We’ve been talking storage, reliability, and the grid … but what if we could just make more clean energy in more places? This week on Everybody in the Pool, we look at solar in a whole new way.

My guest is Anthony Letmon, co-founder and CEO of Kardinia Energy, which makes ultra-lightweight, recyclable printed solar. Imagine solar that looks more like a concert poster than a heavy panel. You can roll it up, ship it anywhere, and stick it where traditional solar could never go.

We talk about:

• Why weight keeps solar off millions of industrial roofs — and how printed solar solves that
• Why Kardinia builds panels to last just five years on purpose
• Coldplay’s global tour as a solar testbed
• How printing solar could power disaster relief, data centers, even stadiums

It’s the solar solution you didn’t know we needed — and it could open up whole new markets for clean energy.

👉 Last week, we looked at grid stability with Wärtsilä. Next week, we’re going camping — with the future of RVs.

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We’re wrapping up the Smart Grid Series with a rocket scientist who thinks the next big thing in batteries might actually be … zinc.

My guest is Mike Burz, co-founder and CEO of Enzinc, which is commercializing a zinc “sponge” anode developed with the U.S. Navy. The breakthrough: solving the dendrite problem that has historically killed rechargeable zinc batteries. The result? A safe, recyclable, low-cost chemistry that could power everything from scooters to data centers — and replace lead-acid or nickel-cadmium in millions of applications.

We cover:

• Why storage is the foundation of a renewable grid
• The Navy’s quest for a battery as safe as lead acid, but with the energy of lithium
• How a metal sponge structure prevents dendrites and enables true rechargeability
• Why zinc is abundant, cheap, and fully recyclable — unlike lithium
• The “Intel Inside” business model: supplying drop-in anodes to existing manufacturers
• First demos: e-bikes, golf carts, and telecom backup
• Longer-term possibilities: zinc-air chemistries for aviation and long-duration storage
• Why this is not about killing lithium but about giving the grid (and vehicles) safer, more appropriate options

• Enzinc — https://enzinc.com/
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Smart Grid Series recap:

• E101: Flow batteries with XL Batteries
• E102: Synthetic inertia & reliability with Wärtsilä
• E103 (this episode): Rechargeable zinc with Enzinc

Next week, we shift gears — from storage to deployment — with printed solar that could go just about anywhere. 🌞

Together, we can get this done.

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This special episode is brought to you by RE+—North America’s largest gathering of clean energy professionals, developed by the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

On Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, I gave the opening keynote at RE+ in Las Vegas about where the energy transition is headed—followed by a panel with two leaders building it at scale:

• Ray Henger, CEO of Copia Power (developing gigawatts of renewables and data-center infrastructure)
• Pedro Pizarro, President & CEO of Edison International (parent of Southern California Edison)

• Our full panel discussion on the future of the grid, the challenges of accomplishing skyrocketing demand and what that means for net zero goals
• Data centers, meet reality: AI-driven load growth and how to keep reliability while adding massive new demand.
• Utility POV: Transmission, interconnection queues, permitting, wildfire risk, and keeping customers whole.
• Developers at scale: Financing in a higher-rate world, siting tradeoffs, and building projects communities actually want.

This special drops in the middle of our Smart Grid mini-series:

• Episode 101: XL Batteries on long-duration, pH-neutral organic flow batteries for utility storage.
• Episode 102 (airs Sept. 11): Wärtsilä on synthetic inertia and batteries as an “airbag” for the grid.
• Episode 103 (airs next Thursday): Enzinc on zinc-based batteries that are safer, recyclable, and ready for mobility and stationary use.

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