Startup Stories of 2017: Blockchain, Batteries and Acquisitions

We've reached a new stage in cleantech. Years after the VC bubble popped, startups are pursuing new approaches to scaling, finding customers, partnering, and raising money. Those new approaches to scaling early-stage cleantech were crystallized this year. And we're going to talk about them. This week, we recorded live at Greentown Labs, the largest cleantech incubator in the country. We discussed a wide range of trends: the emergence of blockchain, a diversifying class of corporate investors, the blitz of mergers and acquisitions, low-cost ways of scaling new technologies, how to ask for money, and where startups can engage in policy. Plus, we ran through the top headlines of the week: Tesla's 100-megawatt battery, the heinous Congressional tax bill, and the Bonn climate talks.  This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Are you coming to GTM's Storage Summit on December 12-13? Podcast listeners get 20 percent off their registration with the promo code PODCASTS. Recommended reading:Can LO3 Energy Cut Through the Hype on Blockchain?A Battery-Material Startup Applies Lessons From the Venture Capital BustEuropean Utility Giants Are on a Grid Edge Shopping Spree in 2017 Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.