10 climate tech predictions for 2022 | $5B for sustainable finance loans | 2 climate CEO podcasts
Plus, Peter Thiel’s favorite interview question, the 10-day compliment challenge, and why it makes sense to work 80 hours
Good morning, folks.
First, thanks to so many of you for sharing this newsletter with your peers. The climate really appreciates your help.
Second, a quick challenge for you that I’m also giving to myself: Try to give at least one compliment per day for the next 10 days. Surprise, surprise. We all love that sh*t.
Third, if you like any of our podcast interviews with climate CEOs and investors — these folks are amazing — please leave a review on Apple (here) or Spotify (here). I read every one. And I’ll be picking two reviewers each month for a 1:1 brainstorming call with me. (Just email me a note with your screenshot.)
Cheers,
Chris
10 climate tech predictions for 2022 => High fives, World Positive.
Thanks to Andrew Beebe and World Positive — awesome name and intention — for this thought-provoking distillation.
Below are a few that caught my eye. Read the full list here.
[Note: The startups referenced in their article are not investment recommendations. But they’re pretty d*mn cool.]
"Carbon Disclosure: New regulatory standards driven by the SEC will force public companies in the U.S. to disclose detailed information around climate. More than 80% of U.S. listed companies will set voluntary carbon neutrality goals (e.g., SINAI Technologies, BeZero).
Web3 + Climate: More than $1B of venture funding in the U.S. will be allocated to startups on the intersection of climate and crypto/blockchain (e.g., Toucan, Solid.world, Allinfra, Nori, Pachama).
Carbon Trading: The voluntary carbon market will grow 3x in dollar size YoY, significantly higher than industry consensus, producing multiple breakouts in the space (e.g., 3Degrees, Carbon Direct, Patch, Pledge, NCX).
Clean Ag: Agriculture will shift from becoming a major carbon emitter to a carbon remover. More than 10% of the farming acreage in Europe will be involved in carbon offset trading (e.g., Mootral, Blue Ocean Barns, Agreena, Pivot Bio, Kula, Nitricity).
EV Infrastructure Scales. The “fleetification of everything” (sorry) will drive massive growth in EV deployment. In high penetration locations such as China, California, and Norway, EVs will become a meaningful distributed asset for the two-way grid (e.g., Spring Free EV, Forum Mobility, Weavegrid, dcbel, Amply).”
Silicon Valley Bank => $5 billion for sustainable finance.
If you’re eager to get in line, here are the sectors they’re focusing on.
Circular economy
Climate resilience
Energy efficiency and demand management
Green buildings
Renewable energy, energy storage and grid infrastructure
Sustainable agriculture and alternative foods
Sustainable transportation
Technology solutions that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions
Waste management and pollution control
Water technology
And here’s the kind of dough they provide:
Construction financing
Back-leverage debt financing
Syndication financing
Dig deeper on their work in climate finance.
Finally, a PSA to other banks: Don’t be the last bank to see this societal need and financial opportunity.
The UN keeps track of banks committed (n=101) to net zero GHG goals by 2050 with tangible interim steps.
So far the member signatories represent almost $70 trillion and over 40% of all global banking assets.
Worried that this is window dresssing?
PODCAST: Rechargeable Alkaline Battery Deployment — Urban Electric Power
Led by Founder, Executive Chairman, and CEO Sanjoy Banerjee, Urban Electric Power develops non-toxic, thermally safe, long-duration batteries made of plentiful elements, and has the backing of university, government, strategic, and financial investors.
Some excerpts:
What makes you all unique?
“We’re far cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, making them an economical choice where constant charging and discharging is not required, such as in backup systems that protect homes, and vital systems like computer servers and refrigerated food storage.
We use zinc alkaline with manganese, the third-most-common element on earth, as well as zinc being relatively plentiful. These can be sourced from far more places than lithium, for which the U.S has virtually no domestic sources, and China controls 80% of refining. We do not require cobalt, whose extraction in Africa [can] involve human rights abuses.
Our batteries recently passed UL 1973 and 9540a certification for fire safety.
Our solutions are easily scalable, from a unit that can fit in a 2x2-foot area of your garage or basement, to commercial-size arrays such as the ones we're now installing for a major university supercomputer center in California; a Native American power utility; a dairy farm in New York; and a factory in the Netherlands.”
What’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for you — outside of your own family?
“I can’t name a single act, but there has been a whole series over many years. One that stands out is the education I received from the Jesuits during my school years, which taught me the value of kindness, tolerance, self-discipline, and rational thinking.”
Read or listen:
PODCAST: B Corp Values at a Leading Solar and Storage Developer — Encore Renewable Energy
Led by President Blake Sturcke, Encore Renewable Energy is a community-scale solar and energy storage development company, as well as a B Corporation showing leadership on diversity in the energy sector.
Some excerpts:
What is Encore Renewable Energy, and what makes the company unique?
“We are a community-scale renewable energy services company. We work with our stakeholders — such as utilities, universities, municipalities, and landowners — as their trusted advisors to evaluate their clean energy objectives, devise and execute a strategy for implementation. More broadly, we are a B Corporation and are very focused on contributing to the mitigation of climate change, the creation of career opportunities rather than jobs for our team members, the realization of positive impact in the communities that we work in, and serving as a leader on social and civic matters of import.”
Do you have habits or practices that keep you focused and motivated?
“I have maintained a practice of transcendental meditation for years with my wife. As part of this method, I meditate twice a day for 20 minutes. This practice gives me a great sense of focus throughout the day. We are also vegans which I have found to align with my personal values, commitment to mitigate climate change, and focus on health.”
Read or listen:
Peter Thiel’s favorite interview question
As a refresher, who is this guy?
A German-American billionaire entrepreneur and venture capitalist
Co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund
First outside investor in Facebook
Author of Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
So, what is this powerful question?
—
“What important truth do very few people agree with you on?”
—
Here’s how he thinks about it.
“This question sounds easy because it’s straightforward. Actually, it’s very hard to answer. It’s intellectually difficult because the knowledge that everyone is taught in school is by definition agreed upon.
And it’s psychologically difficult because anyone trying to answer must say something she knows to be unpopular.
Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius.
Now, let’s get granular.
“A good answer takes the following form — “‘Most people believe in x, but the truth is the opposite of x.’”
That’s all, folks.
Make it a great week, because it’s usually a choice.
— Chris
P.S. How about 80 hours a week?
Hell no. Oh, wait, maybe for a little while.
“Entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.” - Lori Greiner
—
Dr. Chris Wedding
Founder and Chief Catalyst, Entrepreneurs for Impact
The Only Private Executive Mastermind Community for CEOs, Founders, and Investors Fighting Climate Change