Show Notes
Welcome to the first Episode of INNOVATING FOR THE EARTH, with innovation expert and radio and TV presenter James O’Loghlin.
We live in a time of great change. Hardly anyone does things the same way as they did them 20 years ago, even 10 years ago, and the pace of change isn’t slowing down. Climate change will bring huge change to many industries, especially energy, and the drive to operate sustainability will intensify. This podcast is going to examine what one company, Calix is doing to identify and meet some key challenges that have emerged in the last decades.
Calix uses patented technology they developed to provide industrial solutions that address global sustainability challenges. Their technology is being used to develop environmentally friendly solutions in areas that include crop protection, aquaculture, water and wastewater, advanced batteries and carbon reduction, and we are going to find out how their complex technology went from being just an idea to becoming a thriving international business, how the technology works and what it does.
Mark Sceats was there from the beginning. He’s a physical chemist with 40 years’ experience. In 2005 he founded Calix, and today is a Director. Prior to 2005 Mark had worked at the University of Chicago, the University of Rochester in New York, and then at the University of Sydney in the School of Chemistry. He’s published over 140 academic papers in physical chemistry, and - Get this - is an inventor of 36 patented inventions.
In this episode we will hear Mark answer the following questions: • How did the Calix journey begin? • What were you hoping to achieve with the technology? • Where did you start testing? • What were the early findings? • What followed this test unit? • So by this point you had a technology demonstrated at small scale – how did you take this to the market? • How did such a small company complete such an ambitious project? • What happened after you turned the reactor on for the first time? • How did you feel that day? • Were there any challenges with this first of a kind plant ? • Were there moments when you thought it was never going to happen? • How did you get through those tough times? • What did you learn in those periods? • What would you have done differently? • What do you think you did really well in this period?