Catalyst with Shayle Kann11 Des 2025

Can AI revolutionize EPC?

Big construction projects in the U.S. are notoriously unpredictable, often finishing over budget and behind schedule. Part of the problem is the inherent complexity of these kinds of projects, like data centers and first-of-a-kind plants. But there’s another problem: the companies that actually build these projects — called EPC firms for engineering, procurement, and construction — often lack strong incentives to control costs or deliver on time. That’s the thesis behind Unlimited Industries, a new startup focused on using AI to develop multiple project designs upfront and reduce project risks. So what would it take to actually cut costs and shorten construction timelines? In this episode, Shayle talks to Alex Modon, co-founder and CEO of Unlimited Industries. The company recently announced a $12 million fundraise as it emerged from stealth. Shayle and Alex cover topics like: How EPC incentives and contract structures drive cost overruns Why bespoke projects prevent learning and standardization The role software and AI can play in design and risk reduction EPC Managing risks – including geopolitics, contractor reliability, and supply chains Resources: Catalyst: FOAK tales The Green Blueprint: Shortening the nuclear development cycle from decades to years Catalyst: The cost of nuclear Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com. Catalyst is brought to you by Bloom Energy. AI data centers can’t wait years for grid power—and with Bloom Energy’s fuel cells, they don’t have to. Bloom Energy delivers affordable, always-on, ultra-reliable onsite power, built for chipmakers, hyperscalers, and data center leaders looking to power their operations at AI speed. Learn more by visiting BloomEnergy.com.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(269)

Is now the time for DERs to scale?

A decade ago, DERs were hot. The hype was that things like batteries, smart devices, and other distributed energy technologies would offset the need for expanding traditional grid infrastructure. But...

13 Aug 42min

Critical Capital: Senator Tillis' case for "all-of-the-above" energy

This week, we’re presenting an episode of Critical Capital, a new podcast from Crux and Latitude Studios. Energy policy has become increasingly polarized just as the U.S. faces record electricity dem...

11 Aug 31min

The electrician shortage slowing the AI boom

The race to build AI infrastructure is often framed around the availability of power, chips, and capital. But another critical constraint is becoming impossible to ignore: skilled labor. In this epis...

6 Aug 34min

The commercial battery comeback

Commercial and industrial (C&I) battery storage has long been the missing middle of the energy storage market. It’s been too complex and expensive to scale like residential systems, but too small to ...

30 Jul 44min

The multi-billion dollar promise of vehicle-to-grid integration

Most electric vehicles spend nearly all of their lives parked, doing nothing. But under the hood of those idle cars, a massive store of energy sits untapped. The Kia EV9, for instance, holds a 100-kil...

23 Jul 34min

When will quantum computing have its breakout moment?

Over the course of the past decade, quantum computing (or the concept thereof) has ridden hype cycles, just like AI or the internet writ large. In the past year, however, as governments across the g...

16 Jul 40min

Inside the AI power wars

For those steeped in the world of AI development, the major differences between tech giants’ chip strategies are easy enough to see: the speed of Google’s TPUs, the affordability of Amazon’s Trainium,...

9 Jul 43min

Inside the most sophisticated plan for solar geoengineering

One of the biggest challenges with technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions is that they require mass adoption. Solar radiation management (SRM) has the opposite problem. By Stardust Solutio...

1 Jul 37min