S7 Ep3: Pioneering climate-positive lending, with Ravi Mikkelson of Atmos
Nov 9, 2023
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Ravi Mikkelson, CEO of Atmos, revolutionizing fintech infrastructure to make climate-positive lending solutions available to consumers (and banks!). Topics include financing solar with bank mortgages, technical challenges in climate tech banking, transitioning to a clean electrified economy, concrete KPIs for a sustainable future, and appreciation for climate-positive lending.
Atmos is a climate tech company that revolutionizes fintech infrastructure to provide climate-positive lending solutions worldwide, making the transition to clean energy affordable and accessible for everyone.
Atmos encourages customers to move their money from traditional banks to Atmos accounts, where every dollar is invested in clean energy deployment, shifting the banking industry towards climate-aligned solutions.
Deep dives
Atmos: A Climate Tech Company Facilitating Clean Energy Deployment
Atmos is a multi-sided FinTech company that bridges borrowers, banks, credit unions, and installers in the clean energy and electrification deployment space. By offering bank loans, Atmos focuses on financing solutions that can be supported by the banking system while driving climate action. Their core mission is to facilitate the transition to clean energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. With a user-friendly interface and climate-positive banking options, Atmos aims to empower individuals and businesses to align their finances with their sustainability goals. By providing accessible, affordable, and impactful choices, Atmos envisions a future where gigawatts of clean energy, energy storage, and electric vehicles are deployed, contributing to a sustainable and climate-resilient world.
Changing the Landscape of Banking with Climate-Focused Financing
Atmos recognizes the untapped potential of customer deposits in promoting climate action. They encourage customers to move their money from traditional banks that often fund fossil fuel projects to Atmos accounts, where every dollar is invested in clean energy deployment. By leveraging customer deposits and offering bank loans to finance solar installations, heat pumps, electrification, and EVs, Atmos aims to shift the banking industry towards climate-aligned solutions. Through their software and partnerships with community banks and credit unions, Atmos makes the transition to sustainable banking easy, rewarding, and impactful.
Building a Sustainable Financial Ecosystem for Climate Tech
Atmos faces technical challenges in integrating with banking systems and ensuring security and fraud prevention. However, they continue to improve their software and APIs to streamline operations and enhance user experience. With a focus on measurement, verification, and impact tracking, Atmos aims to provide users with real-time data on their contribution to the clean energy transition. By facilitating the deployment of smaller-scale clean energy projects and promoting e-bikes as an alternative to gas-powered vehicles, Atmos envisions a future where individuals have agency in driving climate action and reducing their carbon footprint.
Scaling Climate Action with Atmos
Atmos sets ambitious goals for the next decade, aiming to facilitate the deployment of gigawatts of clean energy, energy storage solutions, and electric vehicles. Their key performance indicators include the number of clean energy installations, the amount of energy produced, and the number of gas-powered vehicles replaced by e-bikes. By collaborating with credit unions, banks, and non-bank financiers, Atmos seeks to expand access to climate-focused financing. Their ultimate vision is to revolutionize banking by empowering individuals and institutions to fund the clean energy transition, creating a more sustainable and climate-resilient future.
Discover how Atmos, a climate tech company that looks like a bank, is revolutionizing fintech infrastructure to make climate-positive lending solutions available to consumers (and banks!) across the world.
Ravi Mikkelson, CEO of Atmos, joins the ‘Keep Cool Show’ to discuss his mission of making the transition to clean energy affordable and accessible for everyone. Learn about Atmos’ innovative financing solutions, the challenges they’ve faced in building what is both a climate tech and fintech company, and their vision for a more sustainable future.
Plus, who are Atmos’ main competitors? And what, exactly, do they hope to accomplish by 2030?
Tune in to this episode for an inspiring conversation on climate-positive banking and the power of sustainable solutions.
00:00:18 - Atmos: The Climate Tech Bank
00:01:37 - Using Bank Mortgages to Finance Solar: A Climate Solution
00:10:27 - Exploring the Intelligence of Atmos
00:15:38 - New Bank Aims to Change the World
00:24:56 - Solving Technical Challenges in BaaS
00:29:10 - Improving Measurement and Verification Methods
00:31:38 - How to Decide on Funding Solutions for Business Growth