Climate CEOs

What if AI could analyze terabytes of satellite, climate, grid, and subsurface data with a single question?
Lium is building an AI operating system for the physical world that helps scientists, engineers, and businesses extract insights from massive datasets without spending months building data infrastructure.
https://www.lium.ai
Guest bios:
Ryan Thill is co-founder of Lium, an entrepreneur with a background in environmental science and technology. He previously worked at Workday, Procore, and Box, and brings experience in enterprise software, AI, and business development.
Josh Knutson is co-founder of Lium and a serial entrepreneur and a former mental health clinician turned technology founder who has worked across healthcare, data engineering, and AI, combining technical expertise with a passion for environmental impact.
Both have built and sold companies.
Company summary:
Lium is developing a cloud-based operating system that connects AI agents to massive, complex datasets across climate, energy, natural resources, and other physical-world industries. Its technology enables users to analyze satellite imagery, weather patterns, electric grids, seismic data, and subsurface resources without extensive coding or data migration. Applications include geothermal exploration, carbon sequestration, flood risk, and grid intelligence.
Seven things you’ll learn in this episode:
Domain expertise is the AI moat. Frontier models will improve, but proprietary knowledge and specialized workflows remain valuable.
Move the intelligence, not the data. Connect AI to existing datasets instead of spending 12–18 months migrating them.
Make experts more powerful. Let scientists and engineers build AI workflows without becoming software developers.
Choose markets systematically. Find industries where complex data, expensive decisions, and specialized expertise intersect.
Turn research into products. Convert scientific code and published research into reusable AI tools.
Fail faster. Entrepreneurship rewards rapid experimentation, learning, and the willingness to confront obstacles.
Get out of your head. Meditation and short walks can help founders manage stress, gain perspective, and make better decisions.

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Extra stuff

Join our private CEO peer group in energy, infrastructure, industrial tech, and climate tech:
→ entrepreneursforimpact.com

Join 40,000+ and read our two-minute Climate CEOs newsletter:
→ entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/

Listen to similar Climate CEOs podcast episodes:
→ The $8B Utility Blind Spot: From Helicopters to AI | Overstory
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-%248b-utility-blind-spot-from-helicopters-to-ai-overstory/id1561411048?i=1000761375819
→ Climate AI: TIME’s Best Invention + First Prediction Engine for Earth | Bellwether
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/climate-ai-times-best-invention-first-prediction-engine/id1561411048?i=1000694819077
→ AI for Energy Regulation: VC-Backed + Tech for Open Data | HData
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-for-energy-regulation-vc-backed-tech-for-open-data/id1561411048?i=1000675533997

Help our guests and leave a rating or review on Apple or Spotify.
→ Thanks in advance!

Join 97,000+ and take my course, Renewable Energy & Green Building Entrepreneurship:
→ coursera.org/learn/renewable-energy-entrepreneurship

20 recent climate, industrial, and energy tech fundraises teach us new lessons: Sell into AI infrastructure, national security, resource scarcity, and hard economics. Climate impact can still be enormous. But for now, it might belong in the appendices.
Seven things you’ll learn in this episode:
AI is creating a second climate capital market. Data centers need enormous amounts of power, creating new customers and capital for energy technologies.
National security can unlock climate technologies. Resilient energy, domestic manufacturing, batteries, nuclear, and critical minerals increasingly have strategic value beyond carbon.
Scarcity may be more investable than substitution. Solving shortages in power, copper, lithium, and infrastructure can be easier than convincing customers to buy a new green alternative.
Cost parity is now the floor. Investors increasingly expect climate technologies to compete without relying on customers paying a green premium.
Climate companies can tap non-climate budgets. AI, defense, manufacturing, and infrastructure spending can create much larger pools of capital.
Bottlenecks create businesses. The companies removing constraints around power, minerals, manufacturing, and infrastructure may capture disproportionate value.
The strongest climate thesis may survive without climate. Customers can buy for cost, reliability, security, or scarcity while emissions reductions become the consequence rather than the pitch.

Read more:
https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/publish/post/211462467

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More stuff:

Join our private CEO peer group in energy, infrastructure, industrial tech, and climate tech: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠ 

Join 40,000+ and read our free Climate CEOs newsletter: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠

Listen to related Climate CEOs podcast episodes:
→ The Climate Investments Unlocking the Next 100 Projects:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climate-investments-unlocking-the-next-100-projects/id1561411048?i=1000792745961
→ Can AI Find the Next Billion-Dollar Lithium Deposit? | Atana Elements:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/climate-ceos/id1561411048
→ Critical Minerals: $20M for AI-Driven Mining in Nickel, Lithium & Silver Discoveries:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-minerals-%2420m-for-ai-driven-mining-in-nickel/id1561411048?i=1000703979931

Help our podcast guests and leave a rating or review on Apple or Spotify. 
→ Thanks in advance! 

Join 97,000+ and take my (possibly free) course, Renewable Energy & Green Building Entrepreneurship: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠coursera.org/learn/renewable-energy-entrepreneurship⁠

Your CRM probably contains millions of dollars in imaginary revenue.

Climate tech and energy startups often mistake customer interest for buying intent. “Really interesting” and “this fits our decarbonization strategy” feel good, but they don’t pay the bills.

This episode applies lessons from The Mom Test to help founders separate compliments (like your mom would make) from real demand and build an evidence-based pipeline, not an optimistic one.

Seven things you’ll learn in this episode:
Interest isn’t intent. A compliment from a prospect is not evidence of demand.
Diagnose before you pitch. Spend more of the first meeting understanding the customer’s problem than explaining your technology.
Quantify the pain. If the customer can’t put a dollar value on the problem, solving it may not be urgent.
Find the budget. Innovation teams may love your technology without having authority or money to buy it.
Identify the real buyer. Learn who controls the budget and who ultimately signs off.
Demand commitment. A credible opportunity should produce a concrete next step, not another “let’s stay in touch.”
Audit your pipeline ruthlessly. Revenue forecasts built on enthusiasm instead of budget, authority, urgency, and commitment are mostly fiction.

Read more:
https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com/p/the-sales-mistake-that-kills-climate

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More stuff:

Join our private CEO peer group in energy, infrastructure, industrial tech, and climate tech: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠ 

Join 40,000+ and read our free Climate CEOs newsletter: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠

Listen to similar Climate CEOs podcast episodes:
→ The $1.5 Billion Solar Heat Project Replacing Fossil Fuels | GlassPoint: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-%241-5-billion-solar-heat-project-replacing-fossil/id1561411048?i=1000797249318

→ The $440M Bet to Reinvent Climate Innovation | NY Climate Exchange: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-%24440m-bet-to-reinvent-climate-innovation-ny/id1561411048?i=1000796086419

→ "Give First" Mindset: VC Investor Lessons That Catalyzed 4,500+ Startups | Brad Feld: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/give-first-mindset-vc-investor-lessons-that-catalyzed/id1561411048?i=1000722651181

Help our podcast guests and leave a rating or review on Apple or Spotify. 
→ Thanks in advance! 

Join 97,000+ and take my (possibly free) course, Renewable Energy & Green Building Entrepreneurship: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠coursera.org/learn/renewable-energy-entrepreneurship⁠

What if AI could find billion-dollar critical mineral deposits hiding in forgotten geological data?
Atana combines oil-and-gas geology, proprietary datasets, and AI to discover and de-risk lithium and other critical mineral resources faster.
Company bio:
Atana uses AI, data science, and subsurface expertise to discover and de-risk overlooked critical mineral deposits. The company has secured 1.5 million acres of mineral rights and is initially focused on lithium, with plans to expand into other critical minerals.
Guest bio:
Tom Wilson is CEO of Atana and previously helped scale direct lithium extraction company Lilac Solutions through its Series C. His background spans oil and gas, geology, critical minerals, technology, and project development.
Seven things you’ll learn in this episode:
Borrow from adjacent industries. Proven oil-and-gas tools can transform mining.
Proprietary data can be the real AI moat. Models improve quickly; unique datasets are harder to replicate.
Look for stranded assets. New technology can make overlooked resources valuable.
Own the upside. Atana secures mineral rights instead of merely selling technology.
De-risk, then sell. Match each project stage with the right cost of capital.
Make good decisions quickly. Speed often beats waiting for perfection.
Do 10% more. Small extra efforts compound across work and life.
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More stuff:

Join our private CEO peer group in energy, infrastructure, industrial tech, and climate tech: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠ 

Join 40,000+ and read our free Climate CEOs newsletter: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠

Listen to similar Climate CEOs podcast episodes:
→ Critical Minerals: $20M for AI-Driven Mining in Nickel, Lithium & Silver Discoveries | Earth AI https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-minerals-%2420m-for-ai-driven-mining-in-nickel/id1561411048?i=1000703979931
→ Lithium Extraction: 40% Lower Costs with Electrochemistry | Lithios:⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-new-way-to-extract-lithium-from-americas-hardest/id1561411048?i=1000754012245
→ Sustainable Mining: Microbes Extract Copper & Lithium | Endolith:⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sustainable-mining-microbes-extract-copper-lithium/id1561411048?i=1000711847281

Help our podcast guests and leave a rating or review on Apple or Spotify. 
→ Thanks in advance! 

Join 97,000+ and take my (possibly free) course, Renewable Energy & Green Building Entrepreneurship: 
→ ⁠⁠⁠coursera.org/learn/renewable-energy-entrepreneurship⁠

Industrial heat consumes more energy globally than electricity, yet it remains one of the hardest parts of the economy to decarbonize.
GlassPoint has spent nearly two decades figuring out how to make solar heat cheaper than burning fossil fuels at industrial scale.
Company bio:
GlassPoint is an industrial heat company using concentrated solar thermal technology and molten-salt storage to deliver low-cost, 24/7 process heat. Its projects serve energy-intensive industries including aluminum, mining, ethanol, pulp and paper, and oil and gas, with projects ranging from hundreds of megawatts to gigawatt scale.
Guest bio:
Rod MacGregor is the founder and CEO of GlassPoint and a five-time venture-backed entrepreneur with an IPO among his previous companies. He founded GlassPoint to tackle industrial heat, which accounts for roughly 26% of global energy use.
Seven things you’ll learn in this episode:
Why industrial heat is not “hard to abate” so much as “too cheap to abate.”

Why customers buy decarbonization technology for economics and energy security, not primarily climate.

How putting giant solar mirrors inside greenhouses dramatically reduced GlassPoint’s capital and operating costs.

Why combining mature technologies can be more powerful than inventing everything from scratch.

How GlassPoint stores solar heat in molten salt to supply industrial steam day and night.

Why startups should dominate one application and industry before expanding into adjacent markets.

Why entering Middle Eastern markets requires years of local presence and relationship building, not fly-in sales.

--

More stuff:

Join our private CEO peer group in energy, infrastructure, industrial tech, and climate tech: 
→ ⁠⁠entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠ 

Join 40,000+ and read our free Climate CEOs newsletter: 
→ ⁠⁠entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠

Listen to similar Climate CEOs podcast episodes:
→ The Climate Investments Unlocking the Next 100 Projects: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climate-investments-unlocking-the-next-100-projects/id1561411048?i=1000792745961⁠
→ 7 Lessons for Hard-Tech Startups | Vanessa Chan (Time100 List):⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/7-lessons-for-hard-tech-startups-vanessa-chan-time100-list/id1561411048?i=1000791062281⁠
→ The Climate Tech Map: Where Capital and Innovation Are Still Missing | Speed & Scale, Doerr Capital:⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climate-tech-map-where-capital-and-innovation/id1561411048?i=1000787128813⁠ 

Help our podcast guests and leave a rating or review on Apple or Spotify. 
→ Thanks in advance! 

Join 97,000+ and take my (possibly free) course, Renewable Energy & Green Building Entrepreneurship: 
→ ⁠⁠coursera.org/learn/renewable-energy-entrepreneurship⁠