Everybody in the Pool

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re diving into one of the biggest bottlenecks in the clean energy transition: critical minerals—the lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and precious metals we need for EVs, batteries, and the grid. The problem isn’t that we’re running out. It’s that extraction and refining are expensive, polluting, and increasingly constrained by geopolitics.My guest is Adam Uliana, co-founder and CEO of Chemfinity Technologies, a startup spun out of UC Berkeley that’s building a modular “metal-selective Brita filter” for refining. Chemfinity’s system takes messy inputs—like e-waste, catalytic converters, industrial wastewater, and even mine tailings—and separates out high-purity metals one at a time using tunable “nano-sponge” materials. In other words: a potential way to recover critical minerals with dramatically fewer steps, less energy, and a much smaller footprint.We get into:What “critical minerals” are and why the supply chain is such a vulnerabilityThe climate and human costs of mining—and why recycling and recovery matterHow Chemfinity’s process works (liquify the feedstock, then filter metals out in sequence)The real technical unlock: highly selective nanoscale materials that can distinguish near-identical metalsWhat scaling looks like: pilots now, modular systems later—including shipping-container deployments at mining sitesThe business model question: when Chemfinity sells equipment vs. when it makes sense to sell recovered metalsLinks:Chemfinity Technologies: https://www.chemfinitytech.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show:https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re talking about one of the biggest blockers to real climate action: amazing solutions that never scale because no one pays for them. My guest is Grant Canary, founder and CEO of Mast Reforestation, a company rebuilding forests after catastrophic wildfires — and reinventing carbon credits so that reforestation can actually fund itself.Mast takes the most expensive part of post-fire recovery — dealing with hundreds of dead, unstable, methane-emitting trees — and turns it into a high-integrity carbon removal credit. The fire-killed biomass gets buried in engineered clay “vaults” that lock away carbon for centuries, and the revenue pays for restoring forests with native seed, nursery-grown seedlings, and good old human labor. It’s the super-sexy carbon accounting we desperately need.We get into:Grant’s origin story: the high-school teacher, the brutally honest friend, and the maggot factory (this is a true story)From DroneSeed to Mast: why drones weren’t enough and what really unlocks reforestationWhat high-severity “Mordor” fires do to ecosystems — and why invasives take overHow biomass burial works: clay soils, lasagna layers, 24/7 monitoring, and 5 different verification processesWhy high-quality carbon credits are hard — and why they matterWho buys these credits (tech, airlines, real estate, Shopify, consulting firms) and the incentives behind eachWhy relying on altruism won’t scale — but pricing ecosystem services willHow modern carbon accounting sets the stage for the actual holy grail: a price on carbonLink:Mast Reforestation: https://www.mastreforest.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show:https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re starting in full aspirational mode (with one of my least climate-friendly obsessions) — with iconic classic cars rebuilt as state-of-the-art EVs. Think: vintage Porsches, Land Rovers, Pagodas, even a GT40… all stripped to bare metal, fully restored, and reborn as clean-air electric machines. Yeah, I’m dying over here.My guest is Justin Lunny, founder and CEO of Everrati, a company that electrifies beloved classic cars while also building a cutting-edge EV powertrain platform used by new low-volume automakers around the world.It’s a story about craft and circularity — giving existing cars a new, zero-emission life — and about how aspiration drives climate adoption. Wealthy early adopters (and their garages) help prove what’s possible, push down cost curves, and build social permission for the EV future.We get into:How Everrati “redefines” classic cars using full CAD modeling, advanced engineering, and hand-built restorationWhy their EV powertrains use motors and components normally found in hypercars and Formula EThe economics: donor cars, bespoke builds, and why the least-loved 964s are perfect candidatesWhy keeping old cars alive — electrically — is a circularity winThe B2B side: powering new sports cars and specialty vehicles for low-volume OEMsWhy electrifying halo cars helps drive broader consumer aspirationBattery modularity, future upgrades, and designing for long-term sustainabilityJustin’s personal journey from tech entrepreneur to climate-driven car nutLinks:Everrati: https://everrati.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show:https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Michelle Ruiz, founder and CEO of Hyfe, as she transforms food processing waste into marketable specialty ingredients. Discover how her clean, water-based technology deconstructs biomass into valuable antioxidants and fibers that can replace harmful petrochemical additives. Learn about the untapped potential of food waste and the financial benefits for processors who turn trash into treasure. Michelle shares insights on building a sustainable future, reducing emissions, and creating regional biomanufacturing hubs to scale this revolutionary approach.

Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems, has spent decades in energy, shifting from oil and gas to innovate in geothermal power. She unpacks why geothermal is primed for a breakthrough, leveraging skills from drilling for oil. Taff reveals how their unique systems can provide not only renewable energy but also long-duration storage. The conversation also touches on bipartisan support for geothermal, the integration of familiar drilling techniques, and the potential for scaling this energy solution in the U.S. to address growing demands.

Arch Rao, the founder and CEO of Span, shares insights on how smart electrical panels can revolutionize home electrification. He explains how Span’s technology prevents costly utility upgrades by managing real-time energy loads. Discover the economic benefits for homeowners, including savings from avoiding upgrades and reduced energy bills. Rao also explores the potential of Span to enable a transition from gas to electricity and its impact on grid infrastructure. Get a glimpse of his vision for homes as managed energy routers!

Maria Intscher-Owrang, CEO and co-founder of Simplifyber, dives into revolutionizing textiles by using plant cellulose for 3D-molded parts, eliminating plastic dependency. She explains how complex production steps are simplified, drastically reducing environmental impact—up to 30 times less for shoe uppers. Maria also discusses scalability advantages of compression molding, partnerships with GANNI and Kia, and the potential for localized supply chains. Her vision extends to reshaping labor dynamics in the fashion industry, enhancing the value of artisanal work.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re talking about one of the biggest hurdles in the clean energy transition — how to make electric vehicles as fast and easy to refuel as gas cars.Our guest is Will Fitzhugh, co-founder and CEO of Adden Energy, a Harvard spinout developing self-healing solid-state lithium metal batteries that could charge fully in under ten minutes. These next-generation batteries promise longer range, faster charging, and safer performance — all using existing manufacturing lines. It’s a fascinating look at the next leap in energy storage — and what it’ll take to make 10-minute charging a reality.We talk about:What makes solid-state lithium metal batteries different from lithium-ionHow Adden’s “self-healing” separator prevents the failures that have held this technology backWhy faster charging could finally electrify drivers who can’t charge at homeHow the company plans to use existing gigafactory infrastructure to scale productionWhat this breakthrough could mean for everything from EVs to robotics and aviationLinks:Adden Energy: https://www.addenenergy.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/What you can do: Please subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool!Send feedback or become a sponsor: in@everybodyinthepool.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re talking water — and the invisible pollutants hiding in it. Microfibers from textiles are one of the biggest sources of microplastics in our oceans, choking marine ecosystems and undermining the ocean’s role as the planet’s carbon sink.Our guest is Adam Root, founder and CEO of Matter, who shares his insane founder story, from £250 and a shed to a budding Japanese street food empire to Matter, which is helping major textile manufacturers keep millions of liters of water cleaner every day. It’s an epic founder story with big implications for clean water and healthy oceans.We cover:How washing machines and textile factories shed microfibers at massive scaleWhy current filtration is wasteful — and how Matter’s regenerative filters solve itThe founder story that went from Japanese street food stalls to the G7 stageWhat this means for oceans, sludge management (yes, really), and circular materials in the futureLinks:Matter Industries Website: https://matter.industries/Adam Root LinkedInAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/What you can do to help:Please subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool!Send feedback or become a sponsor! in@everybodyinthepool.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re geeking out on money. Because even the best climate solutions won’t scale without serious capital behind them.Our guest is Dawn Lippert, founder of Elemental (a nonprofit investor) and founding partner of Earthshot Ventures (a venture fund). She’s basically building an all-terrain vehicle for climate finance — covering philanthropic, project, and venture capital — to bridge the “valley of death” that stops too many good ideas from reaching the market.We talk about:Why “first-of-a-kind” projects are so hard to fundThe $150 billion capital gap that’s holding back climate solutionsHow philanthropic dollars can be recycled like sourdough starterThe rise of AI in climate investments (and where it’s actually useful)Dawn’s own journey from sea turtle conservation to DOE policy to climate financeLINKS:Elemental Impact: https://elementalimpact.com/Dawn Lippert LinkedInAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/What You Can Do:Please subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool!Send feedback or become a sponsor! in@everybodyinthepool.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.