Will Hydrogen Look Like Solar?

09/16/21 • 57 min

The road to solar glory has been littered with failed companies -- the ones you may know (Solyndra) and hundreds you probably do not.

Will the burgeoning hydrogen space follow a similar bumpy road? Hydrogen is at a similar phase of market and technological maturity, with similar levels of hype.

In this episode, Shayle talks to Raffi Garabedian, the former CTO of pioneering solar manufacturer First Solar and now the co-founder and CEO of Electric Hydrogen Co. (Disclosure: Shayle just led Energy Impact Partners’ investment in the company).

First Solar was one of the very few Western companies that survived the price pressure, commoditization and trade dynamics in the solar industry during its early growth phase. How did First Solar do it? And what does that tell us about surviving the heady-but-volatile hydrogen space?

Shayle and Raffi dig into that history, covering First Solar’s bet on mass-producible cadmium telluride technology, as well as the risky step of retooling manufacturing.

They also cover the parallels to hydrogen: How does a novel technology compete against dominant incumbents? How does that technology navigate the boom-and-bust cycles of an emerging market? How can an executive team pick the most useful metric for its creative teams?

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The road to solar glory has been littered with failed companies -- the ones you may know (Solyndra) and hundreds you probably do not.

Will the burgeoning hydrogen space follow a similar bumpy road? Hydrogen is at a similar phase of market and technological maturity, with similar levels of hype.

Shayle and Raffi dig into that history, covering First Solar’s bet on mass-producible cadmium telluride technology, as well as the risky step of retooling manufacturing.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Previous Episode

Climate Tech Brings in $16 Billion. Where's It Going?

In the world of venture capital, climate tech is about as hot as it gets. In the first two quarters of 2021, climate tech companies raised $16B from VCs. New designated funds are announced regularly, startup valuations are sky high, and times are frothy. It's never been a better time to be a climate tech entrepreneur.

It's easy to get lost in the noise -- so what does the hard data say? How much investment are we talking about, really? Where is it coming from, and who is it going to? And what does that tell founders about how to operate and grow their businesses?

To answer these questions, Shayle turns to Climate Tech VC, the leading newsletter on climate and innovation. Co-founders Kimberly Zou and Sophie Purdom have gathered and crunched the data in a new report.

Sophie is a sustainability business practitioner and early-stage climate investor, and was a co-founder of the microbial fertilizer company Kula Bio. Kimberly is an investor at Energy Impact Partners, where Shayle is a partner.

Shayle, Sophie and Kimberly define the space, look at hotspots, and discuss where the influx of capital is coming from. Also, be sure to check out the job board and investor list that Clean Tech VC maintains.

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Next Episode

Microsoft’s $1B Climate Innovation Fund

In January 2020, Brad Smith, the President of Microsoft, announced that the company had set a target of becoming carbon negative by 2030.

How does the company plan to do it? What does going carbon negative actually entail?

Brandon Middaugh, the Director of Microsoft’s $1B Climate Innovation Fund, comes on the show to explain. The fund invests in various climate technologies as a part of the company’s overall climate efforts. Investments in its portfolio cover carbon removal, carbon marketplace innovation and the circular economy, among others.

(The fund’s first investment was in Energy Impact Partners, where Shayle is a partner).

Shayle and Brandon break down the sources of the company’s emissions, its climate strategy, and building a climate “fee” into the company’s operations to funnel back into the fund.

They talk about the the need to scale promising new technologies far faster than than even wind and solar, discussing what Microsoft can do to support wide-spread adoption. Plus, Brandon highlights some of the investments she's excited about so far.

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