Dr. Chris Wedding — Climate Tech CEO Coach | CEO @ EFI

Climate CEOs

Business EN ↓ 316 episodes

The leading weekly briefing for climate founders and CEOs. Hosted by Dr. Chris Wedding, executive coach and CEO of Entrepreneurs for Impact (EFI), a peer group capped at 90 CEOs & investors representing $40B in enterprise value and assets under management. Climate CEOs delivers playbooks from the front lines of climate tech, with insights on raising capital, scaling startups in clean energy, batteries, carbon capture, and the circular economy, plus the founder mindset, mindfulness, daily habits, book recommendations, and resilience needed to thrive.

Author

Dr. Chris Wedding — Climate Tech CEO Coach | CEO @ EFI

Episodes

Circular Carbon: $50M Raised by Serial Founder for DAC-Supplied Cost-Competitive Industrial CO2 [👏 Interview] 17.12.2025 40:54

Project finance for carbon removed from the atmosphere to supply beverage and heavy industry customers in the US and abroad. 🎧 Episode Summary Aircapture creates and scales modular Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems that harvest carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere for on-site application or storage. The company fosters a circular carbon economy by supplying this clean CO2 to industrial and...

Fungi Solving the Climate Crisis & $100M for DAC that Produces Fresh Water [💡 5 Ideas] 11.12.2025 12:51

Here are today’s five NEW topics on climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership: 1. 📊 CLIMATE DATA Fungi: the overachievers of the climate crisis 2. 💡 CEO TO KNOW Will Kain @ Avnos ($100M for DAC producing fresh water) 3. 💸 INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT Dmitriy Antropov @ Partners Group ($8B for smart infrastructure) 4. 🤖 AI INSIGHT Let AI try to em...

Pollution Tracker for 740 Million Emissions Sources & Why We Make Excuses [💡 5 Ideas] 08.12.2025 15:37

Here are today’s five NEW topics on climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership: 1. 📊 CLIMATE DATA Pollution tracker: 740 million emissions sources 2. 💡 CEO TO KNOW Ben Parker @ Lightship 3. 💸 INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT Micah Kotch @ Blackhorn Ventures 4. 🤖 AI INSIGHT Dear ChatGPT, what do you know about me? 5. ⛰️ MINDFUL MOMENT Everything is fig...

50 Million Miles of Power Transmission Lines by 2040. Is That a Joke? [💡 5 Ideas] 04.12.2025 11:34

Here are today’s five topics on climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership: 1. 📊 CLIMATE DATA 50 million miles of transmission lines are needed by 2040 to achieve climate goals. 2. 💡 CEO TO KNOW Cam Halliday @ Mantel ($32M for carbon capture) 3. 💸 INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT Dave Kirkpatrick @ SJF Ventures ($435M for impact startups) 4. 🤖 AI INSI...

$7 Trillion on Data Centers by 2030 + VC Lessons from $220M Across 36 Companies [💡 5 Ideas] 01.12.2025 11:23

Here are today’s five topics on climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership: 1. 📊 CLIMATE DATA $7 trillion on data centers by 2030 2. 💡 CEO TO KNOW Tod Hynes @ Maigent & MIT 3. 💸 INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT Kareem Dabbagh & Joe Goodman @ VoLo Earth 4. 🤖 AI INSIGHT AI as “Cognitive Reframing Coach” 5. ⛰️ MINDFUL MOMENT “Despair is a failure...

The $30B Market Nobody Thinks About: Greening the RV | Ben Parker, Cofounder of Lightship 24.11.2025 46:34

Ex-Tesla engineers raise $60M for solar and battery-powered RVs, creating tomorrow's camping today and relevant for 1 in 10 Americans. 🎧 Episode Summary Ben Parker is the Co-Founder of Lightship, an electric RV company that’s reimagining how we hit the road sustainably. Lightship builds aerodynamic, all-electric travel trailers with onboard solar and battery systems that can provide 5-7 days...

329,000 robots for our net-zero future: China vs. USA [💡 5 Ideas] 14.11.2025 10:42

Here are today’s five topics on climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership: 1. 📊 CLIMATE DATA Robots: Building a net-zero future (not just stealing jobs) 2. 👏 CEO TO KNOW Bill Flederbach @ ClimeCo (45M tons of CO2e reduced, avoided, or removed) 3. 💸 INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT Howard Fischer @ Gratitude Railroad (from hedge fund to impact investor...

Carbon Capture: $32M Invested, 50% Lower Costs, MIT Tech [👏 Interview] 10.11.2025 48:15

Discover why Shell, Eni, and MCJ invested in this molten borate carbon capture tech led by an MIT PhD. 🎧 Episode Summary Mantel Capture is a Boston-based climate technology company developing the first molten-salt (molten borate) carbon capture system designed to operate at the high temperatures found inside boilers, kilns, and furnaces. Their technology cuts the energy penalty of carbon capture...

Data Centers: How We Power $7 Trillion by 2030. [💡 5 Ideas] 08.11.2025 11:40

Climate VC Investor Insights: $220M, 2 Funds, 36 Portfolio Companies [👏 Interview] 03.11.2025 52:08

Learn from two climate tech VC investors sharing startup lessons in energy, buildings, mobility, and industry. 🎧 Episode Summary VoLo Earth Ventures is an early-stage climate tech venture capital firm that invests in scalable innovations in clean energy, mobility, built environment, and industry. They provide returns-first catalytic capital and hands-on leadership to help founders decarbonize glo...

The $150M Investor, $60M Founder, and Tony Robbins Walk Into a Climate Bar… [💡 5 Ideas] 23.10.2025 13:22

Here are today’s five topics on climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership: 1. CLIMATE DATA Which cities have the most startup funding? 2. CEO TO KNOW Toussaint Wattinne @ Upway — $60M for sustainable mobility 3. INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT Tim Krysiek @ Climate Technology Fund of MassMutual Ventures 4. AI INSIGHT Don’t be scared: “100 million jobs e...

24 Steps to Build Great Climate and Energy Ventures (Experience Across 100s of Startups) [👏 Interview] 20.10.2025 55:04

Serial entrepreneurs, MIT professors, and climate tech experts share their blueprint for building startups in this new book. 🎧 Episode Summary Tod Hynes is the Co-founder and CEO of Maigent , Board Chairman at Woodwell Climate Research Center , and Senior Lecturer at MIT . He has co-founded several organizations and companies and has raised over $500 million . He has also helped hundreds of team...

Environmental Credit Solutions: 16 years, $50M Raised, 45M Tons of CO2e Reduced, Avoided, or Removed [👏 Interview] 13.10.2025 53:46

Tackling superpollutants, carbon insetting, digital carbon, and ESG strategy consulting before climate tech was cool. 🎧 Episode Summary ClimeCo is an award-winning leader in decarbonization and an Inc. Best Workplaces Company. Since 2009, they have evolved from a pioneer in nitrous oxide abatement projects to a global leader in the environmental commodities market. Bill Flederbach is a Sustainabi...

$63M for Electric Vehicle Fleets. $150M for your next company. Four AI Prompts to Boost Your Marketing. [💡 5 Ideas] 09.10.2025 10:49

Learn 5 quick insights in climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership — straight from my Climate CEOs newsletter. Join 40,000 who get it. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com

Sustainable Mobility: $60M from Sequoia. 80,000 E-bikes Sold. 40% discounts. 100+ Manufacturers. 06.10.2025 45:24

With 40 million electric bikes worldwide, we need Upway's marketplace to refurbish and resell them at scale. 🎧 Episode Summary Upway is a marketplace for refurbished electric bikes in eight countries. Backed by $60M in VC funding, including household names like Sequoia, they’ve sold over 80,000 bikes across hundreds of OEMs at 40% discounts to new e-bikes. Toussaint brings almost a decade of...

How to build a startup advisory board (or join one) 02.10.2025 16:14

Enjoy this brief primer on how to establish a board of advisors for your startup (or negotiate a seat on one). In our EFI climate CEO peer group, we have a growing library of these hot topic primers. To get more like this, join 40,000 who get my Climate CEOs newsletter. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com

Climate Week NYC: 16 Takeaways (from 50 Hours + 35,000 Steps) 29.09.2025 18:01

100,000 people joined 1,000 events in NYC last week for the Climate Week. In this 18-minute podcast, I summarize 16 highlights from my time there. If you like this, join 40,000 who get my Climate CEOs newsletter. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com

$5B Funding for Sustainable Infrastructure. Solar’s “Land Problem” is Overhyped. Boss: “Talk to AI Before Talking to Me.” $65M for AI in Agtech. Don't Be Consumed by Injustice. 25.09.2025 12:43

EV Finance: $63M for Electric Fleets + 40% Lower Fuel and Maintenance 22.09.2025 32:00

Electric vehicles, charging, and support in one predictable monthly payment (4 million EV fleet vehicles by 2030). 🎧 Episode Summary 7Gen is a Vancouver-based company that helps commercial fleets transition to zero-emission vehicles by providing turnkey solutions for electrification. Their services include financing, procurement, charging infrastructure, and long-term support to simplify the swit...

60 nuclear startups to watch. AI for 220 million peer-reviewed articles. Meta CTO invests in climate. Stoic wisdom on corporate values. Robots building climate-resilient homes. 18.09.2025 14:03

Scaling Climate Finance in the Global South: A CEO’s Playbook 15.09.2025 40:57

Mapping $1.9 Trillion in global climate finance. Who invests? Who gets the funding? 🎧 Episode Summary The Climate Policy Initiative is a leading international nonprofit research organization focused on tracking and mobilizing climate finance. Dr. Barbara Buchner is the lead author of the annual Global Landscape of Climate Finance reports—widely regarded as the standard for climate finance trackin...

7 Ways AI is a Climate Champion vs. Climate Killer 11.09.2025 12:05

Hear 5 themes from Sept. 10th EFI CEO & investor discussion on AI in climate tech in practice. Additionally, discover 7 ways AI is a climate champion, along with 14 example companies. (From my newsletter. Join 40,000 who get it. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com)

Net Zero Homes: 2.5x Faster, 30% Cheaper, $20M VC Raise 08.09.2025 43:13

Using robots and microfactories to build energy-efficient, affordable homes, resilient to natural disasters. 🎧 Episode Summary Reframe Systems, led by CEO Vikas Enti, is a climate‑tech startup building compact, robotic micro‑factories that can construct climate‑resilient, net‑zero homes—specifically “missing‑middle” housing—significantly faster, cheaper, and with far lower carbon emissions than t...

China’s Power Grid Gains — Outpacing U.S. by 2–10x in Power & Solar 04.09.2025 14:45

Learn 5 quick insights in climate & clean energy, startup investment, AI for entrepreneurs, and mindfulness in leadership — straight from my newsletter. Join 40,000 who get it. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com

Smarter Agriculture: 30x More Produce, 96% Less Water with AI-Powered Greenhouses 02.09.2025 44:23

AI-powered agtech infrastructure is growing climate-friendly crops while boosting farmer profitability—backed by horticultural expertise and data science. 🎧 Episode Summary IUNU is a Seattle‑based ag‑tech startup using AI‑driven computer vision and autonomous sensors—via its LUNA platform—to monitor greenhouse crop growth in real time, optimize operations, and boost farm productivity across 100 f...