CleanTechies Podcast

<p><strong>00:00</strong> – Intro: Cody Finke returns to the podcast.</p><p><strong>04:30</strong> – The "Rock Refinery": Moving beyond cement to co-produce aluminum and critical minerals.</p><p><strong>05:39</strong> – The Physics of Scale: Why cost parity is impossible with small reactors.</p><p><strong>08:12</strong> – The History of Co-Production: From whale oil to Standard Oil's catalytic cracking.</p><p><strong>12:39</strong> – "Bad Geologic Luck": Why traditional limestone cement plants can't co-produce.</p><p><strong>18:54</strong> – De-Risking Deep Tech: How Brimstone uses off-the-shelf components to build a massive patent moat.</p><p><strong>28:33</strong> – Fundraising Strategy: Raising ~$90M and executing pilot plants.</p><p><strong>33:44</strong> – PR for Founders: When to stay in stealth and when to reveal your grand vision.</p><p><strong>38:18</strong> – The $189M DOE Grant: Winning the money under Biden, losing it under Trump, and why it wasn't a disaster.</p><p><strong>45:54</strong> – Geopolitics & Manufacturing: Why critical materials and heavy industry must return to democratic countries.</p><p><strong>50:28</strong> – The Ultimate Climate Strategy: Why capitalism only rewards lower costs, not moral outcomes.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><strong>00:00</strong> – Intro: The $500M deal with Jupiter Power.</p><p><strong>02:15</strong> – Landon’s Background: Lessons from Tesla and Northvolt.</p><p><strong>06:30</strong> – The "Magnet Hire": How to attract A-Players by hiring one star first.</p><p><strong>12:00</strong> – Why Sodium-Ion?: The cost and supply chain advantage over Lithium.</p><p><strong>18:45</strong> – The Jupiter Power Deal: How they negotiated a massive off-take agreement.</p><p><strong>24:10</strong> – "Engineering Bankability": Selling the manufacturing roadmap, not just the cell.</p><p><strong>32:00</strong> – Supply Chain: Why Peak Energy avoids conflict minerals and China reliance.</p><p><strong>41:00</strong> – The Grid Challenge: Why batteries need to last 25 years in the desert.</p><p><strong>48:00</strong> – Scaling Speed: How to move faster than traditional industrial giants.</p><p><strong>53:00</strong> – Hiring: The specific traits Landon looks for in executives.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><strong>00:00</strong> – Intro: Recording in-person at 9Zero in San Francisco.</p><p><strong>02:45</strong> – Antonio’s Background: From Stanford PhD to Flow Batteries.</p><p><strong>06:00</strong> – The History: What is the "Zebra Battery" and why did it fail in EVs?</p><p><strong>10:15</strong> – The Chemistry: How Sodium, Iron, and Salt work together.</p><p><strong>12:30</strong> – The Economics: Why $1/kWh material cost changes everything.</p><p><strong>17:00</strong> – Safety First: No thermal runaway and safer than Lithium-Ion.</p><p><strong>22:00</strong> – Manufacturing Strategy: Leveraging existing UK talent and factories.</p><p><strong>28:00</strong> – The "Bankability" Challenge: Proving a "new" old technology.</p><p><strong>34:00</strong> – Commercialization: Who buys these batteries? (Utilities vs Developers).</p><p><strong>41:00</strong> – The Grid Reality: Why "Non-Wires Alternatives" are the immediate market.</p><p><strong>46:00</strong> – Founder Advice: How to hire A-players for a hardware startup.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><strong>00:00</strong> – Intro: Why energy regulation is the "unsexy" bottleneck of the transition.</p><p><strong>03:11</strong> – Hudson’s Background: From SEC Attorney to rewriting federal data laws.</p><p><strong>05:55</strong> – What HData Does: The platform for rate cases, compliance, and wildfire plans.</p><p><strong>06:40</strong> – The Natural Monopoly: Explaining the "Regulator vs. Regulated" conflict.</p><p><strong>10:13</strong> – The Rate Case Process: How utilities get paid (and why it takes so much paper).</p><p><strong>14:00</strong> – The ROI of AI: Moving from "Control-F" to vertical AI agents.</p><p><strong>22:20</strong> – The Urgency: Why grid modernization creates a compliance explosion.</p><p><strong>35:00</strong> – Hyperscalers & AI: How data center demand is changing the regulatory game.</p><p><strong>46:18</strong> – The Future of Work: Will AI replace regulatory lawyers?</p><p><strong>48:00</strong> – Founder Story: The 2022 cash crisis and the "Dark Night of the Soul."</p><p><strong>53:00</strong> – Hiring Framework: The 3 motivations Hudson looks for in talent.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>What happens when an oil well dries up? Usually, it becomes a "zombie" liability—leaking methane and waiting to become a taxpayer burden. <strong>Kemp Gregory</strong>, CEO and Co-founder of <strong>Renewell Energy</strong>, joins the show to explain how he’s turning these multi-million dollar liabilities into clean energy assets.</p><p>Renewell converts idle wells into mechanical gravity batteries. By using existing deep wellbores to raise and lower heavy weights, they’ve created long-duration energy storage that is cheaper than lithium-ion and uses the infrastructure we already have.</p><p><strong>Key Takeaways:</strong></p><p><strong>The Problem:</strong> Why the "Orphan Well Pocalypse" is a looming global crisis.</p><p><strong>The Tech:</strong> How gravity storage works and why it doesn’t degrade like chemical batteries.</p><p><strong>The Business:</strong> Convincing oil companies to hand over wells instead of plugging them.</p><p><strong>The Grid:</strong> Why "stranded assets" are actually perfectly positioned for grid stability.</p><p><strong>Building Deep-Tech:</strong> Why "agency" is the #1 trait Kemp looks for in early hires.</p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p><strong>01:40</strong> – Kemp’s journey from Oil & Gas to CleanTech.</p><p><strong>05:00</strong> – The Scale: 900k active wells vs. 2 million idle wells.</p><p><strong>14:15</strong> – Gravity storage vs. Lithium-Ion: Cost and mechanics.</p><p><strong>18:00</strong> – Turning abandonment costs into revenue shares.</p><p><strong>40:15</strong> – Hiring for "Evidence of Agency."</p><p><strong>Connect & Links:</strong></p><p><strong>Guest:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/kempgregory/">Kemp Gregory</a> | <a target="_blank" href="https://www.renewellenergy.com/">Renewell Energy</a></p><p><strong>Host:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/silasmahner/">Connect with Silas on LinkedIn</a></p><p><strong>Community:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleantechies/">Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn</a></p><p><strong>Watch:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.youtube.com/%40cleantechies">Subscribe on YouTube</a></p><p><strong>Our Sponsors:</strong></p><p><strong>Climate Finance Solutions (CFS):</strong> Secure government grant funding with a 90% success rate. <a target="_blank" href="https://climatefinancesolutions.com">Learn more at </a><a target="_blank" href="http://ClimateFinanceSolutions.com">ClimateFinanceSolutions.com</a>.</p><p><strong>ErthSearch:</strong> Specialized CleanTech recruiting. Fast, accurate, and guaranteed. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.erthsearch.io">Get started with Silas today</a>.</p><p><em>Disclaimer: This podcast is NOT investment advice. Please do your own due diligence.</em></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe</a>