Hardware to Save a Planet The Forgotten 25%: How Project Canary Is Detecting Climate's Methane Impact
Jul 31, 2025
54:17
In this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, host Dylan Garrett welcomes William Foiles, CEO of Project Canary, to discuss how advanced sensors and AI software are transforming methane emissions detection. They explore the evolution from custom hardware to integrated data platforms, the urgency of addressing methane's climate impact, and pragmatic strategies for change. William shares how precise, real-time monitoring empowers industrial operators to reduce emissions, proving that actionable data is a powerful tool in the climate tech arsenal.
What you will learn:
- Why does methane represent 25-33% of human-induced climate change
- How Project Canary evolved from a hardware-focused startup to a software platform
- The crucial role of high-precision sensors in detecting methane leaks
- Why combining operational data with emissions monitoring creates actionable intelligence
- How utilities are using advanced mobile sensing technology to detect local gas leaks
- The "pragmatic approach" principle for driving climate solutions
- Why regulatory changes, business incentives, and technological advances are converging to make methane emissions management increasingly important
William Foiles is the Co-Founder and CEO of Project Canary, where he leads day-to-day operations across product development, field systems, supply chain, growth strategy, and data initiatives. With a background in energy finance and data acquisition technologies, he plays a key role in aligning resources to drive innovation and customer success. Will holds an MBA and MS from Stanford, an MS in Finance from Villanova, and a BBA from the University of Georgia. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Episode Resource:
- William Foiles on LinkedIn
- Canary Project Website
- Dylan Garrett on LinkedIn
- Synapse Website
- Hardware to Save a Planet Apple Podcasts
- Hardware to Save a Planet Spotify
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Previous guests include: Peter Reinhardt of Charm Industrial, Carlos Araque of Quaise, Noah McQueen of Heirloom, Areeb Malik of Glacier, Jeff Satwicz of Bigbelly, Abe Schneider of Natel Energy, Insiya Jafferjee of Shellworks, Paul Gross of Remora, Erika Boeing of Accelerate Wind and Daniel Betts of Blue Frontier.
Check out our three most downloaded episodes:
If you are interested in sponsoring Hardware to Save a Planet, please see our sponsorship offer here.
Previous guests include: Peter Reinhardt of Charm Industrial, Carlos Araque of Quaise, Noah McQueen of Heirloom, Areeb Malik of Glacier, Jeff Satwicz of Bigbelly, Abe Schneider of Natel Energy, Insiya Jafferjee of Shellworks, Paul Gross of Remora, Erika Boeing of Accelerate Wind and Daniel Betts of Blue Frontier.
Check out our three most downloaded episodes:
- Going Big on Clean Energy with Small Fusion Reactors with Robin Langtry, Co-Founder and CEO of Avalanche Energy
- The Role of Energy Storage Systems in Combating Climate Change with Mike Wietecki of Powin and John Thomas of ESS
- Marine Electrification to Reduce Costs and Environmental Damage: A Conversation with Marcelino Alvarez, CEO of Photon Marine
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