Inevitable

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DOE's Betony Jones on Building a Sustainable Energy Workforce Dec 14, 2023

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.

Today we're talking about the US Department of Energy’s strategy on what it takes to create a successful and sustaining energy workforce. Our guest is Betony Jones, who was appointed by President Biden as the DOE'S Director of the Office of Energy Jobs. This means she oversees jobs and workforce development strategies across the DOE as well as engagement with organized labor to ensure that the department's policies and programs implementation result in high-quality jobs.

We hear about Betony's career through the Clinton administration, working at the University of California Labor Center, and founding a research group called Inclusive Economics and her decision to join the current administration to build an equitable energy workforce for the next decade.

We break down what energy jobs mean, why there's a focus specifically on manufacturing and construction jobs within that definition, and we talk about the key elements needed for high-quality jobs, above average wages, predictable hours, short and long-term benefits like retirement and healthcare, jobs that give workers a voice, plus the importance of unions in enabling all of the above and how unions form.

In this episode, we cover:

Betony's background and career path
How she leveraged policy research to demonstrate employment and economic impacts
Betony's work in inclusive economics
Denver's sales tax case study success
The need for energy jobs in construction, manufacturing, engineering science. and R&D
Betony's focus on the deployment workforce
The DOE's approach to quality jobs with good pay and benefits
The importance of workers having a voice and the role of unions
How a union is formed, how they gain power, and the impact on the clean energy transition
The role of the private sector in building the energy workforce
How Betony measures success over the next 5 years

Episode recorded on Oct 11, 2023 (Published on Dec 13, 2023)

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

Dr. Carlos Nobre's Roadmap for Brazil's Climate Future Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Carlos Nobre is a Nobel Laureate and co-author of the IPCC AR4 Report that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He’s also one of Brazil's top climate scientists. Dr. Nobre is a member of the Brazil Academy of Science and a founding member of the World Resources Institute Brazil. He is known for his work on the risk of the savannaization of the Amazon rainforest due to deforestation and climate change, and most recently he's promoted a series of solutions that he refers to as Amazonia 4.0.

Today's episode was meant to focus on the Brazilian context of emissions, energy and climate change, and we do indeed cover these topics. But first, Dr. Nobre takes some time to set important context about the progress, or relative lack thereof, that the world has made on decarbonization since his Nobel Prize-winning contributions. And he sounds alarm bells, that global insecurity and war in Ukraine and Israel, create risk of escalating fossil fuel exploration and production in the name of national sovereignty.

From there, we spend time on the Brazilian context, which as Dr. Nobre points out, is unique among industrialized nations, in that land use rather than energy production is the bulk of Brazil's emissions. He shares his roadmap for how deforestation can be halted and some of the challenges in doing so, which he ties back to organized crime and drug trafficking. Lastly, we discuss his vision for Amazonia 4.0 in which the country leans in via policy and infrastructure development to support the production and export of many of its natural resources rather than exploiting its land for cattle production.

In this episode, we cover:

Lack of progress since the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report in 2007 and the global challenge for humanity
Global instability as a result of recent wars
The concerning speed of the transition
Emissions breakdown in Brazil and deforestation reductions in 2023
Potential for emissions reductions with regenerative agriculture as the 2nd largest exporter of food
Deforestation in the Amazon and main drivers, including cattle ranches, gold mining, and organized crime
Dr. Nobre's Amazon 4.0 proposal

Episode recorded on Oct 30, 2023 (Published on Dec 11, 2023)

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

Digging into Soil Carbon Measurement with Yard Stick Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

Chris Tolles is the CEO and Co-founder of Yard Stick PBC, which stands for Public Benefits Corporation. Yard Stick is aiming to be the measurement backbone for soil carbon. Their handheld hardware enables onsite measurement of soil carbon in agricultural fields, and their software package provides data and analytics that help stakeholders in a soil carbon project to measure and track progress. As Chris tells it, the Yard Stick co-founders got to know one another in the MCJ member community during the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. MCJ is a proud multi-time investor in Yard Stick. Even so, we still learned a ton from Chris during this conversation.

Chris highlighted that while MRV technologies are often associated with carbon credit sales, the voluntary carbon market is just one avenue for soil carbon project development. Another that is seeing strong early traction is insetting, where food and agriculture companies are beginning to measure an attempt to reduce the carbon intensity of their own agricultural supply chains. They aren't selling credits; rather, they're starting to make progress on directly reducing the emissions of how their food is grown, which is great news. Chris charts his background and experience and then explains what soil carbon is and why it matters, helping to put the efforts that Yard Stick is making into the context of the broader global carbon cycle.

Episode recorded on Oct 13, 2023 (Published on Dec 7, 2023)

In this episode, we cover:

[02:38]: Chris's background and pivoting from consumer products to climate
[08:43]: Origins of Yard Stick in the MCJ Community
[11:59]: How Chris and co-founders came to focus on soil organic carbon
[14:43]: Cristine Morgan's research background as Yard Stick CSO
[18:50]: Overview of soil organic carbon and key drivers of soil carbon stock losses
[27:46]: Issues with how claims have been measured historically
[33:39]: Why remote sensing technology is insufficient
[35:29]: Yard Stick's technology and approach
[42:50]: The company's business model
[46:00]: Addressing criticism of soil carbon and other nature-based solutions
[51:49]: Soil carbon support in Inflation Reduction Act and future policy
[56:00]: Yard Stick's $18 million grant from the USDA
[58:19]: Their recent $12M Series A round led by Toyota Ventures
[01:00:00]: Reckoning with racial injustice and land theft in agriculture
[01:02:04]: Encouraging climate companies to address complex social issues

Resources mentioned:

Demo Carbon Stock Report
“Yard Stick lands 10.6M Series A to measure soil carbon” (TechCrunch)

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

Building an Interconnected Grid with Invenergy Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Shashank Sane is the Executive Vice President for Transmission at Invenergy.

Invenergy is North America's largest, privately held renewable power generation company. They have developed more than 200 power generation projects around the world and are responsible for more than 31 gigawatts of power on four continents, with the majority of that being renewable energy projects, including wind and solar.

In his role as EVP of Transmission, Shashank is responsible for the company's efforts to create connectivity between solar and wind farms and end customers, and he's particularly focused on large-scale interstate transmission projects. Transmission is a topic that climate and energy experts will say is critically important. Our transmission infrastructure in the US has been built over more than a century. And yet, the Department of Energy recently estimated that the US needs to increase our transmission capacity by over 50% by the year 2035. That's a monumental jump. We're grateful to Shashank for volunteering to come on the pod and talk with us about transmission, how it works, why it's needed, and how projects get done.

In this episode, we cover:

[02:22]: Shashank's journey to Invenergy
[04:46]: His early experience at the company, Invenergy Edge, and acquiring Grain Belt Express
[08:11]: Shashank's experience at Lehman Brothers in 2008
[10:05]: Overview of Invenergy's approach to developing projects
[13:51]: Definition of "transmission"
[22:21]: Why more transmission is needed to enable renewable growth
[26:40]: Transmission issues in the U.S. and the need to improve grid resilience
[35:04]: The lack of federal oversight of the national grid
[37:02]: Modifying the Grain Belt Express project to better serve Missouri
[46:49]: Other major transmission projects Invenergy is developing
[48:24]: Working with community and landowners before routing transmission lines
[52:23]: The need to recognize the value of inter-regional transmission

Get connected:

Shashank Sane X / LinkedIn
Cody Simms X / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective / YouTube

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on Oct 16, 2023 (Published on Dec 4, 2023)

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

Upcycling Textile Waste with Circ Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

Julie Willoughby serves as the Chief Commercialization Officer at Circ, and in this episode, we are talking about fast fashion, the clothing industry, and Circ's role in bringing circularity to the world of polyester and cotton. According to statistics from The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the equivalent of a garbage truckload of clothes is burned or buried in a landfill every second, and clothing production in the world has doubled in the last 15 years, with each garment being used only half as much as before.

Our conversation with Julie explores the environmental challenges posed by polyester and cotton, including the contribution of polyester laundering to ocean microplastics and the significant water consumption of cotton cultivation and textile dying. Julie, a chemical engineer, shares her journey from academia and Nike to joining Circ, emphasizing the urgent need for change in the fashion industry.

Circ, a post-series B company, employs innovative technology to transform textile waste into recycled thread. Notable investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Patagonia's Tin Shed Ventures, and Inditex, the parent company of Zara. The conversation concludes with an examination of the fashion industry's progress toward sustainability, questioning whether mainstream practices are transitioning actively or if circularity and sustainability remain primarily in the realm of research and development.

In this episode, we cover:

Julie's background in chemical engineering
Her return to academia at NC State
Julie's experience at Nike and transition to Circ
Societal and environmental impacts of fast fashion
Circ's process of recycling (upcycling) polyester and cotton
The rising market demand for recycled materials and reasons for this shift
Circ's investors and partnerships
The tipping point for sustainability in the fashion industry
Why customer experiences and stories are critical

Resources mentioned:

Walmart sustainability scorecard

Get connected:

Julie Willoughby LinkedIn
Cody Simms X / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective / Instagram

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on Oct 23, 2023 (Published on Nov 30, 2023)

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

Capital Series: Michael Bruce, Emerson Collective Nov 29, 2023

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.

Michael Bruce serves as the Senior Director of Venture Investing, Environment and Energy at Emerson Collective. Emerson Collective, founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, is a game-changer in education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health.

We were excited for this one because Emerson Collective is an interesting organization operating holistically across these areas. They also happen to be doing a lot in climate at a surprising scale, but they have not spoken too frequently about what they're up to publicly. So this was a special opportunity, and Michael does not disappoint.

In this episode, we cover:

[2:14] An overview of Emerson Collective
[4:08] Michael's journey and what led him to work in climate
[11:08] His thoughts on energy vs. climate change
[16:56] Emerson's early climate efforts
[19:26] The firm's dedicated pool of capital and team structure
[22:29] Emerson's approach within climate and how it's evolved over time
[25:41] Thoughts on philanthrocapitalism
[27:15] Types of risk Emerson is comfortable taking
[32:11] Emerson's criteria for selecting climate investments
[37:31] Michael's thoughts on the future of oil and gas
[40:21] His views on the carbon market
[45:28] Why market sources alone aren't enough to address the climate crisis

Get connected:

Jason Jacobs X / LinkedIn
Michael Bruce LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on Oct 26, 2023 (Published on Nov 29, 2023)

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

Carbon Management with DOE's Dr. Jen Wilcox Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Jen Wilcox serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM). Dr. Wilcox, an expert in carbon capture, authored the seminal textbook 'Carbon Capture' in 2012. Currently on leave as the presidential distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, she also serves as a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute, leading their carbon removal program.

In this conversation, we dive into Dr. Wilcox's transition from academia to the Department of Energy and explore the changing mandates under the Biden and Harris Administration. Key topics include direct air capture technologies, underground sequestration, and CO2 storage. The episode also touches on point source capture, technology advancements, tax credits, and incentives for carbon capture, including the extension of 45Q tax credits. Dr. Wilcox provides insights into the commercialization progress for carbon capture, market evolution, and the recent FECM carbon dioxide removal purchase pilot prize.

The discussion covers the power and heat requirements of direct air capture (DAC) and point source capture, along with solutions for reducing atmospheric levels of other greenhouse gases, including methane. This is a jam-packed episode that at times, hits topics at a macro level and at other times swoops down deep into technical descriptions of DAC chemistries. Whether you're exploring a career in carbon capture or actively developing technology solutions, there's something for everyone in this episode.

In this episode, we cover:

[04:13]: Origins of Dr. Wilcox's 2012 book, Carbon Capture
[06:16]: Progress of carbon capture technology over the past decade
[12:32]: The transition from the Office of Fossil Energy to the Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
[24:32]: Overview of direct air capture technologies and chemistries
[32:29] Comparison of liquid vs solid sorbents for direct air capture
[37:37]: Description of EPA's well classification system
[44:36]: Point source capture and the state of carbon capture tech for industrial emissions
[53:00]: Extension of 45Q tax credits to incentivize carbon capture
[56:21]: DOE's first carbon dioxide removal purchase pilot
[58:34]: Considerations around power needs for direct air capture
[01:02:10]: Tech for direct air capture of methane and other non-CO2 GHGs
[01:05:28]: Dr. Wilcox’s parting words on the need to rapidly scale up durable carbon removal solutions

Get connected:

Dr. Jen Wilcox X / LinkedIn
Cody Simms X / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective / Instagram

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on Oct 24, 2023 (Published on Nov 27, 2023)

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

Cooking Up Solutions in Africa with EcoSafi Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

Tom Price is the founder and CEO of EcoSafi, and in today’s episode, we're diving deep into the challenge of access to clean cooking fuels in developing economies.

EcoSafi builds cook stoves and biomass fuel pellets that aim to reduce deforestation, improve in-home air quality and health outcomes, and reduce emissions. They work in Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, and Uganda. The challenge at hand, as Tom discusses at length, is that as of 2020, Project Drawdown estimated that 43% of families in low and middle-income countries worldwide cook food at home using stoves fueled by wood or coal. The gas and induction stove debate is not even relevant. This phenomenon drives all of these earlier outcomes from direct emissions to negative health implications to deforestation.

Before we dive into this topic, we get to know Tom a bit. He's been working on this problem in Africa since 2017, first with a company called Inyenyeri, and now with EcoSafi since 2020. Our MCJ Collective venture funds are proud to be investors in EcoSafi. But, as you'll hear him describe, his path to working on this problem has been full of incredible zigs and zags that have given him a wealth of life experience and the confidence to be able to navigate and build a business with the complexities that EcoSafi demands.

In this episode, we cover:

Access to clean cooking fuels in developing economies
Tom's background in communications and journalism
His experience in disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina and environmental management at Burning Man
Tom's time on the Environmental Advisory Committee for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
His work in clean energy in Africa, starting with solar
Impact of cooking with wood or coal on emissions, health, and deforestation
EcoSafi's cookstoves and biomass fuel pellets
Barriers to clean cooking in Africa
The importance of carbon credits in the clean cooking market
Issues with existing carbon offset methodologies
EcoSafi's focus on verifiability and impact measurement
Vertical integration and technology in EcoSafi's business model
Potential for significant market growth in the clean cooking sector
Impacts of deforestation, drought, and additional topics to continue the conversation

Get connected:

Tom Price X / LinkedIn
Cody Simms X / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective / Instagram

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on Oct 12, 2023 (Published on Nov 16, 2023)

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

Nate 'the House Whisperer' and the Realities of Home Electrification Nov 15, 2023

Show notes

Today, we're taking a slightly different spin. Instead of focusing on what it'll take to electrify homes, as we've heard in past episodes, we're talking about why it's currently not working as well as it should and the key barriers preventing us from moving faster on the home decarb adoption curve.

Many of you know our guest as Nate "the House Whisperer.” Nate Adams is a longtime HVAC insulation and sealing contractor who lives in West Virginia and describes himself as "a bit unusual in the climate community," coming from the right side of the political spectrum. And he is one of home electrification's fiercest and most consistent advocates.

Yin and Nate cover a lot of ground in this episode, including the dangers of positioning policy rebates and savings to consumers at the beginning of their purchase journey. We uncover that OEMs can convert most air conditioners in factories and warehouses into heat pumps, addressing the current market supply shortage, along with exploring the reasons behind the hesitation to do so. Finally, we discuss how going all-electric is not the solution that gets us to scale and that hybrid systems are the actual silver bullet. There are some controversial and counterintuitive bits coming up and if you want to ask Nate more questions after you listen, stay tuned for an upcoming AMA session with him on the MCJ Slack.

In this episode, we cover:

[04:01]: Nate's background and how he became "the House Whisperer"
[06:58]: Issues with oversized furnace design and sizing
[10:55]: The concept of definite optimism and indefinite optimism in relation to the future of electrification
[13:12]: Friction between conservative contractors and climate-focused homeowners
[16:32]: The importance of positioning policy rebates and savings to consumers
[24:46] How IRA performance requirements disqualify 80-85% of equipment models
[29:18]: Overview of the biggest barriers to electrifying homes
[32:06]: Upstream vs. midstream and potential of converting all ACs to heat pumps
[34:36]: Mandated heat pumps in Vancouver, BC
[38:31]: Psychology as a barrier to electrification
[41:02]: How hybrid systems can reduce fear of heat pumps for both contractors and homeowners
[47:26]: Nate's HVAC 2.0 business model improves contractor and homeowner experience
[49:57]: The launch of Nate's air sealing course and Home Comfort Book

Get connected:

Nate Adams X / LinkedIn
Yin X / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective / Instagram

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on Sep 13, 2023 (Published on Nov 15, 2023)

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

Kunal Sinha, Global Head of Recycling at Glencore Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

Kunal Sinha is the Global Head of Recycling at Glencore. Glencore ranked number 21 on the Fortune Global 500 in 2023. As one of the world's largest commodities trader and one of the world's largest natural resource companies, they have a very substantial role in the energy transition and in climate change. Over one-third of Glencore's 2022 revenue came from coal, so from a climate perspective, the company has a substantial impact. Today, they also have a significant oil and gas business.

In Cody’s conversation with Kunal, we touched a bit on that, but we focus mostly on Glencore's mining and metals activities. This piece is part of what makes Glencore unique from most energy companies when it comes to the energy transition. Yes, it's in the business of fossil fuels, but it's also deeply in the business of extracting and processing a majority of key metals that will help us transition to an electrified future.

In his role as Global Head of Recycling, Kunal not only works to understand how Glencore's primary mining business operates but also is driving its initiatives around circularity and reuse. Mining has a reputation as a dirty business, and Glencore has had its share of environmental issues and controversies in the past. We appreciate Kunal for not shying away from these challenges and also helping us understand the important role that mining and Glencore have to play in the future and the importance of natural resource circularity as part of it.

In this episode, we cover:

[3:02] Kunal's background and experience
[7:43] His work with sulfuric acid at Glencore
[13:54] An overview of Glencore and its recycling business
[25:03] Glencore's collaboration and partnership with startups
[29:49] An overview of Glencore's copper production and recycling
[37:26] An overview of Glencore's process for cobalt
[42:27] Kunal's predictions for recycled battery metals in EVs
[52:27] An overview of battery passports and Glencore's commitment to high ethical social governance standards
[1:01:13] Call for startups and mature companies to collaborate with Glencore in driving circularity

Get connected:

Kunal Sinha LinkedIn
Cody Simms X / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective / Instagram

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on Sept 27, 2023 (Published on Nov 13, 2023)

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@ovr.vc.

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

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