An Interview With Monica Sanders
Climate justice is really important. There’s a huge population both inside and outside the United States who are impacted significantly by aging infrastructure, water loss, polluted water, rising energy costs, grid disruption — all connected to the impact of climate change which first hits those who are most at risk. So, I think it really matters that everybody collectively look for ways to lift up the entire population.
According to the University of Colorado, “Those who are most affected and have the fewest resources to adapt to climate change are also the least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions — both globally and within the United States.” Promoting climate justice is an incredibly important environmental responsibility that is slowly becoming more and more recognized. In this interview series, we are talking to leaders who are helping to promote sustainability and climate justice. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Gregg Semler.
Gregg Semler is a veteran entrepreneur with extensive experience in the clean energy and water sectors. Gregg’s ability to raise capital, lead teams, and bring innovative products to market are the hallmarks of his career. Since 2000, he has served as CEO for a variety of companies, including PolyFuel, and ClearEdge Power. From 2007–2015 he was Managing Director at Pivotal Instruments, a venture capital firm the first early-stage venture fund in the Northwest focused on sustainability. In 2016, Gregg founded InPipe Energy, where he saw an untapped global opportunity to develop a turnkey energy recovery system to generate a new source of renewable energy from water pipeline networks. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Columbia University in New York, he also earned an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
Sure. I grew up in Portland, Oregon, and went to school in New York City. I’ve been an entrepreneur my whole career, building companies. And around the year 2000, I got focused on energy and clean tech (before it was called clean tech!) The company I was involved with at the time was a fuel cell company focused on powering consumer electronic devices. We were the first company to commercialize a consumer electronic device using a fuel cell. So, we were experimenting with using hydrogen to power Nokia cell phones — to demonstrate that it was a possibility, that it could compete with lithium-ion batteries. We eventually went on to have Intel as an investor, became a public company — and you know, I loved doing that. For me, it was just an awesome opportunity to be an entrepreneur in a new space focused on clean technologies and sustainability. I’ve been in the space ever since.
So… I’m just curious, how did hydrogen lose out to lithium, and do you think there’ll be round two?
Well, I think for consumer electronic devices, lithium batteries just kept getting smaller and smaller and the energy density just kept improving. It just became more and more difficult for hydrogen fuel cells to compete in that space. But there’s obviously huge potential for hydrogen in stationary applications, small industrial facilities, etc., or for vehicles.
Everyone has a moment or marker in their life which propels them to take certain actions to move forward — a “why”? What is your why?
You know, I’m driven to make a difference in the world. I started the first part of my career as an entrepreneur in the medical device industry and it’s pretty easy to be a leader in that space — you’re saving people’s lives so it’s easy to focus the troops on the mission of the company. In 2000, when I jumped into clean energy, nobody wanted to invest in healthcare anymore. They just wanted to invest in the Internet. But others were trying to figure out climate change — water, fuel, technology and so on. Within that mix, my company Polyfuel, took off because it was focused on powering consumer electronic devices 24/7. Personally, I grew to really appreciate people and companies building technologies that make the world a better place, reduce climate change, and reduce carbon emissions. And now, I’m really, really driven by that cause. And now, I’m just continuously impressed by people who work in the water industry and who are also very mission driven.
You are currently leading an organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change?
InPipe Energy is a renewable energy and smart water technology company. We’ve developed a system that produces a new source of renewable energy from flowing water in pipelines. About six or seven years ago, I started thinking that it takes an enormous amount of carbon-based energy to produce and transport clean water — but what if the sector could produce clean energy itself? And what if it was a predictable source of energy and it had no environmental impact? That’s what we are doing at InPipe.
Hydroelectricity’s been around for thousands of years and it’s the lowest cost source of renewable energy. And it’s everywhere. For utilities, there is potentially millions of miles of water pipelines underneath the streets all over the world with water flowing at constant pressure. It’s analogous to having oil wells underneath the street. So, I thought: what if we could tap into that vast water infrastructure and produce clean, predictable and very reliable power with no environmental impact? I really haven’t found any other source of energy that you can make that same claim. We are taking existing infrastructure and producing energy from it. It’s very cool.
Can you share an interesting story that’s happened along the way since you’ve been leading InPipe?
Well, it happens all the time. Right now, we’re very focused both domestically and outside the United States. And so, you know, daily I get to talk to people from Australia, Jamaica, Thailand, Brazil. And it’s just, it’s just a lot of fun to talk to people, understand the problems they face — it reminds me of how fortunate I am to be working in this space with, you know, other people who really want to make the world a better place.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
Oh man, there are so many. You know, I think daily about how lucky I am to have the network I do because as an entrepreneur you have a lot of different responsibilities. You have a team that you must build, a company culture that must be established that makes people feel valuable, you have seriously committed investors, and you’re constantly trying to figure out how to get more investors, so that you can move faster. It goes on and on.
I’ve got a great board some with deep industry experience who get what we do and a group of advisors who mentor me regularly. I love collaborating. So, I am always talking to our advisors, investors and other people in the water industry.
Thank you for that. Let’s now move to the central part of our discussion. What does climate justice mean to you? How do we operationalize it?
Climate justice is really important. There’s a huge population both inside and outside the United States who are impacted significantly by aging infrastructure, water loss, polluted water, rising energy costs, grid disruption — all connected to the impact of climate change which first hits those who are most at risk. So, I think it really matters that everybody collectively look for ways to lift up the entire population.
There are so many things that happen in the world today that make us want to hunker down and focus on our own survival and our own sort of selfishness. But the reality is, we’re cooking this planet, so the only way that we’re going to make a measurable difference and solve climate change is if we collaborate and if we start to care more about everybody else, rather than just focus on ourselves.
Science is telling us that we have 7–10 years to make critical decisions about climate change. What are three things you or your organization are doing to help?
I believe those stats and take them very seriously. At InPipe, we’re working as hard as we can to reduce water industry carbon emissions, and the water industry is very carbon intensive, contributing as much carbon to the atmosphere as the aviation industry. Think about that. And that is the problem that InPipe’s trying to solve.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you in your mission?
Absolutely. The most important thing getting in the way right now is the regulatory processes isn’t changing fast enough. The only way that’s going to change is through a federal mandate to put enough pressure on electric utilities that requires them to bring on renewable energy faster so water utilities can decarbonize faster. I think it takes federal policy, because there are 50,000 water utilities in America. Speeding up the pace of change is something that all of us — from voters and community organizers, to mayors and congressmen — can play a role in. And of course, there are thousands of people working at utilities who can help, and who are helping, as well.
What do you wish someone had told you before you got into all this as an entrepreneur?
Well… it’s a crazy way to live. It’s a fun way to live. It forces you to practice positivity. Sometimes, I wish people would’ve told me to just go into tech rather than solving complex problems in water and energy! Then at other times, I wish I could have been an engineer rather than an entrepreneur. That said, I really enjoy doing things that other people haven’t done. The tech industry is cutthroat and things move at light speed. I’m focused in sectors which are very competitive, but which also move more slowly and have a culture of collaboration at their heart. So, you get to build meaningful relationships … and you go to bed at night (or early in the morning!) knowing that we’re all trying to improve people’s lives, making a difference in making the world a more sustainable place.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I’d like to meet Trevor Noah. He seems to know so much about the world, and I love to laugh.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
About the Interviewer: Monica Sanders JD, LL.M, is the founder of “The Undivide Project”, an organization dedicated to creating climate resilience in underserved communities using good tech and the power of the Internet. She holds faculty roles at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy. Professor Sanders also serves on several UN agency working groups. As an attorney, Monica has held senior roles in all three branches of government, private industry, and nonprofits. In her previous life, she was a journalist for seven years and the recipient of several awards, including an Emmy. Now the New Orleans native spends her time in solidarity with and championing change for those on the frontlines of climate change and digital divestment. Learn more about how to join her at: www.theundivideproject.org
How Gregg Semler Of InPipe Energy Is Helping to Promote Sustainability and Climate Justice was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.