Catalyst with Shayle Kann

Latest Episodes:

The mechanics of data center flexibility Aug 28, 2025

Show notes

Adding flexibility to data center loads could ease strain on the grid and reduce the need for costly new generation. And, according to one study, shaving off just a few megawatts during peak hours could also unlock unused capacity —as many as 98 gigawatts in the U.S — if those facilities reduced load by just 0.5% each year.

The problem: data centers promise near-perfect reliability, often “five nines” (99.999% uptime) in service-level agreements with customers. That leaves little room to adjust something as critical to reliability as power.

But times are changing. The data center market is reckoning with the constraints of the power grid and growing concern about pushing up electricity prices to pay for new generation. In July, the Electric Power Resource Institute’s DCFlex demonstration at an Oracle data center in Phoenix, Arizona, reduced load 25% during peak demand. And this month Google expanded its demand response through two new agreements with Michigan Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

So what are the actual mechanics of data center flexibility?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Varun Sivaram, founder and CEO of Emerald AI. The startup’s data center flexibility platform powered EPRI’s DCFlex demonstration. Shayle and Varun cover topics like:

What people often misunderstand about how much of their nameplate capacity data centers actually use
The distinct load profiles of training, inference, and other workloads
How data centers can pause, slow, or shift workloads in time or space to reduce demand
What it will take for flexibility solutions like Emerald AI to earn operator trust
How much flexibility data centers can realistically achieve
Varun’s long-term vision for evolving from occasional demand response to weekly or even daily load shifting

Resources:

Latitude Media: Nvidia and Oracle tapped this startup to flex a Phoenix data center
Latitude Media: Google expands demand response to target machine learning workloads
Catalyst: The potential for flexible data centers

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

Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a solar and energy storage development and procurement platform helping clients make optimal decisions, saving significant time, money, and reducing risk. Subscribers instantly access pricing, product, and supplier data. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude.

Catalyst is supported 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.

Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy 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 Green Blueprint: Terrawatt Infrastructure’s billion-dollar strategy Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

Editor's note: With the Trump administration's efforts to roll back California's electric trucking rules, there's new attention on heavy duty transport right now. So we're bringing you a deep dive into the industry, an episode of The Green Blueprint on Terawatt Infrastructure's $1 billion strategy to build charging depots.

In 2021, Neha Palmer co-founced Terrawatt Infrastructure with a bold mission: create the backbone for America's electric trucking revolution.

Within its first year, Terrawatt secured a billion-dollar investment. But as the company developed plans for a nationwide charging network, it confronted the daunting challenge of building infrastructure for an electric truck market that barely existed.

High-profile bankruptcies like Nikola Motors cast long shadows over the sector's viability, raising questions about whether heavy-duty transport can truly be electrified.

In this episode, Lara talks with Neha about how Terrawatt aims to transform freight transport despite market skepticism. Neha explains Terawatt’s strategic approach to site selection, innovative charging designs for fully-loaded trucks, and the vision for a revolutionary California-to-Texas network.

Credits: Hosted by Lara Pierpoint. Produced by Erin Hardick. Edited by Anne Bailey and Stephen Lacey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

The case for sodium-ion Aug 14, 2025

Show notes

Our first episode covering sodium-ion batteries featured a cautious take on the chemistry: Back in February Adrian Yao, founder of Stanford’s STEER program, explained the challenges of reaching competitive energy density and costs, especially given the falling price of LFP. Still, sodium-ion chemistries are picking up steam, thanks largely to growing deployments in stationary storage and small-scale mobility in China.

So what’s a more bullish take on sodium-ion?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Landon Mossburg, founder and CEO of sodium-ion battery manufacturer Peak Energy. He outlines a pathway to competitiveness and argues that, in the right applications, the advantages of sodium-ion chemistries outweigh their challenges. Shayle and Landon cover topics like:

Why almost all current deployments of sodium-ion capacity are in China — and why Korean battery giants are committed to LFP right now

The thermal advantages of sodium iron pyrophosphate (NFPP) vs. the higher energy densities of layered oxides

Sodium-ion's supply chain benefits and lower CapEx requirements

How NFPP’s system-level savings in cooling, safety, auxiliary power, and maintenance — plus strong cycle life — could offset its current cell cost premium

Resources:

Catalyst: The promise and perils of sodium-ion batteries

Latitude Media: Peak Energy’s quest to build US sodium-ion battery dominance

Latitude Media: Is it too late for the US to rival China on sodium-ion batteries?

Nature Energy: Critically assessing sodium-ion technology roadmaps and scenarios for techno-economic competitiveness against lithium-ion batteries

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

Explaining the ‘Watt-Bit Spread’ Aug 07, 2025

Show notes

Editor’s note: The uncertainties of data center construction — like when, where, and how much to build — are as pressing as ever. So we’re revisiting a conversation with Brian Janous, co-founder and chief commercial officer at data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure. In this episode, he explains his theory of the ‘Watt-Bit Spread’, which offers insightful heuristics for understanding how data centers are driving change in the power sector.

Every data center company is after one thing right now: power. Electricity used to be an afterthought in data center construction, but in the AI arms race access to power has become critical because more electrons means more powerful AI models.

But how and when these companies will get those electrons is unclear. Utilities have been inundated with new load requests, and it takes time to build new capacity.

Given these uncertainties, how do data center companies make the high-stakes decisions about how much to build? How sustainable is the rate of construction? And how much will these data center companies pay for electricity?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Brian Janous, co-founder and chief commercial officer at data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure. Brian recently explained how he thinks about these questions in a LinkedIn post titled “The Watt-Bit Spread,” which argues that the value of watts is incredibly high right now, and the cost of those watts is too low. Shayle and Brian cover topics like:

The unclear data center demand and high costs that are making data center companies hesitant to build

How the skills required for data center development have shifted from real estate and fiber to energy

Why higher power prices are needed to incentivize new generation

Potential solutions for better pricing electricity and speeding up the construction of new generation

Recommended resources

Latitude Media: AES exec on data center load: 'It's like nothing we’ve ever seen'

Latitude Media: Mapping the data center power demand problem, in three charts

Latitude Media: Are we thinking about the data center energy problem in the right ways?

Catalyst: Can chip efficiency slow AI's energy demand?

Catalyst: Under the hood of data center power demand

Sequoia Capital: AI’s $600B Question

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

PJM and the capacity crunch Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

The PJM capacity auction this month broke records with sky-high wholesale power prices — and that was by design. Under PJM’s auction rules, tight supply raises prices, incentivizing the development of new generation and encouraging existing generation to stay online. The big driver of that tight supply? Data-center driven load growth. The independent system operator covers Virginia, one of the densest and fastest-growing regions for data center development.

So will higher wholesale prices incentivize enough generation to meet load growth without provoking the public with higher bills?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Steve Piper, research director of North American power and renewables at S&P Global. Steve and Shayle cover topics like:

Why Steve says PJM and other stakeholders became concerned that low prices weren’t incentivizing enough generation to stay on the market
Why ISOs upping resource adequacy requirements across technologies, while raising targets for reserve margins
The bottlenecks slowing down the development of new generation
What’s holding back demand response in the auction

Resources:

Latitude Media: Will Pennsylvania be the nation’s AI-energy model?
PJM: PJM Auction Procures 134,311 MW of Generation Resources; Supply Responds to Price Signal
Utility Dive: PJM capacity prices set another record with 22% jump

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

Repurposing EV batteries for grid storage Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

The job of an EV battery is unforgiving. If its performance slips too far — say, lost acceleration or range — it's probably off to the recycling heap. That’s even though it may have plenty of usable life, if only for something less demanding than powering a vehicle.

Grid storage is theoretically a gentler job, involving slower discharging and more careful management. Still, repurposing isn’t easy. It requires dealing with a mishmash of various makes, models, and levels of quality. And it means competing against the falling price of new, purpose-built storage systems.

But a few companies have said they’ve figured it out, including Redwood Materials, which supplied a second-life data center microgrid this year.

So how does second-life storage on the grid actually work?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Colin Campbell, chief technology officer of battery recycler Redwood Materials. Colin explains how, in just the past year, the company has found cost-effective ways to repurpose batteries before recycling them. Shayle and Colin cover topics like:

What has changed to make repurposing profitable, including better software management and high-volume, low-cost supply

Why, for Redwood, second-life batteries only need a short lifespan to be worth it

Why second-life systems are especially well-suited for long-duration storage

What it takes to compete with the falling prices of new LFP systems

Resources:

Latitude Media: Crusoe and Redwood Materials are powering a data center with old EV batteries

Latitude Media: Millions of EV batteries could retire on solar farms

Latitude Media: The challenging economics of battery recycling

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

Five big questions emerging from the OBBB Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) complicates things. Together with a related executive order, it dismantled key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, while also injecting uncertainty into tax credit eligibility. The uncertainty in particular throws a wrench into project planning and leaves big questions about the impact across climate tech.

So what do we know about the complexities of the new policy landscape? And what questions still need answers?

In this episode, Shayle talks to his colleague Andy Lubershane, partner at Energy Impact Partners and the firm’s head of research. They cover five topics:

The foreign entity of concern provision and why Andy calls it the biggest unresolved issue

Safe harbor and under construction guidance

Tax credit disparities in coming years — tax credits for nuclear, geothermal, and CCS, not solar and wind — and how that might alter the generation landscape

Hydrogen’s extended tax credit timeline, and how much will get built

EV tax credits and their impact on both personal and commercial vehicles

Resources:

Latitude Media: The GOP megabill will reshape the tax credit transferability market

Latitude Media: Congress just reshaped the solar industry. Here’s what comes next

Latitude Media: How OBBB will impact the power grid

Latitude Media: With help from Chris Wright, geothermal is spared in the budget bill

The New York Times: Ford Says Battery Plant’s Tax Break Survived Republican Attacks

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

Tumult in residential solar Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

Residential solar has had a rough couple of years. In 2024, the market contracted 31% and major companies like Sunpower and Titan went bankrupt. Now, only halfway through 2025, Sunnova and Mosaic have filed for bankruptcy, too. The market has suffered from low demand, high interest rates, and major policy changes like California’s cuts to net metering.

So now that the One Big Beautiful Bill phases out key tax credits, what’s next for the battered industry?

In this episode, Shayle talks with Julien Dumoulin-Smith, who leads equity research for power, utilities, and clean energy at Jefferies. Shayle and Julien cover topics like:

Why the IRA eased — but didn’t solve — the troubled market’s key challenges, like high interest rates, tax equity challenges, and intense competition

How debt prevented companies from weathering rising input costs

How the final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill avoided the worst case scenarios for residential solar

Whether the bill will impact utility or residential solar more

How the shift toward leasing will benefit larger companies over small, local installers

The impact of rising electricity prices

Resources:

Latitude Media: Sunnova’s debt problem

Latitude Media: Is residential solar poised for a comeback?

Open Circuit: Does residential solar have a bad product?

Catalyst: Could VPPs save rooftop solar?

Latitude Media: SunPower is bankrupt. Competitors see opportunity

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

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.

Fresh intel from state utility regulatory filings Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

You’ve probably heard about Nat Bullard’s massive decarbonization slide decks, filled with charts and insights into decarbonization drawn from climate and energy data.

This time he's waded through piles of utility regulatory filings — countless PDFs that hint at the inner workings of utilities and large customers — to find clues about everything from gas plant costs to new large-load tariffs.

In this episode, Shayle and Nat, cofounder of the climate tech market research firm Halcyon, cover topics like:

How utilities — especially small ones — are handling eye-popping interconnection requests

New tariff structures that utilities are developing for large-load customers like data centers

Historical precedents for this level of change on the power grid, like the 2000s Enron bubble and the 1930s buildout of the West

How factories and other large-load customers are battling against data centers for sites

Shayle’s greatest fear about energy in the next few years: That electricity rates will rise dramatically unless we tackle large-load requests and the cost of new infrastructure

What industries to bet on in a world of rising rates

What filings reveal about the cost of new gas generation

Resources:

Catalyst: The US power demand surge: The electricity gauntlet has arrived

Catalyst: Making DERs work for load growth

Latitude Media: High costs, delays prompt withdrawal of five more Texas gas plants

Latitude Media: In Georgia, stakeholders still can’t agree on data center load growth numbers

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

GM's big new battery tech push Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

Lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) batteries could offer a rare combination in energy storage: high energy density at lower costs. They swap much of the expensive nickel for abundant, affordable manganese. But technical hurdles — like poor cycle life, voltage decay, and long formation time — kept them on the sidelines.

Now GM says it’s solved these challenges. In May, it announced plans to mass produce LMR batteries starting in 2028. In energy density, the new chemistry would land between the two major alternative chemistries in the U.S., NMC and LFP.

So what does this new entrant mean for the U.S. battery market?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Kurt Kelty, VP of battery, propulsion, and sustainability — and a 30-year battery industry veteran who led Tesla’s battery development for over a decade. Shayle and Kurt cover topics like:

What parts of the U.S. battery supply chain to on-shore or near-shore

The tradeoffs between LFP, LMR, and high-nickel chemistries

The roles that Kurt sees for all three in the market

Shifting production lines and supply chains from NMC to LMR

Why LFP may still outcompete LMR in the stationary market

Resources:

General Motors: Why LMR batteries will change the outlook for the EV market

AutomotiveDive: GM, LG Energy target commercializing manganese-rich batteries for EVs

WSJ: An Ex-Tesla Engineer Is Turning EVs Into Affordable Family Cars

Catalyst: What happened at Northvolt?

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

Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, and increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data plus tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude.

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