Sarah Sclarsic (Voyager): Electrification is the New Default

Sarah Sclarsic (Voyager): Electrification is the New Default

Author: Hugo Rauch February 12, 2026 Duration: 39:03

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🌊 The Inflection Point Nobody Noticed

Why electrification, materials innovation, and better unit economics are reshaping climate VC.

We’re joined by Sarah Sclarsic, General Partner & Co-Founder at Voyager Ventures, a transatlantic VC firm backing foundational innovations across energy, materials, and machines.

Sarah has spent decades building companies in climate, crafting federal policy, and investing across cycles, from Cleantech 1.0 to today’s electrified, AI-accelerated industrial wave. In this episode, we dive into what LPs really think about climate right now, and why the fundamentals have never been stronger, even when headlines suggest otherwise.

Because while sentiment swings, physics doesn’t.

In our conversation, we covered:

→ The LP perception gap, why institutional investors see long-term fundamentals while headlines focus on short-term noise

→ The quiet inflection point, electricity is now the dominant global energy form (~34%)

→ Why falling battery costs (90%+ in a decade) change everything

→ What emerging managers must prove to LPs beyond “the thesis”

→ Why deeptech no longer can hold a green premium

→ The electro-tech stack advantage (and why fossil-based models are structurally weaker)

→ How to evaluate hardware startups in 2026

→ Why teams, not tech, build billion-dollar companies

→ The compounding gains of electrification + AI + advanced manufacturing

→ Rebuilding 1,000-year-old industrial processes with modern tools

Sarah’s core lens is simple:

If it can’t win on price and performance, without subsidies, it won’t dominate a global market.

Voyager backs companies that:

Replace fossil-based processes with inherently superior systems

Benefit from declining input costs (electrification, automation, AI)

Have durable innovation engines, not one-off breakthroughs

We also explore two fascinating examples:

A company reinventing alloy production using high-powered energy waves

A rare-earth refining startup using nature-derived proteins instead of fossil heat

The pattern?

Massive industries built on outdated industrial assumptions are being reimagined from first principles.

If you’re building or investing in climate, this episode is a masterclass in thinking long-term while executing fast.



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

Hugo Rauch hosts New Wave, a podcast that lives at the intersection of business ambition and scientific reality. This isn't about distant predictions or abstract science; it's a grounded exploration of the technologies and companies being built right now to address our environmental future. Each episode focuses on the practical journey, dissecting the models, the breakthroughs, and the hard decisions that define the climate tech landscape. You'll hear from founders, researchers, and investors who are actively shaping this space, getting into the specifics of what works, what doesn't, and why. The conversations move beyond hype to examine the tangible mechanics of creating viable solutions, from energy storage and sustainable materials to carbon removal and regenerative agriculture. It’s for anyone who thinks about the climate challenge not just as a crisis, but as a complex and urgent field of innovation. By tuning into this podcast, you gain a clearer understanding of the economic forces and scientific principles driving the next generation of environmental solutions. New Wave connects the dots between the lab, the boardroom, and the impact we need to see in the world, offering a sober yet optimistic look at where substantive progress is truly being made.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 89

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