E75: Methane moonshots, catalytic capital, and more with Johanna Wolfson from Azolla Ventures

Tune is as Nick is joined by Johanna Wolfson, co-founder and General Partner of Azolla Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in breakthroughs that have the potential to avert catastrophic climate change. Together, Nick and Johanna explore Azolla Ventures’ unique approach to combining catalytic capital—philanthropic and risk-tolerant funding designed to prioritize impact over returns—with traditional venture capital to fill critical early-stage gaps left by traditional investors and accelerate innovation in and adoption of climate tech solutions.

Johanna also explores how this approach enables her and her team to support “big swings” in climate solutions—including in under-discussed and under-supported areas of technological innovation—by bridging high-risk deployments from ideation and spin-out stages through commercialization, particularly for technologies often considered too risky.

Further, they discuss:

• Urgency and opportunity in methane emissions mitigation: Nick and Johanna reflect on a common appreciation and excitement for opportunities to slow global warming by supporting methane mitigation technologies and approaches, which other investors across climate tech and energy often overlook. Further, Johanna offers a portfolio company example to ground this discussion in tangible terms.
• Long-termism and adaptability in climate investing: Nick and Johanna iterate on and advocate for a longer-term approach to climate investing, emphasizing planning horizons of 2050 and beyond to foster greater durability across policy shifts and macroeconomic trends. They also emphasize the need for adaptability in response to rapid technological and market changes.
• Other underserved technological and policy-focused opportunities: Johanna encourages entrepreneurs and funders to review and adjust their theories of change continually and to look globally for “where the action is”—including emerging opportunities in international regulations, such as new global carbon taxes for shipping, stratospheric aerosol injection, and the importance of government research funding in advancing early-stage solutions.

Timestamps:

00:01:28 – Introductions and Azolla Ventures' investment strategy

00:05:39 - Portfolio companies: Sublime Systems and lower-carbon cement production

00:10:15 - Role of catalytic capital in climate tech startups formation and scaling

00:11:19 – Portfolio companies: Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals

00:14:25 – The primacy of long-term climate tech investment perspectives

00:16:58 - Current climate tech investment environment across geographies

00:22:36 - Balancing short-term realities with long-term goals

00:25:23 - Methane moonshots and a focus on Biolumic

00:27:24 – Massive opportunities in methane and nitrous oxide mitigation

00:29:02 - Stratospheric aerosol injection and other emerging climate interventions

00:30:30 - Final thoughts and calls to action

Learn more about Johanna’s work and Azolla Ventures by following both on LinkedIn and exploring Azolla Ventures’ website and portfolio here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannawolfson/ + https://www.linkedin.com/company/azolla-ventures/ + https://azollaventures.com/

If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me

a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool

Plus, you can stay up to date on all things Keep Cool here: https://keepcool.co/ and follow Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasvanosdol/

Thank you so much.