Hardware Podcasts

What comes after the data center backlash?

Catalyst · 3 Sept 2026 · 47m

What this episode covers

Brian Janous, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Cloverleaf Infrastructure, discusses the rapid shift in community sentiment from welcoming to opposing data center development, attributing it to the scale of modern AI facilities and a broader backlash against AI itself. He argues that while specific grievances like water use and grid impact are negotiable through transparency and community benefits, the emotional opposition to AI is harder to solve with facts alone. Janous also evaluates emerging alternatives like behind-the-meter generation, underwater data centers, and distributed edge computing, concluding that while some niche solutions may emerge, large-scale terrestrial data centers remain the dominant and most efficient model for the foreseeable future.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Cloverleaf Infrastructure, Nvidia, Microsoft, EnergyHub, Pantalasa, Applied Digital, Genus

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Hardware to Save a Planet · 31m

    Powering the AI Era Sustainably: Breakthrough Climate Hardware Tech from 8 Innovators

    Host Dylan Garrett presents a year-end recap of eight innovators building climate hardware to support the massive energy demands of AI data centers. The episode features insights from Arch Rao of Span on managing grid capacity, Anders Kousgaard of Blue World Technologies on hydrogen fuel cell complexity, and Ina Braverman of Eco Wave Power on harvesting ocean wave energy. It also covers Ted McElveen of Vern on replacing diesel backup generators with hydrogen, Holly Jane of Antora Energy on thermal batteries, Curtis Van Wallahim of HydroStore on compressed air storage, Sandeep Nijwan of Electra on low-carbon iron, and Greg Williams of Sublime Systems on decarbonized cement.

    Energy & climate techScaling production
    9 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 05m

    All Heat, No Useful Work

    Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss the massive energy demands and infrastructure challenges of AI data centers, noting that 100% of input power becomes heat and requiring extensive cooling and diesel backup. They cover supply chain constraints, including a three-year backlog for transformers and a 40% surge in bareboard PCB prices driven by AI server demand. The conversation shifts to practical electronics work, where Chris details building a power-injecting Tag-Connect debug board and using Claude to implement SMP firmware updates over web serial, while Dave shares his frustration with a solar monitoring service's price hike and his son's struggles with Linux at school.

    PCB design & layoutEmbedded firmware
    7 chapters

  • Being an Engineer · 48m

    S1E03 This ain’t your grandma’s cooling technology | David Binger

    David Binger, CTO at Forced Physics, explains how his background in computer science and MEMS prototyping led to the development of a static, non-moving heat exchanger for data centers. He details the company's pivot from a large 'Jewel Force Conductor' to a smaller 'Micro Conductor' form factor to fit standard motherboards, addressing the primary hurdle of integration. Binger highlights the technology's ability to eliminate traditional cooling infrastructure, reducing energy consumption by over 90% compared to conventional data center cooling systems.

    Mechanical engineeringEnergy & climate tech
    7 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 07m

    Road trip to the deep space network

    Dave Jones of EEV blog and Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics discuss their recent hardware meetups in Sydney and New Zealand, highlighting projects like a hand-soldered LED matrix and a portable Hakko soldering station. They then debate the future of energy storage, arguing that lithium-ion batteries are unsuitable for grid-scale applications and advocating for flow batteries or solid-state alternatives. The conversation concludes with a critique of US university costs and a proposal for a soldering time-trial contest board.

    Careers & educationEnergy & climate tech
    7 chapters

  • The Circuit · 40m

    Episode 79: Not Your Grandfathers Data Center

    Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the recent volatility in the semiconductor stock market, attributing it to a 'bubble over' rather than fundamental shifts, while noting that AI's benefits are unevenly distributed. They analyze the evolving architecture of AI data centers, arguing that power constraints and liquid cooling requirements are forcing a shift from air-cooled racks to new designs with higher GPU-to-CPU ratios. The hosts also examine the automotive semiconductor sector, highlighting weak demand driven by high EV inventory in China and the divergence between analog and digital cyclicality.

    Chips, FPGAs & semiconductorsScaling production
    5 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Catalyst. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.