Activation Energy

Philip Taynton of Mallinda talks about a new class of plastic materials and the journey of spinning out university research. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:39) What Mallinda is commercializing (01:09) Vitrimers (02:25) Applications (04:07) Negative impact of non-recyclable materials (05:39) Barriers to making vitrimers ubiquitous  (08:07) Gorilla glass (09:17) Commercialization of vitrimers, Mal...

Robert Creighton of Windlift , a startup commercializing an airborne wind energy system, talks about harnessing wind to generate energy. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (01:44) Rob’s professional journey (04:06) History of wind energy (05:28) Wind vs. traditional sources of energy (06:27) Challenges with offshore wind energy (07:57) Advantages of offshore wind energy generation (09:35) Origin of Wind...

Ben Schrag of the National Science Foundation talks about deeptech and how the government helps advance innovation. OUTLINE: (00:00) Introduction (00:56) Ben’s career path (02:39) NSF’s mandate regarding commercialization of scientific invention (04:39) SBIR and STTR programs (06:31) Origin of SBIR/STTR (08:33) Inventions that SBIR/STTR programs funded (09:55) Disruption (11:00) Statistics and cri...

I speak with Tyler Ellison of ChemDirect about disrupting and digitalizing the chemical supply chain and logistics. OUTLINE: (00:34) Tyler’s background (01:07) Nova Molecular (01:25) Chemical supply chain and logistics (02:48) Fragmentation (03:26) Challenges within chemical supply chain (05:19) Barriers to digitalization of chemical supply chain (07:01) Regulation (07:19) ChemDirect (09:29) Motiv...

I speak with DC Palter of Tech Coast Angels and Chemical Angel Network about investing in clean technologies. OUTLINE: (00:00) Intro (0:55) DC’s interest in Cleantech and motivation for investing in Cleantech  (4:49) Current trends in Cleantech investing (10:43) How DC evaluates startups (13:33) Difference between Cleantech and software investors (16:24) Difference between entrepreneurs with and w...

This episode features Bahruz Mammadov , CEO of BERKM , and John Standish , Technical Director at the Association of Plastic Recyclers , who share their views on the history, current state, and innovation in plastic packaging. OUTLINE: (00:00) Intro (01:02) State and scale of plastic packaging (02:49) Plastic recycling (04:03) Factors that promote and limit collection of plastic (05:36) Technical a...

This episode features Mark Vreeke , the co-founder of the Chemical Angel Network , who shares his views about investing in deep tech ventures. Aaron Santos , co-founder of DNP123 , joins me as co-host. OUTLINE (0:00) Introduction to Mark and Aaron (1:16) Definition of deep tech (2:12) What is fueling investment into deep tech (3:21) Misconceptions about deep tech (4:04) Challenges in deep tech inv...

I speak with John Sears of Innovators Legal about intellectual property, business strategy, and deep-tech startups partnering with corporations to co-create value. (0:00) Introduction (0:43) Role of IP in early stage companies (4:31) Common types of IP (7:28) When to protect inventions by patents vs. keeping trade secrets (10:03) Challenges when protecting IP (16:37) Logistics of protection (19:47...

I speak with Alexis Bazzanella of the Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology ( DECHEMA ) and the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre ( ISC3 ) about sustainable chemistry and multinational collaboration. (0:49) Definition of sustainability (2:25) Holistic approach to sustainable chemistry (5:06) Adoption of sustainable chemistry principles (8:07) Role of legislation...

I speak with Jane Melia of Harvest Thermal and DC Palter of the Chemical Angel Network , Tech Coast Angels , and Pitching Angels blog about how changing the way we heat our homes and buildings can help mitigate climate change. (1:25) Heating, energy, and emissions (3:05) Regulations (6:08) Heat pumps and Harvest Thermal (9:09) How heat pumps tie to the resiliency of the electrical grid (11:20) Har...

I speak with Craig Kasberg of Tidal Vision and Tony Sun of GC Ventures about biopolymers, applications chitosan, building and investing in science-based startups. (0:47) Biopolymers (1:37) Chitosan (3:05) Tidal Vision’s manufacturing (4:46) Applications and markets – water treatment, textiles, agriculture (8:29) Tidal Vision’s progress as a company (9:55) Challenges while building a company (12:20...

I speak with Morgan Lehtinen of RXN Hub about the Canadian cleantech entrepreneurial ecosystem. (0:53) What RXN Hub is (1:40) Gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem (4:09) Cleantech ecosystems across North America (6:14) Startups eligible for RXN Hub (7:17) RXN Hub partners (9:10) Business model and services offered (13:16) Impact (15:17) Definition of success in short and long terms (17:36) Vision...

I speak with Ginger Rothrock of HG Ventures about investing in industrial technologies. (0:00) Introduction (0:43) Industrial tech defined (1:33) Examples of current innovations with industrial use cases (3:07) How novel industrial tech will impact existing value chain/ecosystem (4:49) The promise and potential of industrial tech in averting the climate crisis and achieving sustainability (7:26) R...

I speak with Mitch Krauss about sustainability, circularity, environmental and health safety in textiles, semiconductor, and beverage industries. (0:00) Introduction (0:39) Apparel and textile industry (1:32) UN Project (2:42) Apparel industry value chain (4:29) Perfluorochemicals (7:45) Sustainability in apparel industry (9:47) Apparel production’s impact on environment (14:24) Semiconductor indu...

I speak with Gabriel Thoumi of Responsible Alpha , a consultancy whose mission is to support businesses and communities in securing a low-carbon, sustainable, and equitable future. (1:24) Production and consumption of plastic (2:53) Plastic industry’s carbon budget (3:59) Reconciling fact that plastic is useful in our society and economy with the fact that it is damaging to the environment (8:35)...

I speak with Tina Tosukhowong of TDK Ventures about investing in deep tech startups. (0:00) Introduction (0:49) Defining deep tech (1:21) Distinction from clean tech (3:00) What drives investment in deep tech (5:35) Risks in deep tech ventures and their investors (9:07) Challenges faced by startups and investors (12:36) Characteristics of successful deep tech startups (15:53) Deep tech ecosystem (...

I speak with Rajiv Banavali , the senior vice president of science and innovation at WestRock , the second largest American packaging company. (0:00) Introduction (0:44) Definition of innovation (1:28) Distinction between breakthrough and incremental innovation (3:53) Identifying opportunities for innovation (5:32) Figuring out what customers and their customer want (8:10) Predicting which product...

I speak with Dr. John Warner of Zymergen and Beyond Benign about sustainability in the chemical industry. (0:00) Introduction (1:03) Chemical industry as an actor in society and economy (4:31) Green chemistry (5:54) Teaching chemistry skills (10:50) Beyond Benign (20:11) Marketing and public relations in the chemical industry (22:24) Communication (24:03) Financing sustainability efforts (30:59) N...

I speak with Nikhil Kalane of PwC India about the current state of the global chemical industry. (0:00) Introduction (0:42) Management consultancies for chemical industry (1:42) Nikhil’s expertise and role (2:34) State of the chemical industry and pandemic’s impact (6:22) Pandemic’s impact by region (10:20) Examples of sustainability and circular economy principles in the chemical industry (12:22)...

I speak with Dr. William Provine of The Innovation Space about innovation in the chemical industry and the support ecosystem that exists for chemical startups. (0:00) Introduction (0:48) Invention vs. innovation (4:55) How chemical companies identify opportunities for innovation (8:41) Rate of success across innovation efforts (10:23) Need for new materials (13:18) Chem vs. Pharma spending on R&am...

I speak with Dr. Judy Giordan of ecosVC about education, talent development, and diversity in the chemical industry. (0:00) Introduction (0:42) Chemistry majors (4:42) Talent acquisition and development (10:34) Diversity, inclusion, equity (19:26) Sociology vs. Technology

I speak with Sebastian Alamillo-Falkenberg of KPM Accelerate about the tough-tech ecosystem and resources available for science-based startups.  (0:39) Innovation, invention, design (1:51) Example: The Metals Company (3:05) Example: Li-Cycle (4:29) Science vs. software startups (7:41) Risks in science-based startups and steps to mitigate risks (9:11) Techno-economics (11:52) Resources and eco...

I speak with Dr. Greg Newbloom, the founder and CEO of Membrion, about his career, company, and interest in green chemistry.

I speak with Dr. Judy Giordan about innovation. (0:00) Introduction (0:46) Invention vs. Innovation vs. Diffusion (5:05) Innovation in large chem corporations (7:50) Different stakeholders driving innovation (8:47) How innovation influences chem industry’s dynamics and evolution (13:51) Current innovations in the chem industry (16:26) Interfacing with startups: Chem vs. Pharma

I speak with Dr. Frank Slejko about water treatment in various industries, incumbent technologies, and innovations. (0:00) Introduction (0:50) Significance of water treatment and water as universal solvent (3:28) Industrial applications that require clean water (6:15) High purity water for semiconductor and microelectronics industry (9:54) Types of contaminants (10:36) Removal of contaminants (11:...