21. Our Nuclear Future with Rachel Slaybaugh

In this episode, we are joined by Scott Martin, CTO of Net Power, an innovative company revolutionizing carbon capture technology. NetPower's technology focuses on capturing emissions while producing power from natural gas, addressing the challenge of decarbonization of fossil fuels. We explore Scott's journey in the energy industry, the genesis of Net Power's vision, the challenges and triumphs encountered in advancing carbon capture technology, and the implications of Net Power's breakthroughs for the future of sustainable energy production.

Thank you to Energy Dialogues for making content like this possible!

Keynotes: 

• The importance of mission-focus leadership, and how to develop a leadership skillset
• Carbon capture's role in driving a future of reliable and sustainable energy 
• Challenges and opportunities surrounding Net Power's development and deployment journey

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McKenna Dunbar is a recent college graduate, founder of MOCOKONO and the Ecological Justice Initiative, and Building Electrification Lead at the Sierra Club. When they were young, they had a passion for robotics and technology, which then grew into a desire to be involved in energy. We begin by delving into their long list of environmental experiences then dive into topics including energy burden, building electrification, and the importance of empathy in the energy space. The episode concludes with a conversation on climate mental health and supporting yourself while working towards such an urgent issue, in addition to McKenna’s post-grad plans.

Keynotes:

- More young people are needed in energy for the dialogue to truly be intergenerational

- Fostering open conversation and empathy in the energy space

- Climate mental health and energy burden

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Throughout her career in the oil & gas industry, Katie Mehnert became used to sometimes being the only woman in the room in a male-dominated industry. Unaccepting of the status quo, Katie Mehnert sought to create change in the energy industry that she loved by creating opportunities for women and diverse groups through founding ALLY Energy (formerly Pink Petro).

Joining us on the show today is Katie Mehnert, Founder and CEO of ALLY Energy, a workforce development company that works with both companies and individuals to advance careers in the energy industry. Over the last 10 years, Katie and her team have worked with top global energy companies and helped countless people.

In the episode, we talk about Katie’s career path in the energy industry, how she refined her vision for ALLY Energy, how she dealt with criticism as she built the company, how the energy transition is changing her approach to energy workforce development, and the most important steps energy professionals can take to grow in their careers.

Be sure to tune into this insightful discussion on the most important piece of the energy transition: people!

Keynotes:

-Why human capital is the most important investment a company can make

-How professionals can stay relevant in a quickly-changing energy industry

-How Hurricane Harvey influenced her perspective on climate change

-Why the energy industry isn’t just for engineers, but for everyone

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Today, we got to speak with the Co-Founder of Energy Terminal, Hope Pratt! Hope is a senior at Duke University studying Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, but her passions lie within sustainability and energy. Hope tells us about how she first got her start in energy working for Aspire Power Solutions, a Nigerian energy company, and how this led her to realizing the amount of potential within the industry. She then went on to intern at Ford Motor Company and Everbright, a NextEra subsidiary, and she’ll be continuing at Everbright post-grad as a Software Engineer. Aside from talking about Hope’s work experiences, we also discuss the founding of Energy Terminal and how she and Michael grew it from a podcast with 0 episodes to the community, career, and media organization that it is today. We finish the episode by hearing the advice Hope has for other students about forging your own path, talking to people, and more! 

Keynotes:

- Value of a technical background to solve sustainability problems

- Using energy as a vehicle to tackle climate issues

- Starting and growing youth led organizations

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Over the last several years, climate tech has emerged into the spotlight as more than $120B in venture capital funding has poured into the sector and interest for decarbonization solutions have surged. Through it all, CTVC has tracked, analyzed, dissected, and reported on the biggest news and deals in the climate tech ecosystem.

CTVC (now Sightline Climate) founder and CEO Kim Zou joined us on the show to talk about the quickly changing climate tech sector and about her journey building CTVC from a popular newsletter into a market intelligence platform used by some of the top investors and companies in the industry.

In the episode, we talk about the state of climate tech VC, where it’s changing the most quickly, where the opportunities are, and where the industry is heading. We also discuss Kim’s hopes for Sightline to mitigate some of the mistakes made in Cleantech 1.0 and to direct investment to the most critical areas.

Keynotes:

-How Kim’s work building Energy Impact Partners’ Frontier Fund influenced the transition of CTVC into Sightline Climate

-Which sectors within climate tech are changing the most quickly

-How we can avoid the challenges faced in Cleantech 1.0

-Where the biggest opportunities in climate tech are

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Charles Hua is a recent Harvard graduate now working as a Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LPO). At a young age, the importance of addressing climate change and taking initiative were instilled in him, and these values have guided Charles ever since. In this episode, he tells us about some of the work experiences he has had at organizations like Rewiring America, Generate, and AVANGRID, in addition to how he has leveraged his diverse skillset and his reasoning for focusing on policy right now. We also discussed his new role at the LPO, including what he is working on and why this is such a pivotal/unique time in energy policy. Charles concludes the episode by reminding the listeners how important it is to simply believe in yourself and telling us what’s next for him!

Keynotes:

- The value of getting a wide range of work experiences when you’re young

- How Charles has leveraged a diverse skill set in the non-profit, private, and public sectors

- The LPO’s unique opportunity for impact during this pivotal time

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Dive into the importance of energy education with Benjamin Abram, an energy innovator and venture capitalist.

Benjamin Abram, CEO of Modern Energy, started his career as a venture capital investor with the Westly Group during the gold rush of Cleantech 1.0. From there, he founded energy efficiency company American Efficient in 2013, then Modern Energy in 2016. As CEO, Ben leads Modern Energy’s strategy operating at the intersection of venture capital, private equity, and operating company to grow and manage a portfolio of energy transition businesses across solar, hydrogen, electric vehicles, and more.

The episode focuses on the evolving needs in energy education, which are essential for training future leaders who can impact our energy transition. Our conversation, which is wide-ranging, touches on several topics: how Ben's experience during Cleantech 1.0 shapes his approach at Modern Energy; his decision to teach an energy class at Duke University; the changes he hopes to see in energy curricula on college campuses; and the areas where he believes young people have the most opportunity to make a difference.

Thank you to our sponsor, Energy Dialogues, for making content like this possible!

John D. Rockefeller Biography

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What do Miss America 2023 and a nuclear engineer have in common? Well…they’re both Grace Stanke!

A recent nuclear engineering graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Grace’s journey has been all but ordinary. At the age of 14, she began competing in pageants to improve her performance skills and found a passion in the Miss America Organization. She won Miss Wisconsin in 2022 then Miss America in 2023.

Over her year of Miss America, she’s advocated for nuclear energy and STEM education on the global stage across 27 states and 7 countries, including at COP28. She hopes to use her platform to motivate young people with diverse backgrounds to pursue energy careers.

After her time as Miss America, Grace will join Constellation Energy, where she will work as a nuclear engineer while continuing her advocacy efforts.

Keynotes:

• How Grace hopes to leverage the Miss America platform to motivate young people to pursue energy careers

• Grace’s hopes for the future of the nuclear energy industry

• The most common misconceptions about nuclear energy and what you need to know

• The value of cross-functional skill-building

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On this episode we feature David Villagra, CTO of EverBright, a clean energy software and financing platform. David's been active in the energy space since 2013, when he co-founded Sighten, EverBright's predecessor. He's a big believer in the power of distributed energy, and walks us through the value of this form of energy in our energy mix. 

In the wake of COP 28, we know how important energy and climate security are. Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) have the power to make our grid more affordable, more reliable and much more sustainable. David, being on the technical side of DERs, understands the difficulty in implementing these energy solutions, but also the many technological solutions that are underway. 

Also, David discusses the role each of us can play in getting this energy solution, and other important ones, off the ground. He makes it clear that we need all the help we can get in the energy transition. Listen to learn more about finding your place in the energy space!

Books David mentions: 

• The Grid
• How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Keynotes:

Rostam Reifschneider is a 776 Fellow and the Co-Founder of Hydrova, a startup turning waste byproducts of aluminum recycling into valuable products and clean energy. He started Hydrova while studying Mechanical Engineering at MIT, and since graduating, has taken on the company full-time as CTO. Rostam knew upon arrival at MIT that he wanted to make an impact in the climate space, and his chosen vehicle to do this has been technology and entrepreneurship. In this episode, he explains why he chose this path of impact, and through this he emphasizes the importance of following your skills and strengths. Furthermore, Rostam discusses what Hydrova does, the process of validating and piloting the technology, fundraising, and challenges he has faced along the way. He concludes the episode by telling us about the benefits of being a young founder and making the most of opportunities given to students, and he shares his thoughtful advice for young aspiring founders.

Keynotes:

- Using entrepreneurship and technology as a vehicle for climate impact

- Fundraising as a student founder

- Advice for young aspiring climate tech founders

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