Inside Latin America's Climate Tech Boom with Benjamin Zehr

Inside Latin America's Climate Tech Boom with Benjamin Zehr

Author: collide. August 13, 2024 Duration: 51:52

Benjamin explores the opportunities and challenges of building energy tech startups across Latin America and the Caribbean, and how Reciprocal is bridging the gap between the global North and the region through a venture studio focused on nature-based solutions. He discusses funding early-stage startups in emerging markets, the importance of local governance and indigenous communities, and why energy, climate, and ecological systems must be approached together to drive truly sustainable innovation.


Join the conversation shaping the future of energy.
Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward.
Apply today at collide.io


Click here to view the episode transcript.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benzehr/
https://reciprocal.studio/

00:00 - Intro
00:30 - What is Reciprocal
06:22 - The Amazon Fellowship
13:59 - Nature-Based Solutions and Energy
15:45 - Focus on Nature-Based Solutions
18:01 - Monetizing Nature-Based Solutions
25:00 - Starting a Startup Studio
28:46 - Finding Founders in Tech
34:04 - Why Houston for Startups
36:04 - California: Climate Tech Hub
39:58 - Houston's Startup Landscape
45:14 - Gaps in Houston's Startup Ecosystem
48:20 - Ecosystems in Houston Region
50:25 - Houston Energy Tech Summit

https://twitter.com/collide_io

https://www.tiktok.com/@collide.io

https://www.facebook.com/collide.io

https://www.instagram.com/collide.io

https://www.youtube.com/@collide_io

https://bsky.app/profile/digitalwildcatters.bsky.social

https://www.linkedin.com/company/collide-digital-wildcatters


They say everything's bigger in Texas, including the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change. That's precisely why Houston has become a surprising epicenter for the global energy transition. In H-Town, the fourth largest city in the United States, a new wave of entrepreneurs is converging, partnering with established industry titans to forge the technologies that will slash emissions and power a low-carbon future. This is the landscape explored in Energytech Startups, a podcast from collide. that goes straight to the source. Hosts Nada Ahmed and Jason Ethier sit down with the very people driving this change-the founders, investors, and innovators who are building companies at the intersection of energy and technology. Each conversation digs into the real work: the engineering breakthroughs, the complex business models, and the hard-won lessons from the front lines of a sector undergoing massive transformation. It’s a direct line to the strategies and stories shaping the future of energy, making this podcast an essential listen for anyone curious about the business and investment dynamics behind building a sustainable world. You’ll hear frank discussions about funding, scaling, and the practical realities of bringing a transformative idea to market, all set against the backdrop of a city historically known for oil and gas now betting big on its own reinvention.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 87

Energytech Startups
Podcast Episodes
Daniel Basaldua [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:05
In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Basaldua, founder and CEO of Euphree Electric Bikes, to talk about how he’s reimagining urban mobility through the most comfortable commuter-style e-bikes on the market. Daniel sh…
Zimri Hinshaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:14
In this episode, we sit down with Zimri Hinshaw, founder and CEO of Bucha Bio, to explore how the company is using biotechnology to create novel biomaterials that replace animal leather and fossil fuel–based materials. Z…
Grace Chan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:30
In this episode, we sit down with Grace Chan, Venture Principal for New Markets at bp ventures, to discuss how corporate venture capital is shaping the global energy transition. Grace shares how bp ventures approaches in…
Trevor Best [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:59
In this episode, we sit down with Trevor Best, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, to explore how his company is reinventing chemical refining with light-driven reactors powered by renewable electricity. Sp…
Eric Rubenstein [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:41
In this episode, we talk with Eric Rubenstein, Managing Partner at New Climate Ventures, about investing in early-stage technologies focused on carbon reduction and avoidance. Eric shares how NCV approaches company stage…
Moji Karimi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:16
In this episode, we sit down with Moji Karimi, CEO and co-founder of Cemvita, to discuss how nature-inspired technologies and synthetic biology can tackle some of the hardest climate challenges. A self-described carbon-n…