Investor Shayle Kann is asking big questions about how to decarbonize the planet: How cheap can clean energy get? Will artificial intelligence speed up climate solutions? Where is the smart money going into climate technologies? Every week on Catalyst, Shayle explains the world of climate tech with prominent experts, investors, researchers, and executives. Produced by Latitude Media.
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Amidst the increasing urgency of powering data centers, a new solution has entered the mix: send them out to sea. In this episode, Shayle speaks to Garth Sheldon-Coulson, co-founder and CEO of Panthalassa. The company is building 85-meter steel "nodes" – taller than Big Ben – that it deploys into the deep ocean. These untethered, self-propelled nodes harness wave energy to power AI clusters, then beam their data back to land via satellite. The technology isn’t without its fair share of logistic ...
For years, the prospect of commercial nuclear fusion felt a long way off. But recent breakthroughs—like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s historic 2022 net energy gain—have marked a new chapter in the quest for fusion. Proving the physics in a lab, however, is a lot different than building a power plant that can compete on the open grid. Massive hurdles remain across physics, financing, and scaling. In this episode, host Shayle Kann sits down with Carrie von Muench, COO of Pacific Fusion ...
While much of the world has been focused on the war in Iran’s impact on the energy sector, another arguably more impactful market has been largely overlooked: fertilizer. The global fertilizer market is in a precarious spot. Roughly a third of the world's seaborne fertilizer trade goes through the Strait of Hormuz. Even before the war in Iran began, China, the world’s top phosphate producer, halted exports of the crucial compound. As a result, the longer the strait remains closed, the more the t...
This episode delves into the complexities of autonomous trucking, contrasting its development with the progress seen in passenger vehicles like Waymo. Eyal Cohen, founder of Humble Robotics, explains why trucking autonomy is uniquely challenging and how new AI, especially vision language models, are enabling a camera-first approach. Humble's innovative cabless electric truck design aims to optimize efficiency, safety, and unit economics for a fully automated freight future, addressing the industry's economic and regulatory hurdles.
As the utility-scale solar market collides with an era defined by massive load growth, EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) firms are rethinking their strategy to meet the moment. In this episode, Shayle speaks to George Hershman, CEO of SOLV Energy, one of the largest solar and storage construction firms in the US. George offers a unique perspective into the state of the market as well as the logistics of building gigawatt-scale projects and insights into how automation is changing ...
As the race to build out artificial intelligence accelerates, the infrastructure required to support it is undergoing a remarkable transformation. In February, Google announced a plan to spend $175 billion to $185 billion in CapEx for 2026— a figure roughly equivalent to the GDP of Hungary. In this special live episode, recorded at Transition-AI 2026 in San Francisco, Shayle sits down with Amin Vahdat, Google’s chief technologist for AI infrastructure. Amin pulls back the curtain on how the hype...
Base Power recently secured $1 billion, achieving a $4 billion valuation, by vertically integrating residential battery manufacturing, installation, and operation. This strategy allows them to offer homeowners affordable backup power while using the batteries for grid services in deregulated markets like ERCOT, and selling capacity directly to utilities in regulated areas. The company's unique approach focuses on a compounding cost advantage, aiming to deploy grid capacity faster and cheaper than traditional utility-scale alternatives.
With data centers projected to consume up to 17% of US power by 2030, this episode dives into how flexible AI workloads and on-site generation can alleviate grid strain and avoid higher electricity rates. Host Shayle Kann and guest Varun Sivaram of Emerald AI discuss the "wickedly complicated" challenge of aligning utilities and cloud providers, the shifting economics of power flexibility, and the development of the world's first 100-megawatt flexible AI factory to achieve a "holy grail" solution for both AI adoption and grid reliability.
Despite policy whiplash, shifting tariffs, and FEOC uncertainty, the clean energy market demonstrated remarkable resilience in 2025, with total financing exceeding $200 billion. This episode, featuring Crux experts, uncovers how flexible financing structures, rapid growth in transferable tax credits, and increased corporate participation propelled capital deployment. It highlights the sector's robust underlying demand and its strategic importance as a hedge against global instability.
Shayle Kann and Scott Nolan, CEO of General Matter, delve into the five-step nuclear fuel supply chain, from mining to fuel fabrication. They explore the historical decline of U.S. enrichment capabilities, which has led to significant geopolitical dependence on countries like Russia, especially with the impending 2028 import ban. The conversation distinguishes between LEU for traditional reactors and HALEU for advanced reactors, addressing the "chicken or egg" problem for new reactor fuel. General Matter's strategic facility in Paducah, Kentucky, aims to re-establish domestic enrichment, and the episode concludes by identifying U.S. uranium mining as the next critical bottleneck.
Stephen Lacey and Sean McEvoy discuss how battery markets experience boom-bust cycles globally, with prices dropping as capacity floods the grid, and strategies for navigating market saturation through precise forecasting and optimization. They delve into the immense energy demands of data centers, their need for reliability over curtailment, and how GridBeyond's AI platform orchestrates diverse energy assets to provide flexibility. The conversation also covers the broader energy mix being re-evaluated, the "deployment problem" for AI infrastructure, and the growing sophistication of energy management by big tech.
Dr. Jen Shafer explains the physical and chemical composition of spent nuclear fuel, highlighting the distinct long-term hazards of actinides versus shorter-term fission products. The discussion covers current storage in spent fuel pools and dry casks, the historical and political hurdles that stalled the Yucca Mountain repository, and the financial implications. The episode also explores how advanced reactor designs and fuel types impact waste characteristics and the potential for recycling to minimize long-lived waste. Finally, it examines the unique waste management models for microreactors and the future outlook for centralized repositories in the U.S.
Shayle Kann and Scott Moskowitz discuss the critical importance of a resilient US solar supply chain, detailing the state of domestic polysilicon, wafer, cell, and module manufacturing. They explore the policy drivers like the IRA, the economic challenges of competing with global (especially Chinese) prices, and the need for industry clustering. The conversation also touches on how unprecedented demand from sectors like AI is influencing PPA prices and the long-term vision for US solar competitiveness and job creation.
Shayle Kann and Jake Elder dive into the critical challenge of powering future AI compute. They dissect the limitations of traditional grid-connected data centers, the unproven potential of edge computing, and the complex engineering hurdles for truly off-grid solutions. The discussion culminates in a speculative look at orbital data centers, weighing their technical and economic feasibility against Earth-based alternatives and offering a 10-year forecast for the global compute landscape.
Stephen Lacey talks with Duke Energy's Stacy Phillips and EnergyHub's Seth Frader-Thompson about virtual power plants becoming core grid infrastructure. They discuss how VPPs are moving beyond traditional demand response to provide reliable, repeatable performance for utilities, helping manage record-breaking peaks and improving grid affordability. The conversation also introduces EnergyHub's VPP Maturity Model and the "Huels Test," a framework for utilities to build trust in these distributed energy resources.
Shayle Kann speaks with Carlos Araque of Quaise Energy about unlocking super hot geothermal, which targets 800-degree Fahrenheit water to yield ten times more energy density than traditional methods. They discuss the technical hurdles of ultra-deep drilling and activating permeability, Quaise's strategic pilot project in Oregon, and the promising unit economics aiming for competitive power costs.
In this crossover episode, Shayle Kann and David Roberts delve into six pressing energy questions shaping the next decade. They discuss the macro effects of autonomous vehicles on urban sprawl, the challenge of powering surging data center demand, and the potential "enshittification" of software-enabled homes. The conversation also covers the future of industrial electrification amidst high energy prices, the strategic importance of battery recycling for critical minerals, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding large-scale geoengineering experiments.
Drew Baglino, former Tesla leader and founder of Heron Power, explores the critical role of advanced power electronics, specifically Solid State Transformers (SSTs), in modernizing the electric grid. The episode delves into the history of power transistors, the limitations of current grid equipment, and the factors contributing to the transformer shortage. It highlights how Heron Power's SSTs offer enhanced reliability and efficiency for renewables and dramatically optimize power distribution in data centers, paving the way for a more affordable and intelligently managed 21st-century grid.
This episode delves into the current turbulence in the PJM and ERCOT power markets with LS Power CEO Paul Segal. They explore PJM's rapid shift from capacity surplus to shortage due to data center growth, the effectiveness of demand response, and the implications of a federal emergency order. The discussion also covers the ERCOT market's surprising performance during a recent winter storm, where significant load disappeared due to price signals, and the cyclical nature of the market impacting battery investments.
This episode delves into the arduous process of bringing new nuclear reactors to market in the United States, featuring insights from former Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Katy Huff. It unpacks the NRC's intricate licensing pathways, the ambiguity behind common company announcements like "criticality," and the significant administrative and technical hurdles facing the industry. Huff also provides a realistic timeline for when the first advanced reactors might actually begin producing power, likely around 2032, and highlights the importance of industrial-scale manufacturing and long-term waste management solutions.
Shayle Kann and James McGinniss discuss the burgeoning category of "plug-in" DERs, emphasizing their potential for affordability over resilience. These small, easy-to-install systems, which often bypass traditional permitting and complex installations, significantly reduce soft costs and open up new markets like apartment renters. Drawing parallels to Germany's rapid adoption of 4 million such systems, they explore the regulatory landscape, economic benefits for both residential and commercial users, and the vast potential for these devices to contribute gigawatts of capacity to the grid. The conversation also touches on future product innovations and form factors.
Shayle Kann and Nat Bullard delve into the latest decarbonization data, revealing how clean energy stocks surprisingly outperformed major indices despite a significant slump in U.S. energy startup investment. They also discuss the global oil oversupply, the paradox of rising solar installation costs in the U.S. even as module prices fall, and Australia's remarkable residential battery adoption. The conversation concludes by highlighting China's increasing share of global vehicle production and the widespread uncertainty in future energy demand forecasting.
The clean energy transition has entered a 'rain delay,' marked by unexpected policy shifts, tightened funding, and complex deals, despite surging load growth from digital infrastructure. This episode revisits the 'third inning' framework, exploring how political headwinds and permitting challenges are reshaping the U.S. energy landscape, forcing a shakeout among developers, and highlighting critical new financing needs. The discussion concludes with an assessment of both the unprecedented challenges and the immense, new opportunities emerging for resilient companies.
Shayle Kann and energy analyst Nat Bullard dive into Bullard's 2026 annual report, highlighting China's rapid electrification driven by energy independence goals, and the stark contrast between electricity's stable share of GDP expenditure and oil's volatility. They explore the unprecedented scale of tech capital expenditure, particularly for data centers, which is contributing to the massive backlog in gas turbine orders and rising costs, alongside a speculative surge in Texas's electricity load interconnection queue. The discussion also covers the significant divergence in load forecasts between Texas grid operators and transmission providers, and a global perspective on electricity demand growth, showing drivers beyond data centers.
Shayle Kann and Ian Rountree delve into Ian's unconventional investment framework for deep tech startups, distinguishing between viable ventures and common pitfalls. They highlight the challenges of selling technology to slow-moving incumbents and the risks of commercializing early-stage science. Conversely, they advocate for "full stack" companies that own the entire value chain, even in commodity markets, and "weird N of one" startups that define new categories, emphasizing the critical role of visionary "wave maker" founders.
This episode delves into how advanced AI, particularly models using Transformers and graph neural networks, is transforming weather forecasting beyond traditional numerical methods. Peter Battaglia from Google DeepMind explains how AI enhances spatial awareness, tackles complex phenomena like precipitation, and overcomes data challenges through novel sources. The discussion highlights AI's potential to significantly impact critical areas such as energy grid management, supply chain logistics, and timely disaster response.
Shayle Kann and Anthony Brough discuss the unprecedented gas turbine market crunch, revealing how demand is outstripping supply and extending lead times to years. They analyze the complex interplay of power generation needs, oil and gas industry demands, and the surging requirements of AI data centers that compete for critical raw materials and manufacturing capacity. The episode also delves into the industry's historical boom-bust cycles, the OEMs' 'guarded optimism,' and technological advancements in efficiency and hydrogen readiness.
Shayle Kann and Dr. Ben Lee examine the potential migration of AI inference workloads from large centralized data centers to localized edge computing or consumer devices. They discuss the current dominance of hyperscale centers due to efficiency, contrast the distinct technical challenges of AI training versus inference, and explore how new latency-sensitive applications like autonomous vehicles could drive a move to the edge. The conversation also covers the trade-offs and future prospects of on-device AI, concluding with a projection for a significant shift towards distributed inference by 2035 and its impact on overall energy consumption.
This episode delves into the inherent problems of large capital project construction, particularly the misaligned incentives within traditional Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts that lead to budget overruns and delays. Alex Modon, co-founder of Unlimited Industries, explains how their startup leverages AI and modern software to achieve 100% design definition upfront. This innovative approach allows them to offer fixed-price contracts without change orders, absorbing risk and driving down overall project costs and timelines, especially for complex endeavors like data centers.
Shayle Kann and Shanu Mathew analyze the motivations of hyperscalers, chipmakers, utilities, and other market participants regarding the AI power bottleneck. They discuss how each group's incentives—from securing cheap capacity to boosting demand or maintaining pricing power—shape their public statements, highlighting the complexity beneath the widely discussed issue of energy scarcity for AI data centers.
