Nick chats with Mike Lazelle and Dr Rob Turner, co-founders of Kwetta , to discuss their groundbreaking approach to electrifying heavy vehicles. Kwetta has just raised ~$17 million AUD in Series A funding from the likes of Blackbird and Virescent Ventures to address the “grid issue” for EV charging. And they’ve given us a podcast exclusive! Their innovative chargers connect directly to the high-voltage grid, providing up to 10 times more power, cutting installation times by up to 70%, and avoidi...
Jan 27, 2025•51 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Nick and producer-turned-”shark” Mark hear pitches from ten up and coming Australian climate startups! Our third annual pitch episode with some incredible ~seed stage startups in the latest cohort from EnergyLab - Australia’s leading climate accelerator. Previous guests on the Pitchfest and podcast have gone on to raise hundreds of millions in capital (you can review these here ), so let's dive in to the latest group! You can also watch on YouTube here . The lineup: (02:16) Stralis Aircraft - Hy...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Nick chats to Simon Holmes à Court about nuclear energy in Australia. “When are you covering nuclear?” is one of the most common questions we’ve received from APC listeners. So we finally went there. And it was great to have Simon on to explore it all before we go back to our startup roots next episode with our THIRD pitch fest. (00:00) Intro (03:55) What people get wrong about nuclear (05:38) Simon’s background (07:27) Global Nuclear Energy Landscape (15:03) Safety Concerns (20:23) Waste (26:10...
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Nick chats to Tim Washington from JET Charge about using electric vehicles as batteries for our homes. Vehicle to grid technology could transform not one but *two* trillion dollar industries in energy and transport. All while paving the way to materially reduce carbon emissions and costs. It is simple enough but does it work? When will consumers have it? What impacts will it have? And what is it like running a startup with your wife? Thanks to Ellen Liang who also hopped on the mic! You can enjo...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 5Ep. 1
That’s a wrap! It's our annual review episode, with Alex and Nick covering all the climate technology news from 2023. The hottest year on record brings a reminder that we need to be doubling down on the right solutions, so we hope you enjoy our reflections about what we think matters. Thanks again to all you listening out there! It’s been a big year for us - where we hit the Top 5 in tech podcasts ( in Malawi ) - and we’ve loved hearing from many of you throughout the season. Chapters (00:00) In...
Oct 30, 2023•59 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Nick and Alex hear pitches from ten up and coming Australian startups working on climate solutions! *Vote HERE * We’re back with our second pitchfest episode! And again teaming up with EnergyLab’s accelerator program, but this time it’s different - there will be a winner decided by YOU ! We’ve secured some awesome prizes that will go to the People’s Choice startup. G+T Ventures , the startup arm Australian law firm Gilbert + Tobin has donated a full day legal workshop to prepare a startup for th...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 4Ep. 9
This week Alex is away so Nick is let loose on the podcast! Nick chats to Christiaan Jordaan , CEO and founder of Sicona . Sound familiar? We interviewed Christiaan in back November 2021 in one of our all-time listener favourite episodes: " Australia's Role in the Battery Revolution ". Since then Sicona has come a long way! Fresh off their recent $22m funding round for their battery technology we thought we'd cover the big issues since our previous chat: How the US Inflation Reduction Act has ch...
Oct 02, 2023•33 min•Season 4Ep. 8
We chat to Doug Mcnamee from Jolt Charge , an Australian electric vehicle charging business that has raised $100million from Blackrock (the world's largest money manager). EV uptake in Australia is on a charge! When we recorded our first EV episode in 2021, they comprised less than 0.5% of total sales. In the first half of 2023 this number was up to 8%. So while EVs are just one part of decarbonising how we move, the signs are promising. We enjoyed chatting with Doug about the future of transpor...
Sep 18, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 7
We chat with Vince Allen from SunDrive , a Sydney-based startup on a mission to transform Australia into a solar manufacturing powerhouse. In 2021, SunDrive made headlines by developing the world's most efficient commercial-sized solar cell. Not only that - by swapping silver with copper as the conductive material their products could be lower cost too. With over $30 million in funding from high-profile investors like Blackbird, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Main Sequence Ventures, Malcolm Turnbull, and ...
Sep 04, 2023•45 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Do we have enough lithium for all the batteries we’ll need for a low carbon future? What is the impact of lithium extraction on the planet? And can we do it in a more sustainable way? Nick and Alex chat with Steven Vassiloudis of Novalith , a Sydney startup that can extract lithium in a way that not only reduces emissions but also the amount of chemicals used in the process. We are proudly supported by Bank Australia ( www.bankaust.com.au ). ** As always if you don’t want to miss any episodes, h...
Aug 21, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Nick and Alex chat with Julia Reisser of Uluu , a startup based in Western Australia creating biodegradable plastic made from seaweed. This is episode two of our PLASTIC DOUBLE HEADER, this time tackling the plastic problem from the very source - the production! Plastic is a very real problem we need to address and unfortunately, given the way we currently live our lives it's not going anywhere fast. We are proudly supported by Bank Australia ( www.bankaust.com.au ). ** If you enjoyed this episo...
Aug 07, 2023•37 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Is Samsara Eco Australia’s most exciting climate startup? With enzymes that literally eat plastic, it’s hard to disagree! Nick and Alex chat with Paul Riley of Samsara Eco , a Canberra based company that has raised ~$60 million to tackle one of the biggest problems of all: plastic recycling. It’s a tangible, challenging and very current problem in Australia, so we loved diving into all the issues with Paul, understanding more about how the technology works and how Samsara Eco is positioned to be...
Jul 24, 2023•46 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Stop The Burps! Nick and Alex have a chat about using less dairy. We then interview Jan Pacas of All G Foods - a Sydney-based company which has raised A$50 million to spearhead a global revolution to create real dairy, without the cows or the emissions (8:00) The technology is called precision fermentation and it could soon enough upend the $1 trillion dairy industry. ** If you enjoy the show, we’d love it if you subscribed and/or gave us a review on Apple or Spotify! It really helps other liste...
Jul 10, 2023•54 min•Season 4Ep. 2
We speak to Henry Bilinsky from MicroTau . The Sydney-based startup’s shark skin technology applied to planes has the potential to improve the efficiency of aviation by up to 10%, meanwhile saving airlines up to $61 billion a year on fuel. ** If you enjoy the show, subscribe and give us a rating on Apple or Spotify! You can sign up to our mailing list, say hello@apositiveclimate.com or follow us at www.instagram.com/apositiveclimatepodcast and https://au.linkedin.com/company/a-positive-climate ....
Jun 26, 2023•41 min•Season 4Ep. 1
We’re BACK with our best season yet! Launched on 27 June 2023, we'll release interviews fortnightly, speaking with Australia’s very best startups in the global climate transition. They’ve got game changing sustainable technology. They’ve raised hundreds of millions of dollars. And they’re ready to turn the world’s biggest problem into Australia’s great opportunity. Low carbon aviation. Cow free dairy. Sustainable lithium mining. Plastic recycling. Next generation solar. The future of EV charging...
Jun 21, 2023•2 min
Alex and Nick wrap up 2022 and the end of season three with a wide ranging chat including an update on the international race to decarbonise, trends in cleantech, a check-in on our BIG predictions and our plans to bring you even more great episodes in 2023. We cover a lot on this episode: How the narrative around decarbonisation has changed in the last 12 months - "The electric bus is leaving the station and you best get on it" International developments: What are other countries doing to incent...
Oct 31, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Nick and Alex hear pitches from TEN of Australia’s up and coming climate startups! This episode brings you something a bit different. We’ve partnered with our friends at EnergyLab (Australia’s leading climate solutions accelerator) to hold a pitch speed round featuring their most recent startup cohort. The rules: A 60 second opening free pitch and 10 minutes max for each startup. That’s it! If you want to help the startups get in touch with them via the links below AND if you enjoyed the episode...
Oct 17, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 9
We chat to Liam Wallis, Founding Director of Hip v Hype a leading sustainable property developer based in Melbourne about the built environment and how we can make our homes and buildings carbon neutral. In our chat with Liam we cover: What goes into creating a sustainable building - what matters the most? How do builders or developers consider designing for sustainability not just in the construction phase but also for the entire life of the building? What innovative building materials are emer...
Oct 03, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 8
We chat to Paul Gambill from Nori about their carbon removal marketplace using blockchain technology. This is the second episode in our two-part series about whether crypto and blockchain can be a positive force for addressing climate change. In this one we cover: The role of (and challenges with) carbon offsets Carbon avoidance offsets vs carbon removal Nori’s carbon removal marketplace and the Nori token How Nori can help put a price on carbon The energy intensity dilemma of blockchain to date...
Sep 26, 2022•54 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Nick and Alex chat about the impact of crypto and blockchain on climate. Is crypto accelerating climate change or can it be a force for good? Hot off the heels of “the Ethereum Merge” we cover the following in this ep: What is cryptocurrency? What is blockchain? Why can crypto be so energy intensive? Can it be improved? Bitcoin and Ethereum (including the Ethereum Merge) Dogecoin, GarlicCoin, OnionCoin and Dentacoin Regenerative Finance Offsets, Peer to Peer Energy Trading; and Attempts at nuanc...
Sep 19, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Nick and Alex chat to Ned Ekins-Daukes from UNSW about their breakthrough to create solar energy in the dark. This is a wide ranging chat about how solar panels could generate all of Australia's electricity at night, where climate solutions come from, the role of UNSW and universities in creating them, the legend of Martin Green, how to commercialise early stage technology, and a little lesson on the correct way to pronounce “solar photovoltaic”. ** Hey! Can we ask a fave? If you are enjoying th...
Sep 05, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 5
We chat to Tim Dawson, the founder of PV industries, an Australian startup on a mission to recycle solar panels (and soon, batteries too!). In Australia we have A LOT of solar! Currently over 3 million (or 1 in 3) households have solar. Australia has over 25 GW of solar capacity now installed which on a per person basis is 1kw per person, 30% greater than any other country. But what will happen to all these solar panels once they reach the end of their life? ** If you enjoy the show, we’d love i...
Aug 22, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Alex provides a primer on hydrogen's role in our future clean economy and then we interview Tom Campey from Hysata (11:21) an Australian startup with a breakthrough electrolyser technology. ** If you enjoy the show, subscribe! We'd love it if you gave us a rating on Apple or Spotify! You can also follow us: on Instagram , Twitter , LinkedIn or send us some comments at hello@apositiveclimate.com ** Hydrogen gets a lot of hype in the media as a future technology, the “swiss army knife” for a decar...
Aug 08, 2022•48 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Tom White from CarsGuide presents the state of play for electric vehicles in Australia. Tom has a very cool job! He gets to drive and review all the latest electric vehicles that are coming to Australia. He also recently released the EVGuide Report for all the latest stats, facts and figures on Electric Vehicles So what better person to chat to (after our Season 1 chat to Tim Washington) to focus on where things are at for EVs including: What are the top selling models currently? What are the co...
Jul 25, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Lily Dempster from One Small Step chats to us about how to address your personal carbon footprint. Welcome to Season THREE of A Positive Climate! We’re excited to have a new season of another ten episodes, released fortnightly on Tuesdays in Australia. HIT THE FOLLOW / SUBSCRIBE button in your podcast app One Small Step is a mobile app that aims to be your personal sustainability coach. It provides you with tailored programs to help you cut your carbon footprint. It uses behavioural science to m...
Jul 11, 2022•49 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Alex and Nick wrap up 2021 and the end of our second season with a wide ranging chat: the current state of cleantech, some BOLD predictions about the future, the zaniest climate solutions of 2021 and what we’re excited about for 2022! We cover a lot on this episode: Australia’s opportunity to be a renewable energy superpower; the hydrogen economy; when we might get to high levels of EV uptake; what our dinner plates might look like in 2025; Our favourite moments of Season 1 and 2; Cleantech star...
Dec 13, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Zoomo ’s Mina Nada chats to Nick and Alex about the role of electric bikes in the future of our cities. Electric vehicles are a key pillar of our shift to zero carbon transportation. And when we hear the words "electric vehicles" most of us think about cars. But what about e-bikes? In the US for example they outsold cars by over 2 to 1 last year! And they are growing at 16 times faster than general cycling. We wanted to feature ebikes because the reality is they’re not replacing walking or the h...
Dec 06, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Christaan Jordaan of Sicona and Novalith talks to us about Australia’s great opportunity in batteries. Yes, the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. But there’s lots of technologies for those in between times - some are old, some are new but all of them are getting much much better. Pumped hydro, hydrogen, thermal storage and of course, BATTERIES. Batteries are getting cheaper, more efficient and more omnipresent. But where will all the materials come from and what role can Austra...
Nov 22, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Gordon Renouf from Good On You , chats to us about sustainable fashion. We all want to look good and stay up with the latest trends but how do we do this in a sustainable and ethical way? It's an area definitely worth solving as the global apparel industry accounts for an estimated 8% of emissions! That’s on par with the steel sector. It's a complex topic and one that is so confusing. Thankfully Gordon and his co-founder Sandra Capponi started Good on You, the #1 sustainability ratings platform ...
Nov 15, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Charley Daitch from Amazon Web Services (AWS) joins us to talk about the work he’s doing in renewable energy and how Amazon will get to net zero emissions by 2040. Amazon is one of the world’s largest and best known brands. Their operations are both everywhere and nowhere at the same time. You see the website, the streaming service, the Kindles and the packages but what you don’t see are the logistics warehouses, their share of global shipping and their hosting of the web on AWS. It is a sprawli...
Nov 08, 2021•41 min•Season 2Ep. 5
