Invested In Climate

Fusion, carbon transformation, grid management and more with Braemar Energy Ventures, Ep #73

Oct 24, 2023

44:21

Today we’re joined by three team members of Braemar Energy Ventures, ESG Head Lori Collins, Partner Don Tappan, a Co-Founder and Managing Partner Bill Lese. I was excited to talk to the Braemar team because their firm has been investing in energy companies for over 20 years and have backed some early category-defining pioneers like ChargePoint and EnerNOC. Since they’re investing in a wide range of companies driving the energy transition, they bring broad insights to today’s climate tech opportunities as well historical lessons from the clean tech 1.0 years. We dive deep into three of their investments, offering insights to the carbon transformation market, applying AI to upgrade the grid and last but definitely not least, nuclear fusion. We talk about the trends in those spaces, why Braemar made the bets that they did, the ESG and impact considerations of their portfolio companies and much more. Enjoy.

In today’s episode, we cover:

[2:25] Lori’s role & work at Braemar
[3:42] Don’s role & work at Braemar
[4:20] Bill’s story & founding of Braemar
[5:39] How is Braemar different today in talking about the energy transition
[7:29] Learnings from the clean tech 1.0 years
[9:00] Braemar’s investment thesis
[11:13] Learnings over a decade of investing in the space
[12:35] ESG & impact both internally & with a portfolio
[13:30] Helping portfolio companies reduce emissions & remove carbon
[15:03] Profit pools & what spaces are seen as offering the best investment opportunities
[17:54] CarbonFree & why Braemar invested
[19:55] The state of the carbon transformation market & its future
[23:27] Utilidata & why Braemar invested
[26:36] AI for the grid
[30:45] General Fusion
[35:54] The timeframe for fusion
[38:47] Predictions for the climate tech space in 2024 & what needs more attention