Hardware Podcasts

FOAK tales

Catalyst · 16 Jan 2025 · 55m

What this episode covers

Mario Fernandez, head of Breakthrough Energy’s FOAK finance program, explains the challenges of financing first-of-a-kind (FOAK) climate projects and the specific path companies must take to de-risk technology for infrastructure investors. He outlines a required progression from pilot to a 5-20x scale end-to-end demo with six months of operational data, emphasizing that modularity reduces execution risk compared to scaling up a single large unit. Fernandez discusses the critical tension in commercial constructs, noting that rigid off-take contracts often fail when CAPEX exceeds initial estimates, and advocates for flexible pricing structures and long-term platform investments over one-off project finance.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, Rondo, Infinium, EH2, EnergyHub

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