Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On this episode, host Karan Takhar is joined by Mike Kramer, Vice President of Data Economy Strategy at Constellation. As the AI boom takes shape, the demand on data centers to have 24/7, reliable power is increasing. Karan and Mike discuss how nuclear power could be part of the solution to increasing this supply. They chat about how nuclear has evolved over the past few decades and where it is today as well as why it hasn’t taken off in the ways some hoped it wou...
Jul 03, 2025•41 min•Ep. 158
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On this episode, Karan chats with Derrick Flakoll, Senior Policy Associate for BloombergNEF. They sit down for a timely conversation about the tax reconciliation bill. As you may know, the reconciliation bill (colloquially referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill”) has passed through the House and is now being deliberated in the Senate, and it could have major effects on some of the provisions provided in the I.R.A. Derrick helps us understand what’s at stake by bre...
Jun 26, 2025•38 min•Ep. 157
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! As we conclude our DC Climate Week series, it seems only fitting that we end with an interview by one of the founders and organizers of the event, C’pher Gresham. C’pher and Karan sit down to discuss the genesis of DC Climate Week, how it aims to bring the DC community together for a great cause, and how it all started with a question: What does DC need? C’pher breaks down the logistics of putting together such a big event and we learn how the decentralized struct...
Jun 17, 2025•34 min•Ep. 156
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan has the honor of speaking with Former Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, Dave Turk. Dave and Karan reflect on Dave's time at the DOE where he led the design and rollout of some of the most ambitious clean energy policies in U.S. history. They discuss his day-to-day schedule, leadership takeaways, and the power of hiring the right people in the right jobs. They also chat about H.R.1 (commonly referred to as the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’)...
Jun 12, 2025•44 min•Ep. 155
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! This is the third interview in a series of interviews host Karan Takhar has been conducting at D.C. Climate Week. Today, he has the pleasure of speaking with Alan Young. Alan is the Senior Advisor on Extractives Strategy and the World Circular Economy Forum for the Circular Economy Leadership in Canada. He is also the Director of MERG (Materials Efficiency Research Group). Karan and Alan speak about the intersection of extractives and sustainability in Canada and ...
Jun 05, 2025•26 min•Ep. 154
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! As mentioned on last week’s episode, host Karan Takhar recently had the pleasure of attending DC Climate Week where he sat down with several climate leaders. One of these leaders was Francesco Maria Graziani, Climate and Energy Counsellor and Delegation of the European Union to the United States. In this episode, they discuss Europe’s clean energy goals, its take on critical materials and healthier supply chains, and its transatlantic partnership with the U.S. Fra...
May 29, 2025•30 min•Ep. 152
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Karan recently had the pleasure of attending DC Climate Week where he sat down with today’s guest, John Holm. John is Senior Vice President of Partnership Development at Pyxera Global, a company aiming to solve big problems one community at a time. They discuss what drew John into this line of work and how he transitioned to Pyxera Global. Then, Karan and John chat about the company’s mission, how they have been able to engage the private sector in meaningful and ...
May 22, 2025•26 min•Ep. 151
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today's episode, host Karan Takhar sits down with Dan Thompson. Dan is a Principal Research Analyst covering datacenter services and sustainability at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Dan explains what datacenters are, how they have evolved over the years, the large impact they play in running the world, and how they will help take us into the future. Karan and Dan discuss the impact AI will have on datacenters and where the additional power needed to run th...
May 15, 2025•44 min•Ep. 150
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, host Karan Takhar has the pleasure of speaking with Bradley Pischea, National Director of the Land and Liberty Coalition, which is part of the Conservative Energy Network. They sit down to discuss the work the Coalition is doing in advocating for clean and renewable energy policy and development from a right of center standpoint in states around the U.S. They touch on the reasons why Bradley believes clean energy became a partisan issue, how the conversatio...
May 08, 2025•35 min•Ep. 149
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode, host Karan Takhar sits down with Lara Pierpoint, Managing Director of Trellis Climate, a program within Prime Coalition. Lara first gives a brief overview of how Trellis Climate came to be, shares how she and Prime Coalition Executive Director, Sarah Kearney, merged their two nonprofits to become Trellis Climate, and touches on the mission of the program. Karan and Lara touch on what types of projects Trellis focuses on and where they see that ...
Apr 24, 2025•35 min•Ep. 148
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today's episode, host Karan Takhar, sits down with Heidi Binko, Co-Founder and CEO of Just Transition Fund. They begin with an overview of JTF, the work they are doing in coal communities around the U.S., and a summary of the broader energy landscape. Then, they discuss what happens to a local economy when their coal plant shuts down and how JTF works to support these communities during a time of transition. Heidi and Karan chat about what’s driving coal out of...
Apr 10, 2025•42 min•Ep. 147
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, host Karan Takhar has the pleasure of speaking with Alex Kizer, Executive Vice President of the EFI Foundation. They discuss his background and how his dad inspired him to get involved in the clean energy sector, as well as the mission of EFI Foundation and his role within the company. Alex mentions that during 2024 he helped design a demand-side program for the regional clean hydrogen hubs. They discuss this program, his work alongside the DOE, and how th...
Apr 03, 2025•37 min•Ep. 146
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, host Karan Takhar has the pleasure of sitting down with Erika Reinhardt, Executive Director, Co-Founder and Board Director for Spark Climate Solutions. This is a jam-packed episode. They discuss the origin of Spark Climate Solutions, the launching of the company, and how Erika met her business partner. We learnabout the sabbatical Erika took to focus on climate more deeply and how that led into her work at Spark. We also discover how Spark sources opportuni...
Mar 27, 2025•35 min•Ep. 145
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! On today’s episode, host Karan Takhar has the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Vanessa Chan, Former Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Transitions at the U.S. Department of Energy and current Vice-Dean of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Chan and I speak about the genesis of the Liftoff Reports and how the mantra the DOE has – ‘private sector led, government enabled’ – encourages the private s...
Mar 20, 2025•26 min•Ep. 144
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode host Karan Takhar speaks with Jamila Yamani who is the Director of Climate and Energy at Salesforce. They begin by touching on the intersection of AI and sustainability, and Jamila sets the stage for us regarding Salesforce’s new platform, Agentforce. They then launch into Jamila’s day-to-day role and how Salesforce looks at tackling sustainability, including their attempt to drive down their Scope 3 emissions. They discuss the conversations the...
Mar 13, 2025•35 min•Ep. 143
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Host Karan Takhar sits down with Terry Paule, CEO of Botanical Water Technologies to discuss how he stumbled into the idea of turning fruit and vegetable waste into water, just how much water can be extracted from these fruits and vegetables, and how vital it is for communities in need. They look at the average amount of water a single person uses to drink and cook on any given day and how Microsoft has teamed up with Botanical Water Technologies to create 60 mill...
Mar 06, 2025•35 min•Ep. 142
This episode was recorded on November 18, 2024. Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, host Karan Takhar sits down for a chat with Founding Executive Editor of Cipher, Amy Harder. Cipher is supported by Breakthrough Energy as an education initiative focusing on reporting on climate solutions across the climate and energy fields. As Executive Editor, Amy shares what drew her to reporting on energy and climate, what her journalism process looks like, and ultimately, what her vision is for Cipher....
Feb 27, 2025•46 min•Ep. 141
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, Karan sits down with Jason Hochman, Co-Founder and Executive Director at Direct Air Capture Coalition to discuss the genesis of DACC as well as what the early days of getting the company off the ground looked like and the four pillars they operate under. They dive into how to engage with policy makers and how the inflation reduction act and infrastructure bill assist in building up the direct air capture industry. Jason walks us through a few direct air ca...
Feb 20, 2025•57 min•Ep. 140
This episode was recorded on September 25, 2024. Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, Karan has the pleasure of sitting down with Ben Rubin, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Carbon Business Council. They start off by chatting briefly about his 5,000-mile bus tour for the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit then dive into the genesis behind Carbon Business Council. Next, Karan and Ben look at the building of his team and board as well as the various work streams within the organization. ...
Feb 13, 2025•42 min•Ep. 139
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, Karan sits down with Andrew Herscowitz, CEO of the Mission 300 Accelerator established by the Rockefeller Catalytic Capital at the Rockefeller Foundation. They discuss Andrew’s impressive career as well as how the M300 accelerator originated. Then, they look at what some of the biggest challenges to achieving electricity access for 300 million Africans by 2030 are and how they plan to address these challenges. Plus, they talk through blending renewable ene...
Feb 06, 2025•48 min•Ep. 138
This episode was recorded on November 15, 2024. Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, host, Karan Takhar speaks with Doreen Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. To begin, Doreen shares her vision for the future and what role NYSERDA will play in achieving that vision. In addition, Doreen and Karan discuss the challenges that may arise as New York aims towards reaching their many important, renewable energy goals. They briefly chat a...
Jan 30, 2025•20 min•Ep. 137
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, host, Karan Takhar has a chat with Komal Kaul, Co-Founder of Isotonik Solutions, Founder of Sam India Project, and YPO Impact Network Chair. They speak primarily about her time at the YPO Impact Network. She gives a brief overview of the network, how it works, who is involved, and shares some key initiatives she’s worked on as chair. They touch on how YPO connects with people from the communities they engage with and how they get them to attend their confe...
Jan 23, 2025•39 min•Ep. 136
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode, Karan interviews Kate Kelly, Chief of Staff at Avalanche Fusion. They begin with a brief overview of nuclear fusion and why it’s considered a potential game changer for global energy systems then discuss important metrics Avalanche Fusion has been reaching lately, the equipment they use, and how the “test, fail, fix” model used at places like Blue Origin works for them. Karan and Kate also discuss the major barriers to commercializing nuclear f...
Jan 16, 2025•44 min•Ep. 135
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode, Karan interviews Joel Armin-Hoiland, Founder and CEO of Climate Finance Solutions. They start off with an overview of the work CFS is doing followed by a look into Joel’s background and the origin story behind the company. Then, they discuss what’s driven the growth of the grant funding ecosystem in recent years, what elements of a grant proposal are most compelling to funders, and how companies can position themselves well to be able to achiev...
Jan 09, 2025•43 min•Ep. 134
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan sits down with Paul Straub, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Wireframe Ventures. To start, Paul shares his journey to co-founding Wireframe Ventures and the learnings they had while building their very first fund. He then discusses how they were able to raise a fund at a time when clean tech 1.0 had just happened, how raising funds has evolved over time, and where the landscape of the VC climate funds is headed. Karan and Paul also talk about how W...
Jan 02, 2025•39 min•Ep. 133
Thanks for tuning into The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan Takhar sits down with Kristin Barbato, Co-Founder and President of Dynamo Energy Hub. They discuss the launching of Dynamo Energy Hub, how it survived the pandemic, what the company does and how they do it, and how this has evolved over time. They talk about the scale of the company, their business model, the Dynamo Deal Flow program, the various events they put on, and how to get in touch if you’re an entrepreneur or investor. Kristin giv...
Dec 26, 2024•50 min•Ep. 132
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today's episode, host Karan Takhar speaks with Brian DiMarino, Deputy Director of Global Sustainability at J.P. Morgan. They discuss J.P. Morgan’s new all-electric HQ building and all its sustainability features, they talk about the power purchase agreements J.P. Morgan is making, and discuss navigating the balance of financial benefits with sustainability benefits, as well as what inspired Brian’s shift from the real estate side to the sustainability side. The...
Dec 19, 2024•46 min•Ep. 131
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, host Karan Takhar speaks with Mona E. Dajani, Global Co-Chair of Energy Infrastructure & Hydrogen and Co-Chair of the Energy Sector at Baker Botts. They discuss her career journey, what drew her to the energy sector, and how she creates deal structures for large scale renewable projects. Mona then walks us through one of the most challenging and rewarding deals she’s worked on and gives advice to lawyers and developers navigating their own deals. Karan ...
Dec 12, 2024•27 min•Ep. 130
Thanks for tuning into The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode, Karan sits down with Pete Schork, Principal at Broadscale Group. Pete and Karan start off with a fun lightning round of questions leading into his role at Broadscale, how he sources investment opportunities, and an explanation of Broadscale’s mission: “Disruption for good.” They discuss how Broadscale balances the “disruption” part of their mission while ensuring their investments drive positive outcomes, Pete shares examples of com...
Dec 05, 2024•47 min•Ep. 129
Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast. Today, host Karan Takhar sits down with Jon Glass, Senior Technology-to-Market Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy or ARPA-E. They discuss his role at ARPA-E and how the opportunity to work there came about as well as what inspired him to do this kind of work. Jon shares an overview of ARPA-E’s process, how companies or academics can get involved, and how much weight ARPA-E puts on which early-stage companies have th...
Nov 28, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 128
