WattPod

@Assaad Razzouk is a high-profile thought leader on climate change and clean energy. He is perhaps best known as the “@Angry Clean Energy Guy” with his regular podcast covering all the topics that anger him on our transition to a cleaner future. Today, Assaad is the CEO @Gurin Energy - Developers, Owners, and Operators/Asset Managers who deploy solar, wind and storage solutions at scale. He is also the Founder @Reneum Institute - a marketplace to provide capital to renewable energy projects and incentivize new renewable development. In today's episode we cover Assaad's 20+ years in renewables, the urgent need to price environmental destruction and how blockchain technology is supporting the expansion of climate solutions.

Did you hear the story of the serial clean-tech entrepreneur who sold his successful energy technology company to Shell and started a battery network company in Africa to change the way energy is distributed and delivered to customers? Well, that's the story of @Erik Nygard, our next guest on the @Watt Pod.

Having exited @Limejump, following its sale to @Shell, Erik is currently plowing all his time and resources into urban energy access in Africa using portable batteries. @Kofa is the brainchild - a swappable battery platform that's delivering clean energy and zero emissions starting with their motorcycles designed specifically for Africa, but also for other use cases such as backup power or energy where no socket is available

"KlimaDAO has arguably been one of the most impactful and disruptive innovations in carbon markets to date. In the last 6 months, KlimaDAO has incentivised around 25% (worth approximately $250M) of the carbon credits certified by Verra during the period to be bridged onto the blockchain. Today, we hear about the story behind KlimaDAO from one of its founders, 0xymoron.

0xymoron is an environmental scientist and renewable energy professional. He has designed sustainable energy policy, performed energy consulting and lobbying as well as worked in academia. Today he finds himself at the vanguard of the intersection of crypto and climate."

"Impact lives in any company". Nancy Pfund is the original impact investor. As the Founder and Managing Partner of DBL Partners she has led the field of impact investing for almost 20 years showing that it is possible to achieve both purpose and profits. She has sat on the board of or overseen investments in some legendary companies such as @Tesla, @SolarCity and @FBNFarmers. Today, DBL Partners works with companies as diverse as @ZolaElectric, @Andela, @SpaceX, @Spatialinc, and @DroneSeed. We discuss double bottom line investing, how this leads to superior returns and the fallacy of sacrificing returns for impact.

"You just get different challenges, not fewer of them". Jaap van Dijk, the Co-Founder and CEO of @greenatlas.earth lays out what its like being an early-stage climate-tech founder. We chat about leaving behind a successful career at @Citi heading both power trading and environmental products trading desks. What were the opportunities and risks he saw jumping into entrepreneurship and what drove him to focus his life on the energy transition. We discuss investors and accelerators such as @ImpactCity @Startupbootcamp of which greenatlas.earth is taking part on their journey to getting first customers.

greenatlas.earth is Europe’s first dedicated marketplace and analytics platform for early-stage renewable energy projects. greenatlas.earth maps sites, analyzes their potential and helps site owners connect with project developers, financiers and other key stakeholders to kick-start their renewable energy projects.

Accurassi is a B2B2C Saas platform for energy retail customer acquisition and management. Ross Sharman and Colin Fraser are disrupting the energy retail market by helping retailers offer hyper-personalised energy plans to customers. We cover the disruption of energy markets, the future of the energy transition and the difficulty of having households care about their energy use. Ross also provides his input on the recent investment by @1Bill in Accurassi and how the founder friendly terms and revenue based debt financing model offered by Tractor Ventures were more appropriate than equity from a traditional VC.

https://www.accurassi.com/

https://www.tractorventures.com/

Mick Liubinskas is one of Australia’s leading climate tech investors. He has invested in and advised hundreds of startups and is a Co-Founder of @Climate Salad which is helping to build climate-focused startups and get the world beyond net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. He is well placed to give us investor insights into the energy transition and climate tech investments.

We cover a lot of ground including companies and investors in this space who Micks work with @Startmate, @Energy Lab, @Tenacious Ventures, @Floodmap, @Cecil, @BCG Ventures, @Australian Investment Commission, @Fable, @Goterra, @Ripe Robotics, @Village Energy, @Beyond Zero Emissions, @Alan Jones, @Rachel Neumann @Phil Morle

As an ex-trader I have a particular fondness for optionality - the right but not the obligation to buy or sell. It's something that really lights the neurons up as it is usually where the money is to be found. Today we dive right into why the optionality of a battery is so impactful with Steven Meersman, Founder Director @ Zenobē, EV fleet and battery storage specialists. Along the way we discuss the team's ambitious plans to double capacity under management every year (from 180MW to 300MW's and from 400 to >800 e-buses this year), how they are working towards a circular economy and the journey they have taken from the first 4 x 1MW asset purchase. We also hear how Zenobe has grown with the support of financing pioneers such as Al Gore's Generation Investment Management and now more traditional banks such as Santander. Steven explains to us why big is beautiful for batteries which are increasingly taking up the task of firming the grid and easing transmission choke points as fossil electricity generation dies away.

“Renewables are prisoners of time and geography”. How do we create degrees of freedom for renewable energy assets by pairing them with onsite bitcoin mining? How can bitcoin mining help the solar and wind industry to break their race to the bottom and improve returns for renewable asset owners and operators. What are the benefits of flexible loads and how are Bitcoin miners supporting the Texas grid through another winter storm? Why is bitcoin “energy backed money” and how do the laws of thermodynamics apply to the security of bitcoin mining? Is Bitcoin the Global New Green Deal?

Listen in as Ali Chehrehsaz and Nima Tabatabai, Co-Founders @ Optimize Infrastructure explain how their software is supporting a world of energy abundance and greater penetration of intermittent renewable generation. We discuss if Bitcoin mining can speed up the energy transition and energy access for all by providing a buyer of last resort. Can Bitcoin mining kickstart energy infrastructure and help to overcome the challenges of grid expansion and congestion?

Share your thoughts

Coinshares report on bitcoin network carbon & energyhttps://coinshares.com/research/bitcoin-mining-network-2022

Bitcoin Mining Council Q4 report: https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022.01.18-BMC-Q4-2021.pdf

Video of the Q4 Bitcoin Mining Council update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZP3aXUnEoo

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/03/winter-storm-descends-on-texas-bitcoin-miners-shut-off-to-protect-ercot.html