New Wave.

Subscribe to the newsletter:
New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack

****

🌊 Decentralizing the Fuel Station
Why EV charging, not the car, is the real bottleneck to electrification
We’re joined by Arnaud Tran, Co-founder & CEO of Voltaback, a company building the software layer for charging corporate electric vehicles at home.
In this episode, we dive into the hidden infrastructure problem behind EV adoption, and unpack what it really takes to turn fragmented, at-home charging into a scalable system for companies.
In our conversation, we covered:
→ Why EV adoption is accelerating, but the system around is breaking
→ The “decentralized fuel station” problem companies didn’t anticipate
→ Why charging at home is 3-4x cheaper, and still underused
→ How Voltaback tracks, measures, and reimburses charging with precision
→ The data challenge behind energy loss (and why accuracy matters)
→ Why corporate fleets, not consumers, drive EV adoption
→ The China vs Europe gap in EV infrastructure and scale
→ How scheduling charging could unlock another 25% savings
→ What happens when millions of EVs hit the grid at once
Let’s go electric!


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com

Subscribe to the newsletter:
New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack

****

🌊 Drilling for the Future of Energy
Can geologic hydrogen and deep geothermal actually power the world?
We’re joined by Andy Lubershane, Partner at Energy Impact Partners and author of Steel For Fuel.
In this episode, we go deep underground, into geologic hydrogen and geothermal, and unpack what it really takes to unlock planet-scale, zero-carbon energy from beneath our feet.
In our conversation, we covered:
→ Why hydrogen went from “Swiss Army knife” to overhyped, and where it actually matters
→ The brutal economics of green hydrogen vs. gray hydrogen (and why cost still dominates)
→ Geologic hydrogen: drilling for a naturally occurring clean fuel
→ The wild uncertainty: from niche resource to “powering civilization for millennia”
→ Why geothermal today is tiny, and what’s blocking it from scaling globally
→ The real bottleneck: drilling deeper (and why it’s harder than it sounds)
→ Why deep geothermal could outperform fusion, if we solve the engineering
This is episode four of a five part series. Subscribe to receive every episode. 👇


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com

Thanks you, Morning for hosting the podcast this week. Get 20% off your next meeting room (in Paris), just say you’re coming from Hugo at New Wave.

****

Subscribe to the newsletter:
New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack

****

🌊 Drilling the Future, Can Geothermal Power Everything?
From 0.01% to 8%, what it takes to unlock next-gen geothermal at scale.
We’re joined by Torsten Kolind, Co-founder of Underground Ventures, a specialist VC fund backing next-generation geothermal technologies.
In this episode, we dive into why geothermal, one of the most reliable and abundant energy sources, remains almost invisible today, and unpack what it really takes to turn a niche resource into a global energy backbone.
In our conversation, we covered:
→ Why geothermal is still ~0.014% of global energy, and what’s holding it back
→ The breakthrough behind “next-gen geothermal”
→ How oil & gas infrastructure could be repurposed to scale geothermal globally
→ Why geothermal might not compete with solar and wind, but complement them
→ The rise of companies like Fervo, and what their success unlocks
→ Europe vs US: heat vs power, and diverging market dynamics
→ Why drilling, flow control, and steam conversion are the real bottlenecks
→ The “super hot rock” opportunity, and how 400°C could 10x efficiency
→ Why Underground Ventures is betting on picks & shovels, not power plants
→ What’s still missing in the geothermal stack, and where founders should build
Let’s go underground!


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com

Subscribe to the newsletter:
New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack

****

🌊 Crazy Cheap Renewables
What if solar becomes the cheapest energy source on Earth?
We’re joined by Andy Lubershane, Partner at Energy Impact Partners and author of Steel For Fuel.
In this episode, we dive into the future of ultra-cheap solar, and unpack what it really takes to push renewables into a new cost paradigm that reshapes global energy systems.
In our conversation, we covered:
→ Why solar’s cost curve has been one of the biggest success stories of the energy transition
→ What “crazy cheap” actually means (hint: ~50% cheaper than today)
→ Why cost of capital is now solar’s biggest bottleneck
→ The real constraints: land, transmission, and grid infrastructure
→ Why efficiency gains (not cheaper panels) are the next big unlock
→ The rise of tandem cells and perovskites as a potential step change
→ Why installation and labor are now major cost drivers
→ The surprising reality: solar costs have recently increased in some markets
→ Why wind likely won’t reach the same scalability as solar
This is episode three of a five part series. Subscribe to receive every episode.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com

Subscribe to the newsletter:
New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack

****

🌊 Energy Security Is Climate Strategy
Why geopolitics may become the strongest accelerator of Europe’s energy transition.
We’re joined by James Gutman, strategist at The Carlyle Group and a longtime commodities and energy expert with experience spanning Ford, Goldman Sachs, and hedge funds.
In this episode, we dive into the collision between geopolitics, energy markets, and climate innovation, and unpack what it really takes for Europe to build an energy system that is not just cleaner, but more resilient.
This conversation starts with the current geopolitical moment, but quickly moves into Europe’s dependence on imported energy, the limits of the transition so far, and why security may now matter as much as sustainability in shaping the next wave of climate investment.
In our conversation, we covered:
→ Why disruption in global oil and gas trade changes the logic of the energy transition
→ Why Europe remains vulnerable even as renewables scale
→ The hard-to-replace fossil fuel use cases still shaping industry, aviation, and grid stability
→ Why China’s clean energy buildout is as much about security as climate
→ Why Europe may need to think less about first-best ideas, and more about scaling what works now
→ How energy resilience could become the biggest driver of climate tech deployment
My key takeaway: Energy security is no longer separate from climate strategy.
Read more from James: You can’t print molecules.A crude awakening.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com