing the disruption of the existing system.

[13:12] - Made of Air produces a ton of biochar. Allison shares the business model as using the planet as a stakeholder.

[15:18] - Allison describes the next step in creating facade panels and using biochar in production.

[18:37] - Are companies receptive and open to materials like biochar? Made of Air has great partners in varying types of industries.

[20:46] - Most companies don’t know about biochar and Made of Air can speak to them practically about the materials they’re currently using and the possibilities of biochar.

[22:26] - Allison explains the product economics.

[25:12] - Allison describes what it has been like as an entrepreneur in this space.

Links and Resources:

Douglas J. Arent is the Executive Director of Strategic Public-Private Partnerships at the National Renewable Energy Labratory. Doug Arent focuses on strategic public and private partnerships with NREL to transform energy economies at speed and scale across the globe. Dr. Arent has worked in research on energy and sustainability for more than 30 years, publishing extensively on topics including clean energy, renewable energy, power systems, natural gas, and the intersection of science and public policy.

The Zenergy Podcast interviews global climate leaders with prior guests including the founders of some of the world's largest renewable energy and electric vehicle companies including founders of SoftBank Energy, Azure Power, Ola Electric, and SunEdison. These conversations share industry developments, highlight clean tech investment opportunities, and shed light on how young professionals can increase their chances of employment in this fastly growing sector. We also discuss the energy transition across key emerging markets like India, and explore partnership opportunities for US companies.