Is Venture Capital the Wrong Tool for Clean Energy?

In the first half of this year, 86% of U.S. venture money went to AI. Climate venture funds have raised less than $1 billion, down from more than $10 billion in 2021.

This week’s guest, Andrew Beebe, is more optimistic than those numbers suggest. The generalist funds that piled into climate a few years ago drove up the price of startups, and now they’ve left. The investors and founders still here understand the market, and he thinks that makes this one of the best times yet to invest.

Andrew is a managing director at Obvious Ventures, which Twitter co-founder Ev Williams helped start in 2014. The firm has raised more than $1.3 billion across five main funds. Before joining, Andrew spent more than a decade in solar: his team built the array at Google’s headquarters, and he went on to become chief commercial officer at Suntech, then the world’s largest solar manufacturer.

In this episode:

• Andrew’s don’t-go-there list: battery chemistry, fusion, hydrogen, and sustainable aviation fuel

• Container ships that could cross the Pacific on battery alone, and how Maersk changed its mind

• Why a $200 million business is too small for a venture fund like Obvious

• What Andrew would have told Sheldon Kimber about Google’s offer for Intersect

• Solar robots that take a four-person crew from 200 panels a day to 900

• The board that told Andrew he was doing great when he asked to be replaced as CEO

Links

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