How AI is solving real utility challenges [partner content]

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

#Tech #Trading #News Talk #Business #News #Post Script Media #Post Script Media + Canary Media

22:49

Jonathan Jones is an NFL cornerback for the Washington Commanders who rose from the undrafted ranks to become two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, a businessman, philanthropist, and licensed pilot. In 2019, Jonathan founded the Jonathan Jones Next Step Foundation in 2019, a platform dedicated to empowering youth through education, professional development, and mentorship. The foundation works to alleviate food insecurity, promote women in stem and sports, and to promote professional development in the communities where he lives. Jay and Jonathan talk about investing in the communities they live in, acknowledging the people who helped you become the person you are, and paying that same investment forward to the next generation. Episode Chapters 0:00 intro 1:24 Building local connections 4:25 Jonathan’s mentors and mentees 10:54 Jonathan’s pride in his mentees’ successes 13:04 how Jonathan chooses his causes 14:08 Jonathan’s support for girls and young women 17:19: Jonathan’s passion for flying 19:40 The Next Step Foundation 20:29 Goodbye For video episodes, watch on www.youtube.com/@therudermanfamilyfoundation Stay in touch: X: @JayRuderman | @RudermanFdn LinkedIn: Jay Ruderman | Ruderman Family Foundation Instagram: All About Change Podcast | Ruderman Family Foundation To learn more about the podcast, visit https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/ Looking for more insights into the world of activism? Be sure to check out Jay’s brand new book, Find Your Fight , in which Jay teaches the next generation of activists and advocates how to step up and bring about lasting change. You can find Find Your Fight wherever you buy your books, and you can learn more about it at www.jayruderman.com .…

about a year ago 17:32

MP3•Episode home

"With a very basic AI tool, we were able to replicate that risk analysis and do a better job than the human graders did," says Boinot.

Today, Boinot works with utilities to implement AI solutions — an industry traditionally resistant to new technologies. "Our customers want to be fast followers, and in order to be fast followers, you need to follow someone, so someone has to go first. That's definitely an issue in this sector in particular," explains Boinot.

Despite this hesitation, Boinot sees AI transforming everything from regulatory processes to grid management. In this episode, produced in partnership with Microsoft, Laurent Boinot talks with Stephen Lacey about where AI can have the biggest impact on utilities.

They discuss how AI is supporting field workers, enabling scientific breakthroughs in battery technology, and helping companies like Constellation provide "24/7 matching" of green electricity — moving from "net zero to actual zero emission."

This is a partner episode, brought to you by Microsoft. Learn more about how Microsoft is working with utilities and other energy companies to deploy AI to accelerate the energy transition.

191 episodes

How AI is solving real utility challenges [partner content]

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

12,413 subscribers

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

"With a very basic AI tool, we were able to replicate that risk analysis and do a better job than the human graders did," says Boinot.

This is a partner episode, brought to you by Microsoft. Learn more about how Microsoft is working with utilities and other energy companies to deploy AI to accelerate the energy transition.

191 episodes

#Tech #Trading #News Talk #Business #News #Post Script Media #Post Script Media + Canary Media

All episodes

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
The geopolitics of rare earth elements 34:24

6 days ago34:24

34:24

China’s new export controls on rare earth elements (REEs) are a problem for EVs, renewables, and other industries that rely on the minerals, especially the permanent magnets they’re used in. The vast majority of the global supply chain is in China. Plus, Chinese companies control supply chain operations around the world . So is it possible to stand up a rare earth supply chain outside of China’s control? In this episode, Shayle talks to Ahmad Ghahreman, co-founder and CEO of REE recycler Cyclic Materials . (Energy Impact Partners, where Shayle is a partner, invests in Cyclic.) They cover topics like: REE 101: the basket of 17 minerals, how they’re mined and processed, and the most important five Why an REE supply chain hasn’t been built outside of China, even though the raw materials exist outside the country The timeline of Chinese export controls leading up to the April escalation and what could come next The specifics of what’s limited, including oxides, alloys, and magnets Why Ahmad is optimistic about building an ex-China supply chain Other potential pathways, like recycling and designing more REEs-efficient products Recommended resources: The New York Times : The Mine Is American. The Minerals Are China’s. The New York Times : How China Took Over the World’s Rare Earths Industry Axios : China trade war risks stifling America's electric car movement Heatmap : China’s Minerals Pause All Pain, No Gain for U.S Latitude Media : Building a supply chain for rare earth elements Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, & increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data and tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude . Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
What’s next for the battery storage boom? [partner content] 20:04

6 days ago20:04

20:04

The U.S. storage market is experiencing hockey-stick growth, with multiple gigawatts being installed quarterly. But new policy uncertainties around tariffs and the Inflation Reduction Act are threatening this momentum. But Jeff Waters, the CEO of Powin, remains optimistic. "This industry will figure out a way to work with it," says Waters, who brings decades of experience from the semiconductor and solar industries. "What we're doing is important." Powin is a leading storage integrator that designs, commissions, and services some of the largest utility-scale batteries in the world. As Waters puts it, "If you are a utility or if you are an IPP, if you want to integrate storage and own and operate a storage asset, we are that one throat to choke." In this episode, produced in partnership with Powin, Stephen Lacey talks with Jeff about why he's still optimistic about the market despite significant headwinds. Drawing from his experience in semiconductors, Waters makes a case for how America should approach domestic battery manufacturing. "When I hear people talk about storage and say, 'We don't want Chinese companies investing or getting taxpayer money to build plants,' I think it's a ridiculous notion," Waters explains. "The only way we're going to get anywhere in the U.S. market with storage is by partnering with the Chinese." They discuss the extraordinary scaling of project sizes, the surge in electricity demand from data centers, technology trends beyond lithium-iron phosphate batteries, diverse deployment models, regional market opportunities, and the remarkable resilience of an industry used to navigating policy volatility. This is a partner episode, brought to you by Powin. Powin is pushing the frontiers of energy storage. To learn more about Powin's integrated energy storage systems and to read case studies of how the company is executing projects, go to powin.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
Serving data center load with carbon capture 39:07

13 days ago39:07

39:07

Big tech’s data center construction boom is fueling a flurry of natural gas development, despite the fuel’s challenges, and it’s complicating big tech’s climate goals. But carbon capture and storage (CCS) could mitigate emissions from those new plants, and hyperscalers could secure low-carbon power while meeting their needs for speed and reliability. So how could natural gas with CCS serve data center loads? In this episode, Shayle talks to Julio Friedmann , chief scientist at Carbon Direct, who recently co-authored a couple pieces on the topic. Despite recent high profile cancellations of natural gas projects, Julio makes the case that gas-plus-CCS has attractive advantages, provided the carbon capture actually happens. Shayle and Julio cover topics like: The surprisingly attractive economics, even at lower flue concentrations Where it may compete with renewables, storage, and nuclear The challenges of siting CO2 infrastructure and uncertainty around the 45Q tax credit Whether “CCS-ready” kicks mitigation down the road, like H2 blending Big tech companies like Meta that are signaling interest, but not taking action The range of CCS technologies and the manufacturers jockeying to supply them CCS’s uncertain political future in the U.S. Recommended resources: Carbon Direct : Carbon Capture for Natural Gas-Fired Power Generation Carbon Direct : Carbon capture for natural gas-fired power generation: An opportunity for hyperscalers Latitude Media: Where does gas fit in the puzzle of powering AI? Latitude Media : High costs, delays prompt withdrawal of five more Texas gas plants Latitude Media : Hydrogen-ready’ power plants aren’t actually ready for hydrogen Latitude Media : Engie’s pulled project highlights the worsening economics of gas Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, & increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data and tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude . Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
How climate disasters are shaping insurance markets 35:01

20 days ago35:01

35:01

Premiums are rising. Insurers are leaving markets. But people keep building in risk-prone areas, and the climate disasters just keep coming. Can insurance markets adapt? In this episode, Shayle talks to Dr. Judd Boomhower , an assistant professor of economics at the University of California-San Diego and a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He studies how insurance markets are reacting to climate change. Shayle and Judd cover topics like: Why insurers are limiting coverage in California, Florida, and other high-risk markets How disaster insurance, unlike auto or health insurance, faces a flood of claims all at the same time How catastrophe models (or “cat models” for short) work and why AI and other improvements struggle the solve the fundamental problem: a lack of historical data needed to predict future events The challenges of private “black-box” catastrophe models that can’t be reviewed by third parties Reinsurance markets and why they’re not attracting more capital to shore up insurers The pros and cons of parametric insurance, an emerging category of insurance products Undercapitalized “fly-by-night” insurers that risk insolvency and failing to pay out claim Recommended resources NBER : How Are Insurance Markets Adapting to Climate Change? Risk Classification and Pricing in the Market for Homeowners Insurance Brookings : “How is climate change impacting home insurance markets?” Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, & increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data and tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude . Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
Frontier Forum: Future-proofing data center power infrastructure 28:58

22 days ago28:58

28:58

Data centers face a critical timing problem. They need massive amounts of power immediately, but grid upgrades can take more than seven years to complete. Microgrids could be a solution to this growing power gap. "How do you future-proof your systems through adaptability of technologies? Microgrids are really a nice technology to address that," explains Adib Nasle, CEO of Xendee. In this episode, recorded as part of a live Frontier Forum, Latitude Media's Stephen Lacey speaks with Xendee co-founders Adib Nasle and Michael Stadler about how microgrids can help data centers get power quickly, while also preparing for future technology changes. The conversation explores how the combination of combined heat and power systems with supplemental technologies like batteries and renewables can create flexible, adaptable power solutions for mission-critical facilities. Their research across different energy markets shows striking cost reductions. "We saw cost reductions up to 80 percent in California and 60 percent in Virginia," notes Dr. Michael Stadler, CTO of Xendee. "If you really go with the utility, it's always the most expensive case." Using a stepped approach to microgrid implementation, data centers can achieve electricity prices significantly below grid rates — while maintaining complete control over their power infrastructure and preparing for future technologies like small modular reactors. "One way to think about microgrids is really as a Swiss army knife of energy infrastructure," says Nasle. "You're getting localized resilience, economics, flexibility, scalability, efficiency through controls, and the inherent benefits of a decentralized system." This is a partner episode, brought to you by Xendee . It was recorded live as part of Latitude Media's Frontier Forum series. Watch the full video to hear more details about microgrid design for data centers.…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
Specialized AI brains for physical industry 39:02

26 days ago39:02

39:02

Everyone wants a piece of general purpose models. Instacart has deployed ChatGPT for recipes and meal planning. The Mayo Clinic is using it to summarize patient records. Schneider Electric is using an OpenAI LLM to generate sustainability reports. With such powerful models, what’s the need for specialized models built for specific industries, especially in climate tech? In this episode, Shayle talks to Sam Smith-Eppsteiner , partner at Innovation Endeavors. She recently wrote a blog post arguing that there may be a market that general purpose models struggle to meet: physical industries where training data is siloed, unstructured, and private. She talks through climate-relevant examples like Cadstrom’s copilot for electrical engineers, Hubflow’s automated trucker scheduling, WeaveBio’s AI-powered platform for regulatory approvals. Shayle and Sam also cover topics like: Applicable cases, like cross referencing complicated technical manuals, repetitive manual work that employees dislike, and technical compliance The technical knowledge lost when workers retire and how specialized AI could help What it takes to build specialized models, including data access, vector embedding, prompt engineering, and fine tuning What budget categories businesses might use to pay for specialized models Selling the technology (i.e. the traditional SAAS model) vs selling the work (i.e. answers informed by models) Recommended resources Innovation Endeavors : Specialized brains for industry: the immense potential for domain-specific AI Innovation Endeavors: The next industrial unicorn: Where is AI rapidly transforming the physical economy Catalyst : The coming robotics wave Latitude : How utilities are designing and embedding AI operating models Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a platform enabling solar and storage developers and buyers to save time, reduce risk, & increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data and tools that they’ve never had access to before. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude . Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
The potential for flexible data centers 33:29

5 weeks ago33:29

33:29

Tyler Norris says regulators have been getting two different stories. On one side, they’ve been hearing that data centers are largely inflexible loads. On the other, last year the U.S. Department of Energy recommended data center flexibility, and EPRI launched its DCFlex initiative to demonstrate the same. So he and a few other researchers wanted to know, What’s the potential for data center flexibility? And what benefits could it have system-wide? In this episode, Shayle talks to Tyler , a PhD candidate at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and former vice president of development at Cypress Creek Renewables. In a recent study , Tyler and his co-authors found there’s enough spare capacity in the existing U.S. grid to accommodate up to 98 gigawatts of new industrial load (enough for multiple Project Stargates ), if that load can curtail 0.5% of annual load to avoid adding to system peaks. Shayle and Tyler unpack the study’s findings, including: How much data centers would have to curtail and how often Options for shaving peaks, like colocating or leasing generation, spatial flexibility, and deferring or front loading training runs Speeding up interconnection if the data center is able to curtail load How bridge power could transition to peak shaving backup generation Recommended resources Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University : Rethinking Load Growth: Assessing the Potential for Integration of Large Flexible Loads in US Power Systems Latitude Media: EPRI takes its data center flexibility project global Latitude Media : Who’s really paying to power Big Tech’s AI ambitions? Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com . Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
Frontier Forum: How tax credit transfers are reshaping energy finance 34:03

6 weeks ago34:03

34:03

In 2023, the U.S. market for transferable clean energy tax credits was just getting started. One year later, that market has tripled in size , with credits diversifying beyond wind and solar into nuclear, manufacturing, and other technologies. "The statistics on just how much it grew over that period are really impressive — indicating the transparency, efficiency, liquidity, and growing nature of the market," explains Alfred Johnson, CEO of Crux, which operates a debt and tax credit platform for clean energy. When new rules allowed clean energy tax credits to be sold for cash, it suddenly opened up a dynamic new market. Now, instead of only large banks with a tax appetite being able to finance projects, any corporate buyer with tax liability can participate — and they're rushing in. In this episode, recorded during a live Frontier Forum , Latitude Media's Maeve Allsup moderates a conversation with Crux's Alfred Johnson, Stephanie Deterding, Crux's managing director of markets and transactions, and Timmi Kloster, senior vice president of tax credit syndications at US Bank Corp. The panelists discuss six key findings from Crux's recent market report: the market grew and diversified; pricing improved; smaller credits saw the greatest price improvements; hybrid transactions enabled tax equity market growth; tax insurance became more prominent; and forward commitments grew significantly. "What surprised me the most is just how quickly investors entered the market and were willing to transact," explains Timmi Kloster of US Bank. "We saw three times the amount of new investors enter the space through transferability that we would have seen in a typical, pre-IRA traditional tax equity partnership market." Despite post-election policy uncertainty, the market remains robust. "In the weeks following the November election, bidding activity was the highest we have seen yet," says Johnson, noting that 90% of projects benefiting from the credits are in Republican districts. This is a partner episode, brought to you by Crux. It was recorded live as part of Latitude Media's Frontier Forum series. Watch the full video to hear more details about the booming tax credit market. Or read the Crux report .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
The coming robotics wave 45:53

6 weeks ago45:53

45:53

Robots are becoming cheaper to make and more powerful because of AI. In the climate tech space, they’re already laying transmission lines, inspecting wind turbines, and installing solar panels.. And with labor productivity stagnating, immigration restrictions tightening, and the cost of labor rising, they’re looking even more appealing. So where might robotics have the biggest impact on climate tech? In this episode, Shayle talks to Andy Lubershane, a partner and head of research at Energy Impact Partners (where he’s a colleague of Shayle). Andy also recently wrote a blog post on the effects of autonomy across climate tech. They cover topics like: How more affordable parts and better foundation models are making robotics cheaper The high CapEx and low OpEx that make automation expensive to start, but valuable with high utilization Robotics-as-a-service companies that help to overcome these initial CapEx challenges The most promising applications, like manufacturing, construction, and maintenance The hopes for more humanoid general-purpose robots — and the challenges in making them Recommended resources Steel for Fuel : Autonomy is real now SemiAnalysis : America Is Missing The New Labor Economy – Robotics Part 1 Steel for Fuel : From SaaS to Robots F-Prime Capital : State of Robotics Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com . Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
An ode to electrochemistry 37:40

7 weeks ago37:40

37:40

Batteries were electrochemistry’s breakout hit. For years it was a field that kept a low profile, outshined by flashier cousins like biotech and computer science. That is until lithium-ion batteries became big business, showing that studying the relationship between chemicals and energy could unlock technical pathways that other disciplines could not. Now the field is making breakthroughs in critical areas like cement, metallurgy, and new battery chemistries. So what else can electrochemistry do? Which problems is it especially good at solving? In this episode, Shayle talks to Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang , a professor of materials science and engineering at MIT. He’s also the co-founder of at least six electrochemistry companies, including Form Energy and Sublime Systems , which are both portfolio companies of Energy Impact Partners where Shayle is an investor. They cover topics like: Promising applications like mining, SAFs, and other industrial processes that require a high concentration of energy The strengths of electrochemistry and where it fits best in larger system The weak spots of electrochemistry, like solid-solid transformations and the limitation to 2-dimensional surfaces How electrochemical processes work with intermittent power and the role of embedded chemical storage AI’s potential to shape the field — and its limits Recommended resources Catalyst : What do you do with a 100-hour battery? Catalyst : Fixing cement’s carbon problem Catalyst : Seeking the holy grail of batteries Catalyst : The promise and perils of sodium-ion batteries Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com . Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
How AI is solving real utility challenges [partner content] 17:32

7 weeks ago17:32

17:32

Laurent Boinot, a power and utilities leader at Microsoft, remembers the moment he discovered the power of artificial intelligence. Years ago, as a student using a basic AI model to assess World Bank project risks, he was amazed to discover the technology outperformed human experts. "With a very basic AI tool, we were able to replicate that risk analysis and do a better job than the human graders did," says Boinot. Today, Boinot works with utilities to implement AI solutions — an industry traditionally resistant to new technologies. "Our customers want to be fast followers, and in order to be fast followers, you need to follow someone, so someone has to go first. That's definitely an issue in this sector in particular," explains Boinot. Despite this hesitation, Boinot sees AI transforming everything from regulatory processes to grid management. In this episode, produced in partnership with Microsoft, Laurent Boinot talks with Stephen Lacey about where AI can have the biggest impact on utilities. They discuss how AI is supporting field workers, enabling scientific breakthroughs in battery technology, and helping companies like Constellation provide "24/7 matching" of green electricity — moving from "net zero to actual zero emission." This is a partner episode, brought to you by Microsoft. Learn more about how Microsoft is working with utilities and other energy companies to deploy AI to accelerate the energy transition.…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
A skeptic’s take on AI electricity load growth 56:23

8 weeks ago56:23

56:23

The predictions are coming in hot. Data centers could grow to consume more than 9% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030, according to EPRI . That’s more than double its current estimated data center load. AI will increase global data center power demand 165% by 2030, says Goldman Sachs . And billions of dollars are at stake. Utilities , megasite developers , and data center operators are all basing major decisions on predictions like these. But they’re also the kinds of predictions we’ve seen before. In 1999, when the internet was growing fast, a couple researchers claimed it would grow to consume half of all U.S. power generation within a decade — until a team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory debunked it . Jonathan Koomey was one of those researchers. Although today’s predictions about energy usage are tamer than those in 1999, Jonathan still has questions about the current hype around AI power demand. He's is now the founder and president of Koomey Analytics, which has published multiple papers on the topic, including a recent report for the Bipartisan Policy Center: Electricity Demand Growth and Data Centers: A Guide for the Perplexed . So what are the assumptions that go into these new predictions? And how do they hold up to scrutiny? In this episode, Shayle talks to Jonathan about why he questions the hype around AI load growth predictions and why he believes energy constraints will incentivize the AI industry to focus on efficiency. Shayle and Jonathan cover topics like: The time lags and proprietary data that hinders precise data center load estimates, both in historical analyses and future predictions The difficulty of reproducing the predictions of even prominent institutions like the IEA The two basic assumptions that go into predictions: AI demand and AI power requirements Why Jonathan believes conventional wisdom relies on questionable sources, like Nvidia’s business plan The unexplored areas of AI energy efficiency, like computer architecture, software improvements, algorithms, and special purpose computers Recommended resources Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory : 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report Nature : Will AI accelerate or delay the race to net-zero emissions? Joule : To better understand AI’s growing energy use, analysts need a data revolution WSJ : Internet Hype in the ’90s Stoked a Power-Generation Bubble. Could It Happen Again With AI? Open Circuit: The data center boom: ‘All the cheap power is gone’ Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com . Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
Cultivated meat’s “trough of disillusionment” 43:48

9 weeks ago43:48

43:48

Between 2013 and 2023, cultivated meat companies raised a total of nearly $3 billion . In 2020, Singapore approved the world’s first cultivated meat products, with the U.S. and Israel following close behind. But head to the meat department of any American grocery store today, and you won’t find cultivated meat for sale. After short-lived restaurant tasting menus in the U.S., it’s no longer available . Distribution in Singapore is growing but small , and no products have launched in Israel yet. So what happened to the high hopes for cultivated meat? And what comes next for the industry? In this episode, Shayle talks to Isha Datar , executive director of New Harvest, a non-profit focused on developing research in the industry. She has written blog posts arguing that the industry is in the start-up hype cycle’s “trough of disillusionment.” She calls for focusing on basic research, targeting high-value products, and even adopting a different name — cellular agriculture — to signal a shift toward a broader set of biotech products and techniques. Shayle and Isha cover topics like: What went wrong with the first-generation startups focused on low-value, whole-meat products like beef and chicken Persistent challenges in the industry, like the siloing of expertise, scarcity of research funding, and lack of standardization Why she’s hopeful about a more diverse second generation that’s focused on high-value products like sashimi and foie gras and biotech ingredients like fetal bovine serum and cell culture media The cellular agriculture cost stack and the $30,000 batch of cookies Basic research, shared resources, and the standardization needed to bring down costs Recommended resources New Harvest: Where Are We On the Hype Cycle? Part I and Part II The Counter : Lab-grown meat is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story. Biotechnology and Bioengineering : Scale-Up Economics for Cultured Meat Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com . Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
The promise and perils of sodium-ion batteries 46:39

10 weeks ago46:39

46:39

Sodium-ion could be the next big thing. Last August, Natron announced a $1.4B factory in North Carolina. Other U.S. companies like Peak Energy , Bedrock Materials, and Acculon Energy are jockeying for position in the market. Meanwhile, almost all of the world’s sodium-ion manufacturing capacity, current and planned, is in China . CATL’s CEO Robin Zeng suggested that sodium-ion could ultimately take up to half of LFP’s market share . The potential advantages are exciting: Sodium-based chemistries could be cheaper and safer. They could also use domestically sourced materials, avoiding the geopolitical headaches of minerals critical to the lithium-ion supply chain, like nickel, cobalt, and copper. So, amid all the sodium-ion hype, what's credible and what’s not? In this episode, Shayle talks to Adrian Yao, founder of Stanford’s STEER program, a battery research group specializing in techno-economic analysis . He’s also a board member of lithium-ion manufacturer EnPower , where he was once a co-founder and CTO. Shayle and Adrian talk about the findings from a recent Nature paper Adrian co-authored exploring a techno-economic analysis of sodium-ion batteries . They cover topics like: The differences between sodium-ion and lithium-ion, as illustrated by the battery sandwich Misconceptions about sodium-ion, for example, that it’s necessarily safer The biggest challenges: energy density and cost competitiveness How players in the lithium-ion supply chain could pivot to sodium-ion Why the technology’s success may hinge on the price of nickel, copper, and other lithium-ion materials Recommended resources Nature Energy : Critically assessing sodium-ion technology roadmaps and scenarios for techno-economic competitiveness against lithium-ion batteries Latitude Media : Peak Energy’s quest to build US sodium-ion battery dominance Heatmap : Is Sodium-Ion the Next Big Battery? WSJ : U.S. Battery Rush Spurs $1.4 Billion Sodium-Ion Factory in North Carolina Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com . Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com .…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

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The case for colocating data centers and generation 46:44

11 weeks ago46:44