Page Crahan

💡 Interesting takeaways (+ my own commentary) from this #SFClimateWeek session on startups engaging with #utilities - Bits (software) and atoms (hardware) will both be required to power #decarbonization and the #energytransition. Enterprise SaaS is a proven business model that needs to complement innovations in deeptech. Start by targeting the customers most open to moving quickly with new approaches - which might be municipal and coop utilities. Referencing those early customers and successful deployments then helps when you start targeting more risk-averse companies, who have higher expectations and potentially more to lose from new technologies. I've seen the latter play out many times in SaaS markets. Successfully penetrating more mainstream (and conservative) segments of a market requires thoughtfully sequencing and orchestrating product development, partnerships & integrations, go-to-market capabilities, and delivery/service capabilities. Would have loved to be at the session to hear firsthand from Adriana Penuela-Useche Louisa White Page Crahan Andrea Sguazzi Giancarlo Savini.

12

2 Comments

A SAFE and convertible note had a baby and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was the midwife- out popped the D-SAFE! 👶🏽🎉 A new #climatetech funding instrument was announced by Elemental Excelerator last week. One of the company’s main goals is to support smaller, up and coming companies during the awkward “Scale Gap” phase between #VC funding and natural growth. It’s called the #DSAFE (Development Simple Agreement for Future Equity) and it aims to aid the process by giving companies a small amount of cash to overcome initial risks and expenses during the developmental stages of a product launch or company. How does it work? D-SAFE has a redemption clause meaning companies can choose to have their payments offered as a loan or convert to equity at the investor’s discretion. Funders and companies will have clear communication and expectations about where the money is going and how it will be applied to either the company or the projects at hand. Financiers and companies will work together with more #transparency, and that’s a great boon for #startups and VC alike. As of this month, Elemental has already invested using D-SAFE in eight different companies, including Dimensional Energy and Origen — both companies investing in innovative and out-of-the-box solutions to environmental issues! Seems like a win-win on the surface. What do you all think about the D-SAFE? Alfredo Coppola Momoka Ueda Tim Wagner Stephen D. Torres Olya Irzak Natsuho Toyama Noriya Tarutani Shin Ogawa

15

6 Comments

Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

84

9 Comments

Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) illustrates the current "readiness" of #ClimateTechs + their potential impact on carbon reduction. As shown, many techs are at an early stage of being able to have a material impact. Concerningly, some tech funds recently returned capital back to investors recently + closed their funds - citing inability to fund capital intensive techs, found in areas like ClimateTech. This in part may be contributing to the $2 trillion shortfall in ClimateTech, that Deloitte estimates. What this may mean for the future? - The migration of LPs to global, super VC funds within ClimateTech, given the large capital pools needed to fund tech development - Greater specialization from smaller funds, energizing more niche elements of the ClimateTech market - but also altering their / LP's risk profile - A greater role to be played by debt financing in funding growth entities at an earlier stage - impacting cashflow dynamics Will be an interesting space to watch moving forward. We at The Proptech Connection are constantly working with all parts of the Proptech ecosystem. From the leading LPs, funds, techs and adopters in market, providing an independent view. Reach out to us today to find out how we can help. #InvestorTrends #Strategy #Global Ivo van Breukelen Stuart Daun Kiki C. Ethan Ward

9

2 Comments

NEW PODCAST - energy transition VC Neal Dikeman comes on and basically makes the case that solar/batteries are going to crush natural gas for power generation starting now. Plus we go way deep into grid technologies. Link in the comments.

16

2 Comments

Stakeholder Collaboration Powers Charging Microgrid & Expansion Electrifying freight transportation hinges on effective stakeholder management. Microgrid-centric charging at truck stops and depots requires close collaboration between freight operators, truck stop owners, and turn-key EPC firms to streamline deployment and maximize value. Last article of 11 in US strategy with Rish Ghatikar: https://lnkd.in/g6adzrz9 Key Strategies for Success: • Build Partnerships: Engage freight operators to define charging needs and coordinate with EPC firms for modular, scalable microgrids. • Align Incentives: Leverage federal and state programs, like NEVI and the IRA, to reduce costs and encourage adoption. • Simplify Coordination: Standardize components and incrementally stage buildouts to manage regulatory and operational complexities. By working together, stakeholders can reduce costs, unlock new revenue streams, and drive environmental benefits. Microgrid charging creates shared value—improving air quality, reducing emissions, and enhancing community resilience—while aligning with the principles of Edward Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory. Effective collaboration is the foundation for sustainable, scalable freight electrification. Let’s make it happen.

23

1 Comment

⚡ 🔌 Sense is helping to decarbonize the world through better grid analytics as we march through a critical intermediary step: electrification 🔌⚡ It's W2 / Q3 / 2024 & this week in our MGMT Boston startup series we’ve got Sense, a growth stage startup bringing better intelligence to the edge of our electrical grid. Founder and CEO Mike Phillips has built software companies through many cycles, including the dot com era. In the early days of AI and machine learning he founded a company called Speechworks, licensing speech recognition technology from MIT. When Mike & his early team were ready to build something new at the intersection of machine learning, data and consumer in climate tech, they had a battle tested plan. Electrification helps decarbonization because we can then use software to more intelligently identify areas of efficiency. As we onboard more electric vehicles, integrate more heat pumps, and stop burning stuff in our home and cars we need to see what is where. When you get a bill from your energy provider and it shows that energy usage bar chart relative to your neighbors, it’s not very actionable. Did you know the transformer at the end of your street can only support charging 3 EVs at any given time? Our electrical grid is the largest machine in the world, based on 100-year-old technology. It’s amazing it even works because it’s practically devoid of real time insights. When Mr. & Mrs. Smith move in next door with the 4th EV in the neighborhood and the power goes out, do you know how the utility knows? When you call them! Estimates from Bloomberg, McKinsey & others state that $21T of investment is needed to upgrade our electrical grid in order to hit net zero emissions with capacity also needing to double by 2050. In 2024 they are focused on meter rollouts to utilities across the U.S., partnering with major utilities on the east coast to bring Sense’s technology and insights to over 3M consumers, with more on the horizon. Sense is proud to be a part of Boston’s growing climate community seeing big potential throughout the Boston ecosystem, aspiring to be one of the companies leading the way in the years ahead. Sense is backed by Blue Earth Capital AG, Bolt, TELUS Global Ventures (TGV), MCJ Collective, Schneider Electric, Energy Impact Partners, Prelude Ventures, and iRobot. Operators to Know (Locally): -Karen Rubin, COO -Colin Gibbs, VP Energy Services -George Zavaliagkos, VP Technology -Sam Alden, Director of FP&A -Maggie Fitzgerald, VP Business Operations -Vikas Garg, Senior Electrical Design Engineer -Joel Margolese, Director Software Engineering -Stephon McCoy, Head of Strategic Integrations, North America -Aisha Strauss, Director of Customer Success -John A. Watlington, Director of Hardware If you're interested in learning more, the full post is linked in the comments! And sign up for the newsletter to see who we bring you next week, will ya?? #bostontech #startups #AI

44

2 Comments

An example of the energy transition is the transition from local local local to local local micro grid when describing a desirable place to live.

1

Microgrids are an essential component of the egalitarian transition from fossil fuels to less autocratic renewable energy sources.

1

Now that generating electricity from solar is so much cheaper than generating electricity from fossil fuels (and still getting cheaper), our main focus must be on energy storage, to enable a fully renewable, sustainable world..

36

5 Comments

Partnering with startups can help companies to "solve a product problem, create a new avenue for revenue, accelerate R&D, or accelerate time to market for a specific product," according to Otilia Barbuta, principal at HP Tech Ventures, the venture capital arm of HP. She was talking at a breakout session at Circularity 2024. "There are solutions in the market created by startups and in this circularity realm, I think it's more important than ever to partner with [them]." #climatetech #startups #climateVC

4

Go to slide 9 showing how far and fast the grid is falling behind in being able to connect utility scale renewables. Yet, the California Public Utilities Commission continues to create obstacles to the growth of distributed generation.

5

5 Comments

The best Defense is a good Offense. But industries facing change typically delay for so long - they are severely disrupted - and lose new growth markets as well. Grid Science is focused on supporting future-forward utilities to successfully navigate the present. We recently participated program supported by the California Energy Commission to deliver such breakthrough innovation. We build AI native services that transform the value equation for distributed solar and battery companies, EV charging infrastructure projects, utility distribution operations - all while protecting against floods and preventing wildfires. Grid Science AI is the backbone of tomorrow's grid. Innovation finds a way. The City of Ann Arbor just launched a Sustainable Energy Utility within DTE's distribution grid to focus on "energy generation at the point of energy use" to improve Resilience, Reliability, and Clean Energy. Utilities that fight change will face similar efforts or even succession. PG&E has had 6 rate increases in 2024 alone. Society and industry will not accept a double or triple rate base because a monopoly wished to profit maximize capital expenditures. As Berkshire Hathaway Energy warned in last year's shareholders letter, investor owned utilities "might no longer attract the savings of American citizens and will be forced to adopt the public-power model." Our country faces a critical challenge to advance new grid enhancing technologies that will slow electricity bill increases, keep the power on, while resulting in a healthier utility - and a thriving American economy. California has historically led the US in energy innovation and hopefully will maintain focus and leadership. New Energy Nexus California https://lnkd.in/ggfaz5yr

16

1 Comment

Wildfires in the west, high winds and winter storms in the east—this week alone, hundreds of thousands faced power outages as the grid was directly impacted for proactively shut off. 🌪️🔥 Weather-related disasters now cost the U.S. $70B+ annually, with power outages $150B in economic losses. In LA, the fires alone are expected to top $135B in damages. Dan Roberts and I dove into this harsh reality on the podcast: these weather events are becoming more frequent, more severe, and more costly. But here’s the question—how do we stop them from becoming disasters? With 98% of businesses saying an hour of downtime costs $100k+, the solution lies in taking control: owning our power through onsite systems to reduce reliance on fragile centralized grids. Stay tuned for our episode release, and in the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts—how are you building resilience into your energy strategy so you can continue to operate, provide safe working conditions or a community reailience hub for your customers and community? https://lnkd.in/gScbxcGw VECKTA

9

1 Comment