Introduction

John O'Donnell is the Co-founder and CEO of Rondo Energy. 

Rondo is tackling the massive emissions problem of industrial heat. Almost everything around us requires heat to be made, from chemicals, to paper, to cement, to steel, and historically, nearly all of that heat comes from burning fossil fuels. Renewable energy is now becoming cheaper to procure than fossil fuels, but as we know, it's intermittent, and a factory needs access to heat for its processes when it needs it. So how do we harness the fluctuating availability of renewable power and let industry turn it into a reliable and extremely high temperature heat as needed?

John believes that figuring this out is the opportunity of a lifetime and one of the biggest levers to unlock decarbonizing our economy. The Rondo heat battery, in simplest terms, takes electricity and turns it into heat via an electric heating element, like those found in a toaster, and then circulates that heat across a condensed package of bricks that can currently achieve heat of up to 1500 degrees Celsius and store it at high efficiency for extremely long periods of time.

It's a surprisingly low-tech sounding approach for a very complex problem. In this episode, John discusses the problems of industrial heat, how industry has historically solved them, some emerging technologies competing to decarbonize heat, and how Rondo works. We also talk about how project financing is evolving to consider not just the power generation capabilities of a renewable energy project, but how an end-to-end system such as renewable energy plus heat or storage can change costs for an industrial heat and power consumer. 

In this episode, we cover: 

• [03:13]: John's background in computer science, building companies, and working in the solar thermal space
• [06:08]: Introduction to global industrial heat needs
• [08:17]: Why it's challenging to harness renewable energy for industrial heat
• [11:30]: Why using electricity off the grid isn't feasible
• [13:05]: Falling cost of renewables and policies driving decarbonization of industrial heat
• [14:58] Carbon capture and the concept of a “green premium”
• [17:12]: The new class of electric thermal energy storage technologies
• [19:14]: Pros and cons of alternative energy storage options
• [24:09]: Overview of Rondo's tech
• [37:26]: How Rondo can convert stored heat back to electricity for grid supply
• [39:03]: How John sees the evolution of Rondo
• [43:11]: Rondo's projects in operation today
• [45:24]: Partnering with manufacturers and exploring zero-emission cement manufacturing
• [51:32]: The size and makeup of Rondo's products
• [53:53]: How the project financing space has evolved
• [59:12]: John's closing thoughts and opportunities in the space

Get connected: 
John O’Donnell LinkedIn
Cody Simms Twitter / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

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Episode recorded on May 24, 2023

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant