Today, we are talking to Toby Ferenczi from Granular Energy.In this electrifying (ha!) episode, we finally tracked down the elusive Toby Ferenczi, a man who juggles startups like they're hot potatoes. ⚡️Toby educates us about the world of electricity transparency and trading. Did you know you can trade electricity like stocks? Neither did we! And it doesn’t exactly work like that…but it got your interest, didn’t it?? 🤔From his days at Cambridge to co-founding Granular Energy, Toby has journeyed in solar starting with solar panel materials with this PhDs, working at GE, and later through startup exits. He even founded a nonprofit for timestamped energy certificates—because, why not? If you've ever wondered where your electricity comes from or how to make a clean energy choice, this episode is a shocker in the best way possible. 💥---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel-----Topics:**02:42 Introduction**05:00 Enabling Customers to Choose Clean Energy**08:20 The Role of Electricity Markets**10:43 Journey as an Entrepreneur **14:46 Transparency in the Energy Industry**20:50 Understanding the Utility Business Model **25:28 Opportunities to Bypass Utilities**30:49 Fundraising**33:50 The Future of the Solar Industry**43:24 Opportunities in the Market-----Links:**Toby Ferenczi | Granular Energy**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Kevin Noertker is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ampaire, a developer of Hybrid Aviation Propulsion Systems to Decarbonize Air Travel Today.Currently they are scaling up their tech. Their tech is proven to reduce fuel usage by about 50% for small aircrafts (anything with a propeller).Today, Kevin shares his story and we discuss:Aerospace Engineer to Ampaire: His story of co-founding Ampaire. Addressing Existing Stock: Electric aircraft is the future, but their solution helps address the existing stock of aircraft. Bridging the Infrastructure Gap: How fully electric air travel will require massive infrastructure upgrades, so they are building a solution that will work in between.Enjoy today's conversation! ---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel ----- Topics: **1:53 Intro and Background**7:01 The Impact of NASA Experience**14:20 The Third Revolution in Aviation**17:09 Economic and Environmental Benefits**28:19 Commercialization Process and Milestones**38:39 Design Considerations for Hybrid Systems**42:21 Infrastructure and Charging**42:58 Recharging Electric Aircraft in the Air**43:18 Adapting Infrastructure for Electric Aviation**44:54 Takeaways----- Links: **Kevin Noertker | Ampaire**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Chad Mason is the CEO and Founder of Advanced Ionics, a company that has designed a revolutionary electrolyzer. They did this by designing their technology from scratch.They are currently scaling up this innovative technology and plan to sell these units, known as stacks, either directly or through licensing agreements.Today, Chad shares his  journey:Early Inspiration: How he first learned about electrolysis at age 5 on a farm in North Dakota.Career Path: The various steps in his career that led him to start Advanced Ionics.Strategic Location: Why he chose Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the base for his company.Corporate Partnerships: How they partner with corporates for capital, pilots, and demand.Chad also offers his insights on the future of the electrolyzer space, discussing both the tailwinds that are driving growth and the headwinds that present challenges.Enjoy today's conversation! ---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel ----- Topics: **2:00 Intro and Background**5:13 Utilizing Exothermic Heat for Efficiency**6:20 Chad's Entrepreneurial Journey**12:44 Early Inspirations and Career Path**15:25 Understanding Electrolysis Technology**18:18 Components and Operation of the Stack**26:30 Landing Customers**27:47 The Power of Partnerships and Investments**31:26 Lessons Learned: Opportunistic with Capital Raising**40:58 Headwinds and Tailwinds of Hydrogen Industry**45;36 The Importance of Reliability and Maintainability**49:10 Talent Acquisition in Wisconsin**53:16 Takeaways----- Links: **Chad Mason | Advanced Ionics**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Jesse Henry is the CEO and Founder of Heartland Industries, a company that produces drop-in pellets made of hemp fiber. These pellets are used as an additive to plastics. They reduce the weight and cost of the products, improve strength, and lower scope 3 emissions. It's a quadruple-benefit product. Today, Jesse tells us his story - how he started Heartland - how he's the 3rd generation to work in the fibers industry - how they landed BASF as a partner and investor - and he gives a lot of other insights. Including our favorite, how they produce huge volumes of pellets without owning a milling facility. Enjoy today's conversation! ---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel ----- Topics: **2:15 Intro**2:55 Jesse's Background & Heartland's Mission**10:06 The Challenge of Developing Reliable Supply Chains**13:33 From Powder to Pellets**16:47 What it Means to be a ClimateTech Entrepreneur Today**22:03 Partnering with Wood Pellet Mills for Scale and Cost Reduction**28:34 Run Jesse's Playbook**31:16 The Finance of Materials Companies**34:00 The Power of CVCs**41:10 Opportunities in B2B Marketplaces**43:27 How to Pick the Right CVCs**47:02 Next Steps for Heartland  **54:58 Process Technologies and Software Solutions**56:11 Focusing Beyond Carbon**57:46 Takeaway**54:51 Using Infrastructure to Skip Building**56:16 Reducing Risk with Each Fundraising Round----- Links: **Jesse Henry  **Heartland Industries **Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Rahul broke down the nitty-gritty of how 2150 built (no pun intended) a leading ClimateTech VC fund focused on decarbonizing the built environment. We talked investing, fund modeling, learning from general VC, FinTech in ClimateTech, & more. This was a VC-fundamental extraordinaire, and super informative for anyone looking to learn more about venture capital. AND let’s not forget, Rahul spent his holiday with us to do this. Cheers to him. Enjoy 🥳👏.---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox-----Topics:**03:025 Introduction**05:01 Home Decarbonization**08:19 Government Incentives and Policies**24:37 The Breakdown of Investments in 2150**33:29 Intentional Modeling and Entry Prices**42:05 Finance x Climate**45:20 The Urban Stack and City Resilience**47:29 Adding Value Beyond Capital-----Links:**Marian Krueger | remove**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Marian Krueger comes to us with his experience investing in 120+ early stage CDR startups, and broke down what we should look for and what’s worth watching in the years ahead.He’s a leading expert in CDR having invested in Europe, which is the leading CDR ecosystem in the world.Sitting down with him as a blast, and for our US listeners, this episode is VERY timely with the Biden Administration’s first release on voluntary carbon markets, Enjoy 🥳👏.---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox-----Topics:**02:41 Introduction**05:08 Challenges of the Voluntary Carbon Market**16:30 CDR Startups**17:53 Impact-Driven Motivation of CDR Founders**26:32 Gaps in the CDR Space**32:27 Role of Policy in Carbon Removal**39:03 Prioritization, Universities, and A-Teams**42:10 Collaboration and Partnerships**42:51 Takeaways-----Links:**Marian Krueger | remove**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Today, we speak with Arvin Ganesan, an ex-Obama-Admin EPA and ex-Apple Energy Procurement executive. His career is fascinating, from finance to Policy to Energy Tech CEO. He offers us a lot of insight into their technology, how it works, and specifically how it plays well with utility models of making money. Towards the end, he mentioned the unknown of the commercialization path. He pointed out that it's not important to pick a model of commercialization with a tech like this because so many variables can dictate the best path to commercialization when the tech is proven past the pilot scale. Lots of good stuff is in today's episode! ---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox ----- Topics: **2:37 Why Cheap and Accessible Energy Storage Matters**2:37 Why Cheap and Accessible Energy Storage Matters**17:30 Fourth Power's Utility-Scale Thermal Battery**21:58 Fast and Efficient Energy Storage and Discharge**27:10 Building Fourth Power**32:04 The Power of People**37:24 Maintaining Culture with Growth**42:21 Opportunities in the Utility Market**47:04 Startup Opportunities in Agriculture Decarbonization**49:01 The Importance of Mentorship**52:19 Takeaways----- Links: **Arvin Ganesan | Fourth Power**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Michael Kearney discusses the political durability of the IRA and tough tech startups. He emphasizes scaling deep tech innovations and commercializing technology. The podcast explores the changing nature of competition in clean energy markets and the economic impact of low-cost energy on industries.

There are a few key things Climate Entrepreneurs should know. This guest brought up a bunch of them. It is incredible to see how successful they are in a crowded space. Today, he shared with us many of the things that helped them succeed. How to align all stakeholders in the sales process Building a product so simple the user can be up-skilled without specialized training Building a culture of pragmatismSpeaking Return-on-InvestmentEnjoy today's episode, and let us know your favorite moment in the comments (anywhere). ---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel ----- Topics: **2:27 Intro and Background**3:05 The Problem They Solve**5:39 Global Emissions from Industry**11:44 Ideation and Idea Validation**13:37 Company Status and Growth**14:56 Challenges and Milestones**16:38 How / When to Pivot**18:16 Standing out in a Crowd**22:53 Market Positioning and Challenges**25:38 Pragmatism-First Culture**30:38 Principles and Habits for Success**32:38 Future Plans and Opportunities**37:00 Climate Startup Ideas **37:48 Closing Remarks and Call to Action**38:41 Takeaways----- Links: **Saleh ElHattab | Gravity**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

What do you get when you put Chris Rock, Timothée Chalamet, Greta Thunberg, & Marc Andreessen together? -- You get Tom Ferguson! The King of Water VC!(Warning! Tom is hilarious, so cancel your comedy cellar tickets because you won't need them)Today, we had the chance to speak with Tom, the founding partner of Burnt Island Ventures. They are the leading VC investor in all things water. They became this by compounding their network for years with some of the best water networks, including Imagine H2O. One notable thing he pointed out is, the IRA didn't include any investment into water infrastructure. 🤯 Tune in to get the whole thing today! 🌱🌎---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox | https://cleantechies.substack.com/podcast🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel ----- Topics: **5:00 Introduction**8:10 Why Sustainability**10:34 Time with Imagine H2O**16:13 Other Considerations for BIV**19:27 Story behind the Name BIV**20:55 MBA and Business School**27:22 Focus on Building Team**31:32 Pricing in Velocity of Sales Process**38:35 Compounding Network as a VC’s Moat**47:24 Biggest Problems in Water**56:17 Companies that BIV work with**1:00:42 Startup Opportunity; Water Testing Market**1:04:19 Takeaway----- Links: **Tom Ferguson | Burnt Island Ventures **Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)