# Calibrating hype with Akshat Rathi

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2025-10-16
- Length: 41m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-10-16-calibrating-hype-with-akshat-rathi

## Summary

Akshat Rathi, senior climate reporter at Bloomberg News and host of the Zero podcast, joins Shayle Kann to evaluate various climate technologies and market forces on a 'hype continuum.' They analyze the current state of distributed energy resources (DERs), data center power strategies, and critical infrastructure bottlenecks like transformers and transmission. The conversation also explores the role of venture capital in scaling climate tech, the influence of the Paris Agreement on business policy, and the realistic potential of emerging technologies such as sodium-ion batteries, advanced geothermal, and small modular reactors.

## Chapters

- [0:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-10-16-calibrating-hype-with-akshat-rathi#t=2) Introduction and Nomenclature Politics
- [5:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-10-16-calibrating-hype-with-akshat-rathi#t=330) Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) for Load Growth
- [8:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-10-16-calibrating-hype-with-akshat-rathi#t=531) Co-locating Generation with Data Centers
- [14:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-10-16-calibrating-hype-with-akshat-rathi#t=863) Infrastructure Bottlenecks: Generation, Transmission, and Transformers
- [24:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-10-16-calibrating-hype-with-akshat-rathi#t=1447) Venture Capital and the Paris Agreement's Influence
- [32:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-10-16-calibrating-hype-with-akshat-rathi#t=1926) Technology Grab Bag: Sodium-Ion, Geothermal, and Nuclear

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Bloomberg News (company)
- Zero (product)
- EnergyHub (company)
- Octopus Energy (company)
- BYD (company)
- XAI (company)
- Meta (company)
- Heron Power (company)
- CATL (company)
- Tesla (company)
- A123 (company)
- Fervo Energy (company)
- Westinghouse (company)
- Hitachi (company)
- Siemens (company)
- GE (company)
- Mitsubishi (company)
- Rolls-Royce (company)
- ASML (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [The Deep Tech Revolution: Solving Climate Change with Five Industry Leaders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-01-16-the-deep-tech-revolution-solving-climate-change-with-five-industry-leaders) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [From Solar’s 90% Cost Crash to AI’s Energy Surge: The Economics Driving Climate Tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-09-16-from-solars-90-cost-crash-to-ais-energy-surge-the-economics-driving-climate-tech) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Aligning Passion With Purpose: A Journey to Electrification and Sustainability](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2025-06-17-aligning-passion-with-purpose-a-journey-to-electrification-and-sustainability) (Moore's Lobby)
- [Powering the AI Era Sustainably: Breakthrough Climate Hardware Tech from 8 Innovators](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-12-04-powering-the-ai-era-sustainably-breakthrough-climate-hardware-tech-from-8-innova) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Taxonomy of Hype](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-01-25-taxonomy-of-hype) (Oxide and Friends)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-10-16-calibrating-hype-with-akshat-rathi. 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.