Hardware Podcasts

The better mousetrap fallacy

Catalyst · 12 Sept 2024 · 44m

What this episode covers

Andy Lubershane, head of research and partner at Energy Impact Partners, joins host Shayle Kann to discuss the 'better mousetrap fallacy' in climate tech, arguing that in sectors like solar, batteries, and nuclear, scaling existing technologies is more effective than pursuing incremental innovations. They analyze how the proliferation of options in stationary energy storage and direct air capture (DAC) creates analysis paralysis for buyers, while noting that breakthrough innovations are still required in areas like iron-air batteries and thermal storage. The conversation highlights the importance of distinguishing between markets that need deployment (like Gen 3+ nuclear) and those that require fundamental R&D (like long-duration storage), emphasizing that capital efficiency demands focusing on a few scalable solutions rather than dozens of marginal improvements.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Energy Impact Partners, Form Energy, Rondo, Microsoft, Frontier
Products
Lithium-ion, LFP, Sodium-ion, Iron-air, Thermal storage, Direct air capture, Gen 3+ nuclear

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