“Twisty donuts” if you lean Republican, “French cruller” if you lean left. CEO and Co-founder Brian Berzin, describes how this shape and a focus on manufacturability will allow Thea Energy to deliver fusion energy in a cost-competitive manner.  

Following up on last week’s episode with Dr. Scott Hsu of Lowercarbon Capital, Brian discusses the innovative approach Thea Energy is taking to commercialize fusion energy. The conversation covers the company’s origins in the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, and their groundbreaking ‘stellarator’ design. Brian explains how modularization, software and AI helps overcome the fiendishly difficult construction of stellerators. He shares insights into the company’s rapid iteration and development cycles, culminating in their goal to scale up to commercial levels.  

00:00 Welcome to the Fusion Energy Series 

01:06 Introducing Brian Berzin and Thea Energy 

11:46 Technical and Financial Milestones 

14:54 Understanding Fusion: A Simplified Explanation 

23:58 Challenges and Breakthroughs in Stellerators 

29:30 Innovations in Superconducting Magnets 

34:52 The Role of Software in Magnet Control 

41:07 Scaling Up to Commercial Relevance 

48:45 First Walls and Blankets in Fusion Reactors 

51:42 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Episode 57: $10 billion and the Universe’s Most Powerful Energy Source: Fusion 

Why have the biggest names (such as Bill Gates, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Google and Sam Altman) put billions into dozens of fusion energy companies? An engaging, accessible discussion with Dr. Scott Hsu on the fascinating world and private company ecosystem of the fusion energy. Scott was with with the DOE where he helped allocate $100MM of fusion R&D investment. He is now Partner at Lowercarbon Capital. We explore the fundamentals of fusion, compare magnetic and inertial confinement methods, and discuss innovative companies like Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Pacific Fusion, Thea Energy, Xcimer and Avalanche Energy. Scott explains why there’s new hope for making fusion commercially viable in the coming years. He highlights the challenges and opportunities in building the necessary infrastructure. 

00:00 Introduction 

01:42 Scott’s Background and Career 

02:39 Lowercarbon Capital and Fusion Investments 

10:42 Fusion Basics and Scientific Principles 

19:57 Magnetic and Inertial Fusion Approaches 

22:52 Understanding the Magnetic Confinement (Commonwealth, Thea) 

23:35 Challenges of Plasma Confinement 

25:31 Innovations in Modern Tokamaks 

29:17 Exploring Alternative Fusion Devices (Pacific Fusion, Avalanche) 

32:40 Laser Inertial Confinement Fusion (Xcimer) 

41:26 Future of Fusion Energy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Interested in a piece of a $400 billion pie from which Tesla once took a $465MM bite?  Chris Creed, Chief Investment Officer of the Department of Energy’s Loan Program’s Office spoke to me about how the pie is made available to innovators or scalers in renewable energy and energy infrastructure.  He discussed suitable projects, financial metrics and loan terms.   Recent LPO facilities include the subject of our Episode 33, the ACES Delta hydrogen storage program,  $2.2BN for Nevada’s Thacker Lithium Mine, and GM’s Ultium and Ford’s BlueOval battery efforts.  Chris works with Jigar Shah, Director of the LPO and co-founder of Sun Edison.  

You can read the related article here in 3 minutes.    The LPO monthly activity report is here.  

Time stamps below. On some podcast players you can click the timestamp to jump to it.

(0:00) Introduction

(2:26) Chris Creed and intro to the LPO

(6:30) Chris’ background

(9:55) “Bridge to bankability”; innovation; infrastructure

(14:40) The kinds of risks LPO will take

(21:57) Terms, conditions & diligence

(27:01) Community benefits

(29:19) The role of large/small companies and private debt/equity

(36:37) Related Tech Cars Machines episodes

Host: Ali Tabibian of GTK Partners. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

GE’s “fuels guy” and current Global Hydrogen Value Chain Leader at GE Vernova, Dr. Jeffrey Goldmeer, shares his 23 years of experience and insight on energy generation, energy transition, the electric grid, and the role of hydrogen.

We got technical in an accessible way about electric grid characteristics and how the transition to carbon-free sources influences them. One thousand six hundred miles of existing hydrogen pipeline, 50+ years of experience burning hydrogen as a fuel (100,000+ hours at one GE installation alone), and a vast ammonia transport network for fertilizers imply that technical breakthroughs aren’t the main gating items — infrastructure investments and subsidies are.  Jeff is a natural teacher and host of the Cutting Carbon podcast.

You can read the related article here in 4 minutes.

The Cutting Carbon podcast is here.

GE Vernova’s hydrogen-fueled turbines website page is here and very informative.

Host: Ali Tabibian of GTK Partners.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

You get a billion! And you get a billion! And YOU get a billion! (repeat 4 more times).

The Department of Energy recently announced seven recipients of a total $7 billion who will build hydrogen hubs around the U.S.  The auto and steel sectors, concentrated around Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, are covered by the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2).  Neil Banwart, MachH2’s CIO, talked with Ali Tabibian about how the hub will use scale to demonstrate the economics of hydrogen across diversified production methods and applications.  We discussed green, blue, pink and white hydrogen, and applications in heavy-duty transportation, marine and air travel.  We touched on the program’s commitment to social justice as the Inflation Reduction Act prescribes.

You can read the related article here in 3 minutes.

Host: Ali Tabibian of GTK Partners.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download