CleanTechies Podcast

00:00 – Intro & Sponsors: Lehmann's Terms, Climate Finance Solutions, and EarthSearch.
03:27 – Robert’s background: 30+ years in semiconductors to 3D printing batteries.
06:59 – Reinventing additive manufacturing: Printing multi-material active devices.
14:27 – Addressing the 5 battery pillars: Safety, cost, performance, longevity, and recyclability.
20:24 – The economics: Cutting production costs by 60% and waste to under 1%.
24:01 – Sakuu's asset-light business model and equipment licensing.
32:14 – Gigafactory vs. Microfactory: The extreme flexibility of 3D printing.
41:42 – Re-industrializing America and making onshoring a bipartisan issue.
52:19 – Team building: Why you should hire for attitude and train your replacement.


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00:00 – Intro & Sponsors: Lehmann's Terms, Climate Finance Solutions, and EarthSearch.
03:19 – The Origin of Reservoir: Why target the water heater?
06:33 – The Data: Why heating water uses more energy than driving an EV.
16:06 – The Innovator's Dilemma: Why legacy appliance companies struggle to innovate beyond incremental updates.
20:20 – Pricing Strategy: How vertical integration allows Reservoir to stay cost-competitive while offering a premium product.
25:16 – Smart Features: Predictive recirculation (no-wait showers), freeze protection, and leak mitigation.
36:08 – "Party Mode": How an inline booster heater gives a 50-gallon tank the capacity of a 150-gallon tank.
40:58 – The Faucet Remote Control: Using an ultrasonic flow meter to operate your water heater by simply tapping your sink faucet.
44:24 – Building a Hardware Team: The Formlabs Mafia and why every startup employee needs the "take out the trash" mentality.
49:56 – Thermal Batteries & VPPs: How connecting 50,000 smart water heaters equals the capacity of a data center.


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

00:00 – Intro & Sponsors: Lehmann's Terms, Climate Finance Solutions, and EarthSearch.
03:48 – What is Dreamstar Lines?: Bringing overnight sleeper trains to the LA-SF route.
04:39 – The Strategy: Using existing Union Pacific tracks to bypass the nightmare of building new rail infrastructure.
08:03 – The Bottleneck: Why building new rail in the US is a million-variable problem.
14:38 – Making Trains Sexy: Why you must start with a premium product to change consumer behavior (The Tesla Model).
26:29 – Customer Discovery: Why they added an auto-ferry service and pet-friendly private accommodations.
31:28 – The Autonomous Future: How Robotaxi fleets will solve the last-mile problem for train travelers.
39:40 – Regulation vs. Innovation: Why the US needs a new generation of "builder" legislators.
46:52 – Zoning is Anti-American: The housing crisis and the case for creating special economic zones for experimentation.
55:09 – Sustainability: The carbon emissions of rail vs. flying, and the future of hybridized rail tech.


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

00:00 – Intro & Sponsors: Lehmann's Terms, Climate Finance Solutions, and EarthSearch.
03:09 – Welcome to Keep Cool: Nick van Osdol flips the script and interviews Silas.
04:07 – The Evolution of Climate Tech: Shedding the 1.0 vibes and returning to "CleanTech."
08:52 – Silas’s Origin Story: From rural Wisconsin to renewable energy recruiting in NYC.
13:33 – Disrupting Recruitment: Why Silas founded EarthSearch to offer executive-level search for early-stage startups without the massive fees.
18:30 – The End of ZIRP: Why the hiring market has shifted to slow, intentional, and skills-based recruiting.
30:24 – Building Culture: Why early-stage startups shouldn't be afraid to hire bored, senior talent.
37:19 – The Call to Adventure: How to position your startup to attract highly motivated individuals.
43:59 – Companies to Watch: Silas shouts out Helix Earth Technologies and OptiGrid.
51:35 – Flipping the Table: Silas asks Nick what keeps him motivated to write and podcast about climate.
53:56 – The Value of Writing: Why authentic, human storytelling matters more than ever in the age of AI.


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

00:00 – Intro: Coral's $7.5M Seed Round and mission.
02:46 – What is Coral?: The FinTech platform for energy-efficient building upgrades.
04:46 – The Pain Point: Why HVAC experts don't want to be "rebate experts."
06:15 – The Financing Mechanism: How Coral advances funds to make the rebate instant.
08:19 – Contractor Benefits: Saving time, avoiding bad reviews, and winning more deals.
11:44 – The Economics of Rebates: Why most incentives come from local utilities trying to lower grid demand.
15:43 – The Origin Story: Quitting jobs to solve the $8,000 savings bottleneck for homeowners.
21:00 – Mission Alignment: Balancing climate goals with helping small businesses grow.
24:17 – The "Chicken and Egg" Funding: Using early VC dollars to prove the rebate float model.
31:24 – Depoliticizing Clean Tech: Leading with comfort, safety, and pure energy savings.
36:09 – Co-Founder Dating: How Samir and Nizar built trust before building a company.
42:37 – Pragmatism and Empathy: Why climate founders must be chameleons to succeed.
46:27 – Raising Capital: Why they pitched FinTech VCs instead of traditional Climate funds.


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