Another ClimateTech Podcast

It’s the holidays and, in the spirit of sharing, I swapped episodes with Tarmo Virki, founder and host of NatureBacked podcast in Tallinn. I’m airing one of my favourite of his interviews: his conversation with Jana Budkovskaja, CEO of Beamline Acccelerator. They talked about: 🌲 Jana's evolution from aspiring panda-rescuer to cleantech accelerator founder 🔬 Why deep tech startups need non-equity funding in their early stages to bridge the gap between lab and market ♨️ An innovative project using abandoned mines for low-temperature heating systems in the Estonian village of Kiikla 🚀 Why startups, not governments or corporations, are best positioned to drive climate innovation #climatetech #cleantech #deeptech #baltics

Matthew Krayton is Executive Director of MACH2, the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub. As someone who both works in-depth on the policy side but who is also focused on execution, Matt is working to establish regional clean hydrogen hubs across several states. 🇺🇸 In this episode we talked about: 🏭 How the Mid-Atlantic region's existing industrial infrastructure, including unused pipelines, could be repurposed for hydrogen transport 💼 The hub's goal to create over 20,000 new jobs, many of them union positions, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 million tons annually 🌊 The critical role of renewable energy development, particularly offshore wind, in scaling clean hydrogen production ⚡ The importance of IRA tax credits in making clean hydrogen economically viable at scale #CleanHydrogen #CleanTech #ClimateTech #Hydrogen

Andreas Sedlmayr is co-founder and co-CEO of Instagrid, makers of portable power stations for mobile workforces with heavy power needs. His company has grown from €500k to €30M+ in revenue and recently achieved B Corp certification while expanding into North America. In this episode we talked about: ☠️ Why diesel and gas generators are silent killers 🇩🇪 What it means to revive Germany’s strong tradition of industrial innovation 🇺🇸 Why hiring local leadership was crucial for US expansion and how cultural nuances matter more than you might think 💼 How to expand smartly after raising $95 million 🌱 Why achieving B Corp certification was important to prove their commitment to social and environmental best practices #climatetech #cleanenergy #sustainabletech #batteries

Rob van Straten is CEO of Skytree, a direct air capture company addressing CO2 shortages while removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. His company works with greenhouses in the Netherlands and North America to capture and utilize CO2 on-site. In this episode we talked about: 🌱 How Skytree's direct air capture technology helps greenhouses meet their CO2 needs while contributing to carbon removal 🏗️ The challenge of scaling DAC to gigaton levels - requiring 300 container ships worth of units with current technology 💰 Why carbon removal is already economically viable, but needs a wider cost gap with emissions to drive adoption 🌎 The reality that climate change threatens humanity more than the planet itself, which has survived previous climate disasters #climatetech #directaircapture #carboncapture

"I was sitting at a cafe in Prague with my headphones on and just laughing like a crazy person." -Ryan, watching Matt’s TEDx talk. Matt Winning is an environmental researcher and stand-up comedian who combines his expertise in climate change with humor to engage audiences. In this episode we talked about: 🌍 How climate change became Matt's focus due to its urgency and lack of widespread attention 🎭 Using comedy as a tool to start conversations about climate change and make people comfortable discussing the topic 📚 Matt's book "Hot Mess" and its portrayal of climate action as a choose-your-own-adventure 🔬 The importance of active decision-making in addressing climate change at all levels 🎤 Matt's upcoming projects, including a new comedy show and a children's book about climate change #Standup #Comedy #Climate #ClimateTech

Yossi Quint is the founder and CEO of Ark Biotech, a startup focused on computational bioprocessing in the cultivated meat industry. In this episode we talked about: 🧬 Ark's role in accelerating the development of cultivated meat products 🏭 How the bioeconomy could reshape traditional geographic advantages in food production 🌍 The global landscape of cultivated meat regulation and its impact on industry growth 🇺🇸 The potential consequences of state-level bans on cultivated meat in the US 💼 The decision to pursue entrepreneurship over activism for maximum impact #CultivatedMeat #CleanMeat #AltProteins #BioProcessing #ClimateTech

Jessica Droujko is a passionate kayaker and lover of rivers. So it’s fitting that she should combine that passion and her PhD from ETH Zürich to launch Riverkin, a startup that monitors river health. In this episode we talked about: 🌊 How rivers shape landscapes and their importance in global ecosystems 🔬 How Riverkin monitors water levels and sediment flows 🏞️ Jessica's adventures on some of the world's most interesting rivers, including the Boiling River in Peru 🚣‍♀️ The balance between responsible tourism and river conservation. Think: Grand Canyon 🌍 The River Collective's mission to create changemakers through events like the Students for Rivers camp 🔌 Opportunities for citizen science in river monitoring through mini hydrological stations #ClimateTech #Rivers #Water

Max Boykoff is a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado. His research focuses on the cultural dimensions of climate change, with a particular interest in how media and various stakeholders communicate about the issue. In this episode we talked about: ☯️ How firsthand experiences of climate events can contrast with media coverage 🎭 The power of comedy in connecting people to climate change information and ideas 🌏 Cultural perspectives on climate change ranging from Singapore and Jerusalem 🎬 The climate-themed standup comedy video competition he runs 👥 His excitement around younger generations' engagement with climate issues #ClimateComedy #ClimateEducation #ClimateTech More: Climate comedy work from Inside the Greenhouse at CU Boulder The 10th annual climate comedy video competition The Media and Climate Change Observatory

Marissa Beatty is the co-founder and CEO of Turnover Labs, a startup developing technology to convert CO2 into valuable chemicals. With a background in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. from Columbia University, Marissa is tackling the challenge of carbon utilization in the petrochemical industry. In this episode we talked about: 🧪 Turnover Labs' approach to converting CO2 into useful chemical building blocks 💼 The challenges and opportunities for female founders in the climate tech space 💰 How Marissa secured backing from notable climate tech investors for her pre-seed round 🔬 The importance of corporate partnerships in developing and scaling carbon utilization technologies 🎯 Turnover Labs' strategy for narrowing their focus and identifying potential customers 🤝 Why I’m missing out by not going to Climate Week NYC #CarbonUtilization #CleanChemistry #ClimateTech #netzero

Jessica Burley is an investor at Planet A Ventures, a €160 million fund pioneering a science-based approach to venture capital. Jessica is passionate about impact measurement and, as she says: "If there's not a significant positive environmental impact, the deal is off.” In this episode we talked about: 🔬 Planet A Ventures' use of life cycle assessments to evaluate potential investments 🚫 The fund's in-house science team's veto power on deals lacking significant environmental impact 🤝 Collaboration with Speedinvest and Norrsken VC to create a climate hardware playbook 📊 The importance of impact measurement for businesses to demonstrate sustainability claims 🌡️ How climate risk is increasingly becoming a business risk 🚀 Her optimism in climate tech thanks to transformative technologies and dedicated talent #VC #Hardware #Sustainability #Investing #ClimateTech

I spoke with WebMD co-founder and veteran VC Kittu Kolluri of Neotribe Ventures to talk about what he’s investing in, the importance of board governance, and what active investing actually means. We touched on: 🐉 The potential of technologies like hydrogen, ammonia synthesis, and cold fusion 💼 The role of boards in ensuring good governance and avoiding conflicts of interest 📈 What software VCs need to do to become hardware investors 🤝 The importance of active investing and the value it brings to young entrepreneurs #climatetech #venturecapital #governance

Aneta Londa is the founder of Moonshot Pirates, an organization that empowers young changemakers to tackle global challenges. In this episode, Aneta is joined by Annie Zountsa and Elanu Karakus, winners of the Shape the Future Challenge, to discuss their innovative project AEIFLORIA and the impact of youth-driven initiatives. We talked about: 🏴‍☠️ How Moonshot Pirates teaches Gen Z to fight climate change through innovation 🏆 How four teenagers found a way to help bees find flowers with AEIFLORIA 🔮 How Moonshot Pirates is going to get involved in the future of food, and how you can help 👭 What it’s going to be like for four founders to meet for the very first time in person #MoonshotPirates #climatetech #YouthInnovation

I spoke with Alex Ivanenko, the founder of HyWatts, about building “power plants in a box” and about why, after selling a company for more than $100 million, he started another one right away. In this episode we talked about: 👉 Why traditional power generation philosophies don’t work for renewables 🔋 The high costs of transmission and distribution in the energy grid 💡 The potential for distributed energy solutions in reducing blackouts and fires 🚗 Why EV charging stations are the fastest path to commercialization for startups 📈 The implications of subsidies and regulations on the renewable energy market #climatetech #renewableenergy #EVcharging

Marco Möller is a computer scientist, physicist, and serial entrepreneur. He’s passionate about electrical transportation and recently turned his attention to open sourcing the world of EV charging. In this episode we talked about: 🔋 The company Marco sold to Intel and its impact on climate change through drone technology 🚗 The current state of the EV market in Europe, including growth and price trends 🔌 Common concerns about switching to electric cars and how to address them ⚙️ Marco's new company Pionix and its open-source EV-charger operating system, Base Camp 💼 The stakeholders involved in the EV charging space and the role of collaboration 🕵️‍♂️ Resistance to open-sourcing EV charging and the industries' changing perspectives on open source #climatetech #EVcharging #opensource

Sebastian Pohlmann is VP of Business Development at UpCatalyst, which makes carbon nanotubes and graphite from CO2. They are literally taking one of the world’s most problematic waste streams and turning it into one of the most desperately-needed materials. In this episode we talked about: 🔋 The carbon footprint of producing graphite for lithium-ion batteries 🌍 Innovative approaches to sourcing CO2 for industrial processes 🚗 The emerging market for sodium-ion batteries and their benefits over lithium-ion batteries 🏗️ How carbon nanotubes can reinforce concrete and reduce overall emissions 🤝 The role of academia in validating and advancing climate tech innovations #climatetech #carbonnanotubes #sustainability

This is a topic I’ve wanted to talk about on the podcast for the whole last year. 🌟 Juraj Krivošík is the Executive Director at SEVEn, The Energy Efficiency Center, in Prague. He’s also in my opinion one of the leading voices on how energy and infrastructure have been affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its broader implications today and in the future. In this episode, we talked about: 🇺🇦 The impact of the Ukraine war on CO2 emissions and biodiversity loss 🏢 The role of energy security in shaping climate policies in Europe 🪖 The importance of supporting Ukraine to ensure global climate protection ⚡ The unintended push towards renewable energy due to rising energy prices 🔋 The challenges of measuring and promoting energy efficiency compared to new energy sources #climatetech #energysecurity #renewableenergy #ukraine

Who needs a cow to make leather when you've got beer? Brett Cotten is co-founder of London-based Arda Biomaterials and in this episode we talked about: 🐄 The problems of the traditional leather industry 👜 New Grain, Arda's sustainable leather alternative 🍺 Creating local supply chains by co-locating with breweries and distilleries around the world 🎡 The synthetic biology scene in London, and how the UK is investing heavily into biotech and material science #leather #climatetech #beer #spentgrain #synbio #syntheticbiology

Lisett Luik is co-founder of Arbonics, an Estonian company that believes forests have been undervalued for far too long and is seeking to rememdy that. In this episode we talked about: 🌳 How Arbonics is making forests a climate asset rather than just a source of timber 🕵️ The detective work involved in ensuring carbon offsetting projects are the real deal 🌍 Lisett's journey into climate tech entrepreneurship and her advice for others looking to make the switch 🇪🇪 The entrepreneurial culture in Estonia, and the influence of long, dark winters 👅 Her translation of Keith Richards' autobiography into Estonian #climatetech #carbonoffsetting #carboncredits #forests

To celebrate the launch of their new facility this week, I spoke with Yonatan Golan, co-founder of Brevel. Brevel makes possibly the most sustainable protein in the world through a process that speeds up microalgae production 100x. We talked about: 👻 The concept of 'ghost protein' 🚀 How fermentation x photosynthesis = efficiency revolution 🥛 Why dairy is a good starting place 🏗️ Their new facility #climatetech #sustainablefood #alternativeprotein

Meet Maxime Meijers, co-founder of Estuaire, a company that is working across the aviation industry to reduce its climate effects. In this episode we talked about: 🛩️ The often overlooked impact of contrails on our climate and how their strategic mitigation can put a dent in aviation's climate footprint 💰 The power and influence of aviation finance in shaping the sector's environmental trajectory 🚀 The growth trajectory and ambitions of Estuaire as they seek to assemble a dream team in the intersection of aviation and sustainability #ClimateTech #AviationInnovation #Flying #Aviation