Engineered for Impact, with Christian Garcia (Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures)

This week on Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Christian Garcia, Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures — the Bill Gates-backed climate fund investing in bold technologies to accelerate the energy transition across every sector of the economy. With portfolio companies tackling everything from geologic hydrogen to reusable rockets, BEV is redefining what it means to scale climate impact through hard tech.

In this conversation, Christian shares how BEV thinks about breakthrough innovation, what makes a venture-backable climate solution, and why some of the most disruptive ideas look impossible—until they’re not. We also get into:

• BEV’s origin story
• How climate and national security are converging
• The firm’s approach to fusion, hydrogen, and aerospace
• Why BEV backed both CFS and Pacific Fusion
• What drew Christian to space — and Stoke Space in particular
• And his take on what’s really being underestimated in climate today

• Chapters •

0:00 - Intro

1:04 - What is Breakthrough Energy Ventures and how is it different from a typical fund?

2:26 - BEV's investors and why are they interested

5:45 - Is there a defense interest at BEV?

9:00 - How did Christian get into this space?

11:13 - What is BEV currently focused on?

14:17 - What type of breakthrough is BEV investing in and when?

17:16 - Firms BEV co-invests with

18:34 - Seed and Pre-seed investing

25:43 - What is the goal of investing in multiple fusion companies?

30:23 - How does space fit in BEV's climate portfolio?

34:23 - How do you separate bold vision from wishful thinking?

38:03 - Balancing science and storytelling

42:08 - Tech that Christian has passed on

45:37 - A BEV company that Christian thinks will shock the world with its success

48:48 - What are some common misconceptions about climate tech?

51:28 - Rapidfire questions

• Show notes •

BEV’s website — https://www.breakthroughenergy.org/our-work/breakthrough-energy-ventures/

BEV’s socials — https://x.com/Breakthrough

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear /  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/

Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/

Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com