Innovation Matters

Amy, Karthik, Mike, and Anthony discuss the recent resurgence of natural gas power demand for data centers, and get to asking the big questions, like: are we in an AI boom, can carbon capture really work, and what's AI even good for anyway?

Anthony, Mike, Alina, and Karthik convene to discuss China's recent ban on exports of gallium and germanium. They touch on the political outlook (pretty grim), the opportunity for new tech (pretty good), and the potential backlash from consumers (pretty likely).

Dr. Injy Johnstone, a Research Fellow in Net-Zero Aligned Offsetting at the University of Oxford, joins Mike, Alina, and Anthony to discuss the recent 29th Conference of Parties in Baku. They tackle the historical challenges with carbon offsetting, the nature of the long-awaited Article 6 of the Paris Accords, and what the outcomes from Baku mean for carbon offsetting going forward. 

Anthony, Alina, and Mike first hop over the pond to the UK to discuss the new mass balance laws, and what they might mean for the future of recycling in the UK, along with Cadbury's somewhat bungling attempt to explain the concept of mass balance to the broader public. Then, they turn to the ongoing negotiations for a global plastic treaty in Busan South Korea. Times have changed since the UN's efforts started - is there still hope for global agreement?

Karthik and Alina are joined by Metafuels co-founder Saurabh Kapoor to talk all things sustainable aviation fuels. Are the current challenges and shutdowns of SAF projects just a blip? Will consumers have to bear higher prices? How can airlines make this work to their advantage? And when will SAF be commercially ready?

Amy and Anthony discuss the ongoing COP29 summit in Baku: first, checking in the vibes (bad), the chances for climate finance (mid), and the possibility of oil and gas companies leading the way on sustainability (maybe not as bad as you might think). They also tackle the recent Shell case in the Netherlands, where a court overturned a decision forcing Shell to cut emissions. 

Anthony, Amy, Mike, and Karthik gather in the wake of the recent US presidential election to discuss what Trump's return to the White House means for climate tech and climate change.  They touch on funding for innovation, immigration, US global leadership, changes to the power sector, and the consumer sentiment that led to Trump's second term. 

Amy, Mike, and Anthony talk catch up on some recent news: arguments about climate change in Alberta Canada, the recent UN report on the Nationally Defined Contributions to lowering carbon emissions, and the revitalization of the SunCable project, which seeks to bring solar power from Australia to Singapore. 

Anthony, Mike, and Karthik discuss the proposed House bill "Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastics and Recycling Innovation Act of 2024", which would create a unified framework for recycling in America but also dramatically change the definition of recycling. They discuss the impacts, the drivers, what the bill would mean for the chemicals industry, and what they hope to see in a finalized version. 

This week's discussion is all about the tech industry. Karthik, Anthony, and Amy first check in with podcast standby Elon Musk, whose recent demonstration of "AI"-powered robots and robotaxis was more flop than futurism. Next, they turn to tech's investment in nuclear power. Companies like Amazon are committing millions to nuclear, but it's going to take more than piles of money to make it work.

Mike, Alina, and Anthony discuss the recent Biolab fire in Georgia, examining the chemical industry's structure, how increasing sustainability and climate change pressures may impact smaller chemical businesses, and the ways companies can adapt to these challenges.

Nuclear energy is undeniably having a renaissance, but there are still major hurdles to actually increasing the amount of nuclear energy in the world. Karthik and Anthony take on two recent announcements - the restart of Three Mile Island, and BlackRock's USD 30 billion data center fund - to try to figure out where nuclear goes from here. 

Mike, Amy, Karthik, and Anthony talk Lego's new sustainability efforts, discussing why mechanical recycling has failed them, what the shift to mass balancing really means, Lego's sustainability principles, and the long-term role of Lego as an ambassador for plastics sustainability.

Amy and Karthik sit down with Bryan Tracy, the CEO of SuperBrewed Foods, to talk about all things postbiotic proteins. They discuss value that postbiotics can bring, the opportunity for integration into a wide range of food types, pitfalls in branding and positioning, navigating the regulatory environment, and ultimately how the chemicals and food industries are converging. 

Karthik and Anthony tackle the latest releases from Apple - and why the pace of groundbreaking products from tech companies seems to be slowing down, despite the rise of AI as a supposed force for innovation. Plus, Anthony shares his findings from the Advanced Recycling Summit as the hosts wonder if recycling will really ever get done. 

Mike, Karthik, and Amy are talking about robots! Not just any robots: humanoid robots whose creators are betting will replace human labor in factories, the home, and in services. To do that, the robots will need to overcome human rejection - which might be an insurmountable challenge for the eerie human doppelgangers. Use cases, business models, and the overall weirdness of the human robots are all on the table in this episode.

When you think of ethanol, you probably think of corn: at least in America, where corn ethanol has become a common addition to everyone's gas tank. This week, we speak with Dave Rubenstein who's trying to change that by growing sugarcane in California's Imperial Valley. Anthony, Amy, and Karthik discuss the economics of ethanol, long term opportunities in sustainable aviation fuel and chemicals, the challenges with water, and more. 

Alina, Karthik, and Mike sound off on the news as summer wraps up and fall kicks off. Can Nestle rebrand as a health company, or will consumers continue to hold a grudge for pandemic-era price increases? What about the future of nuclear power - can it really find a place in the grid? All this and more in this episode. 

This week Amy, Anthony, Mike, and Karthik tackle the thorny issue of carbon credits, offsets, and insets as big tech companies like Google and Amazon seek to make changes in how emissions are calculated.  Will consumers grow even more distrustful of big tech? And how can we regulate a complex system in a way that appeals to consumers?

Amy and Karthik are joined by Dr. Fabio Mattioli, a Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, a senior lecturer of social anthropology at the University of Melbourne, to discuss the cultural side of innovation. Where do companies go wrong? What does it mean to really invest in a founder? And how will AI impact innovation? 

With the hosts back from vacation, Anthony, Alina, Mike, and Karthik discuss an issue that's increasingly pressing - the impacts of climate change on the food system. Consumers want food that's local, sustainable, and guilt free, but these desires mesh poorly with the reality of the industrial food system that we have today. Can technology overcome these contradictions?

Mike and Anthony are joined by Laura Teicher, the executive director of Forge Impact, a non-profit dedicated to helping businesses scale physical products with local supply chains. They discuss how the important this work has become over the last few years, common pitfalls that companies make, and how manufacturing can help address big picture sustainability challenges. 

With the other hosts on vacation Anthony and Karthik discuss two news stories: first, they evaluate the ongoing efforts to commercialize supercritical geothermal energy; then dig into the Google's recent loss in an antitrust trial, and what that means for the future of AI. 

Karthik and Alina are joined by Brittany Chibe, CEO and Co-founder of Aqua Cultured Foods to talk about everything alternative seafood: how it's made, how Brittany is bringing it to the food world, what consumers think, what the future holds, and more. 

At the end of their most recent term, the US Supreme Court issued four major decisions that will impact the future of regulation in America. Mike and Anthony break down these cases - including Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned Chevron deference - and unpack their impact on the scale-up of sustainable innovation in America.

Karthik, Mike, and Alina are joined by the founder of Fermbox Bio, Subramani Ramachandrappa, to discuss everything synthetic biology: the new business models that are unlocking scale-up, what products need to be successful, how consumers are responding, and even the future of food. 

Amy, Mike, and Anthony discuss some of the recent announcements from major brands and companies who will not be meeting their circularity targets. Then, the discussion turns to the Biden Admin's recent circular economy strategy: will this be enough to turn things around? No, but is it a start?

Karhik, Alina, Mike, and Anthony perform an autopsy on the 3D printing market: what went wrong? How did companies so highly valued just a few years ago end up going out of business? Plus, nickel: will people really pay up for green metals in their EVs?

Kartik and Anthony are joined by the CEO and Cofounder of Xintera Patrick Teyssonneyre, who walks them through the company's material informatics technology, how Xinterra is using AI to develop new materials to fight climate change, and why your next t-shirt could be a carbon capture device.  

Mike, Amy, and Anthony sit down with the CEO of Cure Technology Josse Kunst to discuss how CuRe is trying to crack the code on polyester recycling, how Josse builds trust and forms partnerships, how companies can better communicate to consumers about sustainability, and what the vibes are in the circular economy in 2024. 

Amy Huras and Karthik Subramanian discuss new right to repair laws that are proliferating across America. They promise better access to electronics repair, but will consumers really take advantage? Plus, Google's new "clean firm" tariff: more greenwashing or a genuine solution?

The ADVANCE act didn't just update regulations for conventional nuclear - it also solidified a new regulatory regime for fusion energy. Andrew Holland, the CEO of the Fusion Industry Association, returns to Innovation Matters to discuss how the ADVANCE act passed, its impacts, and what the future holds for fusion energy.

Alina, Anthony, Mike, and Karthik discuss the passage of the ADVANCE act, which sets out to create a new regulatory regime for nuclear power in America. Then, the discussion turns to nostalgia as a commercial force, and why exactly companies are selling bizarre flavor mashups of beloved products.

Lux's CPO Arij van Berkel joins Alina, Karthik, and Anthony to offer a glimpse into the European process for funding cleantech. Arij fills us in on the early stage projects that are getting funded, the missing links in the EU innovation ecosystem, and the future of the innovation sector. 

Mike, Karthik, Amy, and Anthony take stock of the recent progress (or lack thereof) in the US hydrogen industry, and break down efforts to provide supply chain transparency in sustainable textiles. Features the Celtics, fit checks, EU vs US policy, blockchain, and more. Programming note: the interview portion of the podcast will now be released separately - look for that in a new weekly episode on Thursdays.  

Karthik, Anthony, Mike, and new recurring co-host Alina Strugut, Director of Research at Lux, talk about why Apple Intelligence has failed to resonate with consumers. Then, ZeroAvia CEO Val Miftakhov joins Karthik and Mike to discuss how hydrogen aviation may be closer to launch than you think.

Mike, Anthony, and Karthik are joined by new recurring host Amy Huras, Director of Research at Lux, to unpack how the new class of GLP-1 drugs will impact the production of food. Will your local pizza place survive? Plus, Massachusetts' plan to become a climate tech powerhouse. 

Anthony, Karthik, and Mike sound off on a recent Florida law banning offshore wind, and then are joined by Dr. George Lavidas, Professor of Marine Renewable Energies at TU Delft, to learn about the future of wave and tidal energy. 

Mike, Anthony, and Karthik catch up on the chemicals industry, then are joined by the Nuclear Energy Institute's Executive Director of Strategy and Policy Development Matthew Crozat to discuss the state of nuclear power in 2024. 

REUPLOADED WITH CORRECT AUDIO. Mike and Anthony are joined by Lux's Chris Robinson and Naveen Krishnamurthy to break down the new US tariffs on Chinese goods. The headline numbers are startling - a 100% tariff on EVs - but will these new duties really make a difference?

Mike and Anthony talk about the seeming slowdown of generative AI improvement and the future of US EV charging. Then, Citrine's Head of Product Florencia Paredes joins to discuss what materials informatics and AI really mean for the chemicals industry and sustainability. 

Mike, Karthik, and Anthony catch up on the news - including the UN, wind energy, and the eternal Yankees vs Mets debate, and then are joined by Ourobio's co-founder Alec Brewer to dig into the opportunities for synthetic biology in the circular economy of plastics. 

Mike and Karthik catch up on the news, from rain in Dubai to new nuclear power. Isabella Palmgren, co-founder of Mimbly, joins to discuss their efforts to scale up solutions to microplastic pollution. 

Lux Analyst Tiffany Hua joins Karthik and Anthony to discuss the recent bankruptcy of Renewcell, a leading textile recycler - and where the textile recycling industry goes from here. 

Karthik, Anthony, and Mike discuss Amazon's failed Just Walk Out technology, and then are joined by NobleAI's Sunil Sanghavi and Ethan Mirsky to unpack the impact of AI on the chemicals industry. 

Lux's Mukunda Kaushik joins Anthony and Mike to dig into everything carbon economy: how will direct air capture make money? What's the best use for methanol? And how can the commercial airline industry ever become sustainable?

Cheryl Auger, Senior Director at Lux Research, joins Anthony and Mike to talk about everything from AI to Ozempic to Stanley Cups, and discuss how AI anthropology can give us a richer view into consumer trends and fads. 

Mike, Anthony, and Karthik take on TikTok, Shien, and the IRS before being joined by Agilitas founder Tommy Hayes to talk about the uses of AI in food science. 

Mike, Anthony, and Karthik discuss SEC regulations and nuclear power, then are joined by C-Zero's President and CEO Zach Jones to discuss where methane pyrolysis fits in the energy transition. 

Karthik, Mike, and Anthony dive back into the world of the energy transition. Can energy players size on emerging technologies, or are they doomed to play catch-up?