Energy Terminal

McKenna Dunbar is a recent college graduate, founder of MOCOKONO and the Ecological Justice Initiative, and Building Electrification Lead at the Sierra Club. When they were young, they had a passion for robotics and technology, which then grew into a desire to be involved in energy. We begin by delving into their long list of environmental experiences then dive into topics including energy burden,...

To create an energy transition that is not just clean, but also lasting and sustainable, justice and equity must be at the forefront of conversations.   Our guest Raya Salter, Founder of the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center and "Climate Auntie," shines a light on the world of energy justice and how communities are a central part of a successful transition. Throughout her career as an activist,...

Shikhar Verma is a student and the Founder and Chief Investment Officer at the Rice New Energy Fund (RNEF), a $200K energy fund managed by students. They focus on exposing students to investment management, involving students in the energy transition, and building and leveraging an industry network. Shikhar begins by outlining how he got his start in energy and made his way to Rice University, and...

Brendan Duval, CEO and Founder of the Glenfarne Group, walks us through the importance of equitable investment, especially in the context of the energy transition. The Glenfarne Group LLC, an asset management firm, invests its assets into global energy infrastructure, looking to help decarbonize energy systems throughout the globe. But investing in the energy transition does not mean just investin...

In the first episode of Energy Terminal's SPARK series where we highlight Gen Zers working in energy, we talk to William Reynolds, a recent college graduate with extensive experience in clean tech startups and environmental work. Will took a non-traditional path to get to where he is today, moving away from his home in New Zealand at age 17 to work for startups in San Francisco, London, and China....

The electric vehicle is an icon of cleantech and the sustainable technology shaping our future. But how do we build the national charging network we need to support EVs across the country?   Joining us on the show is Cathy Zoi, CEO of EVgo, the company building one of the largest fast charging networks in the country. Cathy has worked across government and the private sector as the CEO of both pub...

How do many renewable technologies get off the ground? Is public capital really important to the success of the energy transition?  In this episode we talk with Jonah Wagner, Chief Strategist at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Loan Programs Office. We learn how the Loan Programs Office has successfully jumpstarted many renewable technologies (i.e. utility scale solar), and what current technol...

More important than financing, policy, or even technology is the workforce that will build the energy transition. Over the next decade, we'll see millions of new jobs created in the energy industry led by a booming cleantech sector.   Joining us on the show is Jason Radisson, serial unicorn breeder and CEO and Founder of Movo, a company leveraging technology to provide frontline workforce solution...

The European Energy Crisis flipped the energy world on its head in one of most influential events in energy history. Gas and electricity prices surged, Europe rushed to replace the 40% of its natural gas supply that came from Russia, and the world scrambled to stem the worst outcomes. Now a year on from the inception of the crisis, what does the situation look like? How has the balance of power in...

We see it all the time: millions for emerging startups and successful fundraising rounds. In this episode, we go behind the headlines to uncover the gaps in energy financing and how we can address these gaps to speed the energy transition. Joining us on the show is Hilary Vogelbaum, Senior Analyst at S2G Ventures and MIT Engineering grad. Hilary has given two TED Talks on how we can break down bar...

From blizzards in Alaska to drilling on a golf course in Los Angeles, Collin McClelland has seen it all when it comes to the oil and gas industry.    Collin entered the industry right out of high school when he started drilling wells in the Permian Basin in west Texas. Over 8 years in the industry, Collin learned the ins and outs of oil & gas drilling, working in every major oil field in the count...

When you think about sustainability, you might not think about industries like chemicals, industrials, and oil & gas. But for sustainability-focused professionals, these sectors hold some of the biggest opportunities to make a massive impact. On Episode 23, we're joined by Brandon Spencer, President of ABB's Energy Division. Leading more than 8500 employees across 43 countries, Brandon works with...

You want to get involved in cleantech, but how do you find the right role?   To answer this question, we brought product management expert and author of the B2B Innovator's Map , Daniel Elizalde, on the show. Daniel has worked with companies like Tesla, Microsoft, ABB, and GE to help them drive innovation and product success. He also serves as a mentor for cleantech startups through Third Derivati...

You've seen the buzz about nuclear fusion, but when and how will it affect our energy systems, and what comes next? And what role will nuclear fission continue to play in decarbonization of our electricity grid? Here to answer these questions and more is Rachel Slaybaugh, nuclear engineer and investor at early stage deep tech venture capital firm DCVC. Rachel earned a pHD in nuclear engineering an...

There's no silver bullet for the energy transition; we need some silver buckshot. In the final episode of Energy Terminal's first season, Hope and Michael are joined by Deb Wojcik, Executive Director of Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster, a nonprofit accelerating the growth of cleantech in North Carolina and beyond by leveraging the diverse mix of energy leaders in the triangle area. To see real...

In Episode 19, Michael and Chloe Young, Energy Terminal's Director of Partnerships, are joined by Dr. Alice Hill, David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Hill is a thought leader, author, and policy maker who has written two books on climate resilience. Previously, she served as special assistant to President Barack Obama and as Sen...

In Episode 18, Hope and Michael are joined by Paul Sankey, renowned oil analyst who has been covering oil markets and oil majors for more than three decades. In the face of massive changes with Covid and the war in Ukraine, Paul breaks down the key trends he's seeing in the market and what we can expect in the coming months. We move on to the strategies that oil & gas companies are using to decarb...

In Episode 17, Liz Dennett, VP of Data Engineering and Data Architecture of Wood Mackenzie joins Michael and Hope to talk about carbon accounting, climate disclosures, imposter syndrome, and much more. The conversation starts with a focus on carbon accounting and the need to record, analyze, and store huge amounts of high-quality data to quantify decarbonization and provide accurate climate disclo...

In Episode 16, Haroon Inam, Chief Technology Officer of Smart Wires, joins Michael for Energy Terminal's first podcast recording in front of a live audience as part of Duke University's Climate Commitment. Haroon and Michael discuss the double-sided impact of the energy transition on the electricity grid: higher renewable energy generation on the supply side, and greater electrification on the dem...

With $5 billion in growth capital and a recent $2.1 billion deal with Amazon, Plug Power is poised to take advantage of the booming hydrogen market and expand into exciting new verticals. In Episode 15, Michael and Hope are joined by Andy Marsh, President and CEO of Plug Power, the largest hydrogen fuel cell company in the industry. Across Andy's work at Plug Power and as the Chairman of the Fuel...

The energy transition will require gigatons of carbon to be captured from the atmosphere each year, and X-Prize winning 8 Rivers is working to cause more of it to be captured than any other organization on Earth. In Episode 14, Michael and Hope are joined by Damian Beauchamp, President and Chief Development Officer of 8 Rivers alongside Ben Eisinger, a fellow Duke engineering student who interned...

In Episode 13, Hope and Michael are joined by Bob Irvin, Executive Director of Joules Accelerator, which helps the top cleantech startups commercialize and deploy impactful technology. After a career in utilities at Duke Energy and TVA, Bob was brought to Joules to revamp their program. In the years since, Joules has helped more than 80 top cleantech startups grow and scale. In the episode, we cov...

In Episode 12, Michael and Hope are joined by Jason Ethier, Senior Director of Membership at Greentown Labs, a climate tech incubator with headquarters in Boston and Houston. We walk through Jason's personal startup journey, the benefits of working for a startup, the role of Greentown in the energy transition, and what incubators are looking for in prospective member companies. Jason's engineering...

In Episode 11, Hope and Michael are joined by the team of Anuranet and Choir, joint hardware and software companies looking to transform the role of energy efficiency in the home to reduce emissions and ease grid strain. With increased electrification as we electrify many processes previously powered by fossil fuels, demand response and distributed energy resources will play an important part to m...

In this episode, we take an in depth look at Dr. Chris Wedding's career path and how he founded Entrepreneurs for Impact. He highlights some of the most innovative CEOs and companies he works with, while giving advice for students looking to enter the space. We move on to discuss networking and personal branding tips from a true expert who has successfully built an audience of thousands, then we w...