MCJ

The nuclear bottleneck has a solution, and it starts with fuel. Standard Nuclear is the reactor-agnostic TRISO fuel supplier built to power the next generation of advanced reactors. We had the chance to sit down with CEO Kurt Terrani on a recent episode of Inevitable, and we came away convinced. MCJ is proud to announce our participation in Standard Nuclear's $140M Series A, led by Decisive Point. Learn more about our investment 👉 https://mcj.news/snuclear

This month at MCJ’s Women in Climate Meetup, we’re joined by two powerhouse leaders at the center of energy, AI, and industrial innovation. Sadia Raveendran, Founding Head of GTM at HammerheadAI, Inc., is working at the frontlines of AI deployment and power constraints. Keely Anson, who leads Energy & Materials investing at the Autodesk Foundation, is backing the next generation of climate and industrial breakthroughs. We’re diving into: • Data centers and their growing energy use • Where energy & materials investing is heading next Shout-out to our facilitators this month Balwinder and Tiana! Join us this Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. PST RSVP 👉 https://luma.com/qmoayxon

Instead of waiting years for grid upgrades, what if compute moved directly to the power source? William Layden, CEO and Co-founder at Rune, joined Cody to explain why the real constraint on AI growth might be the grid itself, and how his company is building modular, behind-the-meter micro data centers that plug directly into solar and wind plants. Key topics covered in this episode: ⚡ Why solar and wind waste energy 🔌 The hidden losses in power conversion 📉 Curtailment and negative pricing 🚚 Deploying compute in 45 minutes 🧠 From Bitcoin to AI workloads Listen wherever you get your pods. Apple: https://lnkd.in/gmh-fE7R Spotify: https://lnkd.in/g9xxz8ja

Exciting milestone for the team at Pacific Fusion!

Steel, refining, and chemical plants waste nearly 2/3 of their primary energy to operational inefficiency. At the same time, experienced operators are retiring and taking decades of institutional knowledge with them. That convergence is real pressure inside heavy industry. Archimetis deploys AI agents that work alongside operators to diagnose inefficiencies, model process adjustments, and optimize complex facilities in real time. In practice, that means fewer unexpected shutdowns, tighter process control, and better performance across assets that are already running at scale. The company is piloting, including at a Houston steel pipe facility operated by Borusan Ventures (an MCJ LP), with early targets focused on meaningful downtime and efficiency gains. MCJ is proud to be a two-time investor in Archimetis and support Paul Manwell, Aaron Brown, and the entire team! Read the full announcement at newsletter.mcj.vc 

If you’ve been around our community, you probably know Work on Climate. They recently announced a major shift: moving from helping people find climate jobs to helping professionals become climate leaders and using their influence to drive change from within industries. Co-founder Eugene Kirpichov joined Inevitable to explain why climate careers alone can’t drive systemic change, and to introduce his framework for treating today’s overlapping crises as symptoms of a deeper systems failure. As Eugene puts it: “We need to stop seeing ourselves as a talent pool and start seeing each other as power.” 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how this new model is taking shape and what it could mean for professionals looking to create real impact.

Stuart Landesberg and his team at Seneca are building autonomous strike teams of firefighting robots that launch in under 5 minutes. These aren't your typical camera drones. Think 12x12-ft autonomous copters each carrying 100+ lbs of Class A foam, shooting at 100+ PSI, coordinating as a swarm. 🔥 In the latest episode of Inevitable, Stu and Cody break down rapid autonomous response tech, how strike teams coordinate without human pilots, building resilient American supply chains, and why solving early fire response could save the insurance market. What other critical infrastructure problems need this level of autonomous tech? Drop your thoughts below. Listen to the episode.👇

Early-stage energy and climate founders: your first 5–10 hires can make or break your company. MCJ General Partner Yin Lu and Head of Talent Lauren Miller put together a practical hiring guide based on real data from 1,000+ introductions and 100+ successful hires across our portfolio. Inside are market shifts affecting talent availability, proven patterns from repeat founders, and best practices for building your founding team. Read the full guide in this week's newsletter.

Our next guest is building one of the most controversial and misunderstood climate technologies: cloud seeding. In the latest episode of Inevitable, Augustus Doricko, CEO of Rainmaker Technology Corporation and Cody explore: 🌧️ Why cloud seeding failed for decades 🛰️ How radar finally proved it works 🚁 Why drones replaced manned aircraft ❄️ Snowpack as a bankable water asset ⚠️ Navigating bans, backlash, and scrutiny A lot of people assume cloud seeding = geoengineering. This conversation makes a clear case for why it isn’t, and why that distinction matters as drought and water scarcity become infrastructure-level problems. Where do you draw the line between adaptation and overreach? 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Our partner, Thai Nguyen, recently toured China's leading clean energy manufacturers, including BYD, CATL, Envision Energy, and others. His observations from the factory floor reveal why Chinese companies have pulled ahead in EVs, batteries, and solar. A few key takeaways: 💨 Speed: New battery production lines operational in months, not years ⚙️ Vertical integration: Controlling upstream supply chains enables cost and quality advantages 📈 Scale: BYD captured 21% of global EV market in 2025; CATL holds 38% of battery market 🇨🇳 Government alignment: Local officials actively support business development with measurable KPIs But there's a challenge: "Involution" or the oversupply and fierce competition driving margins to near zero across sectors. Read Thai's full account for a revealing look at the future of clean energy manufacturing and what it means for Western climate tech.