Climate tech is scaling fast. But the data shows huge gaps in industrial decarbonization, carbon removal, energy storage, and the capital needed to turn breakthrough technologies into profitable businesses.
Company bio:
Speed & Scale is a climate action initiative built around measurable objectives and key results (OKRs) for reaching net-zero emissions, originating from John Doerr’s Speed & Scale framework.
Its Climate Tech Map, developed with partners including Breakthrough Energy, Elemental Impact, Energy Innovation, McKinsey Sustainability, and Stanford’s Doerr School, organizes thousands of climate technologies into a navigable roadmap of decarbonization opportunities.
Guest bios:
Ryan Panchadsaram is co-author of Speed & Scale and an investor at Doerr Capital, where his work spans climate technology investing, philanthropy, and climate strategy; his earlier career includes entrepreneurship and public-sector leadership.
Quinn is Director of Research at Speed & Scale, and an investor at Doerr Capital, where she helps translate complex climate, technology, and market data into actionable frameworks for investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and professionals entering climate tech.
Seven things you’ll learn in this episode:
- Why steel, cement, and food may offer more climate-tech whitespace than the crowded energy sector.
- Why climate technologies need a green discount, not just cost parity.
- How deep tech founders can prove their path from expensive prototype to profitable scale.
- Why manufacturing talent often needs to join a climate startup earlier than founders expect.
- Why long-duration energy storage is emerging as a major investment opportunity.
- Where climate capital is surging—and where promising technologies are still starved for funding.
- Why successful leaders should spend more time creating than consuming.
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