The Future of Grid-Scale Batteries w/ Becca Segel(CEO, FlowCellutions)

In this episode of The Pittsburgh Startup Pod, we sit down with Becca Segel, PhD, founder and CEO of FlowCellutions, a startup on a mission to transform grid-scale energy storage with next-generation diagnostics technology. Becca shares her unconventional path — from cutting-edge lab research at the University of Pittsburgh to launching a hard-tech venture based in Pittsburgh — and she opens up about why she believes flow batteries are the backbone of a resilient energy future.Becca’s background: a PhD in Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, a former NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and years of research experience on flow batteries. Why she chose grid-scale batteries: the problem of renewable energy intermittency, the promise of flow-battery architectures, and how FlowCellutions addresses a major pain point — diagnostics and reliability of large-scale energy storage. Her startup journey in Pittsburgh (and beyond): building in a “non-coastal” ecosystem, navigating research commercialization, and how the Pittsburgh community and entrepreneurship programs supported her. What’s next for FlowCellutions: pilot projects, scaling the hardware + software platform, partnering with grid operators, and advancing the mission of long-duration storage for a cleaner, more resilient electric grid. Becca's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/segel/