Best Silas Mähner Renewables Podcasts (2025)

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#257 Betting on $2 Trillion in Climate Infrastructure & Lessons from the DOE Loan Programs Office | Brendan Bell (Aligned Climate Capital) 28:35

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12d ago28:35

28:35

What does it take to scale the clean energy transition—both at the bleeding edge of new technology and in the nuts-and-bolts of infrastructure? Today’s episode dives into the nuanced world of climate finance and infrastructure with Brendan Bell, Chief Operating Officer and Partner at Aligned Climate Capital. Unlike most investors who play in either…

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#256 Soil Health, Carbon Markets & Measuring the Hidden Climate Solution Beneath Our Feet | Chris Tolles (Yard Stick PBC) 56:25

19d ago56:25

56:25

How can we fight climate change by focusing underground? It turns out one of the biggest untapped climate solutions isn’t in the air—or in the trees, it’s in the soil beneath our feet. Today’s guest has developed a game-changing way to measure and protect soil organic carbon, helping farmers, agribusinesses, and carbon markets work together for cli…

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#255 Burning Aluminum is Clean & Replaces Fossil Fuels | Peter Godart (Found Energy) 1:05:19

26d ago1:05:19

1:05:19

Ever wonder how we are going to decarbonize heavy industry? Well, you won't have to wonder much longer. Today's guest has an incredible solution that is 1) drop in, 2) cost parity (or better), 3) has an existing supply chain, 4) overcomes any scarcity concerns, and 5) prevents users from changing anything they do. Our guest is Peter Godart, the Co-…

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#254 The Path to Cost Parity Between Sustainable Fuels & Fossil Fuels | Conor Madigan, Aether Fuels 56:24

1M ago56:24

56:24

CleanTech founder Conor Madigan (Aether Fuels) reveals sustainable fuel tech breakthroughs, smart hiring, & building resilient climate startups. Join us as Conor Madigan, Founder and CEO of Aether Fuels, shares how their innovative tech is set to decarbonize aviation and shipping by drastically cutting costs and boosting fuel yield from waste strea…

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#253 The Plug-and-Play Battery Solution for Modern Home Energy | Cole Ashman (Pila Energy) 54:55

1M ago54:55

54:55

Today, we're speaking with Cole Ashman, the CEO and founder of Pila Energy. Pila is democratizing access to battery backup systems through industrial-grade, consumer-priced batteries that are simply plug-and-play. No electricians, no permitting, just reliable power. Pila's innovative approach is disrupting the home energy market, from enabling dema…

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#252 The Big Battery Bill: What the OBBB Means for Batteries in America | Eric McShane (Electroflow Technologies) 37:03

1M ago37:03

37:03

In this episode, we talk with Eric McShane, co-founder and CEO of Electroflow Technology (backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures). Eric is on a mission to revolutionize lithium production, a vital battery material. We discuss the "Big Beautiful Bill's" impact on the battery industry and how Electroflow Technology's innovative approach addresses the…

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#251 How to Fix a Quarter Trillion Solar Assets at Scale | Nikhil Vadhavkar (Raptor Maps) 27:28

2M ago27:28

27:28

In this episode, we sit down with Nikhil Vadhavkar, co-founder and CEO of Raptor Maps, to uncover how the company is tackling the invisible crisis in clean energy: operational inefficiency across $250B+ worth of solar assets. Nikhil explains why the solar industry’s problems aren’t just about building more — they’re about getting the existing infra…

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#250 How This Company Installs Level 3 Chargers Without Utility Upgrades | Tyler Phillipi (OptiGrid) 47:31

2M ago47:31

47:31

Wow - 250 Episodes! Thank you all for being part of this journey so far. Stick with us as it’s only getting better. Quotes From This Episode: "Operating an electric vehicle in your fleet is insanely cheap..." - Tyler Phillipi "Level 3 chargers without utility upgrades... Think garden hose in, fire hose out." - Silas Mähner "Amazon and Walmart... ar…

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#249 Why There's a Trillion-Dollar Green Building Boom Happening | Matt Ellis (Measurabl) 53:29

2M ago53:29

53:29

Matt Ellis (Measurabl): Building a Climate Tech Empire Join us with Matt Ellis, Founder & CEO of Measurabl, as he shares how they're transforming the green building industry. Discover how they're leveraging data and AI to drive sustainability, navigating policy, and helping building owners lower emissions. Matt dives into building a billion-dollar …

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#248 Without Federal Funding, How are Cities Deploying Curbside Charging? | Tiya Gordon (It's Electric) 45:00

3M ago45:00

45:00

Today, we’re excited to have Tiya Gordon, founder of It’s Electric, back on the pod to discuss their progress since we last spoke in early 2024. She also gives us a big update on what’s happening in the curbside charging space across the US. With the federal funding support being pulled, a lot of cities are facing challenges in meeting their electr…

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#247 Could EVs + Demand Response Solve Grid Flexibility? | Joseph Vellone (ChargeScape) 40:37

3M ago40:37

40:37

What’s up, everyone! Today we’re sharing an episode with Joseph Vellone, the CEO of ChargeScape — a Joint Venture between Ford, Honda, BMW, and Nissan. ----- Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts ----- As the grid continues to buckle under the pressure of ever-increasing demand, it’s more important than ever to find ways to m…

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#246 Sophie Purdom on Closing a $55M Fund I, the Future of Planeteer, & The 4 Types of Climate Founders 47:47

3M ago47:47

47:47

Today, we’re speaking with Sophie Purdom, Managing Partner of Planeteer Capital. After co-creating CTVC with Kim Zou, the climate deals and deep-dives newsletter that has become canon in climate, with 75k+ readers, Sophie announced Planeteer Capital. (We discussed on the pod) They are going full speed with their investing thesis, investing in compa…

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#245 The Future of Electrification & the Opportunity of Europe | Felix Krause (Vireo Ventures) 36:35

4M ago36:35

36:35

Today’s episode features Felix Krause, founding partner of Vireo Ventures, one of Europe’s leading early-stage energy tech investors. Felix is based in Berlin and brings decades of experience across solar project development, corporate VC, and now independent fund management. We dig deep into why electrification is the real unlock for climate, and …

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#244 $1bn Pipeline for Solid State Transformers | Haroon Inam & Michael Wood III (DG Matrix) 35:55

4M ago35:55

35:55

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts In This Episode:* What is a Solid State Transformer * How Solid State Transformers are Reshaping the Energy Industry* How They Built a $1bn Pipeline Sponsors: Goodwin: The Law Firm of Choice for ClimateTech Entrepreneurs ErthTech Talent: Affordable CleanTech Search Firm What’s up, everyon…

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#243 Battery Storage Supply Chains & Future in US-China Trade War | Danny Lu | Powin 41:05

4M ago41:05

41:05

Follow on YouTube | Listeners Survey Check Out Our Sponsors! * Goodwin: The Law Firm of Choice for ClimateTech Entrepreneurs * ErthTech Talent: Affordable CleanTech Search Firm What’s up, everyone! Today, we have a great episode with Danny Lu from Powin. Powin is a leading provider of BESS, w/ 8 GWh of systems built and 9 in the pipeline. As the Tr…

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#242 The 3 Most Common Mistakes Climate Founders Make | David Brekke, Goodwin 58:07

5M ago58:07

58:07

In This Episode: The story of him co-launching the Goodwin climate practice What’s happening in climate tech right now? (Market update) The 3 Biggest Mistakes Climate Founders Make Check Out Our Sponsors! Goodwin: The Law Firm of Choice for ClimateTech Entrepreneurs ErthTech Talent: Affordable CleanTech Search Firm What’s up, everyone! Today’s epis…

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#241 The Biz Model Making eFuels Pencil Out | Joe Rodden (Lydian) 37:54

5M ago37:54

37:54

Follow us on YouTube --------- Today, we have a great episode with Joe Rodden from Lydian. And we are talking all things eFuels and their story. Lydian uses Co2, Water, and abundant Green Energy to create eFuels/SAF. And because of their flexible run method, they can do it profitably, consistently. In the recent past there has been a huge demand fo…

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#240 Bulldozing in a New Era of Climate Tech Investing & Tech-Enabled Investing | Andrew Chan from Atas VC 39:18

5M ago39:18

39:18

Today, we have a great episode with Andrew Chan from Atas Ventures. Surprise surprise…we’re continuing the conversation about the climate tech vibe shift, climate tech 3.0, climate risk…whatever you want to call it. However, our conversation with Andrew Chan of Atas Ventures is a little bit different. Andrew has, from the very beginning, thought ab…

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#239 Climate Risk, a New Era for Climate Tech | Grace & Adam from Equal Ventures 33:34

5M ago33:34

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📺 Watch on YouTube What’s up, everyone! Today we have a great episode with Grace Penders and Adam Chadroff from Equal Ventures. If you're not familiar with Equal, I recommend checking out episode 116 where we had on Rick Zullo, the Founder of Equal. Today, we're continuing the conversation about the climate tech vibe shift. However, our conversatio…

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#238 ClimateTech is Mainstream, so is The Vibe Shift | Tommy Leep (Jetstream) 37:01

6M ago37:01

37:01

📺 Watch on YouTube Hey everyone! Today we’ve got a great episode with Tommy Leep from VC, Jetstream. Some of his PortCos include David Energy, Pachama, Rhizome, and past pod guests Pathways & Glacier. He’s been on the show in the past with some great advice on fundraising. Check it out — episode 85. #85 How to Raise Money for your ClimateTech Start…

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#237 Using Robotics to Transform Recycling & Building Data Moats with Hardware w/ Rebecca Hu Thrams (Glacier) 29:37

6M ago29:37

29:37

Rebecca Hu Thrams, co-founder of Glacier, is on a mission to transform recycling using AI-powered robotics and proprietary physical data to fix one of the biggest inefficiencies in waste management. Glacier isn’t just another AI company—it’s tackling the physical world problem of waste sorting, giving recyclers and major brands unprecedented visibi…

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#236 Critical Minerals: A Master Class on How to Win w/ Nicholaus Rohleder 42:33

6M ago42:33

42:33

We’re doing something a bit different…🤔 We’re exploring the urgent and evolving landscape of critical minerals with Nicholaus Rohleder from Climate Commodities. Nick, an investor and expert in the field, breaks down how the U.S. went from a leader in mineral production to heavy reliance on foreign sources—and why the time is now for entrepreneurs t…

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#235 This $100 BILLION Industry Is Hiding in Plain Sight! Big Oil's Bet on Carbon Capture 57:38

7M ago57:38

57:38

This week, we’re joined by Todd Bush, an expert in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), with decades of experience supporting oil and gas companies in their decarbonization efforts. Todd has founded and sold multiple companies and is now leading decarbonfuse, a daily newsletter tracking deal activity in carbon capture and industrial dec…

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#234 The Future of Cleaner Data Centers & Lessons from 20+ Years at Meta, LinkedIn, & Cisco w/ Yuval Bachar (EdgeCloudLink) 39:09

7M ago39:09

39:09

Yuval Bachar, Founder and CEO of Edge CloudLink (ECL), is on a mission to revolutionize data centers with hydrogen-powered, off-grid solutions. His journey spans decades, with leadership roles at Cisco, Facebook, and LinkedIn, where he built critical infrastructure for some of the biggest names in tech. Now, he’s pioneering a new wave of sustainabl…

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#233 The Climate Disruptors You Haven’t Heard of (Yet)—Inside Energy Tech Nexus w/ Nada & Jason 58:42

7M ago58:42

58:42

In This Episode We are speaking with Nada Ahmed and Jason Ethier, two of the founding partners at Energy Tech Nexus. Energy Tech Nexus is a Houston-based hub designed to connect EnergyTech startups with the resources they need to grow. This includes access to capital, corporate partners, direct access to pilot opportunities, as well as a community …

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#232 The Carbon Capture Startup Google Bet Big On—And Why It’s a Cheaper | Anca Timofte (Holocene) 33:50

7M ago33:50

33:50

In This Episode In today’s episode of CleanTechies, we’re joined by Anca Timofte, the CEO and Founder of Holocene, a direct air capture (DAC) company revolutionizing carbon removal through a continuous-loop liquid system. With over a decade of experience in carbon capture—including being one of the first employees at Climeworks—Anca offers unparall…

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#231 How to Cut Costs AND Eliminate Emissions in Homes [BY 90%+] w/ Jane Melia (Harvest Thermal) 27:05

7M ago27:05

27:05

Jane Melia is the CEO and Co-Founder of Harvest Thermal, revolutionizing home heating with heat batteries. Jane’s journey began with a vision to make home electrification both cost-effective and climate-friendly. Harvest Thermal has developed a patented system that combines heat pumps with thermal storage, reducing household emissions by 90% and en…

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#230 This Founder Built a $5M Climate Tech Startup in Africa (Here’s How!) w/ Martin Freimuller (Octavia Carbon) 30:39

8M ago30:39

30:39

Martin Freimüller, the CEO and Co-Founder of Octavia Carbon, a cutting-edge Direct Air Capture (DAC) company based in Kenya Martin’s journey began with a deep appreciation for Africa’s potential and the realization that Kenya, with its abundant geothermal energy and skilled talent pool, is the perfect location for DAC. In just two and a half years,…

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#229 How to Make Money on Pilot Projects w/ Martin Schichtel (KRAFTBLOCK) 34:49

8M ago34:49

34:49

On today’s episode, we’re speaking with Martin Schichtel, the CEO and Founder of Kraftblock, a thermal energy storage solution for industrial clients that use high heat. Today, they’re delivering their 5th project. All of which have been paid for by their customers — yep, you read that right. They have not used equity to pay for these pilot and dem…

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#228 How to Invest in ClimateTech in 2025 like a Day 1 Investor w/ Joshua Posamentier (Congruent Ventures) 30:24

8M ago30:24

30:24

Joshua Posamentier is the co-founder and managing partner at Congruent Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund focused exclusively on climate tech. With a background in physics and a career that began in the semiconductor industry, Josh transitioned into climate investing after holding various roles at Intel and Prelude Ventures. Widely regar…

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ClimateTech Wrapped 2024 37:34

8M ago37:34

37:34

Our reflections and musings as we close out the year... Topics 01:28 2024's Top CleanTechies Episodes 07:37 Insights 12:49 Reflections on Branding and Storytelling 20:22 Milestones and Achievements in 2024 26:12 Key Lessons for Climate Tech Startups 34:59 Future Outlook Support the show If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-cl…

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#226 What Working With Governments to Tackle Climate Change Looks Like w/ Julia Kumari Drapkin (ISeeChange) 30:35

9M ago30:35

30:35

Julia Kumari Drapkin is the CEO and founder of ISeeChange, a data platform that combines resident-generated insights with AI to address climate adaptation challenges. Julia’s background as a climate science reporter, covering disasters like Hurricane Katrina, inspired her to bridge the gap between people’s lived experiences and actionable climate s…

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#225 Solving Sulfur Waste while Capturing Carbon & Producing Sulfuric Acid & Hydrogen w/ Owen Cadwalader (Travertine) 37:14

9M ago37:14

37:14

Learn how this carbon capture startup also produces green chemicals AND hydrogen -- how they funded their first demo plant -- their secrets to building a resilient business model -- and what he would advise Trump's admin in order to help keep climate on track while also competing with China. Listen Time: Full Show 58:31 (no ads) | Free Preview 37:1…

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#224 How to Scale up Anode Manufacturing in the US w/ Gleb Yushin (Sila Nanotechnologies) 41:27

9M ago41:27

41:27

Hear the story of how Sila Nanotechnologies has successfully developed, taken to market, and scaled up a new Anode technology for the battery industry. -- Learn the importance of Job Creation in landing funding -- Understand why CleanTech is actually bi-partisan -- and Understand where the puck is going with the battery industry. Listen Time: Full …

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#223 Everything You Need to Know About ClimateTech Politics (DoE, DoD, GovTech, Partnerships, & More) w/ Nate Loewentheil (Commonweal Ventures) 34:55

9M ago34:55

34:55

Nate Loewentheil is the founder and managing partner of Commonweal Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on solving America's biggest challenges through entrepreneurship. Nate’s career spans angel investing, politics, and public policy. Previously, he served in the Obama White House, advising President Obama on emerging technologies…

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#222 Exposing the O&G Carbon Capture Lie & How Skytree is Doing it Right w/ Rob van Straten, CEO) 41:09

9M ago41:09

41:09

Hear the CEO of Skytree explain how you MUST build for scale to achieve impact in a timely manner -- how O&G have been releasing their captured Co2 for years -- why their biggest investor is a huge Greenhouse Operator -- the importance of co-locating your carbon capture tech with the demand -- his journey into climate -- and a few more hot takes. L…

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#221 Blended Finance is Going to Save ClimateTech (& Why We Need More of It) w/ Amy Duffuor (Azolla Ventures) 30:13

10M ago30:13

30:13

Amy Duffuor is a co-founder and General Partner at Azolla Ventures and Managing Director at Prime Impact Fund, Azolla's predecessor vehicle. She has a diverse background that spans immigration research, management consulting, impact investing, and renewables investment banking. Amy began her career studying marginalized West African migrants and la…

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#220 How This Top Investor Believes ClimateTech Startups Can Still Exit 31:19

10M ago31:19

31:19

Listen Time: Full Show 38:51 (no ads) | Free Preview 31:19 Today, we are speaking with Shaun Abrahamson from Third Sphere. Third Sphere is a leading ClimateTech investor that also has a debt strategy for high-volume production startups in the hardware space. They have backed companies like ChargeLab, ClimateBase, Gradient, OneWheel, Therma, Revivn,…

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#219 How to Win in ClimateTech Under Trump 42:27

10M ago42:27

42:27

There’s no sugarcoating it…Trump is bad news for ClimateTech — but thankfully, we have interviewed 200+ ClimateTech Entrepreneurs on how to build politically resilient companies — ensuring the future is greener no matter who the president is. Today, we’re distilling those key lessons for you. Key risks across / what’s on the chopping block Possible…

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#218 Building THE Global Climate Collaboration Community & Lessons from the 00's Tech Boom | Duncan Logan (9Zero) 49:07

10M ago49:07

49:07

Today we are joined by Duncan Logan, CEO & Co-Founder of 9Zero. A community platform to bring climate professionals together in person and online so we can work together to solve the climate crisis. Duncan previously founded RocketSpace where he saw many tech startups that would go on to become unicorns. Companies like Uber, FlexPort, and Spotify. …

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#217 How BrainBox AI has Mastered the Use of AI in Building Decarbonization | Jean-Simon Venne (BrainBox AI) 33:16

10M ago33:16

33:16

Jean-Simon Venne is the co-founder and CTO of BrainBox AI, a pioneering company using artificial intelligence to optimize energy use in buildings. With a background in telecom and deep expertise in building mechanics and computer engineering, Jean-Simon has led BrainBox’s efforts to bring scalable, autonomous HVAC systems to the market. In this epi…

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#216 This is How Nuclear Fusion Becomes a Reality w/ Brian Berzin (Thea Energy) 31:59

10M ago31:59

31:59

Brian Berzin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Thea Energy, a nuclear fusion company aiming to commercialize clean, dispatchable energy. With over 70 years of scientific research from Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Thea Energy focuses on utilizing a stellarator design for efficient and scalable fusion power. Previously an electrical engineer and venture …

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#215 Decarbonizing Mining, Microbes x Metals, National Security x Climate, & the Microbe Mafia | Liz Dennett (Endolith) 44:22

10M ago44:22

44:22

Today, we are speaking with Liz Dennett, the CEO and Founder of Endolith. Endolith recently spun out of Cemvita to form its own independent company. (Ep #200 with Moji from Cemvita) By 2050, we will need more copper than in the history of mankind due to the electrification of industry and developing countries. If we don’t solve this, it could lead …

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#214 THIS is What People ACTUALLY Think about NY ClimateWeek 27:51

11M ago27:51

27:51

A while ago, we released a survey to collect people's feedback on NY Climate Week 2024. Well… the results are in! And we are here to recap them. If you want to know… What people thought the best events were (and why) As well as the worst… (namedropped… 😬) and why Favorite topics Topics people want to see more next year What everyone’s goal was, and…

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#213 UK's New Climate Focus, Data Science in VC, Investing in DeepTech, & More w/ Arjun Jairaj (noa) 31:51

11M ago31:51

31:51

Arjun Jairaj is an investor at noa, a London-based VC firm focused on early-stage ventures in the built environment across North America and Europe. With experience spanning private equity, startup founding, and advisory roles, Arjun has worked in India, the UK, and beyond, including founding a shared economy startup called Plonk. At noa, he focuse…

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#212 Building Decarbonization at Scale, US Relationships with China, Heat Pump Revolution, & More w/ Panama Bartholomy (Building Decarbonization Coalition) 32:50

11M ago32:50

32:50

We're joined by Panama Bartholomy, Founder and Executive Director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC). We talk about Panama’s background, the journey of creating the BDC, and why heat pumps and electrification are at the heart of decarbonizing buildings. He shares insights on the challenges of transforming America’s building sector, the…

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#211 FOAK Everything, the LARGEST Offtake Agreement Directory, Capital Types, Commercialization Talent, & More w/ Yair Reem (Extantia) 55:52

11M ago55:52

55:52

Bucket List: - Do a live podcast recording ✅ Thanks to Extantia, one of THE leading ClimateTech funds in Europe, we recorded our first live podcast with Co-Founder, Partner, & LinkedIn Top Voice Yair Reem. It was FOAKing awesome. And no, it wasn’t awesome just because we got to do a live podcast, but because so many of you showed up to listen!! Sho…

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#210 Our NYCW 2024 Hot Takes 🔥 24:15

11M ago24:15

24:15

And... don't forget to fill out the post climate week survey! 📝 NYCW 2024 was a DOOZY…filled with plenty of good and crazy times that we equally don’t really remember. It went by in a blur, but so much happened in the week that we need to break it down with all you CleanTechies out there. Listen to the ep to hear about: What events we liked — Third…

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CleanTechies Event Alert 🚨- First Live Pod & NYCW Soccer Meetup 1:57

11M ago1:57

1:57

Hey Everyone! We're excited to share two big announcements. 🚨🚨 First, CleanTechies is doing its first-ever live podcast! 🎙️🎊 We are partnering with Extantia, one of THE leading ClimateTech VCs in Europe, to do our first ever live podcast recording. 🎉 When: Wednesday, Sep. 25th @ 4 pm Sharp (be early) Where: Register for address Register for 1 of 15…

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🚨Special EP 209: Get the Most out of NY Climate Week 34:50

12M ago34:50

34:50

NY Climate Week is ####ing insane — event after event after event. If you’re not careful, you’ll waste an entire week of work and sleep — and get nothing out of it. We are here to give you our two cents… or rather, 35 min of advice on how to get the most out of your climate week experience. This is for you regardless if this is your first or fifth …