Canaccord Genuity | The Hidden Joule: Recent Episodes
Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets
The Hidden Joule Podcast is our return to science and conversation. Our goal is to leverage our extensive network of thought leaders, investors and companies to facilitate conversation around prickly topics such as Climate Change, Human Evolution and Behavior, System Complexity, Technological Progress, Allocation of Resources, Scale and Growth. With the responsibility of the Sustainability/ESG practice at Canaccord Genuity, we feel a moral obligation to address these key issues as we begin to shift from shareholder returns to broader stakeholder returns. We believe that in order for the ESG investment framework to be successful, a high level of scientific rigor and discussion must be applied and utilized. We believe that the availability of different resources (including financial) shape the future of companies and economies. Further, investment criteria and decision-making processes for ESG will be a critical component influencing corporate behavior and governing policies in our shared future society.
In this episode, we dive into our current energy landscape, discussing the following:
- What is energy?
- The role of energy in our global and domestic economies. Is real growth possible in an energy deficit?
- The role of hydrocarbons and technology in energy systems. Is independence and net zero even possible?
- Property rights and energy systems - how this differs around the world.
- Debate around electrification.
- Global decarbonization goals: how realistic are they?
Silicon Carbideis a critical wide band gap semiconductor used in the burgeoning power electronics markets. We sit down with a world renowned expert in SiC device design, Dr. Peter Gammon, to discuss its efficacy and value in our automotive, solar, grid and motor control applications. We address the following key points:
- SiC’s role in electron mobility and transport of electricity.
- EV adoption of SiC in traction inverters and other automotive applications.
- Our transistor “dam” metaphor to make the technology more understandable for those without a EE background.
- Silicon and Gallium Nitride as substitute and competitive material sets.
In this episode with our regular guest, Patrick Kent, we run through the interconnectedness of our ecosystem, role of data and science during global crises, and lessons learned from COVID.
Additional topics of discussion include:
- Scientific Laws vs. theories and observations.
- Honest, objective comparisons vs. subjectively pressing the thumb on the scale.
- The role of the BioPhysical Economics Institute in providing Objective Research.
In Episode 9 of The Hidden Joule, we welcome the CEO of Qnovo, Nadim Maluf, whose team works on EV battery performance improvements by combining fundamental science (chemistry) and software/algorithms systems solutions.
In our conversation, we explore a range of subjects pertaining to electrification of transportation, system thinking in battery design, & production bottlenecks, charging infrastructure, recycling, and more. We also touch on complex and dynamic systems – such as energy transition and electrification – require system thinking to find a viable solution.
In this episode, we breakdown the difference between cost, price, and the value of oil and why this is so important. Additionally, we dive into the scaling effects of concentrated energy sources and how these differ from diffused, and the challenges of decarbonization without collapsing our society and standard of living.
In this episode of The Hidden Joule, host Jed Dorsheimer and guest Dr. Tim Lindsay discuss a variety of topics in the ESG and sustainability framework, including:
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Sustainability as effective mechanist to improve (and innovate) products and internal operations. Additional tops of discussion include:
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Challenges and opportunities for companies to navigate Sustainability/ESG expectations from different agencies (NGOs, media, ESG scoring agencies, investors, stakeholders).
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Importance of guiding principles within Sustainability/ESG framework that are specific, relevant and actionable.
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Role of culture, decision-making and risk tolerance in pursuing sustainable operations.
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Sustainability as system-based approach (grounded in science and facts) that enables conversion of waste and inefficiencies into value streams.
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Interconnectedness of multiple systems from agriculture and food production, to power generation, water consumption and transportation. Opportunities to unlock value through biophysical ecosystem view.
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Realistic assessment of advantages and shortcomings of fossil fuels as well as renewables and their (combined) role in decarbonization goals.
In episode 5 of The Hidden Joule, we chat with Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, Ph.D on systems analysis, availability of natural resources and its role in wellbeing of economies. Specifically, the interconnectedness of environmental systems and social systems and the relationship between the two in terms of rise of violence. We dig into both value creation and value destruction from the perspective of natural resources/social systems with Syria and rise of ISIS as an example. We close with how this is applied to understanding energy and BioPhysical Systems.
In episode 4 of The Hidden Joule, we chat with Florian Berg, Ph.D on his work around the divergence of ESG scoring, impact and sustainability investment strategies, and changes to come in the ESG regulatory environment.
Key themes include : difference in impact/sustainability/ESG investing from the rating agencies point of view, divergence in measurement criteria, weighting and scoring techniques, need for transparency on methodologies among different scoring agencies, and the role of regulators in ESG/impact investing standards.
In this episode, we chat with Steve Keene, Ph.D in Economics, on why using Energy as the lens to view our economic systems may provide some of the answers to both our financial, social, and environmental structures.
Key discussion topics:
- Why we cannot ignore Energy as a primary input in our Economic systems. Labor without energy is a corpse and capital without energy is a sculpture. So why do we treat energy as an immaterial input in our Neo Classical systems?
- How Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) represents a scaling tool to measure primary energy sources and how this may fit into our complex energy and economic systems.
- We breakdown a company’s life cycle and limitations of traditional analysis (DCF, IRR) and how it cannot be disconnected from evaluating company’s impact on the physical world (CO2 footprint, EROI, sustainability footprint).
- The role of concentrated vs diffused energy resources on wealth creation and how to balance in the context of negative externalities such as Green House Gases (GHG).
In Episode 2, Portfolio Manager and Impact Investor Patrick Kent joins the show to discuss practical aspects of Sustainable, Impact, and ESG frameworks. At Mellon, Patrick explores how to use tools such as Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROI) and BioPhysical Economics in the context of useful day-to-day applications.
In this episode of The Hidden Joule podcast, we discuss with Dr. Charles A. S. Hall the concept of Energy Return on Energy Invested or EROI and its role within a BioPhysical Economic Framework and the ESG movement. We consider unrestrained growth and the Laws of Thermodynamics and the application within Sustainability/ESG, Neo Classical Economics and Neo Liberalism, as well as renewable solutions. Lastly, we dive into the role and link between energy and wealth, and the differences between Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.