Episodes

  • CO2 utilization

    CO2 utilization
    May 2 2024
    The IPCC says that we likely need to capture hundreds of gigatons of CO2 if we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. So what are we going to do with all that carbon? In this episode, Shayle talks to Julio Friedmann, chief scientist at Carbon Direct. Julio says we will store the vast majority of that CO2. But the markets for using CO2 in things like concrete, fizzy water, and chemicals will play an important role in developing the carbon management economy. Shayle and Julio cover topics like: The roughly 50 carbon capture facilities operating today and how much carbon they capture Why we should recycle carbon at all when we could just store it Current uses for CO2, like fizzy water, enhanced oil recovery, and concrete Emerging chemical uses, like jet fuel, ethanol, urea, and methanol Substituting glass and metal with products that use recycled carbon, like polycarbonate and carbon fiber The “over the horizon” stuff, like making space elevators from graphene Solving the challenge of local opposition to carbon infrastructure Who will pay the green premium for products made with recycled carbon Recommended Resources: Center on Global Energy Policy: Opportunities and Limits of CO2 Recycling in a Circular Carbon Economy: Techno-economics, Critical Infrastructure Needs, and Policy Priorities Canary Media: US Steel plant in Indiana to host a $150M carbon capture experiment NBC: Biden admin seeks to jumpstart carbon recycling with $100 million in grants 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. Catalyst is supported by Origami Solar. Join Latitude Media’s Stephen Lacey and Origami’s CEO Gregg Patterson for a live Frontier Forum on May 30th at 1 pm Eastern to discuss Origami’s new research on how recycled steel can help reinvigorate the U.S. solar industry. Register for free on Latitude’s events page.
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    47 mins
  • Building a supply chain for rare earth elements

    Building a supply chain for rare earth elements
    Apr 25 2024
    Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential ingredients in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and many electronics. As with most critical minerals, China controls the vast majority of the REE supply chain. And so when it banned the export of REE processing technology last December, it raised concerns about supply. So what will it take to secure the supply of REEs? In this episode, Shayle talks to Ahmad Ghahreman, CEO and cofounder of Cyclic Materials, a rare earth elements recycling company. (Energy Impact Partners, where Shayle is a partner, invests in Cyclic.) They cover topics like: The five high-value REEs used in the permanent magnets inside EVs, wind turbines, and other electronics The many steps in the supply chain, from extraction to end-of-life Building magnets without REEs Increasing production outside of China The role of recycling Why Ahmad is optimistic about developing a supply chain in North America Recommended Resources: MIT Technology Review: The race to produce rare earth elements IEEE Spectrum: Who Will Free EV Motors from the Rare Earth Monopoly? 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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    39 mins
  • 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
  • The electricity gauntlet has arrived

    The electricity gauntlet has arrived
    Mar 28 2024
    The electricity gauntlet we covered last year has been having a moment in the national spotlight, with coverage of rising load growth in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. On one side of the gauntlet, demand for electricity is rising, driven by new loads like EVs, data centers, and electrification. On the other side, electricity supply is slow to grow, bogged down by years-long interconnection queues, the immense challenges of building transmission, and other bottlenecks. And utilities are stuck in the middle, struggling to deliver enough power to meet that rising demand. These challenges have been brewing for years, but the AI race is supercharging demand as big tech companies seek out power for their growing data center fleet. So what does all this mean for emissions and prices? And what tools do we have to make it through this electricity gauntlet? In this episode, Shayle talks to his colleague Andy Lubershane, partner and head of research at Energy Impact Partners. Shayle and Andy cover topics like: Why utilities are building new natural gas plants and keeping coal plants open to meet load growth How technologies like nuclear, grid-enhancing technologies, geothermal, and multi-day storage could meet load growth with fewer emissions What utilities can do to prepare new gas plants for carbon-capture and storage What the gauntlet might do to electricity prices and which customers might be willing to pay higher premiums (data centers, cough cough) Whether the hype around rising power demand is overblown Plus, what medieval Swedish spearmen have to do with electricity Recommended Resources: Andy Lubershane: The electricity gauntlet S&P Global: NERC raises North American power system reliability flags as demand could outstrip supply Catalyst is supported by Antenna Group. For 25 years, Antenna has partnered with leading clean-economy innovators to build their brands and accelerate business growth. If you’re a startup, investor, enterprise or innovation ecosystem that’s creating positive change, Antenna is ready to power your impact. Visit antennagroup.com to learn more. Catalyst is brought to you by Atmos Financial. Atmos is revolutionizing finance by leveraging your deposits to exclusively fund decarbonization solutions, like solar and electrification. Join in under 2 minutes at joinatmos.com/catalyst.
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    48 mins
  • Digging into the SEC climate disclosure rules

    Digging into the SEC climate disclosure rules
    Mar 21 2024
    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved new rules this month on what information companies must disclose about their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, but notably dropped more stringent requirements that the commission initially proposed. Despite being halted by lawsuits, the rules are a significant win for climate transparency. But they’re not as strong as existing climate disclosure regulations in California and the European Union, where many multinational corporations do business anyway. So how big of a deal are the new SEC rules? In this episode, Shayle talks to Mallory Thomas, risk advisory partner at consulting and accounting firm Baker Tilly US. The two talk about the details of the new rules and cover topics like: The rules’ requirements for disclosing greenhouse gasses and climate risks How the rules compare to European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and California’s twin climate disclosure laws Which companies are required to comply and under what conditions How standardized reporting may help with comparability across companies Recommended resources: Baker Tilly: SEC announces final rules for climate-related disclosures Deloitte: A landmark ruling for ESG disclosure requirements Reuters: US climate rule will boost sustainable accounting industry Catalyst is supported by Antenna Group. For 25 years, Antenna has partnered with leading clean-economy innovators to build their brands and accelerate business growth. If you’re a startup, investor, enterprise or innovation ecosystem that’s creating positive change, Antenna is ready to power your impact. Visit antennagroup.com to learn more. Catalyst is brought to you by Atmos Financial. Atmos is revolutionizing finance by leveraging your deposits to exclusively fund decarbonization solutions, like solar and electrification. Join in under 2 minutes at joinatmos.com/catalyst.
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    32 mins
  • Climate tech’s tough year in the public markets

    Climate tech’s tough year in the public markets
    Mar 14 2024
    Two major indicators of climate tech stocks – the S&P Clean Energy Index and the MAC Global Solar Index – are significantly trailing the overall market. They’ve been declining for months, down from their mid-pandemic highs when they performed far better than the rest of the economy. So what happened to climate tech investments in the public markets? And what do these investments tell us about the coming year for climate tech? In this episode, Shayle talks to Shanu Mathew, portfolio manager and research analyst at Lazard. They cover topics like: The macroeconomic factors behind this underperforming sector, like higher interest rates, election uncertainty, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine Trends in specific industries, like EVs, solar, and lithium Investors moving funds into (and paying more for) climate tech stocks with consistently higher performance Analysts’ expectations for climate tech stocks in the the near- and long-term Recommended Resources: Shanu Mathew: Cleantech FY23 Recap And FY24 Outlook Catalyst: How has US industrial policy impacted climatetech investment? Catalyst is supported by Antenna Group. For 25 years, Antenna has partnered with leading clean-economy innovators to build their brands and accelerate business growth. If you’re a startup, investor, enterprise or innovation ecosystem that’s creating positive change, Antenna is ready to power your impact. Visit antennagroup.com to learn more. Catalyst is brought to you by Atmos Financial. Atmos is revolutionizing finance by leveraging your deposits to exclusively fund decarbonization solutions, like solar and electrification. Join in under 2 minutes at joinatmos.com/catalyst.
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    41 mins