Activation Energy

51. Robert Stoner (Kendall Square Project) on translating academic research into businesses

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2025 47:34

Robert Stoner of Kendall Square Project and previously of MIT Energy Initiative speaks about licensing as a way to bring academic and scientific research to the market.OUTLINE(00:00) Introduction(00:39) Education and career path(07:58) Financing mechanisms for deeptech ventures (12:45) Role of universities(15:34) Licensing (23:11) Role of government(31:03) Scientists turning entrepreneurs(34:31) Translating science into business(38:36) Energy technologies, demand and supply

education energy project businesses scientists financing licensing outline translating stoner academic research kendall square mit energy initiative

50. David Heller (C16 Biosciences) on biomanufacturing and palm oil alternatives

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2025 53:42

David Heller of C16 Biosciences speaks about biomanufacturing technology and products and business strategy. Adam Lawrence co-hosts. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:32) Career path (03:13) Origin of C16 Biosciences (07:12) Palm oil agriculture (10:06) C16 Bio's core technology (11:14) IP strategy (16:22) Products (18:50) Competitors (21:02) Value ecosystem (24:05) Positioning (25:32) Criticisms of precision fermentation (28:56) Technoeconomics and cost drivers (33:25) Resources and inputs (35:27) Capital costs (38:31) Challenges (41:29) GMO (42:15) Regulatory landscape (45:08) Risks (51:17) Vision

49. Joško Bobanović (Sofinnova Partners) on industrial biotech and biomanufacturing

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2025 39:25

Joško Bobanović of Sofinnova Partners speaks about bioeconomy, industrial biotech, and biomanufacturing. Adam Lawrence co-hosts. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:34) Education and career path (02:21) Sofinnova Partners (04:28) Investment strategy (06:34) Terminology (08:45) Industrial biotech history and evolution (14:06) Competitive strategies for bio startups (16:55) End applications – fuels, food, pharmaceuticals, materials (21:23) Value ecosystem and participants (24:57) Drivers (27:15) Business models, platforms, products (33:05) Success stories (36:17) Future of industrial biotech and bioeconomy

success business education future investment industrial competitive drivers biotech outline terminology adam lawrence biomanufacturing sofinnova partners

48. Lee Vinsel (Virginia Tech) and Andrew Russell (SUNY Polytechnic Institute) on the innovation delusion

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 26, 2024 49:50

Lee Vinsel of Virginia Tech and Andrew Russell of SUNY Polytechnic Institute speak about innovation, hype, and the importance of investing in maintenance. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:29) Eduction and career paths (02:20) Origin of and motivation of writing The Innovation Delusion (04:15) True innovation vs. “innovation speak” (08:42) Higher education and tech transfer/licensing offices (14:59) Clayton Christensen's discredited research (22:07) True progress and impact (27:00) Pitfalls of disruption for disruption's sake (32:09) Importance of focusing on maintenance (37:16) Balancing innovation with maintenance (40:01) Impact of neglecting maintenance (45:54) Vision of the future

vision innovation impact balancing origin pitfalls virginia tech delusion outline clayton christensen eduction lee vinsel andrew russell suny polytechnic institute

47. Adrien Côté (Velocity) on scientist-entrepreneurs

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2024 27:08

Adrien Côté of the Velocity discusses translating science and research into business ventures. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:43) Education and career (03:17) Velocity Incubator (07:50) Successfully incubated ventures (09:30) Commercialization challenges (11:44) What distinguishes successful entrepreneurs from others (13:20) “Not all founders are entrepreneurs” (15:49) Challenges of transitioning from scientist to entrepreneur (17:02) Communication (18:57) Group dynamics (21:15) Leadership (23:15) Role of academia in training scientists to lead (24:48) Evolution of scientific leadership

education leadership entrepreneur challenges evolution scientists successfully outline velocity commercialization

46. Adam Lawrence (AGL.BIO) on bioeconomy and biomanufacturing

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2024 37:33

Adam Lawrence of AGL.BIO speaks about bioeconomy and biomanufacturing. OUTLINE (0:00) Introduction (00:38) Education and career (03:23) Challenges and barriers in biomanufacturing (04:46) Bioeconomy terminology (08:52) Value of biomanufacturing and comparative advantage (14:18) Actual and potential mpact (18:12) Chemical companies (19:38) Drivers (20:37) Value ecosystem and participants (23:08) Financing mechanisms (25:17) Mergers and acquisitions (26:08) Subsegments – fuels, chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals (32:01) Waste stream valorization (34:05) Sentiment, stigma, and media

education challenges waste bio drivers financing chemical outline mergers sentiment agl bioeconomy adam lawrence biomanufacturing

45. Charla Triplett (Spine by Design) on medtech entrepreneurship

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024 41:47

Charla Triplett of Spine by Design speaks about medtech entrepreneurship and investing. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:42) Education and career (03:00) Suncoast VC (04:45) Investment thesis (05:44) Portfolio (11:41) Spine by Design (21:39) Medtech innovation and trends (30:22) Regulations and regulatory strategies (36:53) Advice for medtech entrepreneurs

education advice design entrepreneurship investment regulations spine outline medtech triplett

44. Jason Jay (MIT Sloan School of Management) on sustainability and systemic investing

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2024 48:17

Jason Jay of MIT Sloan School of Management speaks about sustainability endeavors and systemic investing. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:33) Career (04:27) MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative (10:29) Modeling climate change impact (EnROADS) (15:30) Emissions and warming (21:04) Optimizing economic, social, and environmental objectives and trade-offs (29:03) Public sector's role in innovation (37:44) SBIR (41:17) Impact of academia

career management public investing impact sustainability optimizing modeling systemic outline emissions mit sloan school sbir school of management

43. Aleksandra Gosiewski (Keel Labs) on biopolymers

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2024 31:09

Aleksandra Gosiewski of Keel Labs talks about harnessing the ocean to create biobased materials. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:50) Education and career path (01:39) Origin of Keel Labs (03:45) Sustainability (05:37) Offshoring (07:23) Technology and product (08:14) Manufacturing (13:47) Material performance (15:38) Biodegradability (16:46) Economics (17:50) Traction (18:46) Value ecosystem (20:53) Impact (24:11) Suppliers (25:02) Challenges (27:06) Risks (28:55) Vision and exit strategy

education technology vision challenges impact economics sustainability origin risks material manufacturing labs outline traction suppliers aleksandra keel offshoring

42. Tanya Ramond (Sapienne Consulting) on deeptech commercialization

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2024 37:06

Dr. Tanya Ramond of Sapienne Consulting talks about deeptech ventures and commercialization strategies. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:45) Career path (03:50) Transitioning from academia to industry (05:17) Transitioning from corporation to startups (08:06) From PhD to MBA (13:15) Definition of deeptech (14:56) Dual opportunities – ROI and impact (16:57) Risks and uncertainties (19:26) Mitigating risks (23:53) Quantifying returns and impact (26:00) Resources (28:02) Colorado deeptech ecosystem (31:55) Product-Market fit (34:17) Traps founders fall into

career colorado mba transitioning roi consulting definition risks dual traps outline mitigating deep tech quantifying commercialization product market ramond

41. Fred Rostami (GreenLIB) on battery materials recovery

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2024 27:19

Fred Rostami of GreenLIB talks about recovering and recycling materials from lithium batteries. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:33) Fred's career path (01:21) GreenLIB's elevator pitch (01:55) Common and state-of-the-art battery materials recovery tech (03:42) Technical and economic challenges associated with materials recovery (04:43) Recovery vs. recycling (05:16) Recovery/Recycling vs. extraction of new materials (07:06) Innovations in improving efficacy and efficiency of materials recovery (08:14) Factors that make innovation slow (08:58) GreenLIB's technology (12:52) Regulatory environment (14:29) Commercialization (17:26) GreenLIB's team (20:52) Entrepreneurial journey (22:03) Challenges, uncertainties, risks (23:58) Mistakes (26:01) Fun aspects of being an entrepreneur

challenges innovation fun mistakes recovery technical factors batteries entrepreneurial materials regulatory outline commercialization rostami

40. Jaehee Sweeney (BEI) on energy storage and batteries

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2024 26:37

Jaehee Sweeney of BEI talks about battery technologies, including BEI's products. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:26) Career path (04:12) Energy storage (07:38) Lithium-based batteries (10:17) Lithium metal batteries (11:39) Ideal battery (12:32) BEI technology (13:32) Distinctiveness and stage of BEI batteries (15:59) Comparison with current solutions (16:04) Charging characteristics of BEI batteries (17:38) Safety characteristic (18:55) Scalability of manufacturing (19:05) Commercialization and adoption (20:30) Prohibiting factors (20:52) Battery value ecosystem (22:53) Market opportunity (23:24) Uncertainties and risks (23:44) Risk mitigation (24:25) Impact

39. Jeff Rosedale (BakerHostetler) on deeptech and IP

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2024 34:41

Jeff Rosedale of BakerHostetler speaks about how deeptech entrepreneurs can navigating the IP landscape and integrate IP with business strategy. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:25) Jeff's professional background (04:10) Dialogue between scientific advancements and legal frameworks (07:22) How law firms are addressing evolving technologies (09:05) Emerging trends (11:13) Integrating IP and business strategy (14:59) How startups can effectively maneuver IP landscape (16:52) Valuing IP (20:07) Examples of how valuation affects growth and outcome (21:56) Collaboration and IP assignment (25:23) Logistics of licensing IP (28:19) Factors that determine licensing fees (30:08) Pitfalls during licensing and managing conflict (32:05) Advice for entrepreneurs

advice collaboration ip emerging factors dialogue pitfalls logistics outline deep tech rosedale bakerhostetler

38. Bryce Meredig (Citrine Informatics) on the intersection of science and business

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2024 34:44

Bryce Meredig of Citrine Informatics talks about leadership and the business of science. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:28) Career path (02:06) Academia vs. business (03:15) Deeptech startups vs others (04:48) Integrating science and business (06:08) How to overcome challenges with integration (07:27) Scientific leadership (10:00) Group and organizational dynamics (11:20) Leadership qualities (13:10) Interaction between scientists and non-scientists (15:42) Managing conflict and fostering cohesion (22:10) Effective communication (29:10) Mistakes (33:05) Future

science leadership future career mistakes managing academia intersection integrating scientific interaction outline deep tech citrine informatics

37. Pavle Jeremić (Aether Bio) on protein engineering and lithium extraction

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2024 29:33

Pavle Jeremić of Aether Bio talks about protein engineering, lithium extraction, and advanced polymers. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:29) Pavle's professional background (01:12) Motivation for founding Aether (04:31) Aether's technology and product lines (06:45) Uniqueness of Aether's technology (13:08) Importance of Aether's technology (14:45) Monetization strategy (16:22) Failed strategies (19:41) Market segments (21:14) Value of market opportunity (22:45) Capturing value (24:41) Challenges and risks (27:53) Long-term vision of Aether

challenges motivation market engineering failed protein capturing extraction uniqueness outline lithium monetization aether jeremi pavle

36. Rodrigo Alvarez-Icaza (Elysium Robotics) on robotics

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2024 25:22

Rodrigo Alvarez-Icaza of Elysium Robotics talks about actuation, movement, and robotics. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:39) Rodrigo's professional background (03:04) Motivation for founding Elysium (04:17) Elysium's technology (05:45) Limitations of current robotic systems (07:02) Suite of robotic technologies (08:09) Actuation (10:19) Technical performance metrics (12:06) Target applications (14:38) Traction (15:50) Milestones (16:20) Economics and affordability (17:45) Market opportunity (19:20) Scalability (20:17) Challenges (21:26) Long-term implications (23:40) Vision

vision challenges motivation market target economics technical limitations suite robotics milestones alvarez outline traction scalability elysium icaza actuation

35. Mahmood Shirazy (Calogy Solutions) on thermal management of EVs

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2024 32:25

Mahmood Shirazy of Calogy Solutions discusses thermal management systems of electrical vehicles (EV) systems, transitioning from scientist to entrepreneur, and the state of the deeptech ecosystem. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:36) Mahmood's career (02:32) Calogy's technology (04:09) Value proposition and uniqueness of technology (06:45) Examples (09:02) Broader impact (11:39) Value of opportunity (12:58) Go-to-market and monetization strategy (15:21) Traction (16:44) Challenges and barriers (18:43) Growth and expansion plans (20:45) Anticipated risks (23:26) Journey from scientist to entrepreneur (25:44) Fundamental differences between academia and business worlds (28:15) State of deeptech ecosystem

growth state challenges ev fundamental outline anticipated traction broader mahmood thermal management

34. Chad Wasilenkoff (Helicoid Industries) on advanced composites for automotive and aerospace markets

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2024 32:19

Chad Wasilenkoff of Helicoid Industries talks about commercializing advanced, proprietary composites for sporting goods, automotive, and aerospace applications. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:33) Chad's professional background (05:25) Helicoid's technology (07:42) Significance and potential impact of Helicoid's technology (10:17) Trends in composites industry (13:04) Applications in sporting goods, automotive, and aerospace markets (15:56) How Helicoid captures value it creates (17:27) Helicoid's monetization and pricing strategies (19:47) Helicoid's traction (21:53) Challenges and barriers to commercialization and common mistakes entrepreneurs make (26:09) Regulation (27:41) Anticipated risks and uncertainties (29:49) Long term vision of Helicoid

challenges markets significance applications regulation industries automotive outline anticipated aerospace composites

33. Angela Tsetsis, Nathaniel Jackson, Taka Kamezawa (TrueAlgae)

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2024 31:32

The team behind TrueAlgae – Angela Tsetsis, Nathaniel Jackson, Taka Kamezawa – talks about commercialization of algae-derived metabolites, which have potential impact across multiple fields, including medicine and health, food and nutrition, and materials science and biofuels. OUTLINE (0:00) Introduction (0:33) Angela Tsetsis (02:05) Taka Kamezawa (03:12) Nathaniel Jackson (04:08) Origin of TrueAlgae (05:15) Core technology and product (08:31) Production and manufacturing (09:31) Quality and safety (11:10) Value proposition of product and target market (16:16) Commercialization and monetization strategies (18:36) Value ecosystem and market participants (20:36) Traction and partnerships (21:12) Value creation and capture (22:56) Challenges, risks, and uncertainties (25:59) Barries moving forwards (29:24) Incumbents and disruption (30:11) Long-term vision of TrueAlgae

challenges production origin outline traction taka commercialization incumbents

32. Martin Mulvilhill (Safer Made) on investing in safe chemistry

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2023 33:43

Martin Mulvihill of Safer Made, a VC firm, talks about investing in startups that eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals in consumer products and supply chains. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:40) Marty's career path (03:10) Motivation for becoming a VC (04:38) Safer Made's origin, mission, and vision (05:40) Safer Made's investment thesis (06:05) How Safer Made thinks about and measures impact (07:02) Safer Made's portfolio companies, including P2Science and Repurpose (08:58) How Safer Made sources and evaluates investment opportunities (10:46) Safer Made's value add beyond capital (12:01) Safer Made's LPs (12:27) What makes an excellent deeptech VC (14:07) Safer Made's risk appetite and desired rate of return (16:28) Chemical industry and its emissions (17:25) Chemical industry's positive and negative impact on society (20:40) Fossil fuel consumption and driver for its reduction (22:28) Unintended consequences of increased plastic production (24:51) Doubling of chemical industry and curtailing negative effects (27:57) Role and responsibilities chemical industry has in advancing sustainability (29:51) Safer Made's relationship and interaction with chemical corporations (31:00) Regulation

motivation investing chemistry vc regulation chemical safer outline fossil lps doubling repurpose unintended

31. Philip Taynton (Mallinda) on commercializing new materials out of universities

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2023 20:10

Philip Taynton of Mallinda talks about a new class of plastic materials and the journey of spinning out university research. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (00:39) What Mallinda is commercializing (01:09) Vitrimers (02:25) Applications (04:07) Negative impact of non-recyclable materials (05:39) Barriers to making vitrimers ubiquitous (08:07) Gorilla glass (09:17) Commercialization of vitrimers, Mallinda's business model (11:40) Market opportunity (12:25) Market segments (14:12) Challenges in the startup journey (16:14) Assistance from the deeptech startup ecosystem (18:32) Vision of Mallinda's future

vision challenges market negative barriers applications universities gorilla assistance outline commercialization commercializing new materials

30. Robert Creighton (Windlift) on offshore wind energy generation

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2023 32:44

Robert Creighton of Windlift, a startup commercializing an airborne wind energy system, talks about harnessing wind to generate energy. OUTLINE (00:00) Introduction (01:44) Rob's professional journey (04:06) History of wind energy (05:28) Wind vs. traditional sources of energy (06:27) Challenges with offshore wind energy (07:57) Advantages of offshore wind energy generation (09:35) Origin of Windlift (12:02) Windlift's airborne wind energy system (14:48) How Windlift addresses challenges associated with traditional wind energy systems (16:27) Examples of Windlift's system's versatility (18:25) Makani and Google X Moonshot Factory (21:23) Windlift's collaborations (22:40) Windlift's partnerships with government agencies (24:35) Future of Windlift in defense and civilian sectors (26:27) Wind energy and regulation (28:47) Contribution to clean energy movement

history future challenges wind origin advantages contribution outline creighton offshore wind wind energy energy generation makani

29. Ben Schrag (NSF) on government's role in deeptech and innovation

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2023 27:50

Ben Schrag of the National Science Foundation talks about deeptech and how the government helps advance innovation. OUTLINE: (00:00) Introduction (00:56) Ben's career path (02:39) NSF's mandate regarding commercialization of scientific invention (04:39) SBIR and STTR programs (06:31) Origin of SBIR/STTR (08:33) Inventions that SBIR/STTR programs funded (09:55) Disruption (11:00) Statistics and criteria (13:25) How decisions about funding are made (15:10) Successful companies that NSF funded (19:29) Successful chemical startups that NSF funded (22:22) Collaboration (23:50) Trends as seen from the front row seat to innovation

government innovation collaboration origin statistics disruption invention outline national science foundation deep tech nsf sbir schrag sttr sbir sttr

28. Tyler Ellison (ChemDirect) on digitalization of the chemical supply chain

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2023 19:26

I speak with Tyler Ellison of ChemDirect about disrupting and digitalizing the chemical supply chain and logistics. OUTLINE: (00:34) Tyler's background (01:07) Nova Molecular (01:25) Chemical supply chain and logistics (02:48) Fragmentation (03:26) Challenges within chemical supply chain (05:19) Barriers to digitalization of chemical supply chain (07:01) Regulation (07:19) ChemDirect (09:29) Motivation for founding ChemDirect (10:41) Financing (10:55) Target markets (11:51) Suppliers (11:55) Barriers startups face (13:16) Opportunities (14:14) Use of AI/ML (16:51) ChemDirect's differentiation and competitive advantage (18:03) Future of ChemDirect

future challenges opportunities motivation target barriers supply chains regulation financing chemical outline suppliers ai ml digitalization fragmentation

27. DC Palter (CAN and Tech Coast Angels) on cleantech investing

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2023 41:44

I speak with DC Palter of Tech Coast Angels and Chemical Angel Network about investing in clean technologies. OUTLINE: (00:00) Intro (0:55) DC's interest in Cleantech and motivation for investing in Cleantech (4:49) Current trends in Cleantech investing (10:43) How DC evaluates startups (13:33) Difference between Cleantech and software investors (16:24) Difference between entrepreneurs with and without technical training (21:24) Resources and ecosystem for Cleantech startups (24:30) DC's book “To Kill a Unicorn” (25:36) DC's blogs (27:09) Troubled companies and frequency of occurrence (33:10) Hype and charismatic entrepreneurs (33:28) What DC hopes to accomplish by publishing a mystery novel about startups

dc investing current hype unicorns troubled outline to kill cleantech tech coast angels

26. Bahruz Mammadov (BERKM) and John Standish (Association of Plastic Recyclers) on plastic packaging

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2023 22:55

This episode features Bahruz Mammadov, CEO of BERKM, and John Standish, Technical Director at the Association of Plastic Recyclers, who share their views on the history, current state, and innovation in plastic packaging. OUTLINE: (00:00) Intro (01:02) State and scale of plastic packaging (02:49) Plastic recycling (04:03) Factors that promote and limit collection of plastic (05:36) Technical and economic limits to recycling (07:28) Greenpeace (09:31) Association of Plastic Recyclers (10:34) Regulation (12:36) Innovation (16:06) BERKM technology (17:56) Application and market potential (18:44) Current state of BERKM's technology (20:53) Vision for BERKM's future (22:02) Financing

ceo vision state innovation current application technical plastic factors regulation financing packaging greenpeace outline technical director standish recyclers

25. Mark Vreeke (Chemical Angel Network) on investing at the chemical frontier

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2022 25:33

This episode features Mark Vreeke, the co-founder of the Chemical Angel Network, who shares his views about investing in deep tech ventures. Aaron Santos, co-founder of DNP123, joins me as co-host. OUTLINE (0:00) Introduction to Mark and Aaron (1:16) Definition of deep tech (2:12) What is fueling investment into deep tech (3:21) Misconceptions about deep tech (4:04) Challenges in deep tech investing (4:35) Risk mitigation (5:12) Deep tech ecosystem (6:58) Academia to entrepreneurship (8:47) Mark's background (11:17) Advice about starting a chemical venture (12:24) Why Mark started Chemical Angel Network (14:50) Chemical Angel Network's mission, investment philosophy, and portfolio companies (18:50) How to evaluate early stage deep tech startups (20:44) Obstacles deep tech startups face (23:18) Future of Chemical Angel Network (24:28) Fun question!

future advice challenges deep fun risk investing definition misconceptions obstacles academia frontier chemical outline angel network

24. John Sears (Innovators Legal) on startups and intellectual property

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2022 53:21

I speak with John Sears of Innovators Legal about intellectual property, business strategy, and deep-tech startups partnering with corporations to co-create value. (0:00) Introduction (0:43) Role of IP in early stage companies (4:31) Common types of IP (7:28) When to protect inventions by patents vs. keeping trade secrets (10:03) Challenges when protecting IP (16:37) Logistics of protection (19:47) Fast track examination (23:01) Valuation of IP (25:16) Best way for startups to work with strategic partners (32:47) Challenges encountered during strategic alliances (43:11) Consequences of failing to protect inventions properly (48:51) Innovators Legal (50:28) Combining IP and business strategies

challenges startups legal consequences ip innovators logistics valuations intellectual property john sears

23. Alexis Bazzanella (Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, DECHEMA) on sustainable chemistry

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2022 29:12

I speak with Alexis Bazzanella of the Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA) and the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3) about sustainable chemistry and multinational collaboration. (0:49) Definition of sustainability (2:25) Holistic approach to sustainable chemistry (5:06) Adoption of sustainable chemistry principles (8:07) Role of legislation and regulation (9:57) Role of private sector and the public (11:14) Technologies that enable sustainable chemistry (13:48) Approach chemical companies take to achieve sustainability (16:09) International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (20:02) Projects supported by ISC3 (22:37) Challenges (26:55) Future of ISC3 – hubs

technology future challenges society sustainable adoption projects definition holistic chemistry biotechnology chemical engineering

22. Jane Melia (Harvest Thermal) and DC Palter (Chemical Angel Network) on heating and the electrical grid

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2022 27:42

I speak with Jane Melia of Harvest Thermal and DC Palter of the Chemical Angel Network, Tech Coast Angels, and Pitching Angels blog about how changing the way we heat our homes and buildings can help mitigate climate change. (1:25) Heating, energy, and emissions (3:05) Regulations (6:08) Heat pumps and Harvest Thermal (9:09) How heat pumps tie to the resiliency of the electrical grid (11:20) Harvest Thermal's target market (12:42) Harvest Thermal's progress and commercialization stage (15:52) Why DC invested in Harvest Thermal (20:35) Current state of Cleantech investing from entrepreneur's perspectives (22:51) State of Cleantech investing from investor's perspective

state dc current heat harvest regulations chemical heating thermal cleantech melia electrical grid angel network tech coast angels

21. Craig Kasberg (Tidal Vision) and Tony Sun (GC Ventures) on biopolymers and investing

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2022 21:03

I speak with Craig Kasberg of Tidal Vision and Tony Sun of GC Ventures about biopolymers, applications chitosan, building and investing in science-based startups. (0:47) Biopolymers (1:37) Chitosan (3:05) Tidal Vision's manufacturing (4:46) Applications and markets – water treatment, textiles, agriculture (8:29) Tidal Vision's progress as a company (9:55) Challenges while building a company (12:20) Future of Tidal Vision (13:53) GC Ventures and why Tony invested in Tidal Vision (15:19) Investment criteria and decision making (17:25) Duration of due diligence (18:00) Investing in deep tech during economic downturns

vision future challenges investing investment applications ventures tidal chitosan

20. Morgan Lehtinen (RXN Hub) on Canadian cleantech ecosystem

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2022 19:40

I speak with Morgan Lehtinen of RXN Hub about the Canadian cleantech entrepreneurial ecosystem. (0:53) What RXN Hub is (1:40) Gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem (4:09) Cleantech ecosystems across North America (6:14) Startups eligible for RXN Hub (7:17) RXN Hub partners (9:10) Business model and services offered (13:16) Impact (15:17) Definition of success in short and long terms (17:36) Vision for RXN Hub in 10 years

business vision canadian north america impact startups definition gap ecosystem cleantech

19. Ginger Rothrock (HG Ventures) on investing in industrial tech

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2022 25:35

I speak with Ginger Rothrock of HG Ventures about investing in industrial technologies. (0:00) Introduction (0:43) Industrial tech defined (1:33) Examples of current innovations with industrial use cases (3:07) How novel industrial tech will impact existing value chain/ecosystem (4:49) The promise and potential of industrial tech in averting the climate crisis and achieving sustainability (7:26) Regulatory environment (EPA, SEC) (9:28) Investing in industrial tech, flow and allocation of capital (11:44) Investment landscape (13:24) How VCs make money by investing in industrial tech (15:44) Risks and challenges when investing in industrial tech (17:58) Current state of economy and impact on early-stage investment activities (18:59) What investors look for (20:50) HG Ventures – mission, investment thesis, value-add (23:50) Advice for entrepreneurs when pitching to investors and building companies

advice tech investing current investment risks sec industrial epa ventures regulatory rothrock

18. Mitch Krauss on sustainability in apparel, semiconductor, and beverage industries

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2022 34:27

I speak with Mitch Krauss about sustainability, circularity, environmental and health safety in textiles, semiconductor, and beverage industries. (0:00) Introduction (0:39) Apparel and textile industry (1:32) UN Project (2:42) Apparel industry value chain (4:29) Perfluorochemicals (7:45) Sustainability in apparel industry (9:47) Apparel production's impact on environment (14:24) Semiconductor industry (15:42) RoHS Directive (18:53) How semiconductors are made (21:43) Use of water in semiconductor manufacturing (27:05) Beer industry and brewing beer (29:41) Norfork Brewing

beer sustainability industries apparel beverage semiconductors krauss

17. Gabriel Thoumi (Responsible Alpha) on plastics and sustainability

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2022 45:41

I speak with Gabriel Thoumi of Responsible Alpha, a consultancy whose mission is to support businesses and communities in securing a low-carbon, sustainable, and equitable future. (1:24) Production and consumption of plastic (2:53) Plastic industry's carbon budget (3:59) Reconciling fact that plastic is useful in our society and economy with the fact that it is damaging to the environment (8:35) What the plastic industry is doing to mitigate the plastic problem and the pressure companies feel to change their behavior (11:58) The role of investors (15:40) The role of governments (20:25) Ramification of projected increase in demand for plastic (25:43) New technologies (31:11) Circularity and points of intervention (36:51) Barriers to transitioning from linear to circular economy (40:28) How transitioning to circular economy creates opportunities (42:03) Short-term vs. long-term thinking

sustainability production alpha barriers responsible plastic plastics reconciling ramifications circularity

16. Tina Tosukhowong (TDK Ventures) on investing in deep tech startups

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2022 26:35

I speak with Tina Tosukhowong of TDK Ventures about investing in deep tech startups. (0:00) Introduction (0:49) Defining deep tech (1:21) Distinction from clean tech (3:00) What drives investment in deep tech (5:35) Risks in deep tech ventures and their investors (9:07) Challenges faced by startups and investors (12:36) Characteristics of successful deep tech startups (15:53) Deep tech ecosystem (18:27) Traditional vs. Corporate venture capital (21:32) TDK Ventures

challenges deep investing corporate defining traditional risks characteristics ventures distinction tech startups deep tech

15. Rajiv Banavali (WestRock) on innovation and sustainability

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2022 48:25

I speak with Rajiv Banavali, the senior vice president of science and innovation at WestRock, the second largest American packaging company. (0:00) Introduction (0:44) Definition of innovation (1:28) Distinction between breakthrough and incremental innovation (3:53) Identifying opportunities for innovation (5:32) Figuring out what customers and their customer want (8:10) Predicting which products will be successful and which ones will fail (10:27) Setting an innovation strategy (12:42) Role of science at WestRock and drivers of new ideas (17:51) Designing products for sustainability (20:25) Resources needed for innovation (23:37) Creating a culture of innovation (26:23) Innovation killers (28:38) Sustainability as a value driver (30:29) What drivers sustainability (34:56) Circular economy in packaging industry (37:03) Innovation in packaging industry (38:37) Exciting development in packaging (41:14) Innovation at WestRock (44:21) Regulation (46:18) Government's role in creating and supporting innovation

american government innovation sustainability identifying exciting definition designing regulation predicting distinction circular rajiv westrock

14. John Warner (Zymergen) on sustainability

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2022 38:27

I speak with Dr. John Warner of Zymergen and Beyond Benign about sustainability in the chemical industry. (0:00) Introduction (1:03) Chemical industry as an actor in society and economy (4:31) Green chemistry (5:54) Teaching chemistry skills (10:50) Beyond Benign (20:11) Marketing and public relations in the chemical industry (22:24) Communication (24:03) Financing sustainability efforts (30:59) Numbers and narratives in startups

marketing green teaching numbers sustainability financing chemical john warner zymergen

13. Nikhil Kalane (PwC India) on state of the chemical industry

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2022 20:21

I speak with Nikhil Kalane of PwC India about the current state of the global chemical industry. (0:00) Introduction (0:42) Management consultancies for chemical industry (1:42) Nikhil's expertise and role (2:34) State of the chemical industry and pandemic's impact (6:22) Pandemic's impact by region (10:20) Examples of sustainability and circular economy principles in the chemical industry (12:22) Innovation in the chemical industry (13:41) Cost structure (14:44) Factors influencing innovation (15:46) Approach to growth (17:00) Open innovation (17:46) Indian chemical industry

pandemic state management innovation cost open indian factors nikhil chemical industry pwc india

12. William Provine (The Innovation Space) on innovation

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2021 34:32

I speak with Dr. William Provine of The Innovation Space about innovation in the chemical industry and the support ecosystem that exists for chemical startups. (0:00) Introduction (0:48) Invention vs. innovation (4:55) How chemical companies identify opportunities for innovation (8:41) Rate of success across innovation efforts (10:23) Need for new materials (13:18) Chem vs. Pharma spending on R&D (18:42) How chemical giants interact with startups (21:16) The Innovation Space and startups it supports, including Prelude Therapeutics and Versogen (27:31) Challenges chemical startups face (29:51) Origin of The Innovation Space (31:25) Future of The Innovation Space

future space challenges innovation origin invention pharma chem provine

11. Judy Giordan (ecosVC) on talent and diversity

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2021 20:18

I speak with Dr. Judy Giordan of ecosVC about education, talent development, and diversity in the chemical industry. (0:00) Introduction (0:42) Chemistry majors (4:42) Talent acquisition and development (10:34) Diversity, inclusion, equity (19:26) Sociology vs. Technology

technology diversity talent chemistry sociology

10. Sebastian Alamillo-Falkenberg (KPM Accelerate) on innovation

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2021 26:37

I speak with Sebastian Alamillo-Falkenberg of KPM Accelerate about the tough-tech ecosystem and resources available for science-based startups. (0:39) Innovation, invention, design (1:51) Example: The Metals Company (3:05) Example: Li-Cycle (4:29) Science vs. software startups (7:41) Risks in science-based startups and steps to mitigate risks (9:11) Techno-economics (11:52) Resources and ecosystems (13:36) Incubators (14:30) Accelerators (16:13) KPM Accelerate and how it supports startups

science innovation risks techno accelerate accelerators incubators falkenberg alamillo

1. Greg Newbloom (Membrion, Inc.) on green chemistry

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2021 6:39

I speak with Dr. Greg Newbloom, the founder and CEO of Membrion, about his career, company, and interest in green chemistry.

ceo green chemistry

9. Judy Giordan (ecosVC) on innovation in the chemical industry

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2021 18:33

I speak with Dr. Judy Giordan about innovation. (0:00) Introduction (0:46) Invention vs. Innovation vs. Diffusion (5:05) Innovation in large chem corporations (7:50) Different stakeholders driving innovation (8:47) How innovation influences chem industry's dynamics and evolution (13:51) Current innovations in the chem industry (16:26) Interfacing with startups: Chem vs. Pharma

innovation current invention pharma diffusion chem interfacing chemical industry

Topic 3: Innovation in the Chemical Industry

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2021 1:12

Introduction to Topic 3: Innovation in the Chemical Industry

innovation chemical industry

8. Frank Slejko (Tall Oaks) on intersection of water and chemistry

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2021 21:19

I speak with Dr. Frank Slejko about water treatment in various industries, incumbent technologies, and innovations. (0:00) Introduction (0:50) Significance of water treatment and water as universal solvent (3:28) Industrial applications that require clean water (6:15) High purity water for semiconductor and microelectronics industry (9:54) Types of contaminants (10:36) Removal of contaminants (11:09) How ion exchange works (13:32) Logistics of water treatment (14:56) Four main water treatment technologies (17:04) Room for improvement (19:42) Exciting innovations and startups

water types exciting significance chemistry industrial intersection logistics tall removal oaks

7. Anders Hallsby (Mazarine Ventures) on intersection of water and chemistry

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2021 24:23

I speak with Dr. Anders Hallsby of Mazarine Ventures about water treatment technologies and trends. (0:00) Intro (0:42) Anders Hallsby's expertise (3:49) Wastewater and system-level treatment of it (5:16) Applications requiring clean water and typical contaminants found in water (6:53) Wastewater treatment processes (7:37) Energy consumption of water treatment (9:12) Trends and innovations in water industry (13:32) Most promising water treatment technologies (15:43) Mazarine Ventures' investment thesis (19:02) Portfolio companies: SimpleLab and Conservation Labs

water energy chemistry applications intersection ventures wastewater mazarine

Topic 2: Intersection of Water and Chemistry

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2021 1:53

Introduction to Topic 2: Intersection of Water and Chemistry

water chemistry intersection

6. Nilesh Shah (Dow Chemical) on sustainability

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2021 31:59

I speak with Dr. Nilesh Shah, the former Global R&D Director at Dow Chemical about sustainability and circular economy. (0:00) Nilesh Shah's biography (1:02) Defining sustainability and circular economy (3:20) The impact of chemical products on greenhouse gas reductions (7:00) Incongruity between plastics' net positive impact on the world and the media's portrayal of plastics (12:08) Responsibility of various players in the plastics ecosystem (15:45) Achieving circular economy via incremental and breakthrough solutions (18:16) Examples of short term incremental solutions (20:53) Economic viability of short term solutions (22:29) Role of legislation and regulation in sustainability efforts (25:12) Process of removing harmful chemicals off the market (27:54) When regulatory bodies tend to step in (30:05) What it takes for sustainable alternatives to be adopted (31:08) Importance of systems thinking in achieving sustainability

responsibility sustainability defining economic achieving shah dow chemical nilesh d director global r incongruity nilesh shah

5. Judy Giordan (ecosVC) on sustainability

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2021 22:03

I speak with Dr. Judy Giordan, managing director of ecosVC, about sustainability in the chemical industry. (0:00) Introduction (0:51) Definition of sustainability and origin of Judy's interest in sustainability (5:30) What drives sustainability in the chemical industry (10:26) Chemical industry working hard to promote sustainability (11:32) Examples of sustainability in the chemical industry (14:15) Barriers to achieving sustainability (19:14) Importance of non-technical factors to commercializing sustainability solutions

sustainability definition barriers chemical

4. Scott Gietler (ChemTalk) on chemistry education

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2021 33:31

I speak with Scott Gietler, the founder of ChemTalk, a non-profit organization whose mission is to make chemistry fun and easy to learn for everyone.

education chemistry