Inevitable

Today's guest is Dave Snydacker, Founder and CEO of Lilac Solutions.Lilac Solutions is a lithium extraction technology company based in Oakland, California. Lilac has developed a patented ion exchange technology that facilitates lithium production from brine resources with high efficiency, minimal cost, and ultra-low environmental footprint. Lilac's mission is to scale global lithium production to support the electric vehicle industry and energy transition.Dave founded Lilac in 2016. He is a materials engineer and an expert in battery technology, with experience spanning multiple battery startups developing next-generation materials and manufacturing processes. Dave holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and a BA from Wesleyan University.I was eager to sit down with Dave and learn more about Lilac Solutions. Dave and I explore his path to founding Lilac Solutions, the process of commercializing his research, and the early stages of funding for the startup. We also discuss why lithium is critical to batteries and Electric Vehicles, how to scale ion exchange technology, and the importance of government incentives and policy to a successful EV transition.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded October 21st, 2021For more information about Lilac Solutions, visit: https://lilacsolutions.com/For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/dave-snydacker Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guests are Lindsey Hoell, Co-Founder & CEO, and Maia Tekle, Co-Founder & Head of Sales and Partnerships, at Dispatch Goods.After noticing microplastics littering beaches while living in Hawaii, Lindsey, and her partner, Maia, founded Dispatch Goods in 2019. The startup provides reusable metal containers for restaurants to use for takeout service rather than single-use options. Initially, Dispatch Goods partnered with restaurants near office buildings so employee lunch orders could come in reusable containers. Employees dropped off the containers in return bins on each floor, and Dispatch Goods collected them, cleaned them, and redistributed them to restaurants. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Dispatch Goods quickly rebranded and expanded to pick up their containers at customers' homes. Dispatch Goods is on a mission to make reuse easy and delightful for everyone. In the episode, Lindsey and Maia walk me through their motivations for starting Dispatch Goods, the gap in the market the startup is filling, and how the process of ordering takeout works. We also dive into a conversation about how to scale their operation, how COVID-19 affected the Dispatch Goods, and what the startup has planned for the next 12 months. Lindsey and Maia are great guests, and I enjoyed learning more about Dispatch Goods.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded November 1st, 2021To learn more about Dispatch Goods, visit: https://dispatchgoods.com/homeTo learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/dispatch-goods Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Nancy Pfund, Founder and Managing Partner at DBL Partners, discusses double bottom line investing, advice for founders in climate tech, and the importance of prioritizing actions in the transition to a sustainable economy. She also explores past investments in renewable energy and electric vehicles, their approach to investing in fossil fuels, and the value of building networks and collaboration for impactful change.

Today's guest is Cody Finke, Co-Founder and CEO of Brimstone Energy.Brimstone Energy's vision is to make ordinary portland cement without carbon dioxide emissions for a lower cost than conventionally produced cement. Brimstone Energy is a venture-backed R&D company with the ambition to reduce global CO2 emissions by a couple of percentage points. The cement/concrete industry is a $1T market opportunity responsible for 5.5% of GHG or approximately 8% of global CO2 emissions, the same emissions as cars. They have developed a process capable of producing carbon-neutral Portland cement and supplementary cementitious materials, regardless of the energy source. Brimstone Energy was founded in 2019 at Caltech and since then moved to the Bay Area thanks to Cyclotron Road and other federal and private grants. Cody holds his Ph.D. in environmental science and engineering under Prof. Michael Hoffmann at Caltech. During Cody's Ph.D., he specialized in electrochemistry and techno-economic modeling, where he attempted to find economically efficient ways to reduce carbon dioxide process emissions.In this episode, Cody explains how Brimstone was founded, why Portland cement is carbon-emitting, and why it's hard to decarbonize cement. We also dive into the pilot plant the company is working on, what sets it apart, and how to scale its technology. Cody is a great guest, and we have a fascinating discussion.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded October 28th, 2021To learn more about Brimstone Energy, visit: https://www.brimstone.energy/To learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/brimstone-energy Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Dr. Shuchi Talati, Chief of Staff, Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management at the U.S. Department of Energy.The mission of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is to minimize the environmental impacts of fossil fuels while working towards net-zero emissions.Dr. Talati joined the DOE at the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration. Before assuming her current role, Shuchi worked as the Deputy Director of Policy at Carbon180, where she focused on policies to build sustainable and equitable carbon removal at scale. In addition, Dr. Talati was a Scholar in Residence at American University and she worked at the Union of Concerned Scientists, where she led efforts to guide sound governance around solar geoengineering and carbon removal approaches to limit global warming. Dr. Talati was the 2017-2018 AAAS/AIP Congressional Science Fellow in the U.S. Senate and served at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Obama Administration. Dr. Talati holds a B.S. in environmental engineering from Northwestern University, an M.A. in climate and society from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in engineering and public policy.I was excited to sit down with Dr. Talati because of her role and expertise in the energy policy sector. Dr. Talati explains her position at the Department of Energy and why she dedicated her career to CDR (Carbon Dioxide Removal). We dive into the role of fossil fuels, carbon removal, nuclear energy, and offsets as climate solutions. We also have a lively conversation about the role of policy and government in the energy transition and why understanding energy poverty is critical to a successful clean energy transition. Dr. Talati is an incredible guest, and this is a must-listen episode.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded October 13th, 2021For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/shuchi-talati Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Iggy Bassi, Founder & CEO of Cervest.Cervest offers cloud-based Climate Intelligence (CI) to enable organizations to manage and adapt to climate risk at an asset level. Its on-demand, AI-powered platform delivers a standardized, science-based view of climate risk – simultaneously analyzing millions of global assets across multiple time horizons and risk categories. EarthScan, the first product on the platform, helps enterprises and governments baseline, monitor, and forecast climate risk. Through its open-access platform, Cervest incentivizes everyone to share and integrate Climate Intelligence into everyday decisions – protecting the world's critical assets – including our greatest asset, the planet. Cervest is a Certified B Corporation.Iggy is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in both emerged and emerging markets. Driven by a relentless passion for world-changing innovations that tackle global challenges, he's the Founder/CEO, and driving force behind Cervest. He has advised Fortune 500, sovereigns, and entrepreneurs on competitiveness, sustainability, and resource security.In this episode, Iggy explains Cervest and his motivations for founding the startup. He outlines how climate risk is defined and the existing landscape for climate risk platforms. We also dive into a discussion about balancing a quality product and scalability, why Cervest is working to democratize climate risk data, and the company's approach for various sectors across the climate industry. Iggy is a great guest, and it was exciting to learn more about Cervest.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded October 7th, 2021To learn more about Cervest, visit: https://cervest.earth/To learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/cervest Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Collin McLelland, Co-Founder & CEO of Digital Wildcatters.Digital Wildcatters is a multimedia platform that offers podcasts, videos, and in-depth blogs detailing ideas to make the oil & gas and energy sectors cleaner and more efficient.Digital Wildcatters was founded in March 2020. Through Collin's podcast "Oil and Gas Startups", a show that started as a hobby, he has built a go-to platform for oil & gas tech and cultivated a community that wanted to disrupt the status quo. Collin grew up in the Permian Basin in West Texas, the largest oil and gas field in the contiguous 48 states. After graduating high school during the 2008 Recession, he worked as a wireline operator drilling oil wells and a project manager at Enventure Global Technologies where he managed the expandable casing installations on drilling and completions projects across the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. Most recently, Collin co-founded Stealth Startup a funded fintech company in the oil & gas sector. While Collin’s background may not be that of MCJ's typical guest, I believe our purpose is to create bridges to tackle the massive problem of climate change. I was looking forward to speaking with Collin because of his experience in the oil & gas industry. Collin walks me through Digital Wildcatters, what the media company is working on, and why oil & gas needs to evolve. We also have a lively discussion on how climate impacts Collin's work, what role the government should play in the energy transition, and why Collin believes transitioning off of fossil fuels can create energy poverty. Collin is a great guest and we have a fascinating conversation.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded September 30th, 2021For more about Digital Wildcatters or to listen to Collin's podcast, visit: https://www.digitalwildcatters.com/For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/collin-mclelland Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guests are Dr. Etosha Cave, Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer, Dr. Kendra Kuhl, Co-Founder & CTO, and Nicholas Flanders, Co-Founder & CEO.Twelve is the carbon transformation company, a new kind of chemical company built for the climate era. They make essential products from air, not oil. Twelve's groundbreaking technology eliminates emissions by transforming CO2 into critical chemicals, materials, and fuels currently made from fossil fuels. The startup calls it carbon transformation, and it fundamentally changes how we can address climate change, reduce emissions and reverse the carbon imbalance. Reinventing what it means to be a chemical company, we're on a mission to create a positive climate world and a fossil-free future through the power of chemistry. Founded in 2016, Twelve was part of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's first Cyclotron Road cohort, an incubator program that aids in the creation of environmentally beneficial companies.In this episode, the founders walk me through their roles at Twelve, the company's mission, and the process of bringing technology from the lab to the market. We also explored their recent capital raise, customer base, and why carbon transformation is essential in the clean and carbon-free future. Etosha, Kendra, and Nicholas are fantastic guests, and it was exciting to learn more about Twelve.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded October 14th, 2021  Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Ross Koningstein, Director Emeritus at Google.Today's guest is Ross Koningstein. Ross is currently Director Emeritus at Google and works in the tech giant's Climate and Energy R&D group. He has led a number of efforts during his time at Google. Before joining Google in 2001 as its first Director of Engineering, he was a founder at Costa del Sol Systems and CriSys Ltd. He is co-author of the IEEE article "What would it really take to reverse climate change" and presented the talk "Why Incremental Advances are Inadequate to Solving Climate Change" at the 2015 MIT Low-Carbon Energy Workshop. Ross has contributed to Google's RE < C effort (Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal) and Google's breakthrough high-efficiency data center in The Dalles, Oregon. Ross holds a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Carleton in 1984 and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Robotics at Stanford University.I was looking forward to sitting down with Ross because of his perch at Google and the climate sector. We cover so much in this episode, from nuclear energy as a climate solution to carbon offsets and the role of the oil & gas industry in the clean energy future to mobilizing folks to care about climate. We also explore Ross's role at Google and why he is a techno-optimist. Ross is a great guest, and this is a must-listen episode.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded September 28th, 2021Ross's article: What It Would Really Take To Reverse Climate ChangeFor more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/ross-koningstein Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Zach Stein, Co-Founder & CEO of Carbon Collective.Carbon Collective is a sustainable investing platform that provides low-fee, diversified portfolios built for solving climate change. Zach and his co-founder, James, saw a gap in the climate investing market. There were avenues for wealthy people to invest in climate startups directly. Still, the existing paths don't have a climate impact for the average American who wants to invest their 401K, IRA, or general savings. That's where Carbon Collective comes in. Carbon Collective is not an ESG fund. Instead, the startup focuses on divesting from the sectors dependent on fossil fuels, reinvesting that share in companies building solutions, and vote and pressuring the remaining parts of the stock market to decarbonize as quickly as possible. And make it an attractive investment by making it cost the same and with a similar diversity as generic options.Zach is a serial founder. Before co-founding Carbon Collective, he spent seven years as the CEO and co-founder of Osmo Systems, a company using novel sensing technology to help fish and shrimp farms be less wasteful. He was also the founder and retail director for Urban Worm, a worm farm in the Bay Area. Zach holds a BA in psychology from Hamilton College.In this episode, Zach walks me through Carbon Collective, how the company was founded, and what sets the startup apart from its competitors. We also have a lively discussion about ESG investing, why it is falling short for the climate, and why divesting in fossil fuels is the future. Zach is a wonderful guest, and it was great to learn more about Carbon Collective.Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded October 4th, 2021To learn more about Carbon Collective, visit: https://www.carboncollective.co/To learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/carbon-collective Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant