CleanTechies

Amy Duffuor is a co-founder and General Partner at Azolla Ventures and Managing Director at Prime Impact Fund, Azolla's predecessor vehicle. She has a diverse background that spans immigration research, management consulting, impact investing, and renewables investment banking. Amy began her career studying marginalized West African migrants and later pursued an MPhil in Migration Studies at Oxford University. Transitioning into management consulting, she worked on supply chain and procuremen...

Listen Time: Full Show 38:51 (no ads) | Free Preview 31:19Today, we are speaking with Shaun Abrahamson from Third Sphere. Third Sphere is a leading ClimateTech investor that also has a debt strategy for high-volume production startups in the hardware space. They have backed companies like ChargeLab, ClimateBase, Gradient, OneWheel, Therma, Revivn, & Wasted (check out the episode we did with Revivn). This is Shaun’s third time on the pod — if this is your first time hearing him, ...

There’s no sugarcoating it…Trump is bad news for ClimateTech — but thankfully, we have interviewed 200+ ClimateTech Entrepreneurs on how to build politically resilient companies — ensuring the future is greener no matter who the president is. Today, we’re distilling those key lessons for you. Key risks across / what’s on the chopping block Possible silver linings & some wins Recognizing the reality of the situation Examples of likely downside Choose a new nar...

Today we are joined by Duncan Logan, CEO & Co-Founder of 9Zero. A community platform to bring climate professionals together in person and online so we can work together to solve the climate crisis. Duncan previously founded RocketSpace where he saw many tech startups that would go on to become unicorns. Companies like Uber, FlexPort, and Spotify. Having this experience made him realize the importance of creating a hub for people to collaborate and bump into each other. They are...

Jean-Simon Venne is the co-founder and CTO of BrainBox AI, a pioneering company using artificial intelligence to optimize energy use in buildings. With a background in telecom and deep expertise in building mechanics and computer engineering, Jean-Simon has led BrainBox’s efforts to bring scalable, autonomous HVAC systems to the market. In this episode, Jean-Simon discusses his entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of scaling AI in the built environment, and how BrainBox AI leverages deep l...

Brian Berzin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Thea Energy, a nuclear fusion company aiming to commercialize clean, dispatchable energy. With over 70 years of scientific research from Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Thea Energy focuses on utilizing a stellarator design for efficient and scalable fusion power. Previously an electrical engineer and venture capitalist, Brian combines his technical and entrepreneurial expertise to lead Thea in developing the next generation of energy solutions, targetin...

Today, we are speaking with Liz Dennett, the CEO and Founder of Endolith. Endolith recently spun out of Cemvita to form its own independent company. (Ep #200 with Moji from Cemvita)By 2050, we will need more copper than in the history of mankind due to the electrification of industry and developing countries. If we don’t solve this, it could lead to geopolitical conflicts. Their tech uses microbes to eat crushed rocks and poop out copper (I did say explain it to me like I’m 5). They...

A while ago, we released a survey to collect people's feedback on NY Climate Week 2024. Well… the results are in! And we are here to recap them. If you want to know…What people thought the best events were (and why) As well as the worst… (namedropped… 😬) and why Favorite topics Topics people want to see more next yearWhat everyone’s goal was, and did they achieve it? What people will do differently next yearAnd takeaways from your favorite CleanTechies hostsWe enjoyed...

Arjun Jairaj is an investor at noa, a London-based VC firm focused on early-stage ventures in the built environment across North America and Europe. With experience spanning private equity, startup founding, and advisory roles, Arjun has worked in India, the UK, and beyond, including founding a shared economy startup called Plonk. At noa, he focuses on real estate, construction, energy, and mobility, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and climate technology. In this episode, Arjun ...

We're joined by Panama Bartholomy, Founder and Executive Director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC). We talk about Panama’s background, the journey of creating the BDC, and why heat pumps and electrification are at the heart of decarbonizing buildings. He shares insights on the challenges of transforming America’s building sector, the importance of state-level action, and the opportunities for public-private partnerships in pushing climate tech forward. We also talk ab...

Bucket List: - Do a live podcast recording ✅ Thanks to Extantia, one of THE leading ClimateTech funds in Europe, we recorded our first live podcast with Co-Founder, Partner, & LinkedIn Top Voice Yair Reem. It was FOAKing awesome. And no, it wasn’t awesome just because we got to do a live podcast, but because so many of you showed up to listen!! Shoutout to all of the CleanTechies that came through; we’re sufficiently motivated to do another 🚀.No frills this time, the pizazz was in the rec...

And... don't forget to fill out the post climate week survey! 📝NYCW 2024 was a DOOZY…filled with plenty of good and crazy times that we equally don’t really remember. It went by in a blur, but so much happened in the week that we need to break it down with all you CleanTechies out there.Listen to the ep to hear about:What events we liked — Third Sphere, Political Risk Event, Climate Capital Summit, New Climate Futures The events we didn’t like — VC hangouts & loud bar meetups Ou...

NY Climate Week is ####ing insane — event after event after event. If you’re not careful, you’ll waste an entire week of work and sleep — and get nothing out of it. We are here to give you our two cents… or rather, 35 min of advice on how to get the most out of your climate week experience. This is for you regardless if this is your first or fifth climate week. We broke it down into:Before - How to prepDuring - What to keep in mind during the chaosAfter - Mastering the fol...

We’re back with another episode featuring Jonathan, a founder shaking up the battery tech industry!Jonathan, a UC Berkeley Chemical Engineering grad, spent years in wastewater treatment before realizing the key driver of adoption was economics. In 2017, he and his co-founders, frustrated with their jobs, started their own company after working in thin film membrane industries. (Psst! This is a free version of the episode. To get the whole enchilada, become a paid subscriber on our substack) T...

In this episode, we are joined by Till Stenzel, Partner at SET Ventures, a European venture capital firm that has been in operation in 2007 which makes them one of the first climate VCs out there. They invest $2-$5M in rounds that range from $3-10M at the Series A/A+ stage. SET Ventures focuses on innovative business models and typically like to lead or co-lead rounds. Their investments range over 6 focus areas: distributed energy systems, digital utilities, AI & enabling technologies, bu...