What’s next for the battery storage boom? [partner content]

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

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

40:34

We’ve turned intuition into a buzzword—flattened it into a slogan, a gut feeling, or a vague whisper we don’t always know how to hear. But what if intuition is so much more? What if it's one of the most powerful tools we have—and we’ve just forgotten how to use it? In this episode, I’m joined by Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir , Icelandic thought leader, filmmaker, and author of InnSæi: Icelandic Wisdom for Turbulent Times . Hrund has spent over 20 years studying and teaching the science and art of intuition through her TED Talk, Netflix documentary (InnSæi: The Power of Intuition), and global work on leadership, innovation, and inner knowing. Together, we explore what intuition really is (hint: not woo-woo), how to cultivate it in a culture obsessed with logic and overthinking, and why your ability to listen to yourself might be the most essential skill you can develop. In This Episode, We Cover: ✅ Why we’ve misunderstood intuition—and how to reclaim it ✅ Practical ways to strengthen your intuitive muscle ✅ What Icelandic wisdom teaches us about inner knowing ✅ How to use intuition during uncertainty and decision-making ✅ Why trusting yourself is an act of rebellion (and power) Intuition isn’t magic—it’s a deep, internal guidance system that already exists inside you. The question is: are you listening? Connect with Hrund: Website: www.hrundgunnsteinsdottir.com TedTalk: https://www.ted.com/talks/hrund_gunnsteinsdottir_listen_to_your_intuition_it_can_help_you_navigate_the_future?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare Newsletter: https://hrundgunnsteinsdottir.com/blog/ LI: www.linkedin.com/in/hrundgunnsteinsdottir IG: https://www.instagram.com/hrundgunnsteinsdottir/ Book: InnSæi: Icelandic Wisdom for Turbulent Times Related Podcast Episodes: How To Breathe: Breathwork, Intuition and Flow State with Francesca Sipma | 267 VI4P - Know Who You Are (Chapter 4) Gentleness: Cultivating Compassion for Yourself and Others with Courtney Carver | 282 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

about a year ago 20:04

MP3•Episode home

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.

198 episodes

What’s next for the battery storage boom? [partner content]

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

12,416 subscribers

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

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."

198 episodes

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

All episodes

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
How geothermal gets built 33:01

2 days ago33:01

33:01

Geothermal seems to be nearing an inflection point. With rising load growth, clean, firm power is more valuable than ever. Next-gen geothermal players like Fervo Energy and Sage Geosystems are signing PPAs with major tech firms. Even U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright — a known critic of renewables — has praised the potential of geothermal. The size of the U.S. geothermal resource accessible through next-gen geothermal technologies like enhanced-geothermal systems is enormous — potentially thousands of gigawatts. But tapping into it hinges on figuring out the economics. So what does it actually take to develop a geothermal project — and how are new tools reshaping the process? In this episode, Shayle talks to Carl Hoiland, co-founder and CEO of geothermal energy company Zanskar , which uses AI for enhanced geothermal exploration. Shayle and Carl cover topics like: Why geothermal stalled — and what’s changing now The full step-by-step process of developing a project How to avoid exploration risk, also known as dry hole risk Methods for estimating resource size and managing depletion risk The geothermal supply chain How permitting is speeding up Carl’s outlook for when and where development is likely to happen Resources: Latitude Media: Geothermal could meet 64% of hyperscale data center power demand Latitude Media : Why geothermal might benefit from Trump’s tariffs The Green Blueprint: How a text message launched a geothermal revolution in Utah Latitude Media : The geothermal industry has a potential ally in Chris Wright Latitude Media: Why California lawmakers are warming to geothermal 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, and increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data plus 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 to make of Trump's deep-sea minerals push 37:04

9 days ago37:04

37:04

In April, the Trump administration issued an executive order to accelerate the development of deep-sea minerals — part of its broader push for “energy dominance.” The world’s oceans hold vast, untapped deposits of critical minerals like nickel, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements — all essential to batteries and clean energy technologies. Despite decades of interest, no commercial deep-sea mining project has begun production. The reasons? Regulatory uncertainty, environmental concerns , and the complexity of processing polymetallic nodules. So what does this new executive order actually do? In this episode, Shayle talks to Hans Smith, president and CEO of Ocean Minerals, a company participating in exploration of the Cook Islands. Shayle and Hans cover topics like: What the Trump executive order mandates — and its legal limits The bottleneck of U.S. deep-sea exploration The controversy about U.S. legal authority over international waters The economics and geopolitics of deep-sea hotspots like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Japan, and the Cook Islands The technical challenges of refining polymetallic nodules CapEx, OpEx, and barriers to commercial deployment Resources: Catalyst : Mining the deep sea World Resources Institute : What We Know About Deep-Sea Mining — and What We Don’t Reuters : Trump signs executive order boosting deep-sea mining industry 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, and increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data plus 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
A former race car engineer on battery safety and supply chains [partner content] 26:37

11 days ago26:37

26:37

From his days as an IndyCar race engineer to his current role as chief product officer for a leading storage integrator, Tristan Doherty has always worked at the intersection of high performance and risk management. Today, he's applying that expertise at LG Energy Solution Vertech to build more resilient, domestically manufactured energy storage systems for America's evolving grid. LG Energy Solution Vertech is the US energy storage division of LG Energy Solution, which has committed $1.4 billion to manufacture batteries in the U.S., creating a hub capable of producing 16.5 gigawatt-hours of energy storage cells annually. This investment is part of the company's long-term strategy to diversify supply chains. "We're on schedule for early next year to be a hundred percent non-Chinese in terms of all of the components and sub-components going into those ESS cells,” says Doherty. This manufacturing strategy is critical in a moment of trade uncertainty. While LG Energy Solution's substantial resources allow it to weather these challenges, smaller players in the supply chain face greater difficulties. "We're seeing projects that are being paused, that are being delayed. We're seeing suppliers that are rethinking their strategy...the goalposts are continually shifting." Beyond manufacturing, LG Energy Solution has transformed its approach to system integration. Rather than simply connecting batteries to the grid, the company now designs comprehensive power solutions with grid needs as the starting point. Doherty describes this as "flipping the script" from an inside-out to an outside-in approach. "The direction of design decisions and the direction of design intent has kind of flipped 180 degrees," he explains. "It's creating much more effective and much more powerful designs." This evolution in design philosophy extends to safety considerations as well. Following incidents like the Moss Landing fire, the industry has increasingly shifted toward containerized solutions that compartmentalize risk. According to Doherty, this approach, combined with other innovations, has contributed to a 97% reduction in energy storage system failure rates. As unprecedented demand growth from data centers, electrification, and manufacturing transforms the grid landscape, Doherty sees energy storage playing a central role. "We've made immense strides and we've figured out a whole lot of really interesting and fascinating ways of using batteries. But I think there's a whole bunch more to come." This episode was produced in partnership with LG Energy Solution Vertech. LG Energy Solution Vertech is the U.S. energy storage division of LG Energy Solution, here to be your lifetime energy storage partner. Learn more about the company's approach to safety, performance, and its commitment to the U.S. market.…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
Terrawatt Infrastructure’s billion-dollar strategy 38:53

16 days ago38:53

38:53

This week, we're bringing you a special episode of The Green Blueprint, a show about the stories behind first-of-a-kind climate projects. In this episode: Terawatt Power's first commercial electric truck charging depot, which opened in April near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It was a significant milestone for the industry. So how’d Terawatt pull it off? Host Lara Pierpoint talks to Terawatt’s founder Neha Palmer about the financing, offtakes, and market demand for electrified trucks. It’s the kind of deep-dive conversation we love to have here on Catalyst, so we think you’ll enjoy it. In 2021, Neha Palmer co-founced Terrawatt Infrastructure with a bold mission: create the backbone for America's electric trucking revolution. Within its first year, Terrawatt secured a billion-dollar investment. But as the company developed plans for a nationwide charging network, it confronted the daunting challenge of building infrastructure for an electric truck market that barely existed. High-profile bankruptcies like Nikola Motors cast long shadows over the sector's viability, raising questions about whether heavy-duty transport can truly be electrified. In this episode, Lara talks with Neha about how Terrawatt aims to transform freight transport despite market skepticism. Neha explains Terawatt’s strategic approach to site selection, innovative charging designs for fully-loaded trucks, and the vision for a revolutionary California-to-Texas network. Credits: Hosted by Lara Pierpoint. Produced by Erin Hardick. Edited by Anne Bailey and Stephen Lacey. 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, and increase profits in their equipment selection process. Anza gives clients access to pricing, technical, and risk data plus 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 U.S. nuclear groundswell 40:27

22 days ago40:27

40:27

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
Frontier Forum: Unlocking next-generation VPPs 26:16

25 days ago26:16

26:16

In the mid-2000s, Ben Brown started his career designing demand response programs that relied on pagers and telephones. Today, as Renew Home's CEO, he's leveraging AI and tens of millions of connected smart devices to help households save energy and create an entirely new approach to grid management. Renew Home is building a new kind of virtual power plant that moves beyond occasional emergency events toward continuous, subtle energy shifts across millions of connected households. "The biggest evolution is connected devices," explains Brown, who previously led energy product development at Google after its acquisition of Nest. During his time at Google Labs working on large language models, Brown also witnessed firsthand the massive energy demands that AI would place on our grid. This realization, combined with his work on smart home technology, led Brown to envision a new approach to virtual power plants – one built on subtle, personalized adjustments across millions of homes rather than occasional disruptive events. “There's actually a lot more value continuously throughout the year, over hundreds of hours where customers can save more money by helping support the grid." With DOE projections showing a 200 gigawatt peak on the US grid by 2030, Renew Home's approach offers a compelling alternative to building new power plants. By focusing on customer control and personalization, they've achieved 75% opt-in rates, while creating a resource that is far cheaper than gas peakers. In this episode, recorded as part of a live Frontier Forum, Stephen Lacey talks with Ben Brown about the next generation of virtual power plants. How does Renew Home’s approach differ from demand response or battery-based VPPs? And what role can it play in addressing the grid’s urgent needs? This is a partner episode, brought to you by Renew Home . It was recorded live as part of Latitude Media's Frontier Forum series. Watch the full video to hear more details about next-generation VPPs.…

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

1
Catalyst Live at SF Climate Week 46:55

4 weeks ago46:55

46:55

It’s a Catalyst first-of-a-kind: our very first live event! We hosted it last Wednesday at San Francisco Climate week. In this episode, Shayle talks to Mike Schroepfer, co-founder and partner at Gigascale Capital and former CTO of Meta, and Nick Chaset, CEO of Octopus Energy US. Together they cover: Lessons on building products that consumers love Over and under hyped trends, including data center load growth, carbon removal, and fusion What areas will benefit most from the current administration The most important, least appreciated category of climate tech The craziest idea that just might work Recommended resources: Catalyst : A skeptic’s take on AI electricity load growth Catalyst : The geopolitics of 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. This special Catalyst Live was sponsored by JP Morgan Chase and DLA Piper. 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 geopolitics of rare earth elements 34:24

5 weeks 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

5 weeks 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

6 weeks 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

7 weeks 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

8 weeks 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

8 weeks 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

9 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

10 weeks ago34:03