Today's guest is Bill Weihl, Executive Director of ClimateVoice. ClimateVoice is a non-profit that mobilizes the voices of employees to encourage companies to go "all in" on climate. Large corporations and companies have historically shied away from lobbying against the fossil fuel industry. ClimateVoice was founded on the idea that these companies need to engage in climate policy and use their power to fight for the climate. Before founding ClimateVoice, Bill spent twelve years at Google and Fa...
Apr 22, 2021•42 min
This week's guest is Val Miftakhov, Co-Founder & CEO of ZeroAvia. ZeroAvia is building the world's first practical zero-emission aviation powertrain. ZeroAvia utilizes hydrogen power to accelerate the transition to sustainable aviation. Before focusing on climate solutions, Val held several senior business and product positions at Google and McKinsey & Company and was a nuclear researcher at Stanford Linear Accelerator. Val is a serial entrepreneur in the EV space dedicating the last dec...
Apr 19, 2021•40 min
This week's guest is Joshua March, Co-Founder & CEO of SciFi Foods, formerly known as Artemys Foods. SciFi Foods is on a mission to empower humanity to eat sustainably. It's working on the next generation of meat alternatives by cultivating meat. To replicate the full flavor profile and aroma of meat, SciFi Foods uses cell-based meat, growing real muscle and fat outside of the animal in bioreactors. Then they combine plant-based meat with the cultivated animal cells, enabling the team to cre...
Apr 15, 2021•36 min
This week's guest is Mike Hall, CEO of Borrego. Borrego is a leading developer, EPC and O&M provider accelerating the delivery of large commercial, community solar, and utility-scale solar and energy storage projects in the United States. With a background in Chemical Engineering, Mike is the 3rd co-founder of Borrego, then Borrego Solar. The origins of the company date back to the early 1980s when a family friend built an off-grid PV-powered home in Borrego Springs. When Mike's brother, Aar...
Apr 12, 2021•52 min
Today's guest is Lyndall Schreiner, Director of Product at Afresh & Founder at Earthrise School. In 2018, Lyndall had her climate aha moment after the IPCC 1.5 Degree Report came out. She was invested in redirecting her career to focus on climate. After 18 months of learning as much as she could about climate and volunteering with the Sunrise Movement, Lyndall landed at Afresh as Director of Product. Afresh is a startup focused on using AI to eliminate food waste in the supply chain. Lyndall...
Apr 08, 2021•35 min
This week's guest is Erin Burns, Executive Director of Carbon180. Carbon180 is a climate-focused NGO that partners with policymakers, scientists, and businesses worldwide to build a world that removes more carbon than it emits. Before Carbon180, Erin focused on energy, environment, labor, and agricultural issues, including staffing for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Public Lands Subcommittee. While working for Senator Joe Manchin, Erin met Noah Deich. She became increasingly ...
Apr 05, 2021•48 min
This week's guest is Joel Jean, Co-Founder & CEO of Swift Solar. Before joining Swift, Joel served as Executive Director of the Tata-MIT GridEdge Solar research program, which focuses on scale-up of new solar photovoltaic technologies for India and other developing countries. He developed ultra-lightweight, flexible solar cells that the 2017 Katerva Award recognized, and he was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Fellow in Energy. Swift Solar is designing and manufacturing lightweight solar panels an...
Apr 01, 2021•41 min
This Week's guest is Josephine Cheung, Director of Research & Development at GCP Applied Technologies. GCP Applied Technologies is a leading global provider of construction products technologies that include concrete and cement additives, building materials and technologies that ensure quality and enhance business productivity. In 2016, GCP Applied Technologies spun off from W. R. Grace. With a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT, Josephine spent her entire career working on ...
Mar 29, 2021•46 min
Today's guest is Andy Towne, Founding Partner & CEO of Hobbs & Towne Inc. Founded in 1997, Hobbs & Towne Inc. is an executive search and advisory service firm. Partnering with venture capital, private equity, and family office investors, as well as global companies, HTI manages retained executive searches for high-level business leaders and C-suite positions. The firm's advisory services include restructuring, interim management, and mergers, acquisitions and proprietary deal flow. H...
Mar 25, 2021•34 min
This week's guest is Scott Stringer, New York City Comptroller, the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. Scott has served in elected positions since the early '90s. He was elected to the New York State Assembly and represented Manhattan's West Side for 13 years. After working in the State Assembly, he became the Manhattan Borough President. He was elected Comptroller of New York City in 2013 and has served in that role ever since. Sco...
Mar 22, 2021•25 min
Today's guests are Josh Santos, Co-Founder & CEO, and Daniel Cavero, Co-Founder & CTO, of Noya. Josh and Daniel met a few years ago when they were roommates in San Francisco. In 2020, they founded Noya together. Noya captures CO2 from the atmosphere and resells it for half the cost of current options. The company works to retrofit existing industrial equipment to enable carbon capture and resale. When Josh and Daniel broke down the cost of direct air capture systems, they realized a larg...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 3 min
This week's guest is Alicia Barton, CEO of FirstLight Power. FirstLight Power is a renewables and storage company that integrates and delivers clean power to New England homes and businesses. It operates the Northfield Mountain energy storage facility and other hydroelectric, solar, and energy assets in Massachusetts and Connecticut. I was excited about this discussion because Alicia has been on my wishlist for quite some time. Alicia walks me through how cleantech has evolved over her career, h...
Mar 15, 2021•57 min
Today's guest is Fiona Spruill, Chief Product Officer at Overstory. Overstory's mission is to monitor all of Earth's natural resources in real-time to reverse climate change. Its first project helps utilities track forest and vegetation growth to reduce the risk of wildfires and power outages by applying machine learning to satellite imagery. We are proud to be an Overstory investor ! Prior to Overstory, Fiona was most recently COO at Meetup, and spent 14 years in journalism, in roles of increas...
Mar 11, 2021•36 min
This week's guest is Kate Gordon, Senior Policy Advisor on Climate to Governor Gavin Newsom & Director of the Office of Planning and Research for California. The California Governor's Office of Planning and Research serves the Governor and Cabinet for long-range planning across three significant buckets: land use and planning, climate risk and resilience, and sustainable economic development. As Senior Policy Advisor on Climate, Kate focuses on California's climate initiatives across policy,...
Mar 08, 2021•57 min
This episode was previously for members only. In an effort to make important content more widely available, the audio for this episode is now available for everyone. Co-founder Peter Reinhardt walks me through a company overview and an in-depth explanation of bio-oil. He also talks about how a tech entrepreneur like him (or anyone else) that is motivated by climate change) can find a way to make a dent. Enjoy the show! Recorded July 28nd, 2020 and published for Members August 27th, 2020 To learn...
Mar 04, 2021•50 min
Today's guest is Sarah Saltzer, Managing Director of the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage. The Stanford Center for Carbon Storage focuses on applied and fundamental research to address critical questions around carbon storage in geological formations. The team also works on technological and economic analysis, public policy research, and carbon storage projects around the world. Sarah walks me through her time at Chevron, her current position at Stanford, and what motivated her to focus on car...
Mar 01, 2021•32 min
Today’s guest is Anshuman Bapna, Founder and CEO of Terra.do. Terra.do is an online school working to solve climate change. Millions of people will need to transition into climate work in the years to come, and Terra.do is the platform to help make that happen. Since launching their flagship 12-week course, “Climate Change: Learning for Action”, they have rolled out new courses on hydrogen, climate-smart buildings, climate-resilient agriculture, and a track for venture investors looking to do mo...
Feb 25, 2021•41 min
Today's guest is Julia Collins, Founder and CEO of Planet FWD. Planet FWD is using the power of food the help tackle climate change. They created Moonshot, a brand of climate-friendly snacks made from regenerative ingredients. They also develop software that provides other food brands with regenerative resources to make climate-friendly products. Julia has always been involved in the plant-based and composting movements, but her career transition didn't become a reality until she had her son in ...
Feb 22, 2021•44 min
Today's guest is Paul Eremenko, Co-Founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen. Before Universal Hydrogen, Paul served as Senior Vice President and CTO of United Technologies and CTO of Airbus. When he co-founded Universal Hydrogen, Paul felt hydrogen was the only solution the industry has to meet the Paris Agreement's goals and decarbonize. Universal Hydrogen is an end-to-end fuel logistics company making hydrogen-powered commercial flight a near-term reality. The aerospace and aviation industry is d...
Feb 18, 2021•36 min
Today's guest is Andrew Savage, Founding Team & Head of Sustainability at Lime. Lime is a micromobility transportation company with a fleet of shared e-bikes, e-scooters, and now e-mopeds providing fun, efficient, and sustainable ways to move around cities. Andrew and I have a stimulating discussion about his career path from policy to transportation and what inspired him to work in urban mobility. He walks me through how his role has evolved and how sustainability became one of Lime's core ...
Feb 15, 2021•42 min
Founder and CEO, Bim Adisa, takes me through his career path and background, how he became involved in grid management, and why he started Beacon Power services. We also discuss why BPS is in a unique position as a company, the future of BPS, and why the African grid needs a reboot. Bim is our first guest serving the African continent, and his story is essential as the climate crisis is a global issue. It was great to have Bim on the show and learn more about what he's building at BPS! Enjoy the...
Feb 11, 2021•41 min
Today's guest is Ron Gonen, Co-Founder & CEO of Closed Loop Partners. Closed Loop Partners is an investment firm and innovation center building the circular economy. It focuses on a profitable, sustainable future through its four asset classes: venture capital, project finance, growth equity, and private equity. In this episode, Ron walks me through what inspired him to pursue sustainability and how past experiences led him to start an investment firm and innovation center. We dive into Clos...
Feb 08, 2021•55 min
This episode was previously for members only. In an effort to make important content more widely available, the audio for this episode is now available for everyone. Living Carbon is a San Francisco, CA based startup using biotechnology to develop trees that better capture and store carbon. By using biochemistry to enhance a tree’s natural ability to drawdown atmospheric carbon, the company is not only devising a solution to address climate change, but also producing more durable wood for a mult...
Feb 04, 2021•37 min
Today's guest is Aaron Ratner, President of Cross River Infrastructure Partners. Cross River Infrastructure Partners is a platform of development companies deploying climate technology and capital into sustainable infrastructure projects. It focuses on conversion projects in the climate, renewable energy, and sustainable food spaces. We have a great discussion about how Aaron got hooked on climate, infrastructure investment and how it works, and Cross River Infrastructure Partners' role. We also...
Feb 01, 2021•50 min
Founder and CEO, Jeff Engler, takes me through his path to zero-emission aviation, why he started Wright Electric, and how the landscape has changed. We also discuss the many critics of electric airplanes, what sets Wright Electric apart, and the industry's future. Jeff and his team are tackling one of climate change's biggest problems. It was great to have him on the show! Enjoy the show! To learn more about Wright Electric, visit their website: https://weflywright.com/ If you are a member and ...
Jan 28, 2021•44 min
Today's guest is John Lochner, VP of Innovation at NYSERDA. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a government agency focused on clean energy and energy innovation. With a team of around 350 people, it supports clean solutions through catalytic capital and public policies. In this episode, John and I explore what led him to focus on energy, his role on the innovation team, and NYSERDA's charter. He also explains where he sees the biggest levers for change, wha...
Jan 25, 2021•41 min
This episode was previously for members only. In an effort to make important content more widely accessible, the audio for this episode is now available for everyone. Camus Energy Co-Founder & CEO, Astrid Atkinson, chats with me about her background and her motivation for starting Camus Energy. I enjoyed our conversation, which covered grid management and the future of energy providers. Enjoy the show! Recorded August 25th, 2020 and published for Members October 29th, 2020 To learn more abou...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr
Today's guest is Mark Frayman, Head of BHP Ventures at BHP. BHP is an Anglo-Australian mining company that is based in Melbourne. One of the biggest mining companies in the world, they extract oil & gas and process minerals, such as coal, copper, and iron. Mark is part of the new Venture Investments group which is the trading arm of BHP. As the world hurtles towards the Paris Accord goals, mining companies are facing massive challenges, yet at the same time, are an essential part of the clea...
Jan 18, 2021•50 min
This Startup Series episode was previously for MCJ members only. In an effort to make important content more widely available, the audio is now available for everyone. Co-Founder & CEO, Brennan Spellacy, walks me through the gap he saw in the carbon market and why he started Patch. We talk about how Patch works and where he sees the future of the company, of carbon markets, and the best ways to address climate change. Enjoy the show! Recorded October 29th, 2020 and initially published Novemb...
Jan 14, 2021•35 min
Today's guests are Jeremy Freeman, Founder & Executive Director, and Danny Cullenward, Policy Director, at CarbonPlan. We have a great discussion in this episode about carbon markets, why they matter, what is broken about them, the best ways to fix it, and how CarbonPlan is setting out to help. They have a unique perch in the market, and this is a must listen for anyone with carbon markets on your mind! Enjoy the show. You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclim...
Jan 11, 2021•1 hr 8 min
