Inevitable

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Capital Series: Bruce Niven, Aramco Ventures Jan 24, 2024

Show notes

This episode is part of our Capital Series hosted by Jason Jacobs. This series explores a diverse range of capital sources and the individuals who drive them. From family offices and institutional LPs to private equity, government funding, and more, we take a deep dive into the world of capital and its critical role in driving innovation and progress.

Bruce Niven is the Head of Strategic Venturing at Aramco Ventures. Aramco Ventures is the corporate venturing arm of Aramco, a world-leading integrated energy and chemicals company. As of 2022, it was the second-largest company in the world by revenue. It also has both the world's second-largest proven crude oil reserves at more than 270 billion barrels and largest daily oil production of all oil producing companies.

Bruce joined Aramco Ventures 11 years ago to build the corporate venture program. He led the design of its first $500 million fund and has since expanded to include three funds totaling 3 billion in assets under management. The venture unit has done close to 200 transactions, deployed more than 30 technologies, and have three exits. Late last year, it launched a $1.5 billion sustainability fund that Bruce manages.

Jason and Bruce have a great discussion about Aramco's history and future, plus Bruce's personal venture journey. We talk about Aramco Ventures, what they look for in investments, how they think about strategic fit versus returns, the types of technologies that Bruce and Aramco Ventures find exciting, and what founders might expect from working with Aramco post-investment. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, we cover:

[3:31] Overview of Aramco and Aramco Ventures
[6:18] Bruce's personal journey and background in venture capital
[8:42] Aramco Ventures' investment focus and priorities
[10:31] The role of fossil fuels in past, present, and future energy systems
[14:22] The importance of energy abundance and the transition to cleaner technologies
[21:54] Aramco's priorities in the energy transition and the role of venture in fulfilling its objectives
[23:30] Aramco Ventures' interest in disruptive technologies
[28:15] Strategic fit versus returns in Aramco Ventures' investment decisions
[30:52] Aramco's role in the capital gap for early-stage startups and the need for project financing
[39:34] Addressing concerns and criticisms of the oil and gas industry
[42:28] The need for a mature accounting system for measuring emissions and the challenges in the current regulatory environment
[46:47] Ways for listeners to engage with Aramco Ventures

Episode recorded on Nov 29, 2023 (Published on Jan 24, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Scott Gale, Halliburton Labs Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

Scott Gale is Executive Director at Halliburton Labs.

Halliburton is a complex company. It’s a 100-year-old oil field services giant, known for its extensive fracking operations and infrastructure expertise in the oil and gas sector. It is not an oil and gas distributor like Chevron or Exxon, but it is a powerhouse nonetheless. With their Halliburton Labs program, Scott and team are actively investing in and supporting the innovation ecosystem around clean energy and climate tech. They specifically focus on technologies that are outside the purview of Halliburton's core businesses.

Cody and Scott attempt to address all of this. The conversation covers Halliburton Labs' startup collaborations, the interplay between its core business and these ventures, Scott's views on Halliburton's past controversies, hydrocarbons' economic role, and the energy transition's trajectory. They conclude with reflections on Houston's evolving innovation ecosystem.

In this episode, we cover:

[04:00]: Scott's role and the founding of Halliburton Labs in 2020
[05:18]: Halliburton Labs supporting diverse energy sector startups
[07:01]: Unique engagement and equity model with startups at Halliburton Labs
[09:00]: Strategic differences between Halliburton Labs and typical corporate venture
[11:36]: Halliburton Labs' approach to IP rights and founder-centric model
[13:10]: Halliburton Labs' stance on supporting geothermal energy startups
[14:06]: Scott's vision of a diverse future energy system
[17:47]: The strategic origins of Halliburton Labs
[22:18]: Scott's perspective on Halliburton's evolution and its impact
[27:11]: The difficulty of eliminating industries in energy transition
[33:18]: The balance of cost, reliability, and sustainability in energy systems
[36:19]: Scott's outlook on the oil and gas sector's future
[39:28]: Challenges of reliability in transitioning to renewable energy
[41:56]: Various technologies' roles in the future energy landscape
[44:17]: The changing energy and climate tech ecosystem in Houston
[50:24]: Challenges in early-stage infrastructure finance
[53:47]: Scott's additional activities beyond Halliburton Labs

Episode recorded on Dec 19, 2023 (Published on Jan 22, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Hydrogen-Powered Aviation with Beyond Aero Jan 18, 2024

Show notes

Eloa Guillotin is the Co-founder and CEO of Beyond Aero.

The topic of aviation emissions is complex. Flying is in many ways a crucial part of our global society, and although COVID lockdowns temporarily reduced frequent flying, the reliance on air travel in modern society is indisputable.

Aviation accounts for over 2% of global emissions. Lithium-ion batteries are heavy, which doesn't really pair well with flight. Sustainable aviation fuel is one potential solution and has promise as a drop in replacement for kerosene. But what about hydrogen?

Beyond Aero, under Eloa's leadership, is exploring hydrogen as a fuel source for small business or private jets. This episode dives into the potential of hydrogen for this aircraft category, France's commitment to hydrogen aviation, how Beyond Aero has designed its solution and how Eloa sees the market evolving.

In this episode, we cover:

[03:48]: Beyond Aero's hydrogen-based electric aviation mission
[04:51]: Designing an aircraft from the ground up
[06:28]: Hydrogen as an energy vector in aviation
[07:47]: Hydrogen tanks' weight and efficiency vs. jet fuel
[09:47]: Beyond Aero's design focus on fuel cell, not combustion
[10:48]: Market potential of a thousand-mile range hydrogen aircraft
[12:27]: Complexities of aircraft compressor systems in hydrogen-powered planes
[15:21]: Cooling system challenges for hydrogen-powered aircraft
[18:02]: Comparing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) usage in commercial aviation to Airbus's hydrogen initiatives
[20:54]: France's role in advancing hydrogen-powered aviation
[23:33]: French government investment in low carbon aircraft and startups
[25:04]: Role of pink hydrogen (from nuclear energy) in France's aviation strategy
[29:24]: Future flight behaviors and electric aircraft's environmental impact
[31:36]: Environmental concerns and potential of hydrogen in private jets
[33:21]: Shift in business jet market towards hydrogen
[35:45]: Certification timeline for hydrogen-powered aircraft
[38:19]: Differentiating hydrogen-powered from battery-powered aircraft
[41:17]: Eloa's journey to founding Beyond Aero
[49:10]: Beyond Aero's next steps and long-term vision in electric aviation

Episode recorded on Dec 13, 2023 (Published on Jan 18, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

From Chevron to Climate Tech with Barbara Burger Jan 16, 2024

Show notes

Barbara Burger is the former president of Chevron Technology Ventures and describes herself as a "corporate graduate." She now spends her time advising and helping startups and venture funds working on the energy transition, including Greentown Labs, Energy Impact Partners, Emerald Technology Ventures, Syzygy Plasmonics, Heliogen, and many more.

In this episode, we discuss her multifaceted career journey and her current role in guiding startups and venture funds in the energy sector. The conversation covers the technological advancements driving the energy transition, the dynamics between large energy companies and startups, and the specific roles of natural gas and hydrogen. Barbara also sheds light on generational shifts in the energy industry, global energy geopolitics, and offers valuable advice for women in the sector.

In this episode, we cover:

[03:45]: Barbara's book recommendation, "The West Texas Power Plant That Saved the World"
[06:47]: Barbara's career journey, starting at Chevron after graduate school
[07:41]: Learning and growing in the energy sector, from industrial chemistry to energy economics
[09:26]: Shift to Chevron Technology Ventures, focusing on biofuels, renewable fuels, and digitalization
[11:14]: Evolution of Chevron Technology Ventures' investment focus
[14:46]: The potential of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel
[17:07]: Barbara's insights on the emerging hydrogen value chain
[20:21]: Innovations in shale exploration and their impact on the energy industry
[22:23]: The integration of oil and gas companies in the clean tech venture space
[27:21]: Post-Chevron activities: advising startups and venture funds in the energy transition
[31:54]: Advice for large companies working with startups and vice versa
[35:00]: The critical role of speed in energy transition
[40:11]: Geopolitical aspects of energy in different regions: China, India, Africa
[42:11]: Future of natural gas, role of CCUS, and economic factors
[47:10]: Generational shifts impacting the energy industry
[50:35]: Barbara's career advice for women in energy and tech
[53:04]: The necessity of affordable, reliable, and low-impact energy solutions

Episode recorded on Dec 18, 2023 (Published on Jan 15, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Vancouver's Journey to 100% Renewable Energy Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

This episode is part of our Skilled Labor Series hosted by MCJ partner, Yin Lu. This series is focused on amplifying the voices of folks from the skilled labor workforce, including electricians, farmers, ranchers, HVAC installers, and others who are on the front lines of rewiring our infrastructure.

Chris Higgins works for the city of Vancouver, British Columbia as a building planner, where he spearheads the development of energy-efficient building codes that contribute to Vancouver's ambition of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2050. Chris works on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through rezoning building policies for new buildings to be on all renewables, the “sticks,” and creating incentives for existing homes to switch to renewables, the “carrots.”

On the “stick” side, Chris was responsible for driving and helping to get Vancouver City Council to pass a sweeping policy to mandate that heating systems in new low-rise residential buildings be zero-emission, specifically using electric heat pumps. We discuss the complex process it took to get there. On the "carrot" side, we examine how strategically timed short and long-term incentives can align the economic interests of developers, manufacturers, and Vancouver residents, motivating a shift to renewable energy. We also talk about the similarities and differences between the US and Canadian markets on shaping policy and incentives in this area.

In this episode, we cover:

[02:28]: Chris's background and current role
[07:56]: Vancouver vs. other cities and its unique features
[09:12]: Vancouver's climate leadership and influence on other cities
[11:23]: What it means to be a Charter City
[15:08]: The 2022 update to Vancouver's building bylaw and shift to heat pumps
[18:29]: The smooth transition and industry adaptation to the new heating regulations
[22:22]: Balancing environmental goals with job protection
[25:56]: The ripple effect of Vancouver's policies on other municipalities
[31:20]: Potential for Vancouver's policies to influence provincial and national levels
[35:02]: The role of 'carrots', or incentives, in shaping city policies
[39:41]: The importance of economic alignment in policy success
[41:35]: Drawing inspiration from other cities and countries for urban planning
[45:46]: Vancouver's strategies for resilience against natural disasters

Episode recorded on Oct 31, 2023 (Published on Jan 11, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Water Tech with Burnt Island Ventures Jan 09, 2024

Show notes

Tom Ferguson is founder and managing partner at Burnt Island Ventures, which is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on technologies related to water. Burnt Island's website notes that climate change is water change. And that water is the medium through which we will feel the effects of a warming earth.

Tom has been working in water for over a decade, first at the sustainability consultancy, ERM, then at Imagine H2O, a non-profit startup accelerator for water startups. He’s been at Burnt Island Ventures since 2020.

Tom and Cody have an in-depth conversation about the categories in the water tech space, the types of startups that are emerging, how incumbents are navigating the rapidly changing environment in which they find themselves, and the types of investments he targets with this firm. There are whole episodes to be recorded in each of Burnt Island Ventures' focus areas, but for now we appreciate learning about water from Tom’s perspective.

In this episode, we cover:

Importance of water in the context of climate change
Changing global water systems and the need for infrastructure upgrades
Burnt Island's approach to different water categories
The role of software and hardware in water tech solutions
Corporate water pledges
The importance of embracing entrepreneurial innovation while balancing production success
Burnt Island's portfolio breakdown
The need for improved storytelling and lobbying efforts in the water industry
First-of-a-kind projects in the water space
Tom's climate journey and how he ended up at Burnt Island
The investment focus and criteria of Burnt Island Ventures
The launch of the podcast "The Fundamental Molecule" by Burnt Island Ventures

Episode recorded on Dec 7, 2023 (Published on Jan 9, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Turning Waste into Resources with Sedron Technologies Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

Stanley Janicki is the Chief Revenue Officer at Sedron Technologies. Sedron is on a mission to revolutionize how waste streams can be processed to eliminate disposal costs and destroy pathogens while capturing valuable energy and recycling water. Their Varcor system takes liquid waste slurries and recovers nutrients for beneficial reuse. Their primary go-to-market implementations today are in three areas: dairy and animal agriculture, wastewater treatment and distillery waste.

The company launched in 2014 as a spinout of a business called Janicki Industries which was founded in the 1990s by Stanley's parents. Janicki Industries, primarily focused on aerospace engineering. But in 2011, they were selected by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop solutions for sanitation challenges in the developing world. They developed a product that created electricity and clean drinking water based on an input of human biosolids, AKA poop, which they deployed in Senegal. Sedron is featured in a video of Bill Gates famously drinking clean poop water out of the system.

We mentioned Sedron briefly in an earlier episode we recorded with Bill Caesar at Generate Upcycle as the two companies have an active partnership, which Stanley also touches on. We’d like to thank former MCJ podcast guest Steve Simon for introducing us to Stanley. While it's tempting to make poop jokes, Stanley helps shine a light on just how much chemical value there can be in it and waste in general, and how harnessing it can move us away from several challenged environmental practices that have become mainstays of modern society.

In this episode, we cover:

[3:14] Overview of Sedron
[5:15] Sedron's Vapor Recompression and Concentration and Recovery (Varcor) technology
[7:15] Pitfalls of current waste processes
[13:29] Sedron's technologies: the omniprocessor and Varcor
[15:56] Waste processing in the dairy industry
[20:11] Sedron's go-to-market and sales process with dairy farms
[27:42] Janicki Industries, Sedron's parent company, and its origin story
[33:05] Sedron's current status and future plans

Episode recorded on November 28, 2023 (Published on January 4, 2024 )

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Navigating the Energy Transition with Oil & Gas Insider Tisha Schuller Jan 02, 2024

Show notes

Tisha Schuller is the founding CEO of Adamantine Energy. At Adamantine, Tisha consults with clients ranging from Fortune 100 energy companies to nonprofit environmental organizations on topics related to energy policy, business strategy, politics, and community engagement. With a background as the former president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association and as a strategic advisor for Stanford University's Natural Gas Initiative, Tisha offers valuable insights into the energy sector. She's a member of the Natural Petroleum Council and has been on the advisory board to the Secretary of Energy under the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. She has authored three books, most recently, Real Decarbonization: How Oil and Gas Companies Are Seizing the Low-Carbon Future, as well as The Gamechanger's Playbook: How Oil & Gas Leaders Thrive in an Era of Continuous Disruption, and Accidentally Adamant, her own story of her time running the Colorado Oil & Gas Association.

MCJ exists to break down silos and to help people understand climate change, and in some ways, it feels like Tisha at Adamantine is doing the same thing with a different orientation. She comes from oil and gas and she's focused on the energy transition and how to help oil and gas leaders navigate their companies through it.

Not all listeners will agree with Tisha's perspective, but a big part of her message is in trying to start from a shared vision of the future and work backward. We enjoyed hearing about how she uses this approach today and the perspectives she's gained in doing so.

In this episode, we cover:

[03:05]: Tisha's podcast Energy Thinks
[05:10]: Different mindsets on energy and climate and how to speak to an oil and gas audience
[06:57]: Climate “personas” and how Tisha finds common ground among them
[10:12]: The assumption that everyone thinks they're doing good
[13:07]: Lessons from a DAC project community engagement
[16:01]: Perspective on youth activists opposing projects
[18:18]: Challenges permitting any new energy projects
[21:27]: Tisha's personal journey on fossil fuel use views
[23:38]: Consequences of US stopping oil and gas production
[32:02]: Oil and gas company evolution archetypes
[34:04]: No option but to change from status quo
[36:00]: Entering era of climate action execution
[37:20]: Role of startups vs large companies in the energy transition
[40:07]: Improved community benefits from new projects
[42:07]: Industry population shift driving change
[45:13]: Making space for oil and gas in climate solutions

Episode recorded on Nov 20, 2023 (Published on Jan 2, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Cracking the Carbon Capture Challenge with Mantel Dec 21, 2023

Show notes

Cameron Halliday is the CEO and Co-founder of Mantel.

Mantel is developing a point source carbon capture solution, which means they're developing technology that can sit next to industrial equipment and capture its emissions. Mantel's key innovation lies in their utilization of a high-temperature liquid-phase material for carbon capture, enabling operation at temperatures as high as 600 degrees Celsius. Allegedly, this material can cycle between capture and release without experiencing deterioration or decay.

Point source carbon capture is somewhat controversial, as detractors argue that it extends the life of high-emissions processes. Promoters argue that we need all solutions on the table to reduce emissions in hard-to-abate sectors. Cameron and Cody discuss this at the start of the episode, before diving into his technology and go-to-market solution. He articulates a unique approach to go-to-market, wherein he's determined a way to minimize the integration dependency that his industrial customers would have to take on in order to get a pilot up and running with Mantel. Cameron maintains a close affiliation with MIT, having earned both his PhD and MBA there. In 2022, Mantel secured a seed round of funding, led by The Engine—a venture fund founded by MIT with a focus on tough tech.

In this episode, we cover:

[02:06]: An explanation of point source capture
[04:12]: Controversy around its use
[09:20]: An overview of Mantel, their mission, and their tech
[12:37]: Cost impact for companies, early adopters, and motivations
[16:47]: Introduction to amine technology
[18:18]: General overview of carbon capture concepts
[21:16]: Mantle's molten salts technology
[25:42]: Their "crawl, walk, run" approach to commercializing
[31:17]: Potential to apply Mantel's tech to biogenic sources of carbon
[33:05]: Physical configuration of Mantle's systems which connect to smokestacks
[34:20]: Cameron's background and his dual PhD/MBA from MIT
[39:46]: Mantle's founding team and investors like The Engine
[41:39]: Process of identifying and mitigating risks for Mantle's technology
[43:30]: Customizing Mantle's system for different industrial use cases
[46:05]: Parting words on the urgency of deploying point source capture

Episode recorded on Nov 13, 2023 (Published on Dec 21, 2023)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Digitizing Environmental Commodities with Xpansiv Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

John Melby is CEO at Xpansiv. Xpansiv operates what they claim to be the largest carbon offset exchange in the world, purportedly covering 40% of the voluntary carbon market volumes and 90% of exchange traded volumes. Beyond carbon, Xpansiv provides global market infrastructure for registering, managing, trading, settling, retiring, analyzing, and reporting a wide array of data-driven environmental commodities, from water to renewable energy to digital fuels and more.

John and Cody have an in-depth conversation about what it means for something to be an environmental commodity, how these environmental commodities are bought and sold, how registries exist, how commodity marketplaces work, and a lot more. At the end of the day, our conversation is about incentives and the role that financial services can play in enablement of environmental outcomes.

In this episode, we cover: