Energy Transition
Lisa’s presentation delved into a critical question: Why is the energy transition not only an ecological necessity but also the greatest economic opportunity since the Industrial Revolution, impacting over half of global GDP? Now, spurred by an accelerating pace of technological innovation, a growing global consensus around the need to decarbonize, and the emergence of large markets spurred by industrial policies, we are entering a new phase where clean energy supply rather than demand presents the dominant constraint. But the present is not static. This discussion will outline the waves of the energy transition: (1) today's supply-constrained reality, where clean technology demand must reckon with physical infrastructure that is slow to scale; (2) the scaling of critical high-capacity, energy-dense resources, their supply chains, and the infrastructure they require; and (3) access to abundant energy that fundamentally shifts the geography of industrial production and possibility across the globe. In each, the discussion will aim to characterize the technologies and mechanisms needed to further accelerate the transition with the goal of mobilizing research, entrepreneurship, and capital toward critical, highly leveraged opportunities that accelerate our progress. Lisa is a Principal at Engine Ventures. She previously served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for economic policy, where she worked on issues at the intersection of energy and industrial strategy. Prior to joining the Engine, she worked as a Senior Advisor at MIT's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, and as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. Lisa holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Yale University.
Lisa Hansmann
Principal, Engine Ventures