Tech. Cars. Machines.

Episode 58: A Novel Path to Fusion Energy  Will Regan, President and Co-founder of Pacific Fusion, is helping spend $1+ billion to mimic the sun’s method for producing energy. In our third fusion episode, Will educates us on inertial confinement. He discusses the advancements that help smooth Pacific Fusion’s path to delivering commercial energy by the mid-2030s.  00:00 Welcome to Tech Cars Episode 58  04:09 Introduction to Pacific Fusion  07:24 Will Regan’s Journey to Pacific Fusion  10:57 Explaining Fusion and Inertial Confinement  19:12 The Engineering and Science Behind Fusion  21:15 Physical Description of Pacific Fusion’s Facility  26:03 Understanding Marx Generators  29:16 Fusion Chamber and Magnetic Compression  32:34 Energy Output and Power Plant Efficiency  35:17 Handling Neutrons and Chamber Protection  38:55 Manufacturability and Supply Chain 

“Twisty donuts” if you lean Republican, “French cruller” if you lean left. CEO and Co-founder Brian Berzin, describes how this shape and a focus on manufacturability will allow Thea Energy to deliver fusion energy in a cost-competitive manner.   Following up on last week’s episode with Dr. Scott Hsu of Lowercarbon Capital, Brian discusses the innovative approach Thea Energy is taking to commercialize fusion energy. The conversation covers the company’s origins in the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, and their groundbreaking ‘stellarator’ design. Brian explains how modularization, software and AI helps overcome the fiendishly difficult construction of stellerators. He shares insights into the company’s rapid iteration and development cycles, culminating in their goal to scale up to commercial levels.     00:00 Welcome to the Fusion Energy Series  01:06 Introducing Brian Berzin and Thea Energy  11:46 Technical and Financial Milestones  14:54 Understanding Fusion: A Simplified Explanation  23:58 Challenges and Breakthroughs in Stellerators  29:30 Innovations in Superconducting Magnets  34:52 The Role of Software in Magnet Control  41:07 Scaling Up to Commercial Relevance  48:45 First Walls and Blankets in Fusion Reactors  51:42 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Dr. Scott Hsu, a plasma physicist and fusion technology investor, shares his insights on the fusion energy landscape. He discusses the impressive investments from tech giants like Bill Gates in fusion startups and the potential for commercialization. Delving into magnetic versus inertial confinement methods, he outlines the technological advancements that bring new hope for fusion viability. Scott emphasizes the challenges of plasma confinement and infrastructure while remaining optimistic about breakthroughs that could revolutionize energy production.

Protecting $500 billion dollars of real estate value: Mike Zukerman, CEO of CSAA, an $8 billion carrier of insurance distributed through AAA Clubs, tells how technology helps protect that massive asset. He tells us how enterprise technology can “surprise and delight” CSAA’s 3 million policy holders, and how self-driving cars will change insurance strategy.    00:00 Introduction to Mike Zukerman & CSAA  01:40 Understanding CSAA and Its Business  04:24 Remote Work and Employee Satisfaction  08:30 Mike Zukerman’s Background and Career Journey  11:57 The Future of Auto Insurance and Autonomous Vehicles  18:51 Understanding Auto and Home Insurance Regulations  20:10 Challenges of Homeowners Insurance in California  21:55 Innovative Wildfire Mitigation Technologies  29:16 Leveraging AI for Customer Delight in Insurance  35:03 Why CSAA is a Great Place to Work

Jeff Huebner, Head of Mobilitas, discusses how he helps his commercial transportation networks manage their second-high expense: insurance. Ride sharing networks, last-mile delivery networks, and autonomous vehicle companies are his customers, and an enormous amount of customization and data ingestion and processing is involved.  00:00 Introduction  00:53  Jeff Hubner’s Background and Reconnection  01:48  Understanding AAA, CSAA, and Mobilitas  04:33  Mobils’ Mission and Services  06:25  Jeff Hubner’s Career Journey  08:35  Risk Management and Commercial Insurance  11:16  Market Trends and Innovations  24:21  Data Integration and Risk Management  32:37  Advances in Vehicle Technologies  34:47  Final Thoughts

Episode 53: Making fleet electrification easy, with Alan White of Siemens.  Alan details Siemens Depot 360’s comprehensive offerings to provide a turnkey, commercially attractive path for electrifying vehicle fleets.     00:00 Introduction to Siemens   02:08 Introduction to Depot 360  02:37 Benefits and Challenges of Electrification  03:30 Siemens Smart Infrastructure  05:26 Alan White’s Background and Career  07:36 Depot 360’s Operational Insights  16:25 Global Electrification Trends and Challenges  30:22 Predictions and Closing Remarks 

Episode 52: Building the Future of Electric Trucking with Anja Van Niersen Anja Van Niersen, CEO of Milence, discusses plans to establish a charging network for European long-haul trucking. Milence is a 500MM Euro joint venture amongst Daimler, Traton and Volvo trucks. 00:00 Introduction to Milence 03:04 Anja’s background and career 03:10 Milence’s mission and operations 12:41 The profile of a charging hub 16:47 Future of heavy-duty/long-haul trucking 23:15 Geographical footprint and infrastructure development 30:00 Future enablers 37:26 The role of consumers and market demand 40:03 Optimism for adoption

Live from Anaheim! I was at the world’s premier event for sustainable commercial transportation. Here’s a brief ~10-minute recap of key trends regarding China, electrification, sustainability’s future, and regulation. The highlight for me was driving a massive “day cab,” the driver part of a semi-truck.  You can see the video at www.gtkpartners.com/act25

Episode 50: Building the Future of Electric Trucking with Patrick Macdonald-King of Greenlane In this milestone 50th episode of Tech. Cars. Machines., Patrick Macdonald-King, CEO of Greenlane, discusses plans to establish a charging network from the port of Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Greenlane is a $650MM joint venture amongst Daimler Trucks North America, NextEra Energy Resources, and BlackRock, and a leading, if not the leading, charging network for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.  00:00 Welcome to Episode 50: Milestone Celebration  03:28 Interview with Patrick Macdonald-King 04:27 Greenlane’s Nationwide Network and Strategy  05:29 Patrick Macdonald-King’s Career Journey  08:11 The Role of OEMs in Charging Infrastructure  18:50 Hydrogen as a Future Path  25:47 Mapping Out Deployment Strategies  26:22 Greenlane’s Charging Infrastructure  32:29 Future-Proofing with Scalable Solutions  35:49 California’s Role in Electrification  37:25 Technological Needs and Industry Partnerships  41:06 Long-Term Vision and Industry Predictions

Lux Capital General Partner Shahin Farshchi, PhD, talked with me about his background, Lux’s history, and how the firm came to position itself as the leading investor in hard-tech. A focus on outstanding teams, market readiness, patience and taking the lead from entrepreneurs on the “next great sector” has led to investments such as Anduril, Aurora, Databricks, Hugging Face, Matterport, Nirvana, Planet Labs, Zededa and Zoox. Note the “skip to” audio time stamps below.  You can read the related article here in 3 minutes. Links to Lux Capital and Shahin.  Host: Ali Tabibian of GTK Partners. On some podcast players you can click to jump to the timestamps below. (1:44) Introduction to Lux (6:14) Shahin’s background and initiative in managing your career (20:49) Investment selection process (34:30) Focusing on the long-term (37:33) The next big things