The Empirical Energy Podcast

Carlos from ETAJOULE joins host Mark Smith for a conversation on how the future of data centers may be smaller, smarter, and powered by waste. Instead of relying on massive centralized facilities and strained grid connections, Carlos shares how modular microgrid-powered “Olive” data center nodes can run on solar energy, batteries, and methane captured from agricultural waste like poultry farms. Th...

From Mars Missions to Manhattan’s Boilers: Natan Shahar’s Energy Odyssey Some of the most practical energy solutions don’t come from inside the industry—they come from rethinking the problem entirely. In this conversation, Natan Shahar shares how a challenge facing New York City buildings led him down an unexpected path—from energy audits and Local Law 97 compliance… to inspiration from Mars missi...

What if getting across a city took minutes instead of hours? This conversation with Billy Nolen explores how advanced air mobility is moving from concept to reality—faster than most people think. From his decades in aviation leadership to shaping policy at the Federal Aviation Administration, Billy brings a rare, inside-out perspective on what it actually takes to bring eVTOL aircraft into everyda...

What actually happens after leading operations at one of the world’s largest automotive companies? For Mark Oldenburg, it didn’t mean slowing down—it meant stepping into a new role advising companies on operational performance, AI adoption, and the realities behind emerging energy technologies. This conversation moves past the hype and into what’s actually working today—from AI improving productiv...

Europe’s energy transition isn’t unfolding the way anyone expected. What started as a climate-driven shift has collided with geopolitical reality—forcing governments to rethink timelines, redefine “clean energy,” and rapidly secure supply in a volatile global market. In this conversation, Mark Smith sits down with Ehsan Daneshvar, Operations Director at Future Geoscience, to unpack how energy secu...

Oil and gas operators don’t have a data problem. They have a systems problem. Autonomous methane monitoring is advancing fast. AI-powered quantification is here. Real-time dashboards are live. But most field operations still rely on manual OGI inspections, spreadsheets, and disconnected workflows. That gap? That’s where value is leaking. Philip Richard of Energy Overwatch joins Mark Smith to unpac...

From Volume to Value: Optimizing Daily Cashflow in the Modern Oilfield In this webinar episode of The Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith is joined by Casey Patterson, Co-Founder of Avenirre, for a deep dive into how upstream oil & gas operators are shifting from volume-based decision-making to daily, well-level cash flow optimization. As market pressure increases and margins tighten, tr...

Operators often see groups of wells (field/unit/route) as profitable while subsets quietly lose money—masked by aggregated views, declining production, flat pricing, rising LOE, and forward financials limited to twice a year. Manual allocation of production & expenses takes weeks or months, so detailed analysis gets delayed or skipped. What if you could automate it and get true well-level dail...

Innovating the Future of Energy with Empirical AI How Measured, Verified Data Is Reshaping Global Energy Markets In this episode of The Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith is joined by David Conley, Co-Founder of CleanConnect.ai, for a deep dive into how empirical AI is transforming the energy industry from the ground up. They explore how Clean Connect’s platform combines direct measurement,...

🎙️ Revolutionizing Gas Leak Detection with Visual AI & Machine Learning In this episode of The Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith sits down with Jae Yoon Chung, Machine Learning Engineer at Clean Connect, to explore how visual AI is transforming gas leak detection in the energy industry. Jae breaks down the real-world challenges of detecting methane and gas leaks using vision-based mode...

Uncovering the Future of Methane Emissions Management with Thomas Fox In this episode of The Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith welcomes Thomas Fox, President of Highwood Emissions, to unpack the mechanisms reshaping global energy markets. The conversation explores the industry’s shift from “alternative energy” toward measured, verified energy as the new gold standard—powered by empirical d...

In this episode of the Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith sits down with Zach Orlin of Clean Connect.ai to explore how digital twins, AI, blockchain, and verification technologies are redefining how energy is measured, monitored, and managed. The conversation dives deep into Luminary, a digital twin platform that enables teams to virtually map energy sites, plan monitoring equipment placeme...

In this episode of the Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith is joined by Deb Ryan from Geo Financial to discuss the seismic shift in global energy markets. They dive deep into how verification via blockchain, coupled with AI, is reshaping energy systems. Deb shares insights on her background, the methane performance certificates, and the integration of satellite data with real-time monitoring...

Gas scheduling, pipeline data, arbitrage, LNG globalization, AI-powered tariffs, and the rapid shift toward reliable low-carbon fuel — this conversation with Jay Bhatty shines a light on how the natural gas market is being rewritten from the inside out. Jay shares his path from Enron to building NatGasHub into a core scheduling platform for North America, why data is the real commodity traders fig...

The energy market is entering a new era where data is currency, transparency is leverage, and trust is tokenized. In this episode of The Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith speaks with Brad Handler, Program Director for the Energy Finance Lab at the Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines. They explore how tokenizing environmental attributes in LNG (liquefied natural gas)...

The silent revolution in energy has already begun — and it’s measured, not modeled. In this powerful episode of The Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith sits down with Robert Kleinberg, physicist, researcher, and former Schlumberger scientist, to explore the truth behind global methane reporting — and how measurement-based verification is reshaping the world’s energy future. Kleinberg exposes...

Welcome to the Empirical Energy Podcast, where host Mark Smith sits down with Mehdi, author of Enterprise Gen AI for Energy Executives, to uncover how Generative AI, blockchain, and verified data are transforming the global energy industry. This episode dives deep into real-world AI adoption — from C-suite strategy and data management to cultural transformation and workforce adaptation. Learn how...

Discover how energy producers and traders are navigating the complex world of carbon certification to deliver verified net zero natural gas products. Host Mark Smith sits down with environmental consultant MaryBeth Clifford from Protect to explore the verification side of MMRV (monitoring, measuring, reporting, and verification) and how companies like Microsoft, AWS, and Google are moving beyond t...

Pure West Energy's transformation from traditional commodity gas to empirical natural gas represents a seismic shift in how the energy industry approaches carbon verification and trading. In this groundbreaking episode, Kelly Bott, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Pure West Energy, reveals the untold story of how measured, verified energy is becoming the new gold st...

Join Mark Smith and co-founder David Conley as they share the remarkable origin story of Empirical Energy, from sitting in a hot tub during oil field layoffs to revolutionizing how the energy industry measures and trades clean natural gas. This episode takes you behind the scenes of their journey from computer vision leak detection to creating the world's first empirically measured natural gas tra...

Join host Mark Smith as he dives deep with Jana Brodersen from Clean Connect to explore how mass balance calculations and digital twin technology are revolutionizing emissions monitoring and measurement in the oil and gas industry. This episode unpacks the technical foundations behind modern energy verification systems. Tune in inside: Mass balance fundamentals, digital twin integration, IoT data...

Join host Mark Smith as he sits down with Emily Wilson, the brilliant scientist leading instrument development at Clean Connect, for an in-depth exploration of cutting-edge emission measurement technology. In this fascinating episode, Emily shares her remarkable 23-year journey at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she developed groundbreaking instruments for measuring trace gases in Earth an...

Join Mark Smith on the Empirical Energy Podcast as he explores the cutting-edge world of blockchain-powered zero trust networking with Hans Rempel, founder of Diode. In this deep-dive episode, discover how blockchain technology is revolutionizing industrial cybersecurity and secure communications for critical infrastructure. Short Description: Hans Rempel from Diode explains how blockchain technol...

: In this groundbreaking inaugural episode of the Empirical Energy Podcast, host Mark Smith sits down with Shane Foster from Gunvor Group to explore the revolutionary world of empirical natural gas and how it's transforming the energy trading landscape. This comprehensive discussion reveals how traditional energy trading is evolving through cutting-edge technology, blockchain innovation, and empir...

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Welcome to the very first episode of The Empirical Energy Podcast, where host Mark Smith introduces a revolutionary approach to energy trading that's transforming global markets through scientific measurement and blockchain technology. Tune in inside: • Empirical energy measurement vs. outdated emission factors • Blockchain-powered energy trading...