A Positive Climate

Nick chats with Mike Lazelle and Dr Rob Turner, co-founders of Kwetta, to discuss their groundbreaking approach to electrifying heavy vehicles.&nbsp;Kwetta has just raised ~$17 million AUD in Series A funding from the likes of Blackbird and Virescent Ventures to address the “grid issue” for EV charging. And they’ve given us a podcast exclusive!Their innovative chargers connect directly to the high-voltage grid, providing up to 10 times more power, cutting installation times by up to 70%, and avoiding costly grid upgrades.We dive into:Why electrification is the key to near term emissions reductionWhy the hardest part of electrification is no longer the vehicles or batteries - it’s getting power from the grid.How Kwetta’s technology solves grid bottlenecks while being a “good grid citizen.”How a small, world class team from Napier New Zealand (founded with CEO Dustin Murdock) is competing with global giantsHow much Canterbury Beer was consumed at Rob and Mike’s first meeting(00:00) Introduction(04:02) Meet Kwetta(08:21) A Beer Fuelled Origin Story(12:27) Kwetta's Breakthrough(14:38) Case Study: Electrifying a Gas Station(22:21) Manufacturing in Napier(26:02) The China Threat(30:35) Revenue Model and Market(33:19) Vehicle To Grid(38:04) Traction and Expansion PIans(41:44) Uncomfortable QuestionsKwetta is about to announce their first sites in Australia so it's great timing to bring them on!Find out more at: www.kwetta.com**If you like the show, please subscribe/review/rate or comment. We really appreciate your support!You can sign up to our mailing list at www.apositiveclimate.com, say [email protected] or follow us on https://au.linkedin.com/company/a-positive-climate or www.instagram.com/apositiveclimatepodcast.&nbsp;**About the podcastA Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference.&nbsp;Hosted by Australian climate technology investors and experts Nick Zeltzer and Alex McIntosh. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.The podcast charted in 2022, 2023 and 2024 as the top Australian made podcast in Apple’s Technology podcast charts.Previous guests have included innovators and technologists from JET Charge, 5B, Amazon, Zoomo, V2Food, Vow, Sea Forest, Great Wrap, Infravision, Zero Co, Hysata, Sicona, OneSmallStep, Tenacious Ventures, CarsGuide, AMSL Aero, Nori, EnergyLab, MicroTau and many more.Music by the late, great Nick WeaverProduction by our hero Mark Spencer from <a...

Nick chats to Simon Holmes à Court about nuclear energy in Australia.“When are you covering nuclear?” is one of the most common questions we’ve received from APC listeners.So we finally went there. And it was great to have Simon on to explore it all before we go back to our startup roots next episode with our THIRD pitch fest.&nbsp;&nbsp;(00:00) Intro(03:55) What people get wrong about nuclear&nbsp;(05:38) Simon’s background(07:27) Global Nuclear Energy Landscape(15:03) Safety Concerns(20:23) Waste (26:10) Construction Time (32:39) Cost and Generation Profile (39:21) Flexibility (40:48) Economics (50:02) Political and Regulatory Challenges (01:00:42) Uncomfortable QuestionsTo ultimately answer the question: does Australia need nuclear energy?There was so much to cover we didn’t have time to explore all the questions, including the role of AI and covering the next 15 of the transition in more detail. Excuses for new episodes! **If you like the show, please subscribe/review/rate or comment. We really appreciate your support!You can sign up to our mailing list at www.apositiveclimate.com, say [email protected] or follow us on https://au.linkedin.com/company/a-positive-climate or www.instagram.com/apositiveclimatepodcast.&nbsp;**About the podcastA Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference.&nbsp;Hosted by Australian climate technology investors and experts Nick Zeltzer and Alex McIntosh. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more.The podcast rated in 2022 and 2023 as the top Australian made podcast in Apple’s Technology podcast charts.Previous guests have included innovators and technologists from JET Charge, Goterra, 5B, Amazon, Zoomo, V2Food, Vow, Sea Forest, Great Wrap, Infravision, Zero Co, Hysata, Sicona, OneSmallStep, Tenacious Ventures, CarsGuide, AMSL Aero, Nori, EnergyLab, MicroTau and many more.Music by the late, great Nick WeaverProduction by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media

That’s a wrap! It's our annual review episode, with Alex and Nick covering all the climate technology news from 2023. The hottest year on record brings a reminder that we need to be doubling down on the right solutions, so we hope you enjoy our reflections about what we think matters. Thanks again to all you listening out there! It’s been a big year for us - where we hit the Top 5 in tech podcasts (in Malawi) - and we’ve loved hearing from many of you throughout the season. Chapters (00:00) Intro (01:20) We announce the Pitch Fest Winner! (02:23) Our Years Reviewed (05:32) Large Scale Solar, Batteries and Global Developments (including Alex’s strange love of steel mills) (21:32) Nuclear Energy (!) (27:55) APC Season Portfolio Review (38:41) BIG PREDICTIONS Companies mentioned: Microtau, All G Foods, Samsara, Uluu, Novalith, SunDrive, Jolt Charge, Infravision, Nourish Ingredients, Goterra, Antora Energy, ahem Positive Ventures, JET Charge, Sicona, AMSL Aero, Renewable Metals, SeaForest, GridMo, Hysata, MGA Thermal, Eku Energy, Akaysha Energy, Zenobe, Raygen, Vast Solar, ThyssenKrupp, NuScale, and the EV company formerly known as “Build Your Dreams” See you next year! *** As always if you don’t want to miss any eps, hit that follow button! We’d also love it if you gave us a review / rating on Apple or Spotify! It helps other listeners find us. You can sign up to our mailing list, say [email protected] or follow us at www.instagram.com/apositiveclimatepodcast and https://au.linkedin.com/company/a-positive-climate. ** About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. Previous guests have included innovators from JET Charge, 5B, Amazon, Zoomo, V2Food, All G Foods, Vow, Sea Forest, Great Wrap, Infravision, Zero Co, Hysata, Sicona, OneSmallStep, Tenacious Ventures, CarsGuide, AMSL Aero, Nori, EnergyLab, MicroTau and many more. Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media Social Media, Comms and PR by Alistair PerkinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Alex is away so Nick is let loose on the podcast! Nick chats to Christiaan Jordaan, CEO and founder of Sicona. Sound familiar? We interviewed Christiaan in back November 2021 in one of our all-time listener favourite episodes: "Australia's Role in the Battery Revolution". Since then Sicona has come a long way! Fresh off their recent $22m funding round for their battery technology we thought we'd cover the big issues since our previous chat: How the US Inflation Reduction Act has changed the game for climate startups (2:05) How Australia should respond (9:11) How the rise of Artificial Intelligence has affected climate startups like Sicona (12:29) Christiaan's HOTTEST TAKES on venture capital and funding climate solutions (15:38); and The inside scoop on Christiaan's recent funding round (21:28) In case you missed our last episode with Christiaan, here's a quick recap on Christiaan and his business (or you can have a a listen here) Sicona aims to revolutionise the battery world by improving battery efficiency with their unique anode materials, a technology that can be used with existing lithium ion batteries. Christiaan is also the co-founder of Novalith, a company that uses carbon dioxide as a reagent in extracting lithium. We have an episode featuring Novalith where we spoke to his Co-founder Steven Vassiloudis. We are proudly supported by Bank Australia (www.bankaust.com.au). *** As always if you don’t want to miss any eps, hit that follow button! We’d also love it if you gave us a review / rating on Apple or Spotify! It helps other listeners find us. You can sign up to our mailing list, say [email protected] or follow us at www.instagram.com/apositiveclimatepodcast and https://au.linkedin.com/company/a-positive-climate. ** About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. Previous guests have included innovators from JET Charge, 5B, Amazon, Zoomo, V2Food, All G Foods, Vow, Sea Forest, Great Wrap, Infravision, Zero Co, Hysata, Sicona, OneSmallStep, Tenacious Ventures, CarsGuide, AMSL Aero, Nori, EnergyLab, MicroTau and many more. Music by the late, great Nick...

We chat with Vince Allen from SunDrive, a Sydney-based startup on a mission to transform Australia into a solar manufacturing powerhouse. In 2021, SunDrive made headlines by developing the world's most efficient commercial-sized solar cell. Not only that - by swapping silver with copper as the conductive material their products could be lower cost too. With over $30 million in funding from high-profile investors like Blackbird, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Main Sequence Ventures, Malcolm Turnbull, and CEFC/Virescent Ventures, they're a force to be reckoned with. We loved this chat and especially Vince's love of solar, passion for Australia's great opportunity and also his toast analogy to explain how a solar panel actually works. We are proudly supported by Bank Australia (www.bankaust.com.au). ** Don't miss out on future episodes—hit that follow button! Your reviews and ratings on Apple and Spotify really help us reach more listeners, so we'd love your support. You can sign up to our mailing list, say [email protected] or follow us at www.instagram.com/apositiveclimatepodcast and https://au.linkedin.com/company/a-positive-climate. ** Chapters(00:00) Intro: Nick and Alex set the scene (Bonus: Nick's Rant) (6:17) The Unstoppable March of Solar Energy (10:34) The SunDrive Origin Story, Vince's Love Affair with Solar (14:27) The Toast Analogy: Where SunDrive Fits in the Solar Ecosystem (23:49) What's Next for SunDrive (25:49) Making the Case for Australian Solar Manufacturing (31:39) Australia's Competitive Edge in Solar (39:01) The Transformative Potential of Low-Cost Solar *** About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. Previous guests have included innovators from JET Charge, 5B, Amazon, Zoomo, V2Food, All G Foods, Vow, Sea Forest, Great Wrap, Infravision, Zero Co, Hysata, Sicona, OneSmallStep, Tenacious Ventures, CarsGuide, AMSL Aero, Nori, EnergyLab, MicroTau and many more. Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media Social Media, Comms and PR by Alistair Perkins See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick and Alex chat with Julia Reisser of Uluu, a startup based in Western Australia creating biodegradable plastic made from seaweed. This is episode two of our PLASTIC DOUBLE HEADER, this time tackling the plastic problem from the very source - the production! Plastic is a very real problem we need to address and unfortunately, given the way we currently live our lives it's not going anywhere fast. We are proudly supported by Bank Australia (www.bankaust.com.au). ** If you enjoyed this episode, remember to check out the first in our plastic DOUBLE HEADER with Samsara Eco - a Canberra based startup with unique technology that can allow plastic to become infinitely recyclable. As always if you don’t want to miss any eps, hit that subscribe button! We’d also love it if you gave us a rating on Apple or Spotify! It helps other listeners find us. You can sign up to our mailing list, say [email protected] or follow us at www.instagram.com/apositiveclimatepodcast and https://au.linkedin.com/company/a-positive-climate. We are proudly supported by Bank Australia (www.bankaust.com). ** About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. Previous guests have included innovators from JET Charge, 5B, Samsara Eco, Amazon, Zoomo, V2Food, All G Foods, Vow, Sea Forest, Great Wrap, Infravision, Zero Co, Hysata, Sicona, OneSmallStep, Tenacious Ventures, CarsGuide, AMSL Aero, Nori, EnergyLab, MicroTau and many more. Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media Social Media, Comms and PR by Alistair PerkinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stop The Burps! Nick and Alex have a chat about using less dairy. We then interview Jan Pacas of All G Foods - a Sydney-based company which has raised A$50 million to spearhead a global revolution to create real dairy, without the cows or the emissions (8:00) The technology is called precision fermentation and it could soon enough upend the $1 trillion dairy industry. ** If you enjoy the show, we’d love it if you subscribed and/or gave us a review on Apple or Spotify! It really helps other listeners find us. Sign up to our mailing list via our website, say [email protected] or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn. We are proudly supported by Bank Australia (www.bankaust.com.au). About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more. If you’re passionate about the latest sustainable technology, the environment, or are just keen to know more about what’s going on in Australia to tackle climate change, this podcast is for you. Previous guests have included legends from JET Charge, 5B, Amazon, Zoomo, V2Food, Vow, Sea Forest, Great Wrap, Infravision, Zero Co, Hysata, Sicona, OneSmallStep, Tenacious Ventures, CarsGuide, AMSL Aero, Nori, EnergyLab, MicroTau and many more. Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media Social Media, Comms and PR by Alistair PerkinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re BACK with our best season yet! Launched on 27 June 2023, we'll release interviews fortnightly, speaking with Australia’s very best startups in the global climate transition. They’ve got game changing sustainable technology. They’ve raised hundreds of millions of dollars. And they’re ready to turn the world’s biggest problem into Australia’s great opportunity. Low carbon aviation. Cow free dairy. Sustainable lithium mining. Plastic recycling. Next generation solar. The future of EV charging. And much more. Join us to learn more from leaders building what could be billion dollar businesses. Press “Follow” in your podcast app of choice, share with your friends and follow along with us on LinkedIn, Instagram or via our mailing list at www.apositiveclimate.com This season is brought to you by Bank Australia (www.bankaust.com.au). If you're a long time fan of the show we'd love it if you spread the word About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more. Previous guests have included innovators and technologists from JET Charge, 5B, Amazon, Zoomo, V2Food, Vow, Sea Forest, Great Wrap, Infravision, Zero Co, Hysata, Sicona, OneSmallStep, Tenacious Ventures, CarsGuide, AMSL Aero, Nori and many more. If you’re passionate about the latest sustainable technology, the environment, or are just keen to know more about what’s going on in Australia to tackle climate change, this podcast is for you! Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.MediaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick and Alex hear pitches from TEN of Australia’s up and coming climate startups! This episode brings you something a bit different. We’ve partnered with our friends at EnergyLab (Australia’s leading climate solutions accelerator) to hold a pitch speed round featuring their most recent startup cohort. The rules: A 60 second opening free pitch and 10 minutes max for each startup. That’s it! If you want to help the startups get in touch with them via the links below AND if you enjoyed the episode we’d love it if you submitted a review on Apple Podcasts. The startups (drumroll!) Conrytech (3:19) - Reinventing Airconditioning (Sam Ringwaldt) Allegro Energy (11:25) - Long Duration Redox Flow Energy Storage (Fraser Hughson) Acacia (17:43) - The Sustainable Personal Finance Platform (Anil Sagaram) Raaise (25:59) - The Platform Powering Climate Startups (Amy Carter-James) National Renewable Network (34:50)- Solar + Battery Solutions at No Upfront Cost (Alan Hunter) Farmbot (43:08) - Remote Water Management Made Easy (Andrew Coppin) Solstice AI (51:02) - Intelligent Solar Forecasting (Julian De Hoog) ValAi (59:36)- Unlocking Sustainable Buildings (Allys Todd) Ecojoule Energy (1:10:00) - Enhancing the Grid for Renewables (Mike Wishart) Economical Energy (1:15:46) - The VIPER: Gravity Based Energy Storage (Matthew Forest) About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by leading Australian climate technology experts and investors Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. A Positive Climate recently charted as the #1 locally produced podcast in the Australian Technology charts for both Apple and Spotify. Look out for our prior episodes of optimistic content covering everything from: hydrogen, lithium mining, plant-based and cell-based meats, electric vehicles, drones, cryptocurrency, solar energy, seaweed, electric bikes, edible waste-eating maggots, and much more. You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or send us a comment at [email protected] Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather JenkinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We chat to Paul Gambill from Nori about their carbon removal marketplace using blockchain technology. This is the second episode in our two-part series about whether crypto and blockchain can be a positive force for addressing climate change. In this one we cover: The role of (and challenges with) carbon offsets Carbon avoidance offsets vs carbon removal Nori’s carbon removal marketplace and the Nori token How Nori can help put a price on carbon The energy intensity dilemma of blockchain to date Regenerative Finance The curious world of seasteading More Links! A simple explainer of Nori via their whitepaper A fantastic overview on Youtube of “How Offsets Work” by Paul A collation of all the startups in the “Refi” space progressing blockchain enabled climate solutions www.Refidao.com How to support If you enjoyed the show we’d love your support with a rating/review on Spotify or Apple. You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or send us a comment at [email protected] About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An entertaining look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by leading Australian climate technology experts and investors Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. Look out for our prior episodes of optimistic content covering everything from: hydrogen, lithium mining, plant-based and cell-based meats, electric vehicles, drones, cryptocurrency, solar energy, seaweed, electric bikes, edible waste-eating maggots, and much more. If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you! Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather JenkinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick and Alex chat to Ned Ekins-Daukes from UNSW about their breakthrough to create solar energy in the dark. This is a wide ranging chat about how solar panels could generate all of Australia's electricity at night, where climate solutions come from, the role of UNSW and universities in creating them, the legend of Martin Green, how to commercialise early stage technology, and a little lesson on the correct way to pronounce “solar photovoltaic”. ** Hey! Can we ask a fave? If you are enjoying the pod, we’d love it if you subscribed and gave us a rating/review on Apple or Spotify! It really helps the show. You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or send us a comment at [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex provides a primer on hydrogen's role in our future clean economy and then we interview Tom Campey from Hysata (11:21) an Australian startup with a breakthrough electrolyser technology. ** If you enjoy the show, subscribe! We'd love it if you gave us a rating on Apple or Spotify! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or send us some comments at [email protected] ** Hydrogen gets a lot of hype in the media as a future technology, the “swiss army knife” for a decarbonised future. This week we chat with Tom Campey, Chief Commercial Officer from Hysata - a startup based out of Wollongong in Australia that has created the world's most efficient electrolyser technology (from the University of Wollongong). In the episode we cover: The basics of hydrogen - from our own hydrogen expert, Alex McIntosh The role of hydrogen - where will it win? How an electrolyser works How the Hysata electrolyser is a gamer changer, their journey to date and how they intend to commericalise their technology When will hydrogen become commercial? Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic Hysata’s article in Nature Michael Liebrich’s hydrogen ladder A video explainer of the Hysata technology About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more. If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you! Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather JenkinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lily Dempster from One Small Step chats to us about how to address your personal carbon footprint. Welcome to Season THREE of A Positive Climate! We’re excited to have a new season of another ten episodes, released fortnightly on Tuesdays in Australia. HIT THE FOLLOW / SUBSCRIBE button in your podcast app One Small Step is a mobile app that aims to be your personal sustainability coach. It provides you with tailored programs to help you cut your carbon footprint. It uses behavioural science to make green living simple, easy and fun. Lily has just moved over to the US to continue to scale the business. Give it a download! We wanted to bring Lily on not only to share what you can do but also how we should think about what to do. Should we feel guilty when we forget our keep cups? Should we procreate? The big questions! We cover a lot on this episode including: Tips and tricks to have less of an impact on the environment and climate Whether consumers can truly impact the needle on carbon emissions compared to big business The biggest sources of personal emissions Australia’s (unwanted) place near the top of the global carbon emitter leaderboard Carbon offsetting and donating to climate charities A speed round of submitted questions to Lily from our audience! If you enjoy the show, subscribe! You can also follow us: on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or say hi at [email protected] Some more reading if you’re interested in the topic https://founderspledge.com/stories/climate-and-lifestyle-report About the podcast A Positive Climate is an uplifting podcast about tackling climate change. An inspiring look at the products, people and technologies making a real difference. Hosted by Australian climate technology experts Alex McIntosh and Nick Zeltzer, two friends on a mission to find the solutions to keep our existential crises at bay. We cover it all on the show while keeping things optimistic and accessible: electric planes, waste eating maggots, plant-based meats, hydrogen made from beer, the solar revolution, the coolest new sustainable products and much much more. If you’re passionate about the environment, the latest clean technology or just want to know how to get involved in the movement, this podcast is for you Music by the late, great Nick Weaver Production by our hero Mark Spencer from Here.Media Socials by the legend Rebecca Sather JenkinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.