True climate innovation starts with people, not ideas.
With 2023 about to become the hottest year on record, and uncertainty overshadowing COP28, it’s clear we need solutions now more than ever.
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NEW: The #COP28 presidency has launched an "Oil and Gas Charter" signed by oil-and-gas companies representing 40% of global production
They pledge to
🔥End gas flaring by 2030
🏭"Zero-out" methane emissions
0⃣"align" with net-zero by 2050
But... (see next tweet!)
The results from @BloombergNEF's 2023 lithium-ion battery price survey are out. Battery prices are back to their declining trajectory, after an unprecedented year of increases in 2022. Average pack prices reached a new record-low of $139/kWh, a 14% decline from last year.⬇️
A survey of thousands of US academics has found that the number one reason that women leave faculty positions is poor “workplace climate”, which can encompass discrimination, dysfunctional leadership, a feeling of not fitting in and other problems. More: https://t.co/U27agAZ14z
📣 @Breakthrough Energy Fellows applications for its 2024 cohort!
And congrats 🥳 to all new and past innovation & business fellows!
How does the programme work?
⛏️ Copper. Lithium. Graphite. Rare Earths. Nickel. Cobalt.
Critical minerals can unlock a shift from consumable fossil fuels to an energy system based on durable metals.
Problem:
"Like the sirens who called Odysseus onto the rocks, the irresistible treasure of waste heat is like a beacon that lures many startups into a shipwreck"
-@MichaelEWebber, in an EIP Slack
It's time to increase the supply of critical minerals.
Current pipelines cannot meet the growth of renewables, batteries and the power grid that the world needs for net zero.
Which is why ...
2023 physics laureate Pierre Agostini succeeded in producing and investigating a series of consecutive light pulses, in which each pulse lasted just 250 attoseconds. At the same time, his 2023 co-laureate Ferenc Krausz was working with another type of experiment, one that made it possible to isolate a single light pulse that lasted 650 attoseconds.
#NobelPrize
More firms are incubating companies as early-stage valuations rise.
A few successes:
• Snowflake ($49B mrkt cap) by Sutter Hill Ventures
• Affirm ($6B mrkt cap) by HVF Labs
• Hims & Hers ($1.3B mrkt cap) by Atomic
Our latest Signature Block essay is on venture studios...
Looking for a chemical engineer to work alongside our incredible team at @MarbleClimate to hardware that solves hard climate problems!
Cc @ChEnected if you know anyone? 🫣
My experience has repeatedly proven this Paul Graham quote to be true.
Three implications:
1. Writing cultures tend to learn faster than those that use slides, dashboards, or other mediums.
2. They learn faster because they present denser information to readers, but even more importantly because they help writers think more clearly.
3. As you become more senior, it is very dangerous to only review work from other people. You must keep writing yourself.