Catalyst with Shayle Kann

Latest Episodes:

Volts crossover: Six big energy questions Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

They’re at it again. Two years after they last teamed up for a Volts/Catalyst crossover episode, David Roberts joins Shayle for another far-ranging conversation exploring the future of energy. Their prompt was simple: Each host brought three critical questions they want to see answered in the next decade.

From “data center fever” to closed-loop critical mineral economics, Shayle and David take the opportunity to dive deep into a myriad of second-order effects of the clean energy transition.

In the hour-long conversation, the two hosts cover topics including:

The coming explosion of self-driving cars, and whether it will fuel urban sprawl
The feasibility of "electrifying everything” and whether a proliferation of “micro-DERs” in home devices will create create a more efficient grid or a software-fueled dystopia
The future of off-grid data centers
Whether the pros of geoengineering and solar radiation modification, or SRM, outweigh the potential moral hazards

Resources:

Catalyst: The Volts crossover episode
Catalyst: The plug-in DER case for small businesses
Catalyst: AMA: Geoengineering, nuclear, power prices, and more
Open Circuit: Tesla’s fork in the road
Latitude Media: The growing free-market push to let data centers go off grid

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate, energy, and infrastructure leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.

Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com.

The rise of grid power electronics with Drew Baglino Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

For decades, the physical equipment underpinning the electric grid has remained largely unchanged: passive, "dumb" devices installed as far back as the 1970s that lack much real-time control. But today, in the face of skyrocketing energy demand, a new class of technologies has emerged.

In this episode, Drew Baglino, the founder and CEO of Heron Power, returns to the show to discuss his company’s new generation of solid-state transformers, or SSTs. After a 17-year career at Tesla — where he led energy and powertrain development — Drew is now focused on replacing the grid’s aging infrastructure with these advanced power electronics.

Shayle and Drew take a deep dive into the history of the power transistor, and then explore how the SST has the potential to transform the grid into a highly optimized and intelligent machine. They cover topics like:

The evolution of power electronics
Why we still haven’t fixed the transformer shortage
How Heron Power’s SSTs remove legacy transformers and switches to create a substantial uplift for project developers
The potential to remove 70% of traditional electrical equipment at data centers by distributing power directly to the rack
Why Drew thinks SSTs offer a "pathway toward affordability"

Resources

Catalyst: Drew Baglino on Tesla’s master plan
Latitude Media: Inside Heron Power’s plan to transform the grid
Catalyst: Understanding the electric transformer shortage
Open Circuit: The grid resilience dilemma
Latitude Media: These Autogrid alums want to change how data centers use power

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

PJM and ERCOT navigate a capacity rollercoaster Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

Last year, the PJM capacity crunch became a focal point for an entire industry struggling to navigate the explosive growth of hyperscaler data centers. Yet even in the first two months of 2026, capacity prices have continued to skyrocket, and the economics of energy generation have only become more tenuous.

In this episode, Shayle Kann talks to Paul Segal, the CEO of LS Power. A major player in the space, LS Power owns a diverse portfolio of generation, storage, and transmission assets across the U.S.

Shayle and Paul dive into the volatility currently defining the two most talked-about power markets in the country: PJM and ERCOT. They cover topics like:

How PJM flipped nearly overnight from a state of "stasis" to a capacity shortage

The federal government's emergency order to make large data centers "pay their way"

Why 10 gigawatts of expected load failed to show up during the recent Texas winter storm

Why Paul sees ERCOT as a “cyclical” market that is currently difficult for new gas generation, despite massive load growth

Paul’s strategy for ensuring sufficient “bridge” generation before new large-scale projects come online

Resources

Catalyst: PJM and the capacity crunch
Latitude Media: PJM’s $178 billion fork in the road
Catalyst: The potential for flexible data centers

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

The path to market for new nuclear reactors Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

Spurred by a suite of executive orders and investments from the federal government, new nuclear reactors are coming soon. Or the announcements are at least.

The advanced nuclear sector has found itself in the spotlight as companies race to acquire licenses and permits aimed at achieving "criticality.” But what do these milestones signify? And is hitting the deadlines even feasible?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Katy Huff, former assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the Department of Energy and current associate professor at the University of Illinois. They unpack the wave of new nuclear announcements, the realities of navigating an arcane regulatory gauntlet, and what Katy considers a realistic timeline for new nuclear deployment.

Shayle and Katy cover topics like:

The NRC’s “murky” pre-application process
The differences between various licensing pathways
Why Katy views the DOE’s goal to have three reactors reach criticality by July 4th as “an extremely aggressive milestone”
Upcoming revised guidance on nuclear radiation dose rates
The challenges facing the DOE amidst a staff shortage
Katy’s assessment of a feasible timeline for getting new reactors operational
Why Katy doesn’t think microreactors are economically scalable…yet

Catalyst: The US nuclear groundswell
Open Circuit: Inside Meta’s massive nuclear push
Latitude Media: The self-inflicted hurdles facing Trump’s nuclear orders

Latitude Media: The Department of Energy’s 2026 playbook⁠

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

The rise of permissionless DERs Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

Distributed batteries are having a big moment. On one hand, companies like Base Power and Tesla have leaned into large residential batteries that export power back to the grid, but need permits and inspections to operate. At the same time, however, a new category has emerged: small, "plug-in" batteries that don’t require an electrician or complex installation, let alone a permit.

In this episode, Shayle talks to James McGinniss, co-founder and CEO of David Energy (yes, the biblical reference is intentional). David Energy is deploying these nimble, permissionless systems today for both residential customers and small businesses, and James argues that this approach could usher in a new era of massive scale and affordability for distributed energy resources.

Shayle and James cover topics like:

Why James prefers the term "plug-in" over "permissionless," and what falls into this bucket, from balcony solar to battery-enabled appliances
The murky regulatory landscape around micro-DERs
How plug-in systems can effectively drive soft costs (permitting, labor, customer acquisition) down to nearly zero
How high energy prices in Germany drove the adoption of 4 million plug-in systems in just a few years
The appeal for small businesses: how shaving just a few kilowatts of peak demand can generate significant savings for commercial customers in markets like New York
Future form factors, including batteries integrated directly into cooktops, heat pumps, and other household appliances

Resources

Catalyst: How Base Power plans to use its fresh $1B
Catalyst: The new wave of DERs
Catalyst: Is now the time for DERs to scale?
Latitude Media: Can VPPs unlock grid capacity for data centers?
Latitude Media: How do we turn small-scale, distributed energy into a multi-trillion dollar sector?

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

More 2026 trends: Solar costs, oil oversupply, and the startup slump Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

We are back for Part 2 of Shayle’s double header conversation with the veteran energy analyst Nat Bullard, dissecting his annual presentation on the state of decarbonization.

If you missed it, we recommend you go back and listen to Part 1, which was released last week.

In this episode, Shayle and Nat shift their focus from data centers to exploring other intriguing trends found in the data that Nat assembled—from the surprising resilience of clean energy stocks to the rising costs of solar installations in the US.

Shayle and Nat dig into more topics including:

Why the S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index outperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq last year
The steep drop in U.S. energy startup investment—from $8 billion in 2022 to just over $2 billion in 2025—and why Shayle thinks 2026 will see a massive rebound
The impacts of an enormous oversupply of oil
China’s skyrocketing share of global vehicle production
The remarkable pace of residential battery storage adoption in Australia

Resources

Nat Bullard’s full 2026 presentation
Catalyst: 2026 trends: Gas turbines, Texas’ load queue, and China electrifies
Catalyst: 2025 trends: aerosols, oil demand, and carbon removal
Catalyst: More 2025 trends: DeepSeek, plug-in hybrids, and curtailment
Latitude: The year resiliency investment began to go mainstream
Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

A ‘rain delay’ for the energy transition [partner content] Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

In 2024, Tom Burton described the clean energy transition as entering its “third inning” — a phase defined by execution and scale. A year later, the game looks very different.

In this episode, produced in partnership with Mintz, Stephen Lacey sits down with Burton to revisit that framework and assess the state of play for U.S. energy infrastructure heading into 2026.

Burton, who chairs Mintz’s sustainable energy and infrastructure practice, brings nearly 3 decades of experience advising developers, investors, and operators across clean energy and digital infrastructure.

They begin with the immediate market picture: a surge of renewable projects racing to put steel in the ground under existing tax rules, followed by a thinning pipeline. Burton explains why 2027 and 2028 could mark a slowdown in new deployments, even as demand continues to rise.

From there, the conversation turns to politics. Federal hostility toward clean energy, shifting tax credit structures, foreign sourcing rules, and the weaponization of permitting have introduced new layers of risk. Deals are harder to close, financing is more complex, and even strong projects are feeling the strain.

Burton unpacks what this environment means for developers, including who’s most exposed to the current shakeout, what separates resilient companies from struggling ones, and why permitting uncertainty may now be a bigger threat than tax policy itself.

The episode also explores one of the defining forces reshaping the energy sector: the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure. Burton explains how power availability, interconnection, and long-term grid planning are now central to dealmaking.

The energy transition hasn’t stopped, says Burton. But it has entered a rain delay — and the companies that adapt during the pause will be the ones still standing when play resumes.

These conversations were recorded at the Mintz Energy Transition Summit. Mintz has been at the frontlines of the energy and sustainability revolution since the start. For finance, policy, and market insights from the Mintz team, sign up for their newsletter.

2026 trends: Gas turbines, Texas’ load queue and China electrifies Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

It’s a new year, which means the veteran energy analyst Nat Bullard has dropped another annual, data-rich presentation on the state of energy and decarbonization.

And per what has become tradition, Nat is back on Catalyst – for the fourth time – to discuss some of Shayle’s favorite slides, cherry-picked from the 200-page deck.

In part one of their two-part conversation, they cover topics like:

The significance of China’s rapid electrification
Why the proportion of GDP spent on electricity has remained flat while oil has proven volatile
The massive backlog and rising capital costs for gas turbines
How current tech CapEx compares to past large-scale endeavors like the Manhattan Project and broadband build-out
The extraordinary explosion of large load interconnection requests in Texas
The divergence in load forecasting between grid operators and transmission providers
Global drivers of electricity demand growth beyond data centers

Resources

Nat Bullard's 2026 presentation deck
Catalyst: 2025 trends: aerosols, oil demand, and carbon removal
Catalyst: 2024 trends: batteries, transferable tax credits, and the cost of capital

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

Catalyst is brought to you by Uplight. Uplight activates energy customers and their connected devices to generate, shift, and save energy—improving grid resilience and energy affordability while accelerating decarbonization. Learn how Uplight is helping utilities unlock flexible load at scale at uplight.com.
Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate, energy, and infrastructure leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.

The VC case for 'full stack deeptech' Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

For “deep tech” or industrial tech investors, a captivating idea on paper doesn’t always translate into a sustainable or viable business. Even a remarkable technological breakthrough isn’t guaranteed to survive the long sales cycles of the industrial world.

So which companies are worth the investment?

Ian Rountree, founder and partner at the venture firm Cantos, wrote a bare-bones thesis on X that offers guidance on this question. In it, Rountree lays out a stark list of the companies he invests in—and the ones he passes on.

In this episode, Shayle and Ian unpack his post and explore how it applies to the current landscape of hardware and industrial startups. They cover topics like:

Why selling technology to large incumbents like automakers or utilities can be a death sentence for startups
The pitfalls of "commercializing science"
Why capital risk to sell an end-product can be better business than licensing technology
Why "weird" companies—"N of 1" startups—can generate huge amounts of talent and capital
Why selling commodities (like electrons or minerals) can actually be a safer bet than entering a new market
Real-world examples of full-stack success in the mining industry, including Earth AI and KoBold Metals

Latitude: Earth AI’s play in the hunt for critical minerals

Catalyst: Calibrating hype with Akshat Rathi

Catalyst: Climate tech startups need strong techno-economic analysis

Open Circuit: Pain, resilience, and bargain hunting for climate tech investors

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

How AI is changing weather forecasting Jan 02, 2026

Show notes

Weather forecasting drives billions of economic decisions — from grid operations to evacuation planning. Better forecasting could improve supply chain planning, disaster warnings, and renewable integration. The industry has decades of satellite observations and ground measurements, making it ripe for AI-driven advancements.

And it’s already happening. But how exactly does AI get used in weather forecasting, and how does it actually lead to improvements?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Peter Battaglia, senior director of research at Google DeepMind’s sustainability program, which launched a new AI-powered weather forecasting model in November 2025. They cover topics like:

Why precipitation is so much harder to predict than temperature

How the weather industry works, with governments creating global models and private companies refining them for specific use cases

What AI models can see that traditional supercomputer simulations can’t

Novel sources of data like cell phones, door bells, and social media

Resources:

Latitude Media: Where are we on using AI to predict the weather?

Latitude Media: Could AI-fueled weather forecasts boost renewable energy production?

Catalyst: Specialized AI brains for physical industry

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

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