<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>