The Keep Cool Podcast

It may sound like something straight out of science fiction, but hyperspectral satellites have been around for decades, measuring the spectral profile of things like methane gas and other things that are otherwise out of view from the human eye.In this week’s podcast, Nick chats with Dan Katz, CEO and co-founder of Orbital Sidekick, about how the company is turning hyperspectral satellites into a commercially viable technology that helps solve some of the planet’s most pressing operational, environmental, and safety issues in real-time. Dan also discloses how hyperspectral technology benefits companies seeking carbon credit opportunities, the difficulties in delivering climate tech that scales, and why spreading yourself too thin too soon can spell death for any early-stage startup.Learn More About Orbital Sidekick: Website: https://www.orbitalsidekick.com/careersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbital-sidekick/Twitter: https://twitter.com/OrbitalSidekickFollow Dan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katzdaniel34/ If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool Thank you so much! Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol 

Meet the man trying to make electric vehicle charging stations more accessible, affordable, and reliable than ever before. Quincy Lee is a former mechanical engineer at SpaceX turned fast-charging renegade. He understands the importance of the EV revolution to make a positive environmental impact, and the key challenges facing the EV industry today. His mission? To accelerate the decarbonization and electrification of the transportation industry by designing EV fast charging stations that are reliable, can be deployed quickly, and don’t put undue pressure on the electricity distribution grid.In this episode, Nick and Quincy talk about how Quincy’s company, Electric Era, is deploying a full-stack EV charging solution that leverages energy storage as a wedge between the distribution grid and EV charging. Nick and Quincy also discuss how the software layer on top of the hardware is a key leverage point, as is thinking about the entire customer experience and all components of operating a charging station.  Follow Electric Era:Website: https://electriceratechnologies.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/ElectricEraTechLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/electric-era/ Follow Quincy: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quincy-lee/ If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool Thank you so much! Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol 

On this week’s pod, Nick sits down with Agilitas Energy’s CEO and President, Barrett Bilotta to chat about the state of grid-connected battery energy storage in the U.S. What are the challenges facing energy storage development, and how do energy storage developers and operators manage to balance the needs and concerns of countless stakeholders, ranging from regulators to utilities? Barrett also explains the advantages of operating the assets they build themselves, the limitations of lithium-ion technology, and how Agilitas Energy aims to capture and deploy as many clean kilowatt hours in the future as possible.Plus, stay tuned to hear about Agilitas Energy’s concrete future targets and why Barrett predicts a resurgence of hydroelectric power in the U.S. Learn more about Agilitas Energy:Website: https://www.agilitasenergy.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agilitas-energy-inc/ Follow Barrett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrett-bilotta-8257034/ If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool Thank you so much! Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol 

On this week’s pod, Nick’s sitting down with Ample co-founder and president John de la Souza to chat about the future of modular battery-swapping technology for EVs.  By swapping rather than charging an electric vehicle’s battery, Ample can deliver a 100% charge in 5 minutes or less — and with considerable other benefits for the grid. Is this a push that will help accelerate EV adoption and address common driver pain points? Or is it too much of a burden to develop the infrastructure?How will Ample make its solution more adaptable to OEMs? John and Nick dive into the nitty-gritty details of what implementation looks like and whether it’s a cost-efficient, sensible solution. Find Out More About Ample: https://ample.com Follow John:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndesouza1/ If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool Thank you so much! Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol 

Meet the company trying to make use of wasted food: Divert. Determined to create a zero-waste future, Divert’s CEO Ryan Begin sits down to chat with Nick about how the company utilizes advanced technology to turn wasted food that would turn into methane in a landfill into renewable energy instead.How do they have the confidence that their solution is truly a climate-positive solution for waste? How much work goes into preparing wasted food (e.g., removing microplastics)? And are there positive signs to indicate this technology will take off in the US as it has in other countries across Europe?  Tune in to find out! If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool Thank you so much! Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol 

What does a model-and influencer-turned-activist have to do with nuclear energy, and why should we care?As it turns out, quite a lot, and she has plenty of data, insight, and wisdom to impart when it comes to advocating for nuclear energy as a climate solution. Isabelle Boemeke, founder of the Isodope brand, drops in to chat with Nick about the common misconceptions surrounding nuclear energy and why it’s one of the safest and most effective sources of clean energy— generating more power than solar and wind combined globally. Then, they dive into the reasons why support for nuclear power is the highest it’s ever been (but still not high enough), how other countries are implementing nuclear technology into their power sectors, and where the future of nuclear tech is headed. Follow Isodope (and subscribe to her newsletter!): Website/Newsletter: https://isodope.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/i_sodope/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/i_sodope_ Follow Isabelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabelleboemeke/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/isabelleboemeke If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool Thank you so much! Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol

Learn how regenerative insect agriculture is redefining waste disposal, producing alternative protein sources from ethanol industry by-products. Discover the versatility and potential of insects as food, and the challenges faced by the insect agriculture industry. Explore the use of insects in biotechnology and collaboration in a competitive industry. Gain insights into the collaborative nature of climate tech firms and the importance of waste management. Understand the importance of raising awareness about waste separation and its potential as a resource. Hear about the ambitious targets for success in reducing antibiotic use and improving the food system.

How does a theoretical physicist studying black holes and the nature of spacetime find his way to the field of artificial intelligence and battery manufacturing? In this week’s episode, Nick sits down with Chemix cofounder Jason Koeller, an AI researcher working to revolutionize the battery industry. After realizing that energy storage was in desperate need of better technical solutions, Jason sought to build an AI-driven platform to optimize the battery manufacturing industry by collecting large amounts of data and automating complex research and development processes.   Tune in to discover Jason's journey and learn how Chemix is leading the way in working with battery manufacturers to address industry gaps and achieve sustainable, high-volume manufacturing capabilities. Follow Chemix: Website: https://www.chemix.aiLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chemix-inc/ Follow Jason:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-koeller/  If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool Thank you so much! Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol

Carbon removal wasn’t even in our vocabulary a few years ago. But now, thanks to companies like Climeworks, direct air capture technology is being brought to the forefront of climate change technology. CMO of Climeworks, Julie Gosalvez, sits down to chat with Nick about how direct air capture works by capturing CO2 particles from the air, why it’s critical to use the technology as we race to control climate change, and the challenges carbon removal tech faces in the quest to implement it on a global scale.  Plus, find out how and why carbon removal is poised to become a trillion-dollar industry in the near future. If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcool Thank you so much! Follow Julie:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliegosalvez/?originalSubdomain=fr Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol Timestamps:0:00 Intro and Background3:45 Explaining Climeworks8:03 Scaling with an Invisible Product10:04 Challenges to Climeworks Buyers15:02 Negotiating with Policymakers18:07 Plans for Expansion20:36 Collaborating with Other DAC firms22:42 Scalability in Direct Air Capture Tech24:49 Biggest Risks 26:21 Bringing the Individual Consumer into DAC29:39 Economic Impact of DAC36:46 Other Exciting Technology37:56 Outro 

The energy transition is in full swing, find out how Tyler Lancaster is helping lead the way as an investment partner in innovative climate tech startups.Tyler is a partner at Energize Ventures, a leading investor in capital-light climate tech solutions , partnering with best-in-class innovators to accelerate the energy transition.Nick and Tyler discuss how even in the last five years climate tech innovation has changed exponentially, areas of the climate tech space they’re particularly focused on , and whether the current climate tech boom has momentum to last.If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcoolThank you so much!Follow Tyler:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-lancaster-2108/Stay up-to-date on all things Keep Cool: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/keep-cool/ or follow Nick Van Osdol on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickvanosdol