Jennifer Granholm is the former U.S. Secretary of Energy, where she led an unprecedented wave of investment in clean energy deployment and manufacturing. In this live conversation, recorded in San Francisco after the Powerhouse Ventures Annual General Meeting, Emily spoke with Governor Granholm about her journey from emigrating to California as a child to discovering her calling in politics and public service. They discussed how her early experiences shaped her leadership, the lessons she’s learned from decades in government, and what it takes to stay grounded while driving systemic change.

Brian Janous is the Co-Founder and CCO of Cloverleaf Infrastructure, a company developing “powered land” by bringing together utilities, grid operators, and data centers so new capacity can come online faster and with more certainty. Emily spoke to Brian about his path, from a quintessential 80s childhood in Mississippi and Texas to more than a decade at Microsoft leading a 100-person energy strategy team, where he began envisioning new ways to connect power with the world’s expanding computing needs. That path led him to co-found Cloverleaf Infrastructure, which in less than two years has raised $300 million, closed its first major deal — Project Red Granite, a 1.3 GW development representing $8 billion in investment and 2 million square feet — and is now in the process of selling a second large project expected to close this year.

Sheldon Kimber is the Co-Founder and CEO of Intersect Power, a clean energy company that develops, owns, and operates some of the world’s largest grid-tied projects, delivering American-made, low-carbon solutions for global markets and co-located industrial facilities. Emily spoke to Sheldon about his journey from growing up in South Africa and Ohio, to studying at Kenyon College and going to business school, and eventually working in the trenches of clean energy development, where he formed a vision for fast, flexible infrastructure that challenges the status quo. That vision became Intersect Power, which he founded in 2016 to deliver large-scale clean electricity to the industries that need it most. Intersect has raised over $2 billion in equity, operates $4 billion in assets—including one of the largest battery fleets in the country—and is breaking ground on $9 billion more, with major customers like Google and Microsoft.

Cody Finke is the Co-Founder and CEO of Brimstone, a company working on the most impactful decarbonization solutions for the industrial sector. Brimstone’s breakthrough process delivers multiple industrial materials, including Portland cement, Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM) and Smelter-Grade Alumina. Emily spoke to Cody about his journey; from growing up in Seattle and Idaho to earning a PhD at Caltech and working in environmental research, where he learned the importance of developing solutions that can scale. That path ultimately led Cody to co-found Brimstone, a company that has raised over $60 million, and signed a partnership with Oklahoma company Dolese Bros. Co. to supply the materials for its commercial-scale plant.

Cindy Taff is the CEO of Sage Geosystems. Sage Geosystems is pioneering Pressure Geothermal—a new category of next-generation geothermal energy that delivers grid-scale power and long-duration energy storage virtually anywhere. Emily spoke to Cindy about her journey; from growing up in Los Angeles and Louisiana, to spending 36 years climbing the corporate ladder at Shell, and what ultimately motivated her shift to geothermal. She shared how her daughter encouraged the transition, and why geothermal stood out as the place where her skills could have the greatest impact. That path led her to Sage Geosystems, which is now building its first commercial geothermal energy storage facility in Christine, Texas. The company has raised $62 million and has secured key collaborations with the U.S. Department of Defense and Meta, including a power purchase agreement for at least 150 megawatts of geothermal power to support Meta’s U.S. data centers.

Jigar Shah is the Co-Managing Partner of Multiplier LLC, an advisory services firm; a part-time venture partner at Powerhouse Ventures; and a co-host of the Open Circuit podcast from Latitude Media. In this special episode, Emily spoke with Jigar about his LPO journey — from the invitation to join the government, to stepping away from a thriving business, to leading an agency he had once called irredeemable.During his tenure, Jigar led the LPO in committing over $108 billion to 53 companies, supporting clean energy and advanced technology infrastructure across more than a thousand sites nationwide. They talked about what it took to rebuild trust in LPO, what it was like trying to shift how Silicon Valley and venture capital saw the role of Washington, and where we go from here.

Shayle Kann is a Managing Partner at Energy Impact Partners and host of the Catalyst podcast. Emily spoke to Shayle about his journey, from growing up in Madison, Wisconsin, to his early career at Green Tech Media, and later stepping into leadership at Energy Impact Partners. Shayle’s path wasn’t conventional, but his passion for storytelling and energy led him to successfully apply these interests in both media and venture capital. As host of Catalyst, he’s shaped critical conversations on the future of energy, and now, as Managing Partner at EIP, continues to lead investments accelerating the energy transition and the decarbonization of infrastructure.

David Bromberg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pearl Street Technologies. Pearl Street’s software helps transmission providers, renewable energy developers, and other stakeholders overcome the interconnection bottleneck at the heart of the clean energy transition. Emily spoke with David about his journey: from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, to his days as a self-described depressed PhD candidate, to the early career lessons that shaped his path. David wasn’t sure he had the right personality to be a CEO, but he stepped into the role anyway and co-founded Pearl Street Technologies. The company, recently acquired by energy data and analytics leader Enverus, has contracted over 400 gigawatts with ISOs, modeled more than 2,000 clean energy projects, and is now being used to model nearly 10 percent of the nation’s interconnection backlog — and counting.

Fiona Spruill is the CEO of Overstory, a software company that partners with utilities to predict and prevent wildfires caused by vegetation encroachment, ensuring a more reliable power grid. Emily spoke to Fiona about her journey; from growing up in three very different cultures, to her seminal experiences working at the New York Times and Meetup, to her transition into climate tech, to the evolution of her career at Overstory, from Chief Product Officer to Chief People Officer, to her decision to step in as CEO. Overstory employs more than 60 people representing 16 nationalities, has raised $32 million, and has partnerships with over 50 utilities across the United States, Canada, and Latin America.

Kurt House is the Co-Founder and CEO of KoBold Metals. KoBold uses modern scientific computing to discover the critical materials needed for the energy transition. Emily spoke to Kurt about his journey; from growing up as an athletic nerd in Los Angeles, to his long and winding career through consulting, startups and academia, to his decision to co-found KoBold Metals, a company that employs more than 200 people, has over 60 active exploration projects across four continents, has raised $1B at a valuation of $3B, and in 2024 discovered the largest copper deposit in more than a decade.

Henrik Henriksson is the CEO of Stegra. Producing green hydrogen, iron, and steel, Stegra’s purpose is to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries. Emily spoke to Henrik about his journey; from growing up in Sweden, to his over two-decade career in truck manufacturing, to his decision to take the leap from a stable career to leading the start-up Stegra, a company that now employs more than 350 people, has raised over $7.2 Billion, has Fortune 500 customers like BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Volvo, and is on track to begin producing green steel by 2026.

John O’Donnell is the Co-Founder and CIO of Rondo Energy. The Rondo Heat Battery powers industrial processes with renewable electricity, cutting energy costs and eliminating emissions. Emily spoke to John about his journey; from his semiconductor work in the early days of computers, to the knowledge he gained from founding six startups, to how his interest and background in industrial solar heating led to his founding of Rondo Energy, a a thermal heat storage company that employs more than 150 people across five continents, has raised $198 million in less than five years, and has partnered with top companies including H&M, Rio Tinto, and Microsoft.

Matanya Horowitz is the Founder and CEO of AMP. AMP applies AI-powered sortation at scale to modernize the world’s recycling infrastructure and maximize the value of waste. Emily spoke to Matanya in front of a live audience for our summer recording of Watt It Takes at Powerhouse. Emily learned about his journey from growing up as a homeschooled kid in Denver, to discovering his late father’s leadership in the world of robotics, to his commitment to changing the world’s approach to waste management through his company AMP. With 120 employees, over $180 million raised, and 350 operating robots across recycling facilities, AMP has enabled 2.5 million tons of recycled material and counting.

Sean Kelly is the Co-Founder and CEO of Amperon. Amperon provides the highest precision electricity forecasting and analytics solutions to improve grid reliability, manage financial risk, optimize renewables, and accelerate decarbonization. Emily spoke with Sean about his journey, from growing up in Sugarland, Texas, to his 25 years of expertise in energy trading at firms like Tenaska, Lehman, EDF, and E.On, to founding Amperon, a company that raised $30 million, has over 100 employees, and operates in 19 countries across North America, Europe, and Australia.

Jennifer Holmgren is the CEO of LanzaTech, a circular economy company that uses bacteria to transform carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide into ethanol, the building block for materials like plastics, polyester, and jet fuel. Emily spoke with Jennifer about growing up in Columbia, her four decade career in renewable energy and fuels, her time as CEO of LanzaTech, which, in no small part thanks to her leadership, operates six commercial plants around the world, partners with industry heavyweights, and employs over 400 people worldwide.

Toby Kraus is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lightship, an electric vehicle company looking to revolutionize the recreational vehicle space with all-electric offerings, enabling zero-emission road trips so that we can explore nature while preserving it for generations to come. Emily spoke with Toby live during Powerhouse’s SF Climate Week event to talk about his journey from growing up in Boulder, Colorado, to joining Tesla and later Proterra, to meeting his Lightship co-founder and embarking on the road trip of a lifetime, to revolutionizing the RV industry with Lightship.

Emily Kirsch sits down with Heirloom Co-Founder and CEO Shashank Samala to discuss his journey from growing up in Southeast India and experiencing the impacts of climate change firsthand, to attending high school in Maine, to founding his first startup Tempo, to finally pursuing his passion for climate by founding Heirloom, which has established the first DAC facility in the US and has sold more than 400,000 tons of forward-purchase carbon removal credits.

According to the World Economic Forum, emerging markets are the key to reaching a carbon-neutral future as most GHG emission growth will come from developing economies.. And yet, these markets only capture one fifth of clean energy investments. Emily McAteer is the Co-founder and CEO of Odyssey Energy Solutions. Their platform connects financiers, equipment providers, and project developers to accelerate the flow of capital to distributed renewable energy projects in emerging markets.

Residential energy use accounts for about 20% of greenhouse emissions in the U.S., making it one of the most important sectors to decarbonize. As the world electrifies and consumers become more climate-conscious, energy will become one of the next consumer engagement frontiers. The WattBuy platform connects clean energy providers with residential customers, helps consumers save money on their energy bills, and helps companies engage customers with insights and provide enhanced offerings and services. In this episode, Emily Kirsch sits down with WattBuy Co-Founder & CEO Naman Trivedi to learn more about founding the company, WattBuy’s mission to decarbonize the grid, and building a platform that has generated 20 gigawatt hours of renewable energy for homeowners and renters, and helped them save upwards of $4M on their energy bills.

Some experts are calling 2024 the “make or break year” for the voluntary and compliance carbon markets, which were rocked by a shaky 2023. To usher in a new era of effective and impactful carbon markets, the verification process needs a major tech update and a serious credibility boost. Marion Verles founded SustainCERT to be the first fully digital carbon project verification platform and Scope 3 emissions verification solution.