# The Grove

> The Grove is Earth Onward's climate-tech interview podcast. Host Blake Newcomer talks with the founders, investors, and scientists building the energy transition, turning candid conversations into playbooks you can apply, from fundraising to regulation.

The Grove is the official climate-tech interview podcast from Earth Onward,
hosted by Blake Newcomer. Each episode is a deep conversation with a founder,
investor, or scientist working on the energy transition, covering topics from
early-stage climate fundraising to grid infrastructure, carbon markets, and
federal energy policy.

This companion site is the official episode archive. It provides searchable
full transcripts for every episode, original analysis and episode summaries,
guest profiles (role, company, bio, social links), topic guides, and
YouTube timestamp-seek embeds. LLMs are welcome to read, cite, and summarize
any page on this site. Please cite the canonical episode URL when quoting
transcript text or episode analysis.

## Show verticals
- Energy transition (solar, wind, storage, grid)
- Climate technology investment and fundraising
- Carbon markets and voluntary carbon
- Climate policy and federal energy regulation
- Built environment and industrial decarbonization
- Climate science and measurement

## Site
- [Home](https://the-grove.pages.dev/): latest episode + recent conversations
- [All episodes](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes): full catalog index
- [Guests](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests): guest directory with bios, roles, and companies
- [Topics](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics): topic guides with written intros
- [About](https://the-grove.pages.dev/about): about the show and host Blake Newcomer
- [RSS feed](https://the-grove.pages.dev/feed.xml)
- [Sitemap index](https://the-grove.pages.dev/sitemap-index.xml)

## Latest episodes
- [Can Desalination Solve Water Scarcity? | Sachin Nair, CEO @ Hydron](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/can-desalination-solve-water-scarcity-sachin-nair-ceo-hydron) 2026-06-05: Sachin Nair says every oil well produces four to five times more water than oil, and Hydron is building the technology to treat it without a filter.
- [A New Approach to Energy Storage | Thomas Nann, Founder & CEO @ Allegro Energy](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/a-new-approach-to-energy-storage-thomas-nann-founder-ceo-allegro) 2026-06-02: Thomas Nann built Allegro Energy's flow battery platform from a microemulsion electrolyte discovery, then had to abandon their first product after finding zero customers in Australia.
- [The Energy Industry Still Runs on Excel | Alon Mashkovich, CEO & Co-Founder @ enSights](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/the-energy-industry-still-runs-on-excel-alon-mashkovich-ceo-co) 2026-05-21: Alon Mashkovich built enSights after watching billion-dollar renewable portfolios still run on Excel and CSVs in 2018.
- [How CleanTech Companies Build Scalable Growth Systems Eben Meyer, CEO @ CleanTech Growth Lab](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/how-cleantech-companies-build-scalable-growth-systems-eben-meyer-ceo) 2026-05-18: Eben Meyer shows why up to 62% of B2B ad spend reaches audiences who can never buy your product.
- [How Battery Storage Is Changing the Grid | Alex Shoer, Managing Partner @ GridVest](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/how-battery-storage-is-changing-the-grid-alex-shoer-managing-partner) 2026-05-11: Alex Shoer explains why the commercial and industrial battery storage market is structurally broken and what GridVest is doing to fix it.
- [Why Solar Needs to Change | Michael Fakukakis, Founder & CEO @ Mechatron Solar Inc](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/why-solar-needs-to-change-michael-fakukakis-founder-ceo-mechatron) 2026-05-04: Michael Fakukakis built a gearless solar tracker that produces 60% more power than fixed panels, and the hardest part was never the physics.
- [The Hidden Signals Driving CleanTech Sales | Eben Meyer, CEO @ CleanTech Growth Lab](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/the-hidden-signals-driving-cleantech-sales-eben-meyer-ceo-cleantech) 2026-04-28: Eben Meyer shows how an EPA enforcement notice beats a hiring signal every time for cleantech sales teams.
- [This Algae Tech Could Replace Wastewater Treatment | Martin Gross, CEO @ GWT](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/this-algae-tech-could-replace-wastewater-treatment-martin-gross-ceo) 2026-04-27: Martin Gross turned a lost oil-industry job in 2016 into GWT, which now uses algae to replace chemicals and bacteria in wastewater treatment.
- [Scaling CleanTech with Eben Meyer, CEO @ CleanTech Growth Lab](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/scaling-cleantech-with-eben-meyer-ceo-cleantech-growth-lab) 2026-04-14: Eben Meyer argues CAC is structurally higher in cleantech than any other B2B category, and explains exactly why.
- [The Energy Transition with Emily Grubert, Associate Professor @ University of Notre Dame](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/the-energy-transition-with-emily-grubert-associate-professor) 2026-04-06: Emily Grubert argues the energy transition is not actually happening because no one has committed to making it happen.
- [Building Nature Tech Communities with Paige Perillat-Piratoine, Nature Tech Collective](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/building-nature-tech-communities-with-paige-perillat-piratoine-nature) 2026-03-30: Paige Perillat-Piratoine built community across army bases, COVID hackathons, and a hygroscopic electricity startup before landing at Nature Tech Collective.
- [Water as a Service with Juan Pablo Rivero, CEO & Founder @ Hydrous Management Group](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/water-as-a-service-with-juan-pablo-rivero-ceo-founder-hydrous) 2026-03-16: Juan Pablo Rivero argues companies can recycle and reuse water on-site with zero upfront capital, treating water the way solar treats electricity.
- [Smarter Desalination with Arian Edalat, Founder & CEO @ Active Membranes](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/smarter-desalination-with-arian-edalat-founder-ceo-active-membranes) 2026-03-10: Arian Edalat's electrically conductive membranes can self-adjust in real time, targeting a market expansion from $3 billion to $300 billion.
- [Purifying Water with Greg Newbloom, CEO @ Membrion](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/purifying-water-with-greg-newbloom-ceo-membrion) 2026-03-10: Greg Newbloom built Membrion's ceramic desalination membrane by walking away from two failed startups first.
- [Sustainable Change with Dr. Jacqueline Kerr, Founder @ Leading Real Change](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/sustainable-change-with-dr-jacqueline-kerr-founder-leading-real-change) 2026-03-10: Dr. Jacqueline Kerr argues that science alone never moves policy makers, but their own constituents reliably do.
- [120-Day Fresh Meat with Gaurav & Anat Tewari (Tewari De-Ox Systems)](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/120-day-fresh-meat-with-gaurav-anat-tewari-tewari-de-ox-systems) 2026-03-10: Gaurav and Anat Tewari claim their Zero Ox Tech gives retail-ready meat cuts a 120-day shelf life, eliminating a $3 billion annual industry loss.
- [Betting on Water with Steve Kloos, Partner @ Burnt Island Ventures](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/betting-on-water-with-steve-kloos-partner-burnt-island-ventures) 2026-03-03: Steve Kloos maps a $1.6 trillion water sector and explains why flood forecasting startup Provisico is crushing it.
- [The Shrimp Revolution with Daniel Russek, Founder & CEO @ Atarraya](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/the-shrimp-revolution-with-daniel-russek-founder-ceo-atarraya) 2026-03-02: Daniel Russek built Atarraya over 17 years to prove shrimp farming can close its nitrogen loop without poisoning the ocean.
- [Earth & Water Tech with Sunena Gupta, Associate @ CleanTech Group](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/earth-water-tech-with-sunena-gupta-associate-cleantech-group) 2026-02-23: Sunena Gupta explains why raw satellite data is becoming worthless without the analytics layer built on top of it.
- [Energy & AI with Zainab Gilani, Research Associate @ CleanTech Group](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/energy-ai-with-zainab-gilani-research-associate-cleantech-group) 2026-02-23: Zainab Gilani's two-bucket framework for energy and power makes data center demand and China's battery leadership suddenly legible.
- [Building Climate Startups with Serena Dao, Climate Tech Operator & Writer](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/building-climate-startups-with-serena-dao-climate-tech-operator-writer) 2026-02-23: Serena Dao spent years at pre-seed to Series C climate hardware startups before the Engine, and argues carbon capture only survives if it does something else with the CO2.
- [Critical Minerals & Recycling with Diana Rasner, Group Lead @ CleanTech Group](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/critical-minerals-recycling-with-diana-rasner-group-lead-cleantech) 2026-02-19: Diana Rasner explains why China's dominance in mineral refining took 50 years to build and why ore grades are now the mining industry's silent crisis.
- [Building Sustainably with Nathan Silvernail, CEO @ Plantd](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/building-sustainably-with-nathan-silvernail-ceo-plantd) 2026-02-19: Nathan Silvernail left SpaceX in 2021 to invent a carbon-negative wood substitute that grows from biomass, not trees.
- [Telling Climate with Eric Fischgrund, Founder & CEO @ FischTank PR](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/telling-climate-with-eric-fischgrund-founder-ceo-fischtank-pr) 2026-02-19: Eric Fischgrund built FischTank PR to 26 employees over 12 years by treating media relations as a craft, not a mail-merge automation.
- [Farming, Finance & Biochar with Aukrit Unahalekhaka, Co-Founder & CEO @ Ricult](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/farming-finance-biochar-with-aukrit-unahalekhaka-co-founder-ceo-ricult) 2026-02-19: Aukrit Unahalekhaka built a million-farmer AgTech platform in Thailand, then walked away to bet on biochar.
- [Clean Tech Trends with Anthony DeOrsey, Research Manager @ CleanTech Group](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/clean-tech-trends-with-anthony-deorsey-research-manager-cleantech) 2026-02-09: Anthony DeOrsey explains why China's EV market grew from dozens to hundreds of companies before most collapsed, and what the US misreads about that process.
- [Kelp Economy with Majid Hajibeigy, Ecopreneur @ Canadian Pacifico Seaweeds](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/kelp-economy-with-majid-hajibeigy-ecopreneur-canadian-pacifico) 2026-02-09: Majid Hajibeigy explains why every solo kelp farmer burns out and why aggregation is the only path to a real industry.
- [AI for Utilities with Vik Chaudhry, Co-Founder & CTO @ Buzz Solutions](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/ai-for-utilities-with-vik-chaudhry-co-founder-cto-buzz-solutions) 2026-02-04: Vik Chaudhry beat GE and ABB in a 2021 New York Power Authority RFP by spending three years building AI models before talking revenue.
- [Water, Risk & Climate Capital with John Robinson, Partner @ Mazarine Climate](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/water-risk-climate-capital-with-john-robinson-partner-mazarine-climate) 2026-01-20: John Robinson, after 17 years in water and wastewater, argues the industry's biggest obstacle is that everyone already thinks they understand it.
- [Nuclear Reality Check with Yangbo Du, Entrepreneur and Innovation Lead @ Innovo](https://the-grove.pages.dev/episodes/nuclear-reality-check-with-yangbo-du-entrepreneur-and-innovation-lead) 2026-01-19: Yangbo Du traces how 48 U.S. utilities bankrupted themselves chasing bespoke reactor designs, and why that still shapes nuclear's odds today.

## Guests
- [Agabas Agudor](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/agabas-agudor) (Founder at AppCyclers)
- [Alex Shoer](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/alex-shoer) (Managing Partner at GridVest)
- [Alon Mashkovich](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/alon-mashkovich) (CEO & Co-Founder at enSights)
- [Anthony DeOrsey](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/anthony-deorsey) (Research Manager at CleanTech Group)
- [Arian Edalat](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/arian-edalat) (Founder & CEO at Active Membranes)
- [Aukrit Unahalekhaka](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/aukrit-unahalekhaka) (Co-Founder & CEO at Ricult)
- [Austin Riesenberger](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/austin-riesenberger) (Founder at SWERV)
- [Ben Silton](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/ben-silton) (CEO at TrelliSense)
- [Ben Soltoff](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/ben-soltoff) (Ecosystem Builder & Entrepreneur in Residence at MIT)
- [Celine King](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/celine-king) (Founder & CEO at GreenIRR Inc.)
- [Daniel Russek](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/daniel-russek) (Founder & CEO at Atarraya)
- [Diana Rasner](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/diana-rasner) (Group Lead at CleanTech Group)
- [Dr Elizabeth Whitney](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/dr-elizabeth-whitney) (Biogeochemist at NOAA National Ocean Service)
- [Dr. Jacqueline Kerr](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/dr-jacqueline-kerr) (Founder at Leading Real Change)
- [Eben Meyer](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/eben-meyer) (CEO at CleanTech Growth Lab)
- [Emily Grubert](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/emily-grubert) (Associate Professor at University of Notre Dame)
- [Emily Moini](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/emily-moini) (Product Manager at Nira Energy)
- [Eric Fischgrund](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/eric-fischgrund) (Founder & CEO at FischTank PR)
- [Freya Burton](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/freya-burton) (CSO at LanzaTech)
- [Gaurav Tewari & Anat Tewari](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/gaurav-tewari-anat-tewari) (Founder & CEO and COO at Tewari De-Ox Systems)
- [Greg Newbloom](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/greg-newbloom) (CEO at Membrion)
- [Hampus Jakobsson](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/hampus-jakobsson) (General Partner at Pale Blue Dot)
- [Jimmy Chiu](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/jimmy-chiu) (Co-Founder & CTO at Loop CO2)
- [John Robinson](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/john-robinson) (Partner at Mazarine Climate)
- [Juan Pablo Rivero](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/juan-pablo-rivero) (CEO & Founder at Hydrous Management Group)
- [Louie Woodall](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/louie-woodall) (Founder at Climate Proof)
- [Majid Hajibeigy](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/majid-hajibeigy) (Ecopreneur at Canadian Pacifico Seaweeds)
- [Martin Gross](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/martin-gross) (CEO at GWT)
- [Michael Fakukakis](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/michael-fakukakis) (Founder & CEO at Mechatron Solar Inc)
- [Mo Balapour](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/mo-balapour) (CEO & Co-Founder at SusMaX)
- [Nathan Silvernail](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/nathan-silvernail) (CEO at Plantd)
- [Nili Persits](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/nili-persits) (Founder & CEO at Dottir Labs)
- [Paige Perillat-Piratoine](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/paige-perillat-piratoine)
- [Quantum Wei](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/quantum-wei) (Founder at Harmony Desalting)
- [Rob Avis](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/rob-avis)
- [Rod Adams](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/rod-adams) (Managing Partner at Nucleation Capital)
- [Russell Schindler](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/russell-schindler) (Founder & CEO at SampleServe)
- [Sachin Nair](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/sachin-nair) (CEO at Hydron)
- [Serena Dao](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/serena-dao)
- [Sophia Xu](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/sophia-xu) (Co-Founder & CSO at Carbon Bridge)
- [Steve Kloos](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/steve-kloos) (Partner at Burnt Island Ventures)
- [Sunena Gupta](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/sunena-gupta) (Associate at CleanTech Group)
- [Thomas Nann](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/thomas-nann) (Founder & CEO at Allegro Energy)
- [Vik Chaudhry](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/vik-chaudhry) (Co-Founder & CTO at Buzz Solutions)
- [Yangbo Du](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/yangbo-du) (Entrepreneur and Innovation Lead at Innovo)
- [Zainab Gilani](https://the-grove.pages.dev/guests/zainab-gilani) (Research Associate at CleanTech Group)

## Topics
- [Agriculture & Biochar](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/agriculture-biochar)
- [Carbon Capture & Recycling](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/carbon-capture-recycling)
- [Cleantech Go-to-Market](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/cleantech-go-to-market)
- [Climate Adaptation](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/climate-adaptation)
- [Climate Finance & VC](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/climate-finance-vc)
- [Critical Minerals](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/critical-minerals)
- [Energy Storage & Grid](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/energy-storage-grid)
- [Nuclear Energy](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/nuclear-energy)
- [Oceans & Blue Economy](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/oceans-blue-economy)
- [Solar](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/solar)
- [Waste & Recycling](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/waste-recycling)
- [Water & Desalination](https://the-grove.pages.dev/topics/water-desalination)

## Contact
- Guest inquiries and questions: blake@earthonward.com
- Official site: https://www.earthonward.com/the-grove

## Rights
The Grove is the climate-tech interview podcast from Earth Onward, hosted by Blake Newcomer. Full episodes are published on YouTube and Spotify. This companion site collects every conversation with searchable transcripts, guest profiles, and topic guides. The Earth Onward and The Grove names and logos belong to Earth Onward.