Climate Positive

For the world to meet its growing need for low-cost clean energy and achieve ambitious decarbonization targets, land-based onshore wind energy must be an increasingly large part of the electricity generation mix—potentially as much as 20-41% by 2050, according to BloombergNEF and the International Energy Agency (IEA). But there is a challenge: the most efficient and cost-effective wind turbines, currently applied only in offshore wind farms, have enormous blades—some longer than a football field. That makes them extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deliver and deploy, as bridges, tunnels, and road curves literally get in the way. To explore how the onshore wind industry can overcome these obstacles and drive further growth for the sector, Gil Jenkins spoke with Mark Lundstrom, Founder and CEO of Radia. Mark is a serial cross-industry entrepreneur and MIT aerospace engineer who has co-founded companies over the course of his career that seek to bring aerospace solutions to new sectors, including biotech, telecommunications, and materials science. With Radia, Mark is focused on applying these technologies to the low-carbon energy transition. Radia is in the process of building the world’s largest aircraft, which will enable the deployment of the industry's biggest and best wind turbines to locations they could never reach before—creating more clean power at a lower cost.Links:Radia WebsiteMark Lundstrom on LinkedInRadia on LinkedInPress Release:Radia to Provide Low-Cost Clean Energy with the World’s Biggest Wind Turbines Enabled by the World’s Largest Aircraft (March 17, 2024)Press Release: Aerospace Leaders Aernnova, Leonardo and AFuzion Will Partner With Radia to Build WindRunner™, World’s Largest Aircraft (July 16, 2024)Whitepaper: DeSolve Study: GigaWind has enormous economic and environmental impact (Princeton University researchers Dr. Jesse Jenkins and Dr. Nestor Sepulveda - September 1, 2023)Episode recorded August 22, 2024  Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

The maritime industry transports over 80% of goods worldwide and is essential to the deployment of climate technologies.  At present, the industry contributes approximately 2 to 3% of global emissions, but this figure is projected to grow without major changes to the industry and its ancillary services. However, decarbonizing the maritime industry is unusually challenging.  As the president of Marine and executive vice president at Wärtsilä, Roger Holm’s team helps power one out of every three ships worldwide. In light of new EU regulations and the International Maritime Organization’s goal of net neutral carbon emissions by 2050, Wärtsilä is now focused on solving the decarbonization riddle for clients that operate ships that can last for decades and need to be able to adapt to a wide range of infrastructure and fuels in ports. In this episode, Roger Holm chats with Hilary Langer and shares why Wärtsilä approaches maritime decarbonization at the systems level, why clients are increasingly focused on sustainability, and where he sees the greatest potential for carbon and cost savings. Links:Wärtsilä Marine SolutionsEuropean Commission - Reducing emissions from the shipping sectorWorld Resources Institute - Decarbonizing International ShippingNYTimes Gift Link – Shipping Contributes Heavily to Climate Change. Are Green Ships the Solution?Bloomberg - How the Shipping Industry Aims to Reach Net Zero by 2050Episode recorded August 14, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

As the accelerating deployment of variable wind and solar resources pushes us ever closer to Net Zero – or the state whereby we’re not emitting any more greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere than we are simultaneously removing – we increasingly need to deploy both battery storage as well as dispatchable renewable baseload generation. But despite its ability to serve as dispatchable renewable baseload, geothermal energy today accounts for less than 1% of the world's primary energy supply.  In this episode, Chad Reed chats with Jeanine Vany, co-founder and executive vice president of corporate affairs at Eavor, a next generation geothermal energy company based in Calgary, Canada. Jeanine adeptly explains how Eavor’s Closed-Loop solution is different and better than traditional geothermal, discusses how Eavor plans to scale its initial projects, details the numerous environmental benefits next generation geothermal can provide and much more.Links:EavorUnderground, Underdog: The Eavor StoryLoonshots by Safi BahcallEpisode recorded June 21, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

We started the Climate Positive podcast just over three years ago at HASI, seeing an opportunity to contribute our unique perspective to the climate and clean energy podcast scene. As a pure play climate investment firm, we aimed to cultivate a forum for mission-driven leaders, innovators, and changemakers to engage in conversations about the challenges and opportunities on the path to a climate-positive future. Our inaugural episode of Climate Positive featured our trailblazing former CEO and current Board Executive Chair, Jeff Eckel. Now, looking back on over 75 episodes since launch, we wanted to take a moment to reflect and celebrate this journey and share more about the people leading HASI today in this special episode. Join Chad, Gil, and Hilary in this insightful conversation with three of HASI's most senior leaders - CEO Jeff Lipson, CFO Marc Pangburn, and Chief Client Officer Susan Nickey.Links: Jeff Lipson Bio & LinkedInMarc Pangburn Bio & LinkedinSusan Nickey Bio & LinkedinEp. 1: A climate finance pioneer | Jeff Eckel, CEO of HASIPress Release: HASI and KKR Establish $2 Billion Strategic Partnership to Invest in Sustainable Infrastructure Projects (May 7, 2024)Episode recorded June 13, 2024  Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Alfred Johnson, CEO of Crux, discusses the transformative impact of tax credit transferability in the renewable energy sector. He shares insights on streamlining tax credit management, market trends, and lessons learned from Janet Yellen, making a complex topic engaging and informative.

Barbara Humpton, the CEO of Siemens USA, is a leader in advancing sustainability across various sectors. She discusses Siemens' innovative approaches to decarbonization and the importance of energy resilience. The conversation highlights the revival of U.S. manufacturing spurred by government initiatives, advancements in EV infrastructure, and how digital tools are transforming production. Humpton also shares her leadership philosophy and the optimistic outlook that shapes her work, emphasizing the need for action in tackling climate challenges.

Just as not every battery is created equal, neither is every renewable energy credit (REC). Even though RECs today are commodified financial products companies purchase to reduce their carbon footprint, the actual avoided emissions impact of an individual REC can vary dramatically based on the time and place it is generated. As our carbon accounting frameworks seek to become more precise and impact-driven and as transmission constraints proliferate, it is increasingly important that the markets for RECs and other net zero procurement products become more sophisticated.  In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Casey Martinez – the Founder and CEO of Clean Incentive, an emerging new platform focused on changing the way companies think about and execute on their net zero procurement targets. In addition to the getting into the weeds on Clean Incentive’s new Power Emissions Certificates (PECs), they discuss the imperative of data granularity, the challenging role of additionality and how to channel investment capital to the most impactful projects. Links:https://www.cleanincentive.com/https://www.pec-alliance.org/Thank Again by Adam Grant Episode recorded May 31, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

In this episode, Hilary Langer met with Dr. Antonius Gagern, the Executive Director of the Carbon to Sea Initiative, for a lively conservation about a hot topic: the promises and sensitivities of tinkering with the ocean’s chemistry to enable it to store more carbon dioxide. Initial research on ocean alkalinity enhancement supports its potential as a significant means of capturing carbon. Carbon to Sea is a $50M non-profit effort that brings together leading funders and researchers to explore ocean alkalinity enhancement.  The area is gaining increasing attention and traction, as evidenced by the White House’s launch of a “Fast-Track Action Committee” on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal. Within the past year, the U.S. federal government has put out about $100 million in grants to accelerate research in the area, including $23.4M from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Researchers and funders are balancing the urgency of action with the need to ensure that any intervention is a clear win for the oceans they seek to protect.Links: Home - Carbon to Sea InitiativeMeta's former CTO has a new $50 million project: ocean-based carbon removal | MIT Technology ReviewClimate crisis sparks effort to coax oceans to suck up carbon dioxide | Science | AAASSupercharging Nature to Suck Carbon From the Air - WSJEpisode recorded May 15, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir shares stories of hope amidst climate change, highlighting innovations in clean energy and resilience. The podcast delves into community leadership post-disaster, proactive climate solutions, economic benefits of sustainable energy, and the importance of positive communication in addressing climate denial.

Steel is the world’s most used metal, and enables the construction of everything from buildings to wind turbines. Unfortunately, steel manufacturing is incredibly carbon intensive, contributing to approximately 8% of global green house gas emissions. As CEO of InventWood, Josh Cable envisions a future where the demand for steel can be satisfied with a renewable resouce: fast growing woods like Poplar. By densifying wood, Josh Cable’s team produces a fire-resistant product that is stronger, lighter and cheaper than steel. The final product, MettleWood is actually carbon negative. In this episode, Hilary Langer and Josh Cable discuss InventWood’s foundational technology, its early partnership with the University of Maryland, and its new 89,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Frederick, Maryland. Links:Josh Cable on LinkedInDOE Award to InventWoodLiangbing Hu makes wood stronger than steel (acs.org)Fast Company profile of InventWood innovations Episode recorded April 10, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.