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

CleanTechies

Content provided by Silas & Somil. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Silas & Somil or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

24d ago 56:24

MP3•Episode home

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 streams. A second-time founder, Conor also unpacks his proven strategies for building high-talent, low-ego teams and fostering constructive tension for optimal results.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts

Memorable Quotes:

"The overall result of that is to cut the capex of a plant by about 50%." — Conor Madigan
"Until you've built a big network of your own... it's pretty invaluable to have a top-notch recruiter." — Conor Madigan
"If you compare an electrified system versus a fired system, you can boost the output by about 20%." — Conor Madigan
"I… try to create a constructive sort of tension inside of an organization by pairing together certain personality traits." — Conor Madigan

In this episode, we discuss:

00:53 - Introduction to Conor Madigan and Aether Fuels
03:55 - Aether Fuels' core technology and market
05:27 - The innovation: cutting CAPEX and boosting yield
28:00 - The year-long "funnel" to choose the right climate problem
30:59 - Conor's philosophy on team building: high talent, low ego
32:00 - Creating constructive tension in R&D vs. Engineering
38:35 - Why senior hires need to be "player-coaches" at startups
40:30 - Transparent communication during challenging times
46:00 - Policy trends and market drivers for SAF
49:50 - Cost parity expectations for Aether Fuels' product

Links

Conor Madigan | Aether Fuels
Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

70+ Placements
5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Chapters

1. #254 The Path to Cost Parity Between Sustainable Fuels & Fossil Fuels | Conor Madigan, Aether Fuels (00:00:00)

2. Introduction to Conor Madigan and Aether Fuels (00:00:53)

3. Aether Fuels' core mission: decarbonizing aviation and shipping (00:02:42)

4. ClimateTech OG inspiration: James Hansen (00:03:12)

5. TLDR: Aether Fuels' technology and market (00:03:55)

6. Visualizing the innovation: cutting CAPEX and boosting yield (00:05:27)

7. Optimizing for 1-5k barrels/day scale (00:14:15)

8. Feedstock flexibility and mixing waste streams (00:15:16)

9. How the innovation was discovered (GTI Energy partnership) (00:17:21)

10. The contrarian view on hydrogen prices in 2022 (00:19:00)

11. Conor Madigan's background and journey into ClimateTech (00:21:55)

12. The incubation process with Zora Innovation/Temasek (00:27:40)

13. The year-long "funnel" to choose the right climate problem (00:28:00)

14. Conor's philosophy on team building: high talent, low ego (00:30:59)

15. Creating constructive tension in R&D vs. Engineering (00:32:00)

16. The invaluable role of top-notch recruiters (00:33:55)

17. Why senior hires need to be "player-coaches" at startups (00:38:35)

18. Transparent communication during challenging times (00:40:30)

19. Why founders should share challenges and invite ideas (00:43:27)

20. Policy trends and market drivers for SAF (00:46:00)

21. Business model: tech & project developer, future licensing (00:49:34)

22. Cost parity expectations for Aether Fuels' product (00:49:50)

23. What needs to happen for widespread fossil fuel cost parity (00:53:16)

24. Final call to action and where to find Aether Fuels (00:55:10)

256 episodes