In this episode, we sit down with Casey Handmer, founder of Terraform Industries, to break down one of the biggest challenges of the next decade: power.
From solar’s insane cost curve to AI data centers overpowering utilities, Casey explains why cheap, abundant energy will decide which countries — and companies — win next.
00:00 – Terraform’s mission: making fuel from sunlight & air
01:00 – Casey’s background (physics, NASA, Hyperloop → startup)
03:00 – Who Terraform’s customers actually are
04:40 – Energy explained like you’re 5 (how the grid really works)
06:50 – Why electricity changed human civilization
09:40 – Solar + batteries permanently destabilize utilities
11:40 – Why solar suddenly got insanely cheap
12:50 – Solar’s 48% learning rate (this is wild)
14:00 – Will solar dominate all primary energy?
16:30 – Electrification myths (cars, heating, transport)
18:30 – Batteries are about to explode in scale
21:00 – Why Tesla is winning energy, not just cars
23:00 – AI data centers are starving for power
25:00 – Why utilities don’t want hyperscalers
27:50 – Nuclear won’t scale fast enough (hard truth)
29:20 – Why solar beats everything on speed & scale
31:00 – Turning solar energy into fuels & materials
34:40 – Mining metals using pure energy (basalt theory)
38:10 – Will data centers replace utilities?
41:00 – The real long-term energy future
43:40 – Careers at Terraform & final thoughts
Rho
Website - https://www.rho.co/
Public
Website - https://public.com/
Casey Handmer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-handmer/
Nichole wischoff
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholewischoff/