Supercool

Consumers want the upgrades. The climate does too. But the electrical panel in the garage stands in the way.EVs, heat pumps, induction stoves—electrification is becoming more attractive. The products are faster, cleaner, cheaper to run. But nearly 48 million U.S. homes still rely on outdated 100-amp service. That means expensive utility upgrades, long delays, and a halt to progress.Arch Rao, former Tesla Energy product lead, built Span to fix the bottleneck. The Span Panel replaces the old breaker box with a connected, intelligent device that lets homeowners add electric appliances without triggering a full service upgrade. It works with solar, batteries, and EVs—and gives people visibility and control over their energy use for the first time.Span is the upgrade that makes all the other upgrades possible. And with Span Edge, utilities can manage demand house by house, neighborhood by neighborhood—without building more poles and wires.Span turns a forgotten piece of hardware into a platform for electrification—at home, and across the grid.Show NotesGuest: Arch Rao, Founder & CEOCompany: SpanFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

David Roberts, founder of Volts and a clean energy journalist for 20 years, discusses the precarious state of America's clean energy future. He contrasts the U.S. retreat in climate policy with the global rise of renewable investments, particularly in China. Roberts emphasizes solar energy's declining costs and its transformative potential for society. He explores the urgency of enhancing the energy grid and local energy solutions, and highlights the critical role of grassroots movements in driving the clean energy revolution.

TerraCycle takes on waste the rest of the world ignores—cigarette butts, diapers, pharmaceutical blister packs.But what makes the model work isn’t what they recycle. It’s how they get companies to pay for it.Even with one of the boldest missions in climate tech—eliminate the idea of waste—TerraCycle doesn’t lead with sustainability. It leads with the business case.In this episode, CEO Tom Szaky shares with host Josh Dorfman how the company has grown for 23 straight years by solving a problem no one wanted: how to make recycling hard-to-process waste worth paying for. Salons use it to attract new customers. Labs use it to retain top talent. Big brands use it to build loyalty. Every program works because it helps someone grow their business.Tom also explains how Loop, TerraCycle’s reuse division for consumer packaging, is scaling fast in France and Japan. The reason isn’t culture. It’s the right rules and incentives.This is a conversation about reimagining the entire business model of recycling and reuse—so waste stays out of the landfill, and the value shows up on the P&L.Show NotesGuest: Tom Szaky, CEO Company: TerraCycleFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

When Roger Griffiths first heard about Formula E in 2014, he was intrigued but skeptical. A veteran of IndyCar, Le Mans, and Formula 1—and a self-described petrol head—he wasn’t convinced electric racing could deliver credible performance.Then he saw who was signing on.Michael Andretti. Alain Prost. Emerson Fittipaldi. Frank Williams. Plus early backers like Richard Branson. Racing legends and global brands were putting their reputations behind an all-electric series built for city streets, digital-native fans, and a new kind of mobility.That’s when Roger knew: failure wasn’t an option.He joined Andretti Global to help lead its Formula E team. Today, he’s Team Principal and Chairman of the Formula E Teams Association.Just over a decade later, Formula E is the fastest-growing motorsport on Earth. It races through city centers, draws 500 million fans, and connects with a global audience that legacy motorsports can’t reach.Roger takes us inside how Formula E became the sport brands chase, fans love, and the future demands.Show NotesGuest: Roger Griffiths, Team Principal, Andretti Formula ECompany: Andretti GlobalFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

Grid battery storage has gone from niche to necessary. Fast. Projects that were once 300 megawatt-hours are now hitting 9 gigawatt-hours. And companies like Wärtsilä are leading the charge, taking on the hardest, highest-stakes deployments around the world.In this episode, Dave Hebert, VP of Global Sales & Business Strategy for Wärtsilä's Energy Storage division, takes us inside the systems powering the clean energy transition. Wärtsilä has deployed over 17 gigawatt-hours of storage—enough to power millions of homes for hours at a time—across more than 130 projects worldwide. Many of these are first-of-a-kind systems built in remote deserts, on islands, and in densely populated urban neighborhoods, where batteries now operate alongside people, not just power lines.Dave shares what it takes to deliver at this level: fire safety, noise control, seismic readiness, cybersecurity, and software managing millions of real-time data points across every cell.Battery storage now sits at the heart of the energy transition. It’s how we make solar and wind reliable. How we stabilize grids shaped by AI, EVs, and electrified homes. Wärtsilä is building that future, where others won’t.Show NotesGuest: Dave Hebert, VP of Global Sales & Business StrategyCompany: Wärtsilä Energy StorageFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

Jaime Pumarejo helped lead Barranquilla, Colombia, through a stunning transition. When he first joined the city’s government in his twenties, Barranquilla was under bankruptcy protection, poverty was high, and public trust was fractured. Today, it serves as a global model for how climate action can drive economic growth, attract investment, and deliver tangible benefits to people’s lives.In 2020, when Pumarejo became mayor, he accelerated the transformation. He established a public-private tree company to enhance property values, increase tax revenue, and enhance climate resilience. Delivered 300 parks co-designed by residents. Made biodiversity and eco-tourism part of the city’s economic engine. And positioned Barranquilla to lead on clean energy, with major solar projects and Colombia’s first offshore wind farm underway.Jaime also secured capital on better terms. Convinced development banks to change how they lend. And showed that cities aren’t risky—they’re investable.Now, as a member of the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, he’s helping cities around the world unlock the climate capital they need to cut emissions and build the low-carbon future.This is what the ROI on climate looks like. Not someday—now.Show NotesGuest: Jaime PumarejoOrganization: SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, whose Secretariat is housed at the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR)For more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

The energy grid we know today was built for a different era—centralized generation, one-way power flow, no rooftop solar, no EVs, no AI-driven demand. If Thomas Edison were alive, he’d recognize it instantly. And that’s the problem.Raghu Belur bet the system would have to change. In 2006, he co-founded Enphase Energy and started from the distributed edge, designing a microinverter that made every solar panel smart, efficient, and self-reliant.That foundation became the starting point for a new kind of energy system—built to turn homes into mini power plants and partners to the grid, not just customers.Today, Enphase delivers integrated home energy systems encompassing solar, storage, EV charging, and intelligent management software that give homeowners control, reliability, and resilience in a rapidly shifting energy landscape.Raghu’s story embodies the American Dream—a young immigrant who came to the U.S. to study engineering, absorbed the best of Silicon Valley, and built a company reshaping how energy works in homes around the world. He joins Supercool to discuss how the decentralized grid isn’t just some day, it’s already here.Show NotesGuest: Raghu Belur, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer Company: Enphase Energy Video link referenced: American Innovation: Making Enphase Batteries in TexasFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low-carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter, right behind the United States and China, accounting for 8-10% of global carbon emissions. It’s a staggering problem: 30% of all food produced globally goes to waste. And for supermarkets already operating on razor-thin margins, that waste translates into billions of dollars lost every year.At the heart of the problem? A broken pricing model. Food hits an arbitrary sell-by date—and it’s trashed.Oded Omer thought that was absurd. So he built Wasteless, an AI-powered platform that helps grocers sell more food before it expires. Wasteless’ system uses dynamic discounting to find the sweet spot—just enough of a price reduction to move products at the right moment, without slashing margins.Today, grocers across Europe, the Americas, and beyond are embracing Wasteless. It’s not just a product—it’s business model innovation. Wasteless created a category that didn’t exist, and now it’s become the shorthand for solving the food waste problem—like Netflix is to streaming, or Kleenex is to tissues.In this episode, Oded shares how he built Wasteless into a global category leader—and why solving food waste is both a climate and profit imperative.Show NotesGuest: Oded OmerCompany: WastelessFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

Before becoming the youngest elected mayor in Quito’s history, Mauricio Rodas had already founded a political party, launched a think tank in Mexico City, and run for president.In 1944, when the global financial system was designed, just 29% of the world lived in cities. Today, that number has nearly doubled to 56%. Cities now account for more than 70% of global emissions and 80% of energy consumption—yet most still can’t access the capital they need to fund climate solutions. The system, built at the tail end of World War II, wasn’t made for them.Mauricio Rodas knows that firsthand. As mayor of Quito, he had to fight for national approval to fund the city’s subway. Now he’s working to change the rules. As co-lead of the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, he’s helping reshape the global financial architecture needed to unlock climate capital for cities.Mauricio joins Supercool to discuss subways, politics, public luxury goods, institutional entrepreneurship, and the global effort to rewrite outdated financial rules so cities can rapidly deploy the next generation of climate solutions.Supercool is collaborating with the Commission’s Secretariat, hosted at the University of Pennsylvania, to feature global mayors at the forefront of this movement.Show NotesGuest: Mauricio RodasOrganization: - Former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador- Visiting Scholar, Penn Institute of Urban Research, University of Pennsylvania- Co-Lead, SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG FinanceFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin 

Circularity isn’t just about keeping t-shirts and jeans out of landfills. Done right, it’s a growth engine for brands. That’s exactly what Trove is building: the recommerce technology that drives margins, attracts new customers, and streamlines operations.As the resale platform behind Patagonia, Levi’s, Brooks, Arc'teryx, Carhartt, and Canada Goose, Trove helps brands give their products a second, third, even fourth life—while driving profitable growth.For CEO Terry Boyle, an e-commerce veteran of major shopping sites like Nordstromrack.com, Zulily, HauteLook, and Trunk Club, circularity was never going to scale on sustainability values alone. It had to deliver clear business results.Trove has built that system and is now scaling it globally. Today, more than 75% of U.S. brands with branded take-back and resale programs run on Trove. With strategic acquisitions accelerating growth in the U.S. and Europe, the company aims to become the largest e-commerce player no one’s ever heard of, seamlessly operating on the backend to deliver world-class resale experiences on the front end.For brands that want to grow, the next evolution of retail is circular and profitable.Show NotesGuest: Terry Boyle, Chief Executive OfficerCompany: TroveFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Supercool on Instagram and Linkedin