Hydrogen Innovators

Patrick Molloy, Principal at RMI's Climate-Aligned Industries program and co-host of Everything About Hydrogen, joins the Hydrogen Innovators Podcast to explore ammonia's rapidly expanding role in the clean energy transition—as a shipping fuel, hydrogen carrier, and critical input for fertilizers. This episode also marks the debut of our new co-hosts, Stanford PhD students Milenia Rojas Mendoza and Emma Kerr, who bring fresh insight and sharp questions to the conversation. Together, they discuss the impact of recent policy developments like the IMO carbon levy, the balance between centralized and decentralized production, and the global lessons emerging from hydrogen and ammonia deployment efforts. Patrick shares his personal path into the hydrogen space and reflects on the visionary leadership of Amory Lovins, offering a wide-ranging and thoughtful discussion on where this market is headed next.

In this episode of the Hydrogen Innovators podcast, we welcome Jimmy Rojas, founder and CEO of Evoloh, an innovative company transforming hydrogen production through advanced alkaline electrolyzer technology. Jimmy shares his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, highlighting how Evoloh uniquely reduces hydrogen production costs by using standard, high-throughput manufacturing techniques and 100% domestic supply chains. He explains Evoloh's strategy of focusing exclusively on stack production, designed explicitly for compatibility with low-cost, commercially available equipment, drastically cutting the cost of hydrogen. He dives deep into the challenges of electrolyzer manufacturing, global hydrogen markets, and the importance of flexible load-following technologies for renewable integration. Tune in for insights into Jimmy's leadership philosophy, inspired by fostering growth within his team, and hear who personally motivates him in his remarkable career. A must-listen for anyone interested in the future of green hydrogen and cleantech innovation.

Electric Hydrogen is working on carbon-free hydrogen production, leveraging advanced electrolyzer plants powered by solar and wind to compete with fossil fuels. Their cutting-edge technology offers hydrogen at nearly half the price of competitors, driving cost-effective clean energy.With over $700M raised through venture capital, venture debt, equipment finance, and government grants, Electric Hydrogen strategically balances financial risk to power its mission. Their innovative project financing model separates project risks from the parent company, attracting diverse investors through ‘derisking' tactics like insurance products and construction bonds.Guided by values of hustle, loyalty, and respect, Electric Hydrogen is set to revolutionize heavy industry energy use. Excited to see their continued impact!#GreenHydrogen #CleanEnergy #Innovation #HydrogenEconomy #Sustainability #RenewableEnergy #ProjectFinancing #EnergyTransition

In this episode we learn from Shunichiro Shimamura, COO at MOL Switch, the venture arm of Mitsui OSK lines, a major global shipping company. In 2021, MOL announced their goal to get to net zero by 2030. Find out how they aim to achieve that by listening!

In this episode, we learn from Jason Sebastian, EVP of Market Operations at Questek Innovations on material challenges related to H2 and how his team mitigates these challenges through ICME - Integrated Computational Materials Engineering. 

It hasn't been all sunshine and roses in the green H2 industry lately, only 4% of projects announced by 2030 have reached FID. Find out below what key mechanism can help us remove barriers:Reinsurance!!!Thrilled to launch our 18th episode of the Hydrogen Innovators Podcast with Dr. Kathrin Ebner, working on risk and (re)insurance at Munich Re. Give it a listen and learn more about how Kathrin and her team remove barriers in the green hydrogen world by offering risk transfer solutions for electrolyzers

In our 17th episode, we learn from Paul Nelson Managing Partner at Saoradh Enterprise Partners. In his conversation with Karen Baert, we learn about their data-driven approach to investing. Some key insights include:

In this podcast, we learn from Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power, how Plug Power is a one-stop-shop enabling the green hydrogen industry. Some key learnings include: The key to excelling when vertically integrating is M&A and partnershipsThe challenge of integration/putting all the building blocks together is vastly underestimatedPlug Power sees a lot of potential for hydrogen in the long-term in the stationary power market, replacing natural-gas peaker plants. At the end of the podcast, Andy shares some of the principles that guide him as a leader incl: The power of listeningStay calm during crisis and always move forwardCharacter matters

In this episode, we learn from Florence Lambert, CEO of Genvia, a French high-temperature electrolyzer company. Key take-aways include We will need a wide range of electrolyzer technologies to decarbonize our hydrogen industry:Alkaline: (+) Proven tech, easy to manufacture (-) Less efficient, bigger footprintPEM: (+) More flexible and smaller footprint (-) Not yet proven and more expensive SOEC (High-T):  (+) Solid oxide electrolyzers are at least 15% more efficient and 30% more efficient than low-temperature electrolyzers when waste heat is available (-) Less provenThe attributes of high-temperature electrolyzers make them especially attractive in industrial use cases (e.g. steel, chemicals..) where heat can be recovered and integrated in the hydrogen production cycle It isn't easy to win in manufacturing in Europe, which makes it even more important to be at the forefront of technology At the end of the episode, Florence leaves us with some golden career (and life) advice - "listen to your intuition, and take risks"

In this episode,  David Jaramillo, Co-founder and CTO at Verne, explains how Verne's technology innovation enables cost-effective clean hydrogen storage and refueling to decarbonize heavy-duty transport. Verne's unique storage technology cry-compression enables a higher energy density than liquefied or pressurized (up to 700 bar) hydrogen at at least half the cost. 

Sheldon Kimber, CEO and Founder of Intersect Power, demystifies hydrogen project development. Some of his golden rules and insights on effective project development include:1️⃣ Innovative financing for large projects is typically2️⃣ Not every long-term contract is a good contract3️⃣ The current “flight to quality” for financiers leads to a consolidation in the project development market4️⃣ Hydrogen deployment is much more than just a technology game. The business model matters!Nuggets of inspiration

“Some companies see it as an existential thread, we see it as a growth opportunity.”David Burns, VP of Clean Energy at Linde, sheds light on Linde's journey in hydrogen from legacy to pioneering new tech. Some of the key insights are:1️⃣ Linde can build on its decades of experience in hydrogen to catalyze the clean hydrogen industry2️⃣ For short-distance transport, David sees potential in hydrogen pipelines where possible and liquified hydrogen in other cases.3️⃣ For long-distance, intercontinental transport David sees potential in hydrogen carriers incl. methanol and ammonia4️⃣ David points to ammonia's potential as energy carrier, not necessarily hydrogen carrier, by finding use-cases for ammonia directly”5️⃣ To keep costs down, the best option is still to limit the need to transport hydrogen. This is the concept behind the regional US hydrogen hubsNugget of inspiration

Commercial aviation has been identified as a contributor of greenhouse emissions, and is perhaps one of the most difficult industries to decarbonize--but there is a plan! Amanda Simpson, Vice President of Airbus Americas for Research and Technology and Head of Sustainability, talks about the options and opportunities within the aviation industry which will help achieve the goal of net-zero carbon aviation by 2050. Listeners will gain insight into the technological challenges, development timelines, and infrastructure impacts of potential solutions that will influence the aerospace industry.  

"Getting to net zero is the defining challenge and opportunity of the 21st century..." In this episode, we learn from Dr. Arun Majumdar,  Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability about the exciting and challenging times in energy today. Dr. Majumdar shares his perspective on where hydrogen should and should not play a role in our energy transition. Lastly, he talks about the role the Doerr School aims to play in this transition as well as what every institution and every individual across the world can do to help us move in the right direction. 

Agriculture-related emissions account for 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. How will hydrogen fuel our path to net-zero agriculture? In our 9th episode, Lorenzo Rosa, Principal Investigator at Carnegie Institution for Science and Assistant Professor (by courtesy) in the School of Sustainability at Stanford University, explains how hydrogen and ammonia will help us decarbonize the agriculture industry to feed the world sustainably

Want to find out how to decarbonize industry through hydrogen with existing infrastructure today? All of that while producing a valuable carbon by-product? Learn from Mothusi Pahl, VP of Business Development and Government Affairs at Modern Electron in our 8th episode.Spoiler alert: This episode has an on-the-field component to it! 

In this episode, we learn from Professor Stefan Reichelstein, Emeritus Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Professor at the Department of Business Administration at the University of Mannheim. Internationally known for his research in economics, Professor Reichelstein demystifies what it will take to get to cost-effective clean hydrogen 

To put it in Bill Gates' words, Ken is phenomenal at translating deeply scientific concepts for people without scientific expertise. Ken Caldeira is Senior Scientist at Breakthrough Energy and Staff Scientist at Carnegie Institution for Science. As an atmospheric scientist, he demystifies the climate impact of hydrogen leakage. Under the motto "I like to say that the questions we ask are driven by our values, the answers we get should be independent of our values”, he brings a valuable unbiased scientific perspective to the topic. 

1-1-1 Hydrogen cost of $1 per 1 kg in 1 decade. Can we get there?“No One Can Whistle A Symphony, It Takes An Orchestra to Play It”As Director for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DoE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, Dr. Sunita Satyapal is often referred to as the mother Theresa of hydrogen for her steadfast commitment to the industry over decades of ups and downs.When President Biden asked the Secretary of Energy what more they could do that advance the energy transition, the DoE came up with its bold Hydrogen Shot (1-1-1), seeking to reduce the cost of hydrogen to $1/kg. Bullish about the industry, Sunita points out that, unlike many “false” turning points in the industry in the past, we are at a unique point in history where the hydrogen industry is no longer a decade away.

Learn from Tom Linebarger, Executive Chairman of the Board and previous CEO of Cummins on the role of hydrogen in decarbonizing the power sector. Tom puts hydrogen into perspective compared to alternative clean power solutions and stressed the importance of a global carbon tax to advance our clean economy. We end on a personal note and learn about the importance of "life outside of work" and "providing a hand-up for others"About what a little bit of serendipity, a lot of hard work and a lot of support from giants can mean... 

Did you know that the mass of steel produced yearly is four times the mass of humans on this planet? Did you know that the steel industry accounts for almost 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions? In this episode, we learn from Assistant Professor Leora Dresselhaus-Marais. She leads a lab at Stanford focused on decarbonizing this massive and ever-growing sector. 

Did you know that in 1825, none other than Jules Verne predicted that one day we would use water as a fuel? In this podcast, we learn from Dr. Ilham Kadri, the CEO of multi-billion dollar global chemicals company Solvay. Guiding Solvay through its sustainability transition, she experiences the growing role of hydrogen in our decarbonized world first-hand. While Solvay is technology and use-case agnostic, its materials advance the industry across the entire value chain.  Don't miss Ilham's golden nuggets of wisdom at the end of the podcast (19:30)If an ambition doesn't scare you, it's not ambitious enoughNever waste a good crisis - take the opportunity to emerge strongerIQ is a commodity, EQ is what will make the differenceInvite diversity to the dance and dance with it 

In this podcast, Professor Jaramillo gives an overview of the different clean hydrogen production pathways and use cases and explains the growing role of hydrogen in a decarbonized world.  Additionally, don't miss Professor Jaramillo's career advice (34:30) and find out who inspires him most and why (43:15) at the end of the podcast.  Today, Hydrogen is a very cheap chemical feedstock and already a crucial molecule, we depend on it to live (E.g fertilisers) There won't be just one clean hydrogen technology that solves all the problems, we need progress across all  Electrolyzers have been around for centuries. The game-changer today is cheap renewable electricity. This comes with a bright future for electrolysis to enable cost-effective green hydrogen productionIt is always important to create as many options as possible in the fast-evolving landscape of clean energy The range of use cases for hydrogen is expanding with hydrogen's growing role in a decarbonized economy. New use cases include steel, aviation, road transportation… Within electrolysis, the different technologies (PEM, Alkaline, SOEC…) each have a role to play