Decarb Connect

James Benetatos, Head of Business Development at Quaise Energy, joined Alex Cameron to talk about Project Obsidian, the company's first-of-a-kind superhot geothermal project at Newberry Volcano in Oregon. Quaise has developed a gyrotron-powered drilling platform that vaporises boreholes through rock using high-power millimeter waves, reaching depths and temperatures that conventional drilling cannot. Where traditional methods top out, Quaise's project will be pushing past five kilometres and beyond 300 degrees Celsius, a combination that has never been achieved before. The goal is to access superhot geothermal heat and to do that anywhere in the world (not just in volcanic zones).Fresh off a $180M Series B, with permitting secured in under five months and a drilling rig already on site, Quaise is targeting first power to grid by 2030, with 200-250MW to follow shortly after. Listen in to hear about their decision to be the project developer rather than a simply a drilling tech/services company, how they are sequencing conventional and millimeter wave drilling to de-risk the subsurface, and what it will actually take to replicate the shale revolution in geothermal.Key points: Why the gyrotron-powered drilling platform that vaporises rock is the key to unlocking geothermal energy anywhere on earth, not just near volcanoes.Why owning the whole project, not just the drilling technology, is the only viable commercial path when you're creating a market that doesn't yet exist.How decades of abandoned exploration at Newberry Volcano became a strategic asset rather than a warning sign.How Quaise plans to drive costs down at scale.What it actually takes to permit and fund a first-of-a-kind energy project in the current U.S. regulatory environment, and why this one moved faster than almost anyone expected.How the same subsurface logic that drove the shale revolution could be the blueprint for scaling geothermal from volcanic hotspots to the whole of North America within a decade.Links: ·       Connect with James Benetatos of Quaise Energy·       Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the podcast or events and membership·       Find out more about Quaise Energy and its projects·       Want more like this? Join Alex and a network of energy buyers, investors & series B+ tech at Firm Power Connect in San Francisco (December 2026) ·       Sign up for our newsletter Want to learn more about us? This episode is brought to you by Industrial Connect Group, formerly Decarb Connect. Our rebrand reflects where our members and clients told us the real work is happening: not just in carbon reduction as a standalone goal, but across the full complexity of industrial transition, where energy, materials, capital, and operations intersect. Industrial Connect Group serves the same community of operators, investors, and technology companies navigating hard-to-abate sectors, with the same focus on substance over noise.  If you enjoyed this conversation, find out about our portfolio of events in US, Canada, UK and Europe – or explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), and learn why more than 200 members from the energy-intensive sectors have joined to share insights, meet partners who can accelerate their plans and why it’s the most valuable network of its kind.   

Host: Tom Angus, Director of Conferences, Decarb ConnectGuest: Clay Bedwell, Associate Director of Platform and Partnerships, 3DegreesFor years, ambitious corporate renewable energy goals were built on simple targets and Excel spreadsheets. Today, those programs have expanded into complex portfolios spanning physical PPAs, virtual PPAs, spot RECs, green tariffs, and behind-the-meter solar across multiple jurisdictions. What was once a straightforward procurement task has quietly turned into a persistent drain on internal time, budget, and risk capacity.In this episode, Clay Bedwell outlines why software automation alone cannot solve modern portfolio friction, why customer revenue protection is redefining how organizations buy energy, and how sustainability teams can build a compelling case for portfolio risk management to skeptical CFOs.Key TakeawaysWhy corporate renewable portfolios have outgrown traditional spreadsheets.As organizations accumulate multiple contract types and counterparty arrangements, manual reconciliation becomes unmanageable. Escalating demands from internal stakeholders (spanning P&L impact queries from finance, audit preparation from sustainability, and target reporting from leadership) mean manual data aggregation is no longer operational.Customer revenue protection as a new driver for renewable allocation.Corporate buyers are no longer procuring renewable energy solely to meet internal target metrics. Using an example from the metals sector, Clay illustrates how commercial customers increasingly demand specific, audited renewable allocations before purchasing products. Demonstrating compliance at the customer level has transformed procurement into a tool for safeguarding revenue.The critical pairing of software platforms with human trading expertise.While software excels at routine PPA hygiene (such as invoice validation, production tracking, and contract management) it falls short during non-standard edge cases. Managing complex counterparty events, such as developer insolvencies or contract restructuring, requires direct market relationships and real-world trading experience alongside digital tools.How to frame the business case for skeptical CFOs.Repeatable financial value rarely comes from chasing quick, one-off PPA savings. Instead, the core ROI lies in portfolio risk management: stress-testing downside scenarios, evaluating long-term contract strips, and providing financial leadership with the confidence to scale programs responsibly as standards evolve.Navigating policy shifts and future-proofing buying strategies.With upcoming changes to the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard and GHG Protocol Scope 2 guidance, corporate buyers must shift from short-term compliance mindsets to long-term strategic planning. Early adopters are moving away from bloated PPA exposure toward structured portfolio risk models and 24/7 carbon-free energy tracking.LinksConnect with Tom Angus on LinkedIn and discover how to engage with the Decarb Connect community.Connect with Clay Bedwell on LinkedIn.Learn more about 3Degrees Meridian.Sign up for the Decarb Connect Newsletter: Industrial EdgeLearn more about Industrial Connect Group’s global events and membership network. 

Host: Alex Cameron, Founder & CEO, Industrial Connect Group LtdGuest: Grant Budge, CEO, PeroCycleEurope spent somewhere between eight and ten billion euros on hydrogen and CCS projects over the last decade. Grant Budge's rough calculation is that the same capital, deployed into carbon capture and utilisation, could have been removing three to six million tonnes of CO2 per year by now. Instead, we have a handful of projects that never crossed the line and an industry still arguing about infrastructure that doesn't exist. Grant was there for CCS v1.0. He knows why it stalled, and he has a clear view on what we keep getting wrong, as well as what could help drive the right capital to the right tech. PeroCycle is CEO of a team converting CO2 into carbon monoxide on site, no pipeline, no offsite infrastructure, negative cost of carbon abatement on a DRI steel plant at current European energy prices. That's the claim. In this episode, Grant walks through how they got there, what could still break it, and why the deeper problem in industrial decarbonization isn't the technology at all.Key Takeaways1.     Why large corporate balance sheets have been part of the problem, not the solution. The assumption that big companies with big balance sheets would lead deployment shaped a decade of policy. Grant explains why that logic kept failing, and what it meant for the technologies that got backed as a result.2.     The real reason hydrogen and CCS absorbed so much capital for so little output. It wasn't just bad technology choices. Grant traces it back to how the direction was set in the first place, and who was driving that conversation.3.     What a global database of validated decarbonization technologies would actually change. Right now, an industrial company trying to compare options has no independent source to go to. Grant makes the case for why that gap exists, who could fill it, and what it would have meant if it had existed ten years ago.4.     How PeroCycle moved from a cost of plus $50-60 per tonne of CO2 abated to minus $80. The engineering decisions behind that shift, and what they tell you about where most tech developers are leaving value on the table.5.     The stage gate that will make or break the business case. Scaling to the steel sector means a first-of-kind plant costing $250-300 million for a pre-revenue startup. Grant explains the strategy for getting there without that number killing the story with investors.6.     Why nickel and glass might matter more to PeroCycle right now than steel. The biggest market isn't always the right first market. Grant's thinking on this is worth hearing by anyone building deep tech for heavy industry.7.     What investors actually want to see from industrial tech companies at TRL 4-5. Grant has been on both sides of this conversation. His read on what separates companies that keep the conversation alive from those that get screened out early is direct and practical.Links: ·       Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the membership and work of Decarb Connect·       Connect with Grant Budge, CEO, PeroCycle·       Find out more about Perocycle and its projects·       Join Alex and a network of hardtech investors and series B+ tech disruptors at Decarb TechInvest in Boston (September 2025)·       Sign up for our newsletter Want to learn more about Decarb Connect?We provide insights and introductions that derisk decision-making and support industrial leaders in deploying decarbonization and low carbon product strategy. Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support commercial decarb planning and business models around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  If you enjoyed this conversation, find out about our portfolio of events in US, Canada, UK and Europe – or explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), and learn why more than 200 members from the energy-intensive sectors have joined to share insights, meet partners who can accelerate their plans and why it’s the most valuable network of its kind.   

 Host: Alex Cameron, Founder & CEO, Industrial Connect GroupGuest: Rolf Kuby, Director General, EurominesAn EV is not carbon free on the day it rolls off the line. A wind turbine has a footprint before it generates a single watt. The materials these things are built from carry emissions too, and right now, most climate policy either ignores that or assumes someone else in the value chain will sort it out. Rolf Kuby has spent 30 years doing public affairs in Brussels and five of them running Euromines, the European voice of the mining industry. He has a clear view of where the system is broken.In this episode, Rolf maps the gap between Europe's decarbonization ambitions and the raw material supply chains those ambitions depend on. From the world's first fossil-free mine already operating in Sweden, to the IEA's projection that net zero requires six times current output of critical minerals by 2050, this is a conversation about the part of the transition that doesn't make the headlines but makes everything else possible.Key TakeawaysWhy your clean technology has a dirtier footprint than you think. Rolf explains the life cycle accounting that most climate conversations skip, and why ignoring it means the decarbonization model Europe is building isn't one the rest of the world can copy.The scale of what we actually need to mine. The IEA numbers are stark. If you want to understand the supply-side maths behind net zero, this is the clearest five-minute version of it you'll find.Why cheap energy is the single biggest lever Europe isn't pulling. Energy costs, not policy ambition, are the binding constraint on industrial decarbonization - what would actually change if Europe got electricity prices under control?What the Critical Raw Materials Act can and can't do. The CRMA is Europe's first serious attempt at supply-side policy for critical minerals. Rolf explains where it helps, where the money still isn't following, and why the US IRA is moving faster.Why the value chain keeps passing the cost problem sideways. No single sector can absorb the cost of transformation alone, but the current system lets everyone try. What would a functioning value chain model actually require?The silo problem, and whether Brussels is close to solving it. Feed-in tariffs without grid investment. EV policy without battery supply chains. Rolf names the inconsistencies, and is honest about whether the systemic thinking is catching up.End with a slice of optimism based on emerging projects and collaborationsLinks: ·       Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the membership and work of Decarb Connect·       Connect with Rolf Kuby, Director General of Euromines·       Join Alex and a network of hardtech investors and series B+ tech disruptors at Decarb TechInvest in Boston (September 2025)·       Sign up for our newsletter Want to learn more about Decarb Connect?We provide insights and introductions that derisk decision-making and support industrial leaders in deploying decarbonization and low carbon product strategy. Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support commercial decarb planning and business models around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  If you enjoyed this conversation, find out about our portfolio of events in US, Canada, UK and Europe – or explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), and learn why more than 200 members from the energy-intensive sectors have joined to share insights, meet partners who can accelerate their plans and why it’s the most valuable network of its kind. 

Host: Alex Cameron, Founder & CEO, Decarb Connect Guest: Bilal Hussain, Co-founder, Artio CarbonCarbon markets have a credibility problem, and most of the proposed fixes sit on the same side of the transaction. Bilal Hussain is building on the other side. As co-founder of Artio Carbon, he's spent years assessing carbon projects from the inside, and what he found was a market where capital was circling projects it couldn't trust, and projects couldn't scale because no one would stand behind them. Insurance, done properly, solves that.In this episode, Bilal walks through what underwriting a carbon project actually looks like, from biochar machines with 24-hour test histories to abandoned well projects where the leak has been visible for decades. He explains why execution and counterparty risk are the real questions insurers should be asking, not methodology quality, and what that distinction means for how climate finance moves from promise to delivery.Key TakeawaysWhy better due diligence still isn't enough - what can insurance due diligence uncover that analysts sometimes miss?  The one question that separates a financeable project from an unfundable one. It's not about credit quality or methodology - find out what insurers are actually asking, and why that question matters more than any ratings report. How to spot a project that will fail before it does. From unproven machines to developers promising 100% of expected output, Bilal walks through the specific red flags his team uses to walk away, and what good looks like by comparison. Why the projects landing on Artio's desk right now are the most investable they've ever been. If you've had a tough 12 months in the energy transition space, this perspective is worth hearing. What carbon tax regimes in Asia mean for your pipeline. CBAM is creating a downstream effect that most people haven't fully mapped yet - find out where the financing gap opens up and where insurance fits in. The deal structures where insurance changes the outcome. Not every buyer or developer needs the same product - find out who actually carries the risk in different transaction types, which changes who should be buying cover. What a mature carbon insurance market looks like, and how far away it is. Links:  ·       Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the membership and work of Decarb Connect·       Connect with Bilal Hussein, Co-Founder of Artio·       Artio at London Climate Week 2026: “Bridging the Disconnect” – connecting nature to finance  and Step into the data·       Access Artio's recently published CORSIA Market Forecast 2026·       Join Alex and a network of hardtech investors and series B+ tech disruptors at Decarb TechInvest in Boston (September 2025) Want to learn more about Decarb Connect?We provide insights and introductions that derisk decision-making and support industrial leaders in deploying decarbonization and low carbon product strategy. Our global membership platform, events and facilitated introductions support commercial decarb planning and business models around the world. Our clients include the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more along with technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  If you enjoyed this conversation, find out about our portfolio of events in US, Canada, UK and Europe – or explore our Decarbonisation Leaders Network (DLN), and learn why more than 200 members from the energy-intensive sectors have joined to share insights, meet partners who can accelerate their net zero plans and why it’s the fastest growing network of its kind.