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katie brigham

@kbrigham.bsky.social

11K followers 430 following 280 posts

climate tech reporter (aka ENERGY DOMINANCE reporter) at @heatmap.news | signal: katieb.40 📍 Seattle, WA

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katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 6h

sustainable infrastructure investment firm Generate Capital is realigning its strategy, replacing its longtime CEO and conducting layoffs. an executive told me that rapid growth led to strategic mistakes in the heady days after the passage of the IRA

After Replacing Its CEO, Generate Capital Lays Off Staff

“We grew quickly and made some mistakes,” Generate executive Jonah Goldman told Heatmap.

Reposted by katie brigham

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: Trump is moving to kill all funding for proposed Texas and Louisiana mega-hubs to capture CO₂ from the atmosphere

The bipartisan-backed hubs represented a rare clean tech industry where the US was on the cutting edge

by @emilypont.bsky.social for @heatmap.news

heatmap.news/politics/doe...

Trump to Cancel Direct Air Capture Hubs in Texas, Louisiana

A new list of grant cancellations obtained by Heatmap includes Climeworks and Heirloom projects funded by 2021 infrastructure law.

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 1d

Shine is one of the only companies making money on fusion today, using a particle accelerator-based system to produce and sell neutrons and medical isotopes. while Shine aspires to construct an energy-generating reactor one day, turns out that's not the only road to fusion commercialization

This Fusion Company Is Already Making Money

Shine Technologies is getting close to breakeven — on operations, at least — by selling neutrons and isotopes.

Reposted by katie brigham

Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 2d

California passed a huge climate package last month, w/ a big effort to weave in affordability. It's wonky but important stuff, and I broke it all down for you:
- Cap & invest extension / rebrand
- transmission accelerator
- permission to join a Western RTO!
more here heatmap.news/energy/calif...

California’s Big Climate and Energy Package, Explained

The state quietly refreshed its cap and trade program, revamped how it funds wildfire cleanup, and reorganized its grid governance — plus offered some relief on gas prices.

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 6d

heatmap got the list of the $7.5 billion in climate-related grants that trump is cancelling, and turns out it will be terrible for red states too, @emilypont.bsky.social reports

Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 6d

Other news outlets are repeating the Trump administration's narrative that DOE cancelled grants in blue states. Well, that's not really true. Here's my analysis of the list:
heatmap.news/politics/doe...

The Department of Energy’s Latest Cuts Will Hit Red States, Too

A list of terminated grants obtained by Heatmap contains a number of grants that will cost jobs and revenue in Republican-led states.

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 6d

bad bad, more TK on this from heatmap soon

Energy Dept. Cancels Hundreds of Clean-Energy Projects, Mostly in Blue States

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by katie brigham

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 9d

Heatmap News is hiring an intern!

Help us tell the inside story of the race to fix the planet. More details on the role and application procedures at the link below. Interested parties should send a cover letter, resume, and a few published clips to editors [at] heatmap [dot] news!

Heatmap Is Hiring a News Intern

Come work with us.

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 7d

new climate-focused coalitions are all the rage these days. with the fed govt turning its back on climate priorities, private industry players are convening to organize, finance, and shape climate tech priorities

The Climate Tech Coalition Boom

Some of the industry’s biggest names are joining forces to keep the momentum moving forward.

Reposted by katie brigham

Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 8d

My latest scoop for @heatmap.news

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 8d

NEW from @alexckaufman.bsky.social: Geothermal startup XGS Energy has now completed four months of field tests, and the results are “almost too good,” says CEO Josh Prueher.

More below ⬇️

XGS Energy’s Closed-Loop Geothermal System Aces Its Field Test

The company is vying to challenge Fervo for leadership in the next-generation geothermal market.

Reposted by katie brigham

Dr. Robert D. Bullard @drrobertbullard.bsky.social · 9d

Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list - Politico politi.co/4mIbi9F

Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list

It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.

Reposted by katie brigham

Kate Marvel @drkatemarvel.bsky.social · 10d

my takeaway from climate week nyc is that "climate storytelling" is a little too much "we must reimagine our deepest souls in relationship to mother nature and the moral abyss of the polycrisis into which we must now stare" and not enough "ok but get a heat pump"

Reposted by katie brigham

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 12d

Here's everything the Heatmap News team, including @zeitlin.bsky.social, @kbrigham.bsky.social, @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social, and @goodjillian.bsky.social, heard over the past few days at NYC Climate Week ⬇️

Overheard at New York Climate Week 2025

From the notebooks of Heatmap’s reporters and editors.

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 13d

when promising sodium-ion battery startup Natron Energy shuttered earlier this month, there was a rush to pinpoint what went wrong. was the chemistry uncompetitive? is battery manufacturing in the U.S. simply doomed? industry experts told me the lessons from Natron can’t be so easily generalized.

If Natron Couldn’t Make Batteries in the U.S., Can Anyone?

The failure of the once-promising sodium-ion manufacturer caused a chill among industry observers. But its problems may have been more its own.

Reposted by katie brigham

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 14d

NEW from @kbrigham.bsky.social: @schumer.senate.gov dropped by Heatmap House at NYC Climate Week to issue a call to action for climate advocates everywhere ⬇️

Senator Schumer Kicks Off Heatmap House With a Climate Call to Arms

The Senate Minority Leader addressed the crowd at New York Climate Week, talking about energy costs, extreme weather, and Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill.”

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 14d

things are popping over here at Heatmap House at NY Climate Week! we'll be here all day, come say hi.

Senator Schumer Kicks Off Heatmap House With a Climate Call to Arms

The Senate Minority Leader addressed the crowd at New York Climate Week, talking about energy costs, extreme weather, and Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill.”

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 15d

climate change is mostly a people and policy problem. see @jtemple.bsky.social here:

Sorry, AI won’t “fix” climate change

OpenAI’s Sam Altman claims AI will deliver an "Intelligence Age," but tech breakthroughs alone can't solve global warming.

www.technologyreview.com

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 15d

i think this would have been closer and maybe more interesting if the question was "is AI going to be net good or net bad for the climate"

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 15d

dispatch from a NYC climate week debate on whether "AI is humanity's best hope for solving climate change"

Reposted by katie brigham

Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 15d

Only in @heatmap.news can you get @zeitlin.bsky.social explaining why electricity markets as they exist may no longer be fit for purpose, and how we can look to industries that regulate scarce resources, like water, for reforms. heatmap.news/energy/elect...

Electricity Markets Aren’t Working Anymore

Why regional transmission organizations as we know them might not survive the data center boom.

Reposted by katie brigham

Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 19d

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is imposing strict new rules that would severely limit the ability of journalists to report on the Pentagon.

www.washingtonpost.com

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 20d

AI for geothermal startup @zanskargeothermal.bsky.social just located a historically large, untapped reservoir that it says will help put greenfield geo exploration and discovery back on the agenda

This AI for Geothermal Startup Just Announced Its Biggest Find Yet

Zanskar’s second geothermal discovery is its first on untapped ground.

Reposted by katie brigham

Heatmap News @heatmap.news · 20d

Exclusive: Some of the biggest names in climate tech are forming a new coalition to map out the future of decarbonization.

Exclusive: Climate Tech Leaders Form New Coalition to Map Out the Future of Decarbonization

Elemental Impact, Breakthrough Energy, Speed & Scale, Stanford, Energy Innovation, and McKinsey are all partnering to form the “Climate Tech Atlas.”

Reposted by katie brigham

Thea Riofrancos @triofrancos.bsky.social · 21d

It was great to chat with @emilypont.bsky.social @heatmap.news about my book EXTRACTION. We discussed why mining is so conflictual, the power relations of extractive frontiers, how organized communities fare better & why we should use the public sector to proactively plan + govern. Link ⬇️

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 20d

check it out here: climatetechatlas.com

Climate Tech Atlas

Explore breakthrough technologies and innovation opportunities to accelerate climate solutions.

climatetechatlas.com

katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 20d

NEW: the Climate Tech Atlas, a comprehensive effort to map out the opportunities and innovation imperatives most critical to the energy transition, launched today! core collaborators include Breakthrough Energy, McKinsey, @stanforddoerr.bsky.social and others heatmap.news/climate-tech...

Exclusive: Climate Tech Leaders Form New Coalition to Map Out the Future of Decarbonization

Elemental Impact, Breakthrough Energy, Speed & Scale, Stanford, Energy Innovation, and McKinsey are all partnering to form the “Climate Tech Atlas.”