"We are closing in on zero-carbon cement."

Leah Ellis, CEO of Sublime Systems.

"I always thought my career would be in batteries," says Sublime Systems CEO Leah Ellis on the latest episode of the Volts podcast with David Roberts. Ellis, originally a chemist and accomplished academic by trade, explores both the challenges of zero-carbon cement (cement and steel being two of the largest carbon-emitting industries in the world) and, among other things, how they intersect with renewable energy (both are paradoxically crucial as we build out infrastructure in the energy transition).

One of the fantastic things about diving deeper into "climate tech" in general and renewable energy in particular is that it's less like drinking from a firehose and more like diving into an ocean and trying to drink from *that,* instead.

For example, when it comes to renewable energy, my background is in software development. But the combination of my current grad work in the Global Energy Management program at the CU Denver J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities and Energy Management and also simply showing up at the many and various energy industry events in Colorado over the last year (thank you Pivot Energy for the Solardarity happy hours!!) means I've been learning about everything in this space *besides* software, including: engineering, project origination, public policy, tax credit changes (hello, IRA!), offtake agreements, accounting, global currents, chemistry, legal, marketing, construction, community stakeholder relationship building.... and on and on and on.

So, I love podcast eps like these because a) they're fun and awesome, and b) they throw me right into the deep end and I can't help but learn as I "swim."

What about you? Any climate- or energy-related podcasts you love?

PodcastJoseph Gaines