Catalyst with Shayle Kann

Investor Shayle Kann is asking big questions about how to decarbonize the planet: How cheap can clean energy get? Will artificial intelligence speed up climate solutions? Where is the smart money going into climate technologies? Every week on Catalyst, Shayle explains the world of "climate tech" with prominent experts, investors, researchers, and executives. Produced by Latitude Media.

Technology
Investing
News Commentary
26
The Volts crossover episode
Thermal storage, SMRs, onshoring, and more with Volts’ David Roberts
65 min
27
The market for microgrids
What supply shortages, new policies, and a changing view of resilience means for the microgrid market.
42 min
28
The pace of home electrification
How fast do we need to install energy efficient home appliances to reach net zero by midcentury?
34 min
29
How is U.S. industrial policy affecting actual ...
With $213 billion in new climatetech investment over the past year, U.S. industrial policy has made an impact on key areas like manufacturing and hydrogen, but incentives haven’t reversed declines in the deployment of heat pumps and wind power.
49 min
30
What electric forklifts teach us about creative...
A conversation about the evolving landscape for clean energy policy and program design in America.
14 min
31
Climate tech startups need strong techno-econom...
A good TEA is the unsung lynchpin of an early stage climate tech.
47 min
32
Reviving the stagnant plant based meat market
After a record run of growth, why did plant-based meat sales decline in the U.S.? And what would it take to turn things around?
37 min
33
Fixing interconnection
ERCOT is connecting power generators faster than any other electricity market in the country. Could we fix the U.S. interconnection bottleneck, Texas-style?
40 min
34
Stopping geoengineering, by accident
Recent rules reduced sulfur dioxide air pollution from ships, but also warmed the surface of the oceans.
43 min
35
The food-energy nexus
Shayle talks with Dr. Michael Webber about how food affects energy and energy affects food.
35 min
36
Can the V2X dream become reality?
GM’s V2X lead Ty Jagerson talks through the challenges and benefits of EV batteries for grid operators and homeowners.
35 min
37
Seeking the holy grail of batteries (Rerun)
Which companies will win the race to develop better batteries?
52 min
38
Navigating the electricity gauntlet
Can utilities deliver on the promise of electrification?
47 min
39
Beaming 24/7 solar… from space
A science-fiction author came up with the idea. But could it actually be closer to reality than we think?
45 min
40
With Great Power: What other industries can tea...
28 min
41
Mining the deep sea
Mining critical minerals on the sea floor could speed up the energy transition but could also harm seafloor ecosystems.
46 min
42
The good and bad of carbon capture
The IPCC says carbon capture and storage is essential to reaching net zero. But what will we actually use it for?
40 min
43
The early days of transoceanic hydrogen transport
There’s a crowded field of technologies competing to move hydrogen across the oceans. Which one will come out on top?
41 min
44
The fungus among us
A new study suggests that fungi contribute to soil carbon far more than previously thought.
32 min
45
Building out a U.S. solar supply chain
For the U.S. to reach net zero emissions, the solar industry will have to meet ambitious installation targets—all while navigating IRA rules, supply chain shortages and looming tariffs.
42 min
46
AI for climate: a real world test
We challenged a non-coder to use ChatGPT to write battery software. The results were surprising.
77 min
47
The carbon market’s quality problem
A minority of carbon credits on voluntary markets do what they actually say they do. Could better credit ratings systems help solve the problem?
46 min
48
Keeping copper from limiting the energy transition
Copper is key to climatetech. How can we avoid a looming supply crunch?
47 min
49
Four ways to store sunlight
Renewables are going to need a lot of backup. We talk through the low-carbon storage technologies that could do it.
55 min
50
Unpacking EPA’s newly proposed power emissions ...
The proposed rule would regulate emissions from existing power plants for the first time. If it passes legal hurdles, what will it mean for U.S. power plants?
52 min