Best Sodium Ion Battery Podcasts (2025)

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What's the deal with sodium-ion batteries? 1:18:32

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11d ago1:18:32

1:18:32

Lithium-ion dominates the battery world, but alternative chemistries are finding their niches. I talk with Landon Mossburg, CEO of Peak Energy, about using sodium-ion batteries for large-scale grid storage. They trade some energy density for a longer life and radically lower operating costs, thanks to an innovative, passively cooled design. We also…

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How can Africa benefit from the critical-minerals rush? 39:48

27m ago39:48

39:48

In the past, Africa's natural resources have often proven to be a curse, leading to exploitation, corruption, and immiseration of indigenous people. Now it finds itself at the center of another resource boom, this time around the critical minerals that will fuel the clean energy transition (lithium, copper, etc.). Will this time be different? Patri…

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Is now the time for DERs to scale? 41:01

6m ago41:01

41:01

A decade ago, DERs were hot. The hype was that things like batteries, smart devices, and other distributed energy technologies would offset the need for expanding traditional grid infrastructure. But DERs never took off, at least not at the scale that many hoped for. They had high price tags and short track records compared to the existing substati…

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Are we finally getting 3D-printed batteries? 54:20

1h ago54:20

54:20

Dry printing of battery electrodes can avoid the toxic solvents and industrial ovens involved in the conventional wet process, which means a smaller physical and environmental footprint, but engineers have struggled to make it work at the needed scale and speed. Now a company called Sakuu says it has cracked the code. It is selling machines it clai…

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When to colocate data centers with generation 36:32

27m ago36:32

36:32

The idea of colocating data centers with behind-the-meter generation is picking up steam, including large projects in Memphis, Texas, and Utah developing significant on-site capacity, mostly from combined-cycle gas plants. The main argument is speed to power. Building your own generation allows data centers to sidestep the challenges involved in gr…

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The debate over renewable energy certificates (RECs) 1:15:51

1h ago1:15:51

1:15:51

In this episode, I dig into the debate over reforming renewable energy certificates (RECs), the instruments that allow companies to claim they're "100% renewable." I'm joined by Michael Leggett of Ever.green and Peggy Kellen of the Center for Resource Solutions to discuss the push for a "24/7" system that matches RECs to the exact time and place of…

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How inverters can stabilize a renewables-heavy grid 1:02:18

4d ago1:02:18

1:02:18

Today's electricity grids are kept stable by the inertia of spinning masses — mostly fossil fuel generators. But what happens when those spinning masses are replaced by inverter-based resources like wind, solar, and batteries? The answer is that inverters must take over the stabilizing job, becoming "grid-forming" rather than merely “grid-following…

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AMA: Geoengineering, nuclear, power prices, and more 42:06

12d ago42:06

42:06

You sent in great questions, and today we’re answering them. In this episode, Shayle hands it over to Lara Pierpoint, the managing director of Trellis Climate at the Prime Coalition and host of The Green Blueprint. Together they cover topics like: Whether solar radiation management will remain the “black sheep” of climate technologies What technolo…

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The mechanics of data center flexibility 36:07

20d ago36:07

36:07

Adding flexibility to data center loads could ease strain on the grid and reduce the need for costly new generation. And, according to one study, shaving off just a few megawatts during peak hours could also unlock unused capacity —as many as 98 gigawatts in the U.S — if those facilities reduced load by just 0.5% each year. The problem: data center…

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Climate philanthropy in a time of Trump 55:52

22d ago55:52

55:52

This week I talk with Dan Stein, whose organization Giving Green seeks to align climate philanthropy with the principles of effective altruism. But what does "effective" mean in the face of fossil fuel autocracy? We discuss the difficulties of measuring systems change and debate the limits of technocratic solutions. This is a public episode. If you…

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The Green Blueprint: Terrawatt Infrastructure’s billion-dollar strategy 35:45

30d ago35:45

35:45

Editor's note: With the Trump administration's efforts to roll back California's electric trucking rules, there's new attention on heavy duty transport right now. So we're bringing you a deep dive into the industry, an episode of The Green Blueprint on Terawatt Infrastructure's $1 billion strategy to build charging depots. In 2021, Neha Palmer co-f…

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What does clean energy activism look like? 1:17:25

20d ago1:17:25

1:17:25

Movement veterans Bill McKibben and Jamie Henn have been thinking about where climate activism goes from here. They argue for a new focus on celebrating and accelerating the miraculous global boom in solar power. We get into what it looks like to fight for building stuff, how to win the online information war for clean energy, and why the sun offer…

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CAMCO’s $250M REPP 2 Fund: Building the African grid of the future 41:52

1M ago41:52

41:52

In this episode of The Energy Talk, we delve into the inner workings of the REPP 2 fund, a groundbreaking initiative managed by Camco, aimed at transforming the renewable energy landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa. We welcome Ben Hugues (Fund manager of REPP 2) and Ieva Indriunaite (former head of REPP 2’s technical assistance facility), to share insig…

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The case for sodium-ion 45:36

26d ago45:36

45:36

Our first episode covering sodium-ion batteries featured a cautious take on the chemistry: Back in February Adrian Yao, founder of Stanford’s STEER program, explained the challenges of reaching competitive energy density and costs, especially given the falling price of LFP. Still, sodium-ion chemistries are picking up steam, thanks largely to growi…

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Trump's latest attempt to save coal 55:04

1M ago55:04

55:04

In this episode, I'm joined by Frank Rambo of the Horizon Climate Initiative to discuss "uneconomic dispatch" — the costly and polluting practice of running coal plants even when cheaper, cleaner options are available. We dig into why utilities get away with this, how the Trump administration is now trying to force them to continue via bogus "relia…

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Explaining the ‘Watt-Bit Spread’ 42:01

1M ago42:01

42:01

Editor’s note: The uncertainties of data center construction — like when, where, and how much to build — are as pressing as ever. So we’re revisiting a conversation with Brian Janous, co-founder and chief commercial officer at data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure. In this episode, he explains his theory of the ‘Watt-Bit Spread’, which of…

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What the FEOC? 59:43

1M ago59:43

59:43

In this episode, I'm joined by Jake Higdon and Isabel Munilla, who helped develop the original "foreign entity of concern" (FEOC) standards for the Inflation Reduction Act, which sought to encourage domestic supply chains. We explore the security risks that prompted FEOC policy, the delicate balance required to do it right, and the absolute hash th…

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A fireside chat with Jigar Shah 1:07:26

2M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

In this episode, recorded live back in May, I'm joined by the one and only Jigar Shah to discuss Washington state climate policy and post-IRA policy in general. Jigar argues that to build political durability, the climate movement must shift its focus from shiny tech to solving everyday cost-of-living problems and that smart finance is the real key…

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PJM and the capacity crunch 31:43

1M ago31:43

31:43

The PJM capacity auction this month broke records with sky-high wholesale power prices — and that was by design. Under PJM’s auction rules, tight supply raises prices, incentivizing the development of new generation and encouraging existing generation to stay online. The big driver of that tight supply? Data-center driven load growth. The independe…

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US transit costs and how to tame them 1:36:33

2M ago1:36:33

1:36:33

I'm joined by Alon Levy of NYU's Transit Costs Project, whose work documents how expensive it is to build transit in the US relative to the rest of the world. We discuss how countries like Spain and Italy build cheaply by relying on in-house public expertise and standardized designs, while the Anglosphere is captured by a costly ideology of privati…

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Repurposing EV batteries for grid storage 27:35

2M ago27:35

27:35

The job of an EV battery is unforgiving. If its performance slips too far — say, lost acceleration or range — it's probably off to the recycling heap. That’s even though it may have plenty of usable life, if only for something less demanding than powering a vehicle. Grid storage is theoretically a gentler job, involving slower discharging and more …

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Ann Arbor's experiment with a new kind of utility 1:05:28

2M ago1:05:28

1:05:28

Ann Arbor voted to create a parallel, municipal electric utility that offers only distributed renewables, and Missy Stults is the woman making it real. We explore the nuts and bolts: buying existing solar for seed revenue, building microgrids in a city still served by DTE, and why DTE is — so far — more curious than threatened. If it works, the SEU…

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What's going on with electric boats? 1:02:20

2M ago1:02:20

1:02:20

In this episode, Arc CEO Mitch Lee explains why the jump from gas-powered boats to electric boats is even bigger, in terms of quality and user experience, than the jump from gas-powered cars to EVs. EBs are strikingly quieter, have greater torque, and require much less maintenance. Oh, and despite what Trump says, they are also much safer and less …

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Five big questions emerging from the OBBB 44:19

2M ago44:19

44:19

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) complicates things. Together with a related executive order, it dismantled key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, while also injecting uncertainty into tax credit eligibility. The uncertainty in particular throws a wrench into project planning and leaves big questions about the impact across climate tech. So wha…

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Solar+storage is so much farther along than you think 1:05:03

2M ago1:05:03

1:05:03

I chat with Kostantsa Rangelova and Dave Jones, authors of a new Ember report, who find that solar-plus-storage costs have declined so much that it can now provide baseload-level power in sunny cities for less than the cost of new nuclear or even new gas. We discuss why even energy pros are behind the curve on this, how quickly the technology is im…

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Trump's big bill: How bad is it and what comes next? 15:02

2M ago15:02

15:02

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf In this "What the F is Happening" episode, I'm joined by Jane Flegal and Jesse Jenkins to perform a wake for the Inflation Reduction Act after the passage of the GOP's "Big Beautiful Bill." We sift through the wreckage to see what was saved versus what was buried, analyze t…

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Tumult in residential solar 34:34

2M ago34:34

34:34

Residential solar has had a rough couple of years. In 2024, the market contracted 31% and major companies like Sunpower and Titan went bankrupt. Now, only halfway through 2025, Sunnova and Mosaic have filed for bankruptcy, too. The market has suffered from low demand, high interest rates, and major policy changes like California’s cuts to net meter…

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A closer look at Montana's housing "miracle" 1:17:00

2M ago1:17:00

1:17:00

In this episode, I talk with Montana state senators Forrest Mandeville (R) and Ellie Boldman (D) about the bipartisan housing reforms their state has passed over the last two legislative sessions — reforms so sweeping YIMBYs have dubbed them the "Montana miracle." We discuss the unlikely coalition supporting the bills, the impact of the policies, a…

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PG&E tries to prove that a big utility can innovate 1:16:42

3M ago1:16:42

1:16:42

PG&E, California's notoriously troubled utility, is trying to prove it can innovate, so I invited Quinn Nakayama, head of its new GRiD program, to explain how. We discuss its strategy of publicly outlining its problems to attract partners and its shift toward faster, more flexible interconnection for new loads like EVs and data centers. This is a p…

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Fresh intel from state utility regulatory filings 36:34

3M ago36:34

36:34

You’ve probably heard about Nat Bullard’s massive decarbonization slide decks, filled with charts and insights into decarbonization drawn from climate and energy data. This time he's waded through piles of utility regulatory filings — countless PDFs that hint at the inner workings of utilities and large customers — to find clues about everything fr…

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Can data centers be good grid citizens? 52:34

3M ago52:34

52:34

The frantic buildout of AI data centers is threatening to overwhelm electric grids, but what if they could be part of the solution? I chat with Jeff Bladen of Verrus, a company designing data centers to be "good grid citizens" from the ground up. We discuss how their novel architecture, combining large-scale batteries with a more efficient internal…

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Accelerating Capital Deployment in Distributed Renewable Energy: Odyssey’s Product Market Fit 30:50

3M ago30:50

30:50

In this episode, we sit down with Emily McAteer, CEO and Co-founder of Odyssey Energy Solutions, one of the most influential startups in the climate tech space for emerging markets. Odyssey is transforming how Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) projects are financed, procured, and managed—especially in emerging markets across countries in Africa, a…

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Reducing the climate impacts of food and farming 1:20:04

3M ago1:20:04

1:20:04

In this episode, I chat with fellow energy nerd-turned-ag-reporter Michael Grunwald about agriculture’s climate impact. We explore the folly of biofuels, the promise of meat alternatives, and the central importance of increasing yields. While we can imagine a future of energy abundance, land is a zero-sum game — no one’s making more — so the choice…

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GM's big new battery tech push 36:35

2M ago36:35

36:35

Lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) batteries could offer a rare combination in energy storage: high energy density at lower costs. They swap much of the expensive nickel for abundant, affordable manganese. But technical hurdles — like poor cycle life, voltage decay, and long formation time — kept them on the sidelines. Now GM says it’s solved these chall…

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The fight to build faster in California 1:00:08

3M ago1:00:08

1:00:08

In this episode, I'm joined by two of California's leading housing champions, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and Senator Scott Wiener, to discuss their bills to reform the state's notorious environmental review law, CEQA. We explore how a well-intentioned 1970s environmental protection has become a tool for NIMBYs, unions, and even oil companies to del…

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Doctors rewrite baby’s DNA to save his life 11:02

3M ago11:02

11:02

The Daily Quote podcast page The Great News Podcast page The Great News Letter CONTACT ME Recorded in my secret underground layer, here are the latest great news stories from greatnewspodcast.com. Brought to you by the Daily Quote - a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. Tired of all the Doom and Gloom news from Mainstream Medi…

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Rep. Mike Levin reflects on the Republican budget bill 1:02:55

3M ago1:02:55

1:02:55

In this episode, Rep. Mike Levin and I discuss the “Big Beautiful Bill” that raises energy bills, kills 830,000 jobs, and gifts China the next industrial revolution. We unpack the fossil-fuel cash behind the carnage, the paradox of red districts cutting their own subsidies, and the optimistic playbook — centered on transmission and real climate eco…

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The story of steam 32:06

3M ago32:06

32:06

Addison Stark thinks waste heat is a waste of time. The real opportunity, he argues, is decarbonizing industrial steam, which accounts for roughly 30% of industrial heat in the U.S. But doing that means deploying alternatives to the fossil fuel boilers industry currently relies on. So how do you clean up steam? And why does Addison think waste heat…

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A win for transit-oriented development in Washington state 1:09:32

3M ago1:09:32

1:09:32

Washington state just passed one of the strongest transit-oriented development bills in the nation, and in this episode, I talk with Rep. Julia Reed and Alex Brennan from Futurewise about how they got it done. We discuss why building more housing near transit is so important, what this landmark legislation entails for density and affordability, and…

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Sen. Martin Heinrich on the fight over clean energy in the Senate 42:12

3M ago42:12

42:12

On June 4, at a Canary Media event in Washington, DC, I sat down with Senator Martin Heinrich to dissect the GOP’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” — a sledgehammer aimed at the Inflation Reduction Act, public-lands protections, and US science. We talk about the handful of Republican votes that could still save key tax credits, why bipartisan permitt…

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The state of play of data center development 36:24

3M ago36:24

36:24

The future of the grid increasingly hinges on where and how data centers get built. To forecast the kind of power infrastructure we need to meet AI’s growing appetite, we first need to understand a laundry list of variables: data center size, workload type, latency, reliability — even the variety of a data center’s coolant system. So what’s the sta…

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Making electric motors better 54:18

3M ago54:18

54:18

In this episode, I'm digging into the surprisingly overlooked world of electric motors with Ankit Somani of Conifer, a startup aiming to revolutionize these unsung workhorses of the energy system. We explore their ambitious approach to making motors lighter, more efficient, and cheaper to build, all while ditching problematic rare-earth magnets. Th…

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A journey from clean-energy wonkery to influencer fame 1:00:27

4M ago1:00:27

1:00:27

In this episode, I talk with Taylor Krause, who went from working on hydrogen policy at RMI to finding a quantum physicist husband and unexpected fame on Netflix's Love Is Blind. We unpack her surreal journey from clean-energy wonk to popular influencer and how she's navigating using her newfound influence. This is a public episode. If you'd like t…

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A New Sodium Ion Battery Might Reshape the EV Industry 11:06

4M ago11:06

11:06

The Daily Quote podcast page The Great News Podcast page The Great News Letter Voicemail feedback line – 1-877-636-1474 CONTACT ME Recorded in my secret underground layer, here are the latest great news stories from greatnewspodcast.com. Brought to you by the Daily Quote - a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. Tired of all the…

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The gas turbine crunch 39:04

4M ago39:04

39:04

Demand for turbines is growing fast, but so are lead times — causing serious headaches for developers. In Texas, one of six projects that pulled proposals from consideration for a valuable financing program cited “equipment procurement constraints” as the reasons for its withdrawal. Lead times are stretching to four years and sometimes more. Costs …

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How to reduce the impact of mining 1:00:46

4M ago1:00:46

1:00:46

In this episode, I chat with Johanna Wolfson, co-founder of Azolla Ventures, about their unique philanthropic-backed VC model tackling the tough problem of sustainable mining for the clean energy transition. We explore the promising tech Azolla is backing to reduce mining's impact, from using electrochemistry to refine copper without dirty smelting…

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What the F is happening? Part 3 19:52

4M ago19:52

19:52

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf This week on "What the F is Happening" (periodic episodes in which we reluctantly discuss current events) we talk with Adrian Deveny, a former Senate aide who was in the trenches for the IRA's creation, about the House GOP's "Big Beautiful Bill." In its current form, it amo…

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How geothermal gets built 32:01

4M ago32:01

32:01

Geothermal seems to be nearing an inflection point. With rising load growth, clean, firm power is more valuable than ever. Next-gen geothermal players like Fervo Energy and Sage Geosystems are signing PPAs with major tech firms. Even U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright — a known critic of renewables — has praised the potential of geothermal. The …

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Parking reform in Washington, parking reform everywhere! 1:04:24

4M ago1:04:24

1:04:24

In this episode, I talk with Catie Gould and Alan Durning of the Sightline Institute about the "dark matter" of urban land use: parking — specifically, the municipal parking mandates that help make housing more expensive and scarce. We discuss a landmark new parking reform bill in my home state of Washington, what it does and the coalition that mad…

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The past and future of community choice aggregation 1:02:23

4M ago1:02:23

1:02:23

This week, I chat with Dawn Weisz of MCE Clean Energy about the nitty-gritty of community choice aggregation, where local governments take control of their electricity procurement. We get into issues like navigating utility obstruction, the complexities of rising grid costs they don't control, and their push for smarter, more autonomous regulation.…