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Volts

Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I’ve been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to politicians, analysts, innovators, and activists about the latest progress in the world’s most important fight. (Volts is entirely subscriber-supported. Sign up!)

www.volts.wtf

Copyright: © David Roberts

Latest Episodes:

Can advance market commitments jumpstart climate’s hardest sectors? Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, I chat with investor Clay Dumas of Lowercarbon Capital about the growing use of “advance market commitments” (AMCs). We discuss how this simple idea — a group of buyers commits to purchasing a set amount of a product if it can be produced — can derisk investment and jumpstart innovation in the climate economy’s toughest sectors. Clay explains what makes for a well-designed AMC and how it can accelerate the path to commercialization for everything from carbon removal to green steel.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

Could we get hyperscalers to buy heat pumps for households? Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

Data centers are creating a grid crunch, so what if they paid to solve it by upgrading our homes? I chat with Rewiring America’s Ari Matusiak and PG&E’s Carla Peterman about a new report proposing that hyperscalers fund household electrification to free up the grid capacity they desperately need. We explore how this reframes households as crucial energy infrastructure and creates a win-win-win for tech companies, utilities, and everyday people.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

How to clean up beer brewing and other low-temperature industries Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

High-temperature industrial heat for things like steel gets a lot of attention in clean energy world, but its somewhat less sexy cousin low-temperature industrial heat could use a little more. In this episode, I talk with Teresa Cheng (Industrious Labs) and Richard Hart (ACEEE) about how industries like beer, milk, and paper can decarbonize with industrial heat pumps and thermal storage. We dig into how electrified industry could help the grid, confront the hidden costs of sticking with gas, and talk through how grants and financing can tip the scales.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

How can Africa benefit from the critical-minerals rush? Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

In the past, Africa's natural resources have often proven to be a curse, leading to exploitation, corruption, and immiseration of indigenous people. Now it finds itself at the center of another resource boom, this time around the critical minerals that will fuel the clean energy transition (lithium, copper, etc.). Will this time be different? Patrick Kipalu argues that indigenous land rights and informed community consent are not barriers to investment, but the only way to ensure stable, equitable development. We explore how African nations can leverage their resources to benefit their own people.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

Are we finally getting 3D-printed batteries? Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

Dry printing of battery electrodes can avoid the toxic solvents and industrial ovens involved in the conventional wet process, which means a smaller physical and environmental footprint, but engineers have struggled to make it work at the needed scale and speed. Now a company called Sakuu says it has cracked the code. It is selling machines it claims will be able to print multiple battery chemistries, at competitive costs and speeds. I talk with CTO Karl Littau about the details and what 3D printing could enable in future batteries.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

The debate over renewable energy certificates (RECs) Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, I dig into the debate over reforming renewable energy certificates (RECs), the instruments that allow companies to claim they're "100% renewable." I'm joined by Michael Leggett of Ever.green and Peggy Kellen of the Center for Resource Solutions to discuss the push for a "24/7" system that matches RECs to the exact time and place of consumption. We explore whether this seemingly intuitive change is the best path forward or if going too far, too fast could drive buyers from the market and slow decarbonization

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

How inverters can stabilize a renewables-heavy grid Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

Today's electricity grids are kept stable by the inertia of spinning masses — mostly fossil fuel generators. But what happens when those spinning masses are replaced by inverter-based resources like wind, solar, and batteries? The answer is that inverters must take over the stabilizing job, becoming "grid-forming" rather than merely “grid-following.” I chat with two experts about how grid-forming inverters work, how many are out there, and what the future holds for them.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

What's the deal with sodium-ion batteries? Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

Lithium-ion dominates the battery world, but alternative chemistries are finding their niches. I talk with Landon Mossburg, CEO of Peak Energy, about using sodium-ion batteries for large-scale grid storage. They trade some energy density for a longer life and radically lower operating costs, thanks to an innovative, passively cooled design. We also explore the geopolitical opportunity of competing in a battery market that China doesn't already completely own.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

Climate philanthropy in a time of Trump Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

This week I talk with Dan Stein, whose organization Giving Green seeks to align climate philanthropy with the principles of effective altruism. But what does "effective" mean in the face of fossil fuel autocracy? We discuss the difficulties of measuring systems change and debate the limits of technocratic solutions.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

What does clean energy activism look like? Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Movement veterans Bill McKibben and Jamie Henn have been thinking about where climate activism goes from here. They argue for a new focus on celebrating and accelerating the miraculous global boom in solar power. We get into what it looks like to fight for building stuff, how to win the online information war for clean energy, and why the sun offers not just cheaper power, but a form of liberation.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

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