CleanTech Talk — Tesla, Solar, Battery, Climate, AI, EV, & Other Tech News & Analysis

Electriciens sans frontières (Electricians Without Borders or EWB) is a French international aid nonprofit organisation, which has impacted the lives of millions of people over the last 30 years in more than 40 countries. Targeting the most isolated and vulnerable, it improves their access to safe, sustainable, and clean energy and water, for public services (education, health) and income-generating activities. As a result of winning the 2020 Zayed Sustainability Prize in the Energy category, EWB has been able to extend clean energy access to 23,000 rural, low-income Madagascar residents and beyond. In this episode, CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan interviews Tania Chauvin, Senior Project Manager, Electriciens Sans Frontières.

Fires happen. Battery fires happen. Mishaal SyedNaveed, Fire Protection Engineer at Wartsila, and Noah Ryder, Managing Partner at the Fire & Risk Alliance, discuss how to do more to prevent fires at grid-scale battery storage facilities.

In this episode of CleanTech Talk, Jo Borras explores the secret sauce behind RecycLiCo’s patented black mass recycling technology with CEO Zarko Meseldzija, who highlights the importance of efficiency, circularity, and urban mining.

Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance, talks with CleanTechnica's Scott Cooney about how to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030.

Julia Souder, Executive Director of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council and Chair of the Global Renewables Alliance, talks with CleanTechnica about the importance and diversity of long-duration energy storage — and much more.

CleanTechnica's Scott Cooney talks with Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), about a new goal to nearly triple renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030, including where it originated.

Skanska is deploying the largest zero-emission, electric excavator in the world over in Los Angeles. Listen to Mason Ford, Director of Sustainability and Equipment Services Skanska USA Civil, discussing the special electric vehicle with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan.

Get the details about the state of UL certification and safety within the eBike industry from David Duecker, CEO of Denago eBikes. Dave will share information about UL2271 and UL2849 tests and what they mean for consumers and bicycle retailers. We’ll also cover safety and charging tips that apply to all e-mobility devices.

Jeff Granato, President, CEO, & Co-Founder of Iontra Inc, Daniel Konopka, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of Iontra Inc, and CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan step into the world of charge control optimization to discuss how Iontra is delivering dramatic battery performance improvements without requiring battery cell and pack redesign, and creating a more sustainable and secure battery supply chain.

Siemens Foundation CEO David Etzwiler talks with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan about the foundation's new $30 million initiative in the US "to drive inclusive workforce development in the electric vehicle charging sector," the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and more.

What is community solar? Why is community solar truly unique and growing in popularity? How much can community solar grow? Ben Frank, Senior Director of National Sales—Commercial & Industrial at SolarEdge Technologies, and Stuart Flanagan, Principal at Newport Renewables, talk with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan about these matters.

What is happening globally in EV battery mineral mining? How is the US Inflation Reduction Act affecting the market? Will McDonough, co-founder and CEO of EMG Advisors, talks with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan about this matter as it relates to EV batteries. They also talk copper, copper, copper.

CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan talks with UnThink Solar Founder Tor Valenza about his fun new-ish podcast "Probably True Solar Stories" as well as communicating the benefits of solar power for the past 13–14 years.

Mark Z. Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University and director of its Atmosphere/Energy Program, explains why "direct air capture" is a ridiculous waste of money and even counterproductive when it comes to cutting CO2 emissions.

CleanTechnica's Zach Shahan and Paul Fosse discuss Tesla demand and sales in 2023, 2024, and up through 2030. They discuss dropping the price of the Model 3 and Model Y, the long awaited "Model 2"/"Model C," the Tesla Cybertruck, model variety, mass-market adoption trends and questions, and much more.

Roger Atkins, CEO and founder of Electric Vehicles Outlook, dives deep into EV batteries and the EV revolution with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan. They talk lithium supplies, batteries chemistries, Chinese vs. US vs. European battery & EV policies, and much more!

CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan talks Luz Karime Sanchez Mina, Field Service Engineer at ABB E-Mobility, and Pam Langley, Service Account Manager — Transit at ABB E-Mobility, about advancing the EV revolution, life at ABB E-Mobility, and being women in male-heavy tech sectors.

Michael Liedtke, Chief Commercial Officer at Zeta Energy, talks to CleanTechnica about the company's lithium-sulfur battery breakthrough and the potential and plans for large-scale lithium-sulfur battery commercialization.

Polaris wowed the powersports world with its high-performance, ultra-capable electric Ranger last summer, promising utility customers more of — well, everything that a gas version could deliver. Now, it's finally on its way to customers, and Polaris head of EVs is here to talk us through it.

Lance Sabo, Senior Vice President of Service & Support for ABB E-Mobility in the Americas, talks with CleanTechnica about the US EV charging market, maintenance & service of EV charging stations, and the big new NEVI program.

RACEnergy cofounders Gauthum Maheswaran and Arun Sreyas talk with CleanTechnica about their innovative battery swapping technology for 3-wheelers (tuk-tuks) and why this is truly a promising path forward for the industry.

Amprius CTO Constantin Ionel Stefan talks with CleanTechnica about progress with silicon-anode batteries, the future of EV batteries, and more. In particular, we discuss increasing energy density for silicon-anode batteries, scaling up the technology, Amprius battery use in electric vehicles such as long-flying drones.

CleanTechnica's Jo Borras sits down with Joe Annotti, Vice President and Partner at GNA, to talk about the many federal and state government incentives helping to accelerate the shift towards zero-emissions commercial fleets. GNA has already helped secure over $1 billion in grants for America's truck and bus fleets, and they're just getting started!

Celina Mikolajczak worked with Tesla for more than 6 years as a top battery engineer and manager. She's also spent time at Panasonic, Uber, and Quantumscape. Now she's Chief Battery Technology Officer at Lyten, and she's excited about bringing lithium-sulfur batteries into a new era, one in which they'll be critical to electric flight, electric heavy-duty trucking, and more. She got CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan extremely excited about this field, as well.

We sit down with JackRabbit CEO Jason Kenagy to talk about the unique micromobility niche filled by this micro-ebike, what we mean by accessible mobility, safety, and how much is really enough. (Then Jason puts 5 e-bikes in his Tesla.)

Ben Frank of SolarEdge and Lewis Butler of GRNE talk with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan about agrivoltaics — trends in the art and science of combining solar PV power with farming. This is a truly fascinating episode. Tune in!

Will McDonough, co-founder and CEO of EMG Advisors, talks with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan about investing in the minerals critical to EV batteries and the EV revolution. Tune in to get an insight into one clear approach to investing in the future!

The legendary Italdesign's Laura De Martini recently sat down with CleanTechnica's Jo Borras to discuss Italdesign's Climb-E autonomous transportation urban concept, how robotaxis will make cars more like living rooms, and blurring the line between living space and mobility.

Part 2 of: The CleanTech Talk guest today is Dilip Chandrasekaran, SVP of Swedish firm Kanthal, recently promoted to head of business development for the global steel segment and previously head of R&D and technology for several years. He’s been in industrial heat in steel and other segments for years since his materials sciences PhD. Kanthal works globally to assist firms to electrify industrial heat, and Dilip knows the problems and the opportunities.

The CleanTech Talk guest today is Dilip Chandrasekaran, SVP of Swedish firm Kanthal, recently promoted to head of business development for the global steel segment and previously head of R&D and technology for several years. He’s been in industrial heat in steel and other segments for years since his materials sciences PhD. Kanthal works globally to assist firms to electrify industrial heat, and Dilip knows the problems and the opportunities.

Part 2 of: Arthur Erickson is the founder and CEO of Hylio. A Texas native, he took his aerospace degree and moved into drone technology heavily. Potentially 15% of America’s farms have agricultural drones already as spotters or sprayers, and Hylio is big in the sprayer side already, delivering a product which is competing with DJI and John Deere very well. The conversation covered precision agriculture, radical energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, the competition, and the huge opportunities in agtech. Have a listen.

Arthur Erickson is the founder and CEO of Hylio. A Texas native, he took his aerospace degree and moved into drone technology heavily. Potentially 15% of America’s farms have agricultural drones already as spotters or sprayers, and Hylio is big in the sprayer side already, delivering a product which is competing with DJI and John Deere very well. The conversation covered precision agriculture, radical energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, the competition, and the huge opportunities in agtech. Have a listen.

Bosch has been one of the most influential mechanical and electrical engineering firms of the last hundred years, and its work appears in just about everyone's cars, factories, and even kitchens. Now, it's also in your e-bikes, where Bosch is putting that cutting-edge expertise to work making e-bikes riders, and their homes, safer. Bosch General Manager of E-bike Systems, Claudia Wasko, joins Jo Borrás to talk e-bike batteries, li-ion batteries, and more!

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on clean technology and the pressing issue of climate change with author and expert, Michele Wucker. In this podcast, we delve into the concepts of "gray rhinos" and "black swans" as they relate to the current and future state of our planet. Wucker, author of "The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore," brings a unique perspective on how to navigate the overwhelming and often ignored risks of climate change. Tune in to gain valuable insights and actionable solutions for a sustainable future.

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on clean technology and the pressing issue of climate change with author and expert Michele Wucker. In this podcast, we delve into the concepts of "gray rhinos" and "black swans" as they relate to the current and future state of our planet. Wucker, author of "The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore," brings a unique perspective on how to navigate the overwhelming and often ignored risks of climate change. Tune in to gain valuable insights and actionable solutions for a sustainable future.

FREYR CEO Tom Jensen talks at length with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan about its plans for battery gigafactories in Europe and the USA, these regions catching up to China in EV battery production (including the battery supply chain), and innovating in EV battery development and production.

The EV revolution needs one thing above all others: batteries. And batteries need lithium. Summit Nanotech CEO and Founder Amanda Hall talks with CleanTechnica about what she and her team are doing to help bring more lithium to the EV battery market.

Almost every decent electric car — and even some indecent ones — has a long waitlist these days. How many people are really just waiting for an electric car and delaying a new car purchase? How much is the auto industry being affected by this and blaming it on other things?

What do EVs from GM, Ford, Volvo, BMW, Rivian, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz have in common? If they came with a Level 2 home charger, Qmerit probably installed it. As the go-to installation partner for just about everyone in the EV space (except, of course, Tesla), Qmerit has a unique insight into the challenges facing a wide spectrum of EV buyers. Today, Qmerit founder and CEO Tracy Price talks about EV home charging with our own Jo Borras, and explains why so many OEMs have turned to them for help.

Are you tired of hearing about big cleantech projects that never seem to come to fruition? Join us as we sit down with Bent Flyvbjerg, first BT Chair of major program management at Oxford, co-author of the upcoming book "How Big Things Get Done," and leading expert in the field of project management. He'll share his extensive research and data analysis on the methods and strategies used to successfully plan, execute and deliver large, complex projects such as infrastructure and transportation. Not only will he provide insights on how to overcome common challenges and pitfalls, but he'll also present a set of heuristics, or rules of thumb, that can be used to simplify and improve decision-making in large projects. Find out why wind and solar projects deliver to schedule, budget, and benefits so often, and nuclear projects so rarely. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to successfully deliver big cleantech projects.

Are you tired of hearing about big cleantech projects that never seem to come to fruition? Join us as we sit down with Bent Flyvbjerg, first BT Chair of major program management at Oxford, co-author of the upcoming book "How Big Things Get Done," and leading expert in the field of project management. He'll share his extensive research and data analysis on the methods and strategies used to successfully plan, execute and deliver large, complex projects such as infrastructure and transportation. Not only will he provide insights on how to overcome common challenges and pitfalls, but he'll also present a set of heuristics, or rules of thumb, that can be used to simplify and improve decision-making in large projects. Find out why wind and solar projects deliver to schedule, budget, and benefits so often, and nuclear projects so rarely. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to successfully deliver big cleantech projects.

Avangrid and ev.energy talk about smart EV charging, and how a smarter grid can be more resilient and responsive than you might think.

Accela’s Amber D’Ottavio, Vice President of Product Management, joins us to discuss their new rooftop solar power permitting platform that helps contractors and municipalities get on the same page and make greener choices.

CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan interviews Mangrove Lithium CEO and cofounder Dr. Saad Dara about lithium resources, lithium refining, and localization of the EV battery supply chain.

This is part two of our interview with Dr. Jane Meila, CEO and co-founder of Harvest Thermal, a growing San Francisco Bay Area manufacturer and distributor of heat pump based home heating systems. Michael Barnard explores Melia’s experiences in fluid dynamics, quantum cybersecurity and wind turbine flow modeling before explore Harvest Thermal’s solution. That solution intelligently uses a hot water tank with a heat pump to time shift the lowest cost, lowest emissions electricity into optimized hot water and heating for homes. They’ve just inked a big deal with BlocPower and are expanding rapidly out of their pocket of the future into the rest of the USA.

Dr. Jane Meila is the CEO and co-founder of Harvest Thermal, a growing San Francisco Bay Area manufacturer and distributor of heat pump based home heating systems. Michael Barnard explores Melia’s experiences in fluid dynamics, quantum cybersecurity and wind turbine flow modeling before explore Harvest Thermal’s solution. That solution intelligently uses a hot water tank with a heat pump to time shift the lowest cost, lowest emissions electricity into optimized hot water and heating for homes. They’ve just inked a big deal with BlocPower and are expanding rapidly out of their pocket of the future into the rest of the USA. This is part one of a two-part interview.

Brian Menell, CEO and Chairman of TechMet, talks with CleanTechnica CEO Zach Shahan about the lithium market, broader EV battery mineral market, and US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This is actually perhaps the best discussion we've had on these matters, thanks in good part to TechMet's unique position in the market investing in lithium mines and lithium mining startups.

Dianne Martinez, Chair of East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), talks EV subsidies, EV charging infrastructure, public health equity, and more.