Catalyst with Shayle Kann By cover art

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

By: Latitude Media
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  • Summary

  • Investor Shayle Kann is asking big questions about how to decarbonize the planet: How cheap can clean energy get? Will artificial intelligence speed up climate solutions? Where is the smart money going into climate technologies? Every week on Catalyst, Shayle explains the world of "climate tech" with prominent experts, investors, researchers, and executives. Produced by Latitude Media.
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Episodes
  • How an obscure, 100-year old law is disrupting U.S. energy

    How an obscure, 100-year old law is disrupting U.S. energy
    Apr 18 2024
    A little-known U.S. law called the Jones Act shapes climate tech in weird ways — like hindering offshore wind deployment and pushing up energy prices. The law, part of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, requires all cargo shipped between U.S. ports to be carried by ships that meet strict standards. Those ships must be built in American shipyards, owned by an American company, registered in the U.S., and crewed by a majority American crew. As a result, building cargo ships in the U.S., and operating them between U.S. ports, is way more expensive than building and operating ships in other countries — and relatively few U.S. ships get built. So what are the impacts on climate tech? In this episode, Shayle talks to Colin Grabow, research fellow at the Cato Institute's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies. They cover topics like: How the Jones Act increases the money and time required to deploy offshore wind turbines Why it costs less to ship U.S. oil and gas abroad than to domestic markets How it pushes domestic shipping to rely on trucks and trains instead of ships The history of the act and potential ways it could change Recommended Resources: WIRED: The US Has Big Plans for Wind Energy—but an Obscure 1920s Law Is Getting in the Way Cato Institute: Jones Act Leaves New England Vulnerable to Wintertime Calamity Cato Institute: Environmental Costs of the Jones Act Are growing concerns over AI’s power demand justified? Join us for our upcoming Transition-AI event featuring three experts with a range of views on how to address the energy needs of hyperscale computing, driven by artificial intelligence. Don’t miss this live, virtual event on May 8.
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    41 mins
  • The Big Switch: Are Batteries the New Oil?

    The Big Switch: Are Batteries the New Oil?
    Apr 11 2024
    This week we’re bringing you a deep dive into battery supply chains — the season premier of The Big Switch, a show that Latitude Media makes in partnership with Columbia University’s SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy. Across this five-episode documentary series, hosted by the acclaimed energy scholar Dr. Melissa Lott, we examine every step of the sprawling global supply chains behind lithium-ion batteries. In this first episode, we break apart one of the battery cells that was in the original Tesla Roadster. Then we explore how critical minerals, like copper, lithium, and nickel, are becoming a major force in global geopolitics, especially involving China, which dominates battery supply chains. The supply chain behind all those batteries could be worth nearly half a trillion dollars by 2030. Whoever controls that supply chain has enormous power — figuratively and literally. In this episode, we explore the stakes of the battery-based transition and ask whether critical minerals will look anything like oil. To listen to the full five-part series, including episodes on mining, manufacturing and more, subscribe to The Big Switch on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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    46 mins
  • The world of battery recycling

    The world of battery recycling
    Apr 4 2024
    The lithium-ion battery business is taking off, and the battery recycling business is close behind. Financiers are pouring over a billion dollars into recycling companies like Redwood Materials, Ascend Elements, and Li-Cycle. But success depends on a steady supply of used batteries, and with batteries lasting longer than expected — and the battery market still in its infancy — there just aren’t enough dying batteries to go around. As a result, a significant portion of recyclers’ feedstock is coming from manufacturer scrap, i.e. the waste that companies like SK On and Panasonic don’t turn into cells at the factory. But these battery makers are incentivized to minimize waste, which raises big questions about whether recyclers will be able to get enough used batteries to sustainably feed their operations. So which technologies and business models will succeed in this chapter of the battery industry? In this episode, Shayle talks to Dan Steingart, chair of the earth and environmental engineering department at Columbia University. (Steingart’s lab gets funding from battery manufacturer Northvolt.) Shayle and Dan cover topics like: The steps in nickel-manganese-cobalt battery recycling and what Dan calls “zombie lithium” The differences between pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy Dan’s bet on solvent extraction as an under-appreciated technology Redwood Materials’ focus on winning the feedstock battle Ascend Elements’ hydro-to-cathode technology Li-Cycle’s focus on making inputs for cathode manufacturers How these recyclers want to compete downstream by producing cathode precursor and cathode material Why Dan is surprisingly bearish on direct recycling for lithium-iron-phosphate Recommended Resources: Nature Sustainability: Examining different recycling processes for lithium-ion batteries Latitude Media: What’s so hard about building a circular battery economy? Are growing concerns over AI’s power demand justified? Join us for our upcoming Transition-AI event featuring three experts with a range of views on how to address the energy needs of hyperscale computing, driven by artificial intelligence. Don’t miss this live, virtual event on May 8.
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    37 mins
Economics Personal Finance Politics & Government
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