# A critical tool for scaling climate tech: insurance

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2022-02-17
- Length: 47m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance

## Summary

Jeff McAulay, founder and president of Energetic Insurance, explains how his company addresses counterparty credit risk to enable financing for distributed renewable energy projects, starting with commercial solar. He details how transferring this specific risk lowers the cost of capital and Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), allowing businesses with lower credit ratings to access project finance. McAulay also discusses the application of these insurance models to other climate technologies, including geothermal drilling success, heat pumps, and advanced nuclear, while highlighting the critical role of government backstops and development finance institutions in de-risking earlier-stage innovations.

## Chapters

- [4:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance#t=248) Introduction: Jeff McAulay and Energetic Insurance
- [6:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance#t=385) The Solar Bottleneck: Counterparty Risk and Financing
- [13:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance#t=815) Transferring Credit Risk to Lower Cost of Capital
- [17:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance#t=1042) Applying Insurance to Geothermal, Nuclear, and Heat Pumps
- [25:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance#t=1548) Complexity, Regulation, and the Capital Stack
- [34:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance#t=2048) Moral Hazard, Adverse Selection, and Climate Signals
- [40:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance#t=2420) Climate Resilience and Catastrophe Risk
- [46:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance#t=2771) The Next Frontier: Energy Efficiency

## Topics

- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Energetic Insurance (company)
- Fraunhofer Institute (company)
- Enternoch (company)
- LX (company)
- Swiss Re (company)
- Munich Re (company)
- AXA (company)
- New Energy Risk (company)
- KWH (company)
- Omnidian (company)
- Bloom Energy (company)
- USDA (company)
- SBA (company)
- Energy Hub (company)
- Antenna Group (company)
- Nextracker (company)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2022-02-17-a-critical-tool-for-scaling-climate-tech-insurance. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.