Field notes The Energy Transition for the Rest of Us

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Energy storage

27 notes · Catalyst 17 · Steel For Fuel 10

  1. Catalyst · 30 Jul 2026 Why C&I storage is finally taking off with Tim Hade, senior vice president, Voltus; previously co-founder and CEO, Brightfield Infrastructure Commercial and industrial storage, meaning batteries installed at a business’s own site, has never gone anywhere. Is that actually changing, and why would this time be different?
  2. Catalyst · 4 Jun 2026 Surprising trends in global electricity generation with Nic Fulghum, senior energy and climate data analyst, Ember, and co-author of the Global Electricity Review What actually happened to global electricity generation in 2025, and where does the data contradict the story people are telling about it?
  3. Catalyst · 30 Apr 2026 How AI is modernizing EPCs with George Hershman, CEO, SOLV Energy What actually limits how fast a large solar and storage contractor can put projects in the ground, and where does AI change that?
  4. Steel For Fuel · 8 Apr 2026 Duration is all you need by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners Once short-duration batteries have covered the daily peak, what kind of storage does the power system still need?
  5. Catalyst · 12 Feb 2026 PJM and ERCOT are navigating a capacity rollercoaster with Paul Segal, CEO, LS Power What is actually happening in the two most-watched US power markets, and is either one getting the capacity it needs in time?
  6. Catalyst · 30 Oct 2025 Unpacking DOE’s proposal to transform data center interconnection with Allison Clements, FERC commissioner 2020-2024, now partner at ASG and principal of 804 Advisory; and Tyler Norris, doctoral student, Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment The US Secretary of Energy has told federal regulators to rewrite how large electricity loads connect to the grid. What does the proposal actually do, and would it work?
  7. Catalyst · 14 Aug 2025 The case for sodium-ion with Landon Mossburg, founder and CEO, Peak Energy Sodium-ion cells still cost more per kilowatt-hour than the lithium chemistry that dominates grid storage. So what is the bullish case for building grid batteries out of them?
  8. Catalyst · 24 Jul 2025 Repurposing EV batteries for grid storage with Colin Campbell, chief technology officer, Redwood Materials When is it better to put a worn-out electric vehicle battery back on the grid than to shred it for the materials inside it?
  9. Catalyst · 10 Jul 2025 Tumult in residential solar with Julien Dumoulin-Smith, head of power, utilities and clean energy equity research, Jefferies The One Big Beautiful Bill phases out residential solar’s tax credits. What does that do to an industry that was already in serious trouble before it passed?
  10. Steel For Fuel · 30 Jun 2025 Full Steam Ahead by Addison Stark, CEO and co-founder, AtmosZero Why is industrial steam still raised by burning fossil fuel, and what would it take to change that?
  11. Catalyst · 19 Jun 2025 The story of steam with Addison Stark, co-founder and chief executive (he prefers chief boiler maker), AtmosZero What actually decarbonizes industrial steam, and why has the obvious-looking answer, harvesting waste heat, never worked?
  12. Catalyst · 20 Feb 2025 The promise and perils of sodium-ion batteries with Adrian Yao, founder of the STEER battery research program at Stanford; board member and former co-founder and chief technology officer of the lithium-ion manufacturer EnPower What would it actually take for sodium-ion batteries to beat lithium-ion on cost?
  13. Catalyst · 13 Feb 2025 The case for colocating data centers and generation with Sheldon Kimber, founder and CEO, Intersect Power Why build generation on a data center’s own site instead of connecting the data center to the grid, and does that logic run all the way to going off grid?
  14. Catalyst · 6 Feb 2025 Catalyst: 2025 Climate Tech Trends with Nat Bullard, co-founder, Halcyon; former chief content officer, BloombergNEF Entering 2025, what do the underlying data actually show about where energy and climate stand, and does a sudden jump in AI model efficiency break the load-growth story?
  15. Steel For Fuel · 31 Jan 2025 Is Sodium the new Lithium (ion)? by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners Is sodium-ion about to displace lithium-ion?
  16. Steel For Fuel · 10 Jan 2025 Is the future of low-carbon industry off grid? by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners If off-grid solar can already power a data center at grid prices, does the same logic put the future of low-carbon manufacturing off the grid too?
  17. Catalyst · 9 Jan 2025 Making DERs work for load growth with Pier LaFarge, co-founder and CEO, Sparkfund Load growth is being answered almost entirely with big centralized projects. Can distributed energy carry a real share of it, and how would a utility actually buy it?
  18. Steel For Fuel · 3 Oct 2024 The Age of FFOAK and The Better Mousetrap Fallacy by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners Now that climate tech has plenty of promising technologies, is inventing more of them still the best use of capital?
  19. Steel For Fuel · 24 Sep 2024 A chicken in every pot, a battery in every garage? by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners Is a battery becoming standard equipment on a home solar system?
  20. Catalyst · 12 Sep 2024 The better mousetrap fallacy with Andy Lubershane, partner and head of research, Energy Impact Partners Which parts of climate tech still need a technology breakthrough, and which ones only need someone to build a lot more of what already works?
  21. Steel For Fuel · 7 Aug 2024 Batteries all the way down by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners What does a Chinese battery cell price this low mean for everyone else?
  22. Catalyst · 27 Oct 2023 The market for microgrids with Tim Hade, co-founder and chief development officer, Scale Microgrids The tailwinds behind microgrids have been building for years. Is the market actually inflecting, and if not, what is holding it back?
  23. Catalyst · 5 Oct 2023 Climatetech startups need strong techno-economic analysis with Dr. Greg Thiel, director of technology, and Dr. Melissa Ball, associate director of technology, Energy Impact Partners What is a techno-economic analysis actually for at an early-stage hard technology company, and what do people most often get wrong when they build one?
  24. Steel For Fuel · 27 Jun 2023 Can wind turbines self-replicate? (And how will we make beer?) by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners Can the electricity that wind turbines and solar panels produce be used to make the steel, cement and industrial heat that building more of them requires?
  25. Steel For Fuel · 8 May 2023 Four ways to store sunlight by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners As wind and solar grow, what replaces the buffer that stockpiles of fossil fuel have always provided, and what would a candidate have to cost to earn the job?
  26. Steel For Fuel · 31 Mar 2023 The ten biggest questions in energy & climate tech, Question 1 by Andy Lubershane, Partner and Head of Research, Energy Impact Partners Will the United States clear the path for a lot more electric transmission?
  27. Catalyst · 8 Dec 2022 Solving the conundrum of industrial heat with John O’Donnell, co-founder and CEO, Rondo Energy Industrial heat is about a quarter of global emissions, factories need it around the clock, and energy can be more than half their cost of production. How do you decarbonize it?