DERVOS Sneak Peek - Energy Dominance and the Electrostate
What does all of this energy transition business mean for the US?
We’ve got one final DERVOS ThunDERdome announcement for you. After this we’ll release details on the showcases, demo day, etc.
Energy Dominance and the Electrostate
The electric tech stack is ready for prime time. Is the US?
America’s global dominance over the last century emerged directly out of our control of oil. We were the first and are the most powerful Petrostate. Before us, the British Empire’s reign came from their dominance of coal and steam-driven processes.
Now, electricity is fast becoming the most important commodity globally. Powering historically petro-driven technologies like cars, heating, and even some manufacturing with electricity is proving vastly superior on every measure: performance, economic, and environmental (ability to scale with minimal trade-offs).
China has emerged as the first and most powerful electrostate, by a wide margin. They are dominant in manufacturing and supply chains of every single component of the electric tech stack (motors, power electronics, and more) as well as solar and batteries, the two most important technologies for the future of power. Not only that, they are deploying GWs faster than anyone has ever seen.
Meanwhile, our government’s notion of energy dominance is to double down on the petrostate and wholesale reject the future that is coming whether we like it or not.
And yet, there’s hope. America remains the most energy-rich country on the planet, with far superior solar irradiance than China and others abroad and dominance over natural gas, a critical transition fuel. Not to mention, we invented all the technologies that China is now dominant in!
Unlike the Brits—who were not rich in oil—what if this energy transition is not the end of American might, but actually the start of its next big boom? What would it take for us to become an electrostate and how can we get there?
Speakers
We’ve assembled a truly all star crew of leaders to help us unpack what we believe is the most important topic facing the US.
Drew Baglino, Founder and CEO of Heron Power, led Tesla’s powertrain and energy development for over 15 years. Few people in the US have more intimate experience with building a vertically integrated energy technology company in the US from the ground up. Today, Drew leads Heron Power, which intends to scale domestic power electronics.
Tristan Doherty is the Chief Product Officer at LG Energy Solution Vertech, the US energy storage division of LG Energy Solution. LG is investing around $15B in US cell manufacturing, for both energy storage and EVs, with major plants in Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona.
Sam D’Amico, Founder and CEO at Impulse, is building a home appliance tech-stack that includes batteries, power electronics, sensors, etc. He and Packy McCormick recently published a piece called The Electric Slide, which defines this electric tech-stack as a category, charts how each component technology has seen 90%+ cost declines, describes how these technologies will take over most applicable use-cases, and considers their impact on geopolitics.
We also have one more special guest that will be announced soon. This is going to be a killer thunDERdome, so be sure to join us!