WEBVTT

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Breakthrough Energy is
obviously quite a name

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in innovation in the energy space.

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I'd love just to hear your reflections

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on that journey, and what
are you most proud of now?

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Yeah, well, thanks so much, Jim.

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I love talking to you. You've
been a fantastic partner

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with BCG from the very beginning

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so we really appreciate you

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and all the efforts you guys have made

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to help us get to where we are.

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Yeah, it has been quite a
journey over the last ten years.

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It starts really with Bill's vision.

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I mean and that really is.

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It's trying to leverage
innovation everywhere possible

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to improve systems-which,
systems improve people's lives.

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2015 is really when we got going

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and what we were doing was we were trying

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to restart an investment ecosystem
in innovation for energy.

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We had experienced an
effort called Cleantech,

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we branded it.

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That really didn't work out as well

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as people hoped it would from
an investment perspective.

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And a lot of people stopped investing,

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and that meant the talent
started being attracted

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to these, you know,
tough areas to work in,

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tough tech areas.

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So that was what we were trying to do.

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We were trying to restart that ecosystem

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really by embedding two, I would say,

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core superpowers into the effort.

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And those were science
and technology expertise

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in entrepreneurship.

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We were doing that out of
the ashes of Cleantech.

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I mean and really it was
really a fascinating time

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to be trying to do
something and get people

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to invest in areas that they
had stopped investing in.

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You know, now fast forward
ten years from that start

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where nobody wanted to do this.

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We have over 130 companies
in our portfolio.

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They're at various stages of development,

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but across all of the five areas
we invest in-manufacturing,

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electricity, agriculture,
transportation, and buildings-

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those are the areas that
we define as energy.

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And so for every dollar
that we've invested so far,

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our companies have raised
an additional ten dollars.

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I mean, it is so exciting

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to see the journey that you've been on.

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What a success story.

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I mean to think of where
you are from ten years ago,

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no companies in the

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energy innovation space.

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Now you just yourselves have $133 billion

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that you are deploying
plus all the multiples.

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It's so exciting to see.

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Thanks.

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I'm interested how you
now look at this moment.

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So you built something really exciting.

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Now we're in a different moment

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as we think of energy innovation.

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Just really interested to hear,
how do you read this moment,

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and how do you think of Breakthrough

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and what you all are able
to accomplish at this point?

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The moment is interesting,

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it's interesting to reflect on the past

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and really take a moment to
see that we've come a long way.

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What you don't remember is how it felt

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at that moment when we were
trying to create something

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that people thought
would be very difficult,

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if not impossible to do.

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Nobody forecasted 130
companies at this stage

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doing what they've done with
the leverage that they have.

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It's hard to get things built, right?

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So what we've learned is it's not easy,

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but we have the capabilities
to really discover technology

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and develop it. You know

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to get it deployed requires
actual infrastructure investing.

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Infrastructure isn't really
built for innovation investing

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so we have a gap in the marketplace.

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And so we see that now as an opportunity.

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We had a gap in the marketplace

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when we were trying to get

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folks to invest in energy
innovation back in 2016.

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That's happened, that's happened.

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We see this next gap,

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which is, How do we actually
encourage appropriately

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infrastructure-minded investing

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to actually help build companies

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that are ready to

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really deploy their technologies.

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And so that's the challenge
right now and the opportunity,

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I would say.

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Yeah, it is exciting to
see that your success

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now puts you in this new season, right?

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That you now

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have a lot of technology

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and now the problem is how do
you actually get it deployed

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and out there changing the
energy system as you say.

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So I'm interested in,

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as you look into this next chapter

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that will be pretty different
from the last chapter,

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what makes you most energized?

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What are you most excited about?

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The thing I'm most enthused
about is there have been

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along this first ten years,

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real relationship-driven
partnerships that are right fit.

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I've always asked for
right-fit partnership

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from the beginning.

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Folks that are really aligned
with what we're trying to do

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and see mutual benefit in
what we're trying to do.

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We are very good at discovering
and developing innovation.

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We are very good at building companies.

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That's our core expertise.

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We're looking for folks that want to

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continue to double down on that

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and partner with us based on
their experience expertise

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on how do we actually take
on this next challenge,

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which is filling that gap

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between innovation and infrastructure.

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Well, Rodi, we have so valued
our partnership with you.

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Yeah, so grateful.

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We are excited for this
next season that you're in,

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we're excited to be on
the journey with you

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and thanks so much for
taking the time today.

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Yeah, thank you, it's been
a pleasure, appreciate it.

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(bright music)