Circular Sanitation: How Human Waste Could Replace 25% of Global Fertiliser with Taylor Zehren
Recycling human waste rarely makes the sustainability spotlight, yet our current recycling system flushes away 32 billion gallons of fresh water and the nutrients that could replace a quarter of global fertiliser demand.
In this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, host Dylan Garrett speaks with Taylor Zehren, cofounder and CEO of Wasted, about how rethinking human waste can unlock a powerful circular sanitation economy. Zehren explains how urine-diversion technology turns porta-potties into nutrient-recovery hubs, reducing water waste, cutting emissions, and replacing a significant share of global fertiliser demand. She highlights why separating waste at the source outperforms traditional wastewater treatment, how Wasted’s model transforms disposal costs into revenue, and why cultural shifts, starting with educating children, are essential for scaling sustainable, nature-inspired sanitation systems across homes, venues, and communities.
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The Future of Clean Shipping: How Methanol Fuel Cells Are Decarbonising Maritime Transport
Decarbonizing maritime shipping is critical for a sustainable future, but conventional engines and fuel systems have long been a bottleneck. Anders Korsgaard and his team at Blue World Technologies are on track to change that.
Join Dylan Garrett on this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, as he welcomes Anders Korsgaard, Founder and CEO of Blue World Technologies, to discuss how methanol fuel cells are transforming the industry. Drawing on decades of expertise in fuel cell systems, Anders explains how high-temperature PEM fuel cells convert liquid methanol into clean electricity with 20–25% improved efficiency over conventional engines. He shares why methanol is emerging as the preferred green fuel for shipping, how waste heat recycling boosts system performance, and the practical challenges of retrofitting versus new-build vessels. From forming strategic partnerships with industry leaders like Maersk to scaling hardware solutions for hard-to-abate sectors, Anders reveals what it takes to make sustainable maritime shipping both economically viable and technologically feasible.
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Smart Electrical Panels: Avoiding $25K Upgrades to Enable Home Electrification with Arch Rao
Updating home electrification is key to a sustainable future, but outdated electrical infrastructure has long been a bottleneck. Arch Rao and Span are out to change that.
Join Dylan Garrett on this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, as he welcomes Arch Rao, Founder and CEO of SPAN, to discuss how his company is reinventing the humble electrical panel for a modern, electrified home. Drawing on his experience at Tesla Energy, Arch explains how SPAN’s smart panel enables homeowners to monitor, control, and optimize their energy use, without costly service upgrades. He shares how SPAN is helping accelerate the adoption of solar, EVs, and batteries through intelligent load management and design aesthetics. From forging utility partnerships to scaling hardware manufacturing, Arch reveals what it takes to build climate-impactful hardware and unlock the next era of smart home energy systems.
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Onshore Wave Energy: 90% Availability, Transforming Renewable Power Generation
Wave energy has the potential to provide up to 66% of U.S. electricity needs, but offshore systems have long struggled with cost, durability, and scalability. All that is about to change.
In this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, host Dylan Garrett welcomes Inna Braverman, founder and CEO of Eco Wave Power, to explore how her company is making wave energy commercially viable through an innovative onshore approach. Inna shares her personal journey from surviving the Chernobyl disaster as an infant to becoming a pioneer in clean energy at just 24. She explains why building on existing coastal infrastructure reduces costs and risks, how wave energy’s 90% availability rate complements solar and wind, and why focusing on achievable early markets is key to scaling climate tech.
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From Solar’s 90% Cost Crash to AI’s Energy Surge: The Economics Driving Climate Tech
Solar panel costs have dropped 90% in the past two decades, transforming clean energy from subsidy-dependent to economically viable on its own. If we care about scaling climate tech, we need to understand the role of economics, policy, and geography in shaping which solutions thrive.
In this episode of Hardware to Save a Planet, host Dylan Garrett welcomes Pavel Molchanov, Investment Strategy Analyst at Raymond James, to share insights from his 20 years of studying energy markets. Pavel explains why economic viability is more important than technical breakthroughs, how different regions demand different solutions, and why climate adaptation will be essential. He offers a clear-eyed view of what it really takes for climate tech to achieve global impact.
Our planet is warming at an unsustainable rate. This climate crisis is being caused by humans and it will take human ingenuity to stop or reverse it... Hardware to Save a Planet explores the technical innovations that are giving us hope in the fight against climate change. Each episode focuses on a specific climate challenge and explores an emerging physical technology solution, with the person bringing it into reality. Hosted by Dylan Garrett, President at Synapse.
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