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From Climate Breakthrough to Scale with Skyline Foundation, LabStart, and New Energy Nexus
Climate philanthropy does far more than fund advocacy and conservation—it bridges critical funding gaps for breakthrough technologies that traditional, financially driven investors often overlook. In this special episode, we continue our ongoing Climate Philanthropy series in partnership with the Skyline Foundation to explore how non-profit support accelerates the climate tech pipeline.
Shereen D’Souza (Climate Solutions Portfolio Lead at Skyline Foundation) sits down with two powerhouse CEOs from her grantee portfolio, Deepa Lounsbury of LabStart and Andrew Chang of New Energy Nexus, to discuss what it really takes to move climate innovation from a university lab to global deployment.
Why This Episode Matters
Bringing a "hard tech" climate startup from initial lab concept to commercial scale takes an average of 10 years, and every single step of that journey faces a unique "valley of death." Because scaled deployment looks drastically different depending on the geography, supporting entrepreneurs requires a highly specialized ecosystem.
This conversation highlights how philanthropy strategically funds distinct, critical phases of the lab-to-market pipeline to scale viable climate solutions faster.
On today’s episode, we cover:
- 0:58 – Why climate philanthropy & Skyline partnership
- 3:35 – LabStart vs. New Energy Nexus focus
- 4:09 – Guest intros: Deepa (LabStart) & Andrew (New Energy Nexus)
- 4:46 – Deepa’s background in climate, VC, and CalSEED
- 6:20 – What LabStart does & “deep climate tech” focus
- 8:02 – Andrew’s overview of New Energy Nexus global model
- 9:43 – Programs: bootcamps, grants, CalSEED, and global south focus
- 11:16 – What it looks like to be a New Energy Nexus entrepreneur
- 11:54 – Philippines rooftop solar opportunity
- 12:48 – Pakistan rooftop solar boom and Climate Innovation Pakistan
- 13:40 – CalSEED structure and impact in California
- 13:58 – What it looks like to be a LabStart entrepreneur
- 14:55 – LabStart Discover and Launch phases
- 15:54 – Why philanthropy is needed in climate tech innovation
- 18:36 – Philanthropy in the global south and hyperlocal impact
- 22:10 – LabStart success story: architect-turned-3D housing founder
- 24:32 – Additional LabStart founders and outcomes
- 25:25 – How much philanthropic capital is needed
- 27:17 – IEA investment gap and catalytic examples from Indonesia
- 29:43 – Why fund new technologies vs. only deployment
- 32:06 – How country pathways shape New Energy Nexus engagement
- 33:02 – California deployment example: ThermoShade
- 33:58 – Indonesia fishermen & electric motorboats case
- 34:51 – Pakistan Pack Plug EV charging app
- 35:22 – What else the ecosystem needs: Andrew on subnational governments
- 37:34 – What else the ecosystem needs: Deepa on IP & ecosystem gaps
- 41:02 – Five-year vision & asks: Deepa and LabStart
- 43:49 – Five-year vision & asks: Andrew and New Energy Nexus
- 47:26 – Closing thanks from Shereen
Resources Mentioned
- Invested in Climate: Climate Philanthropy series
- Skyline Foundation
- LabStart
- New Energy Nexus
- Project Drawdown
- CalSEED
- Jamil Wyne
- Solar Innovation Program
- Climate Innovation Pakistan
- CalTestBed
- AusTestbed
- ThermoShade
- Swap Energy
- Xuraya
- Volto Sea
- PakPlug
- Schmidt Family Foundation
- Boundless Earth
- Atlassian Foundation
- California Energy Commission (CEC)
- New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
- Mubadala Investment Company (Abu Dhabi)
- Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)
- International Energy Agency (IEA)
- Elemental Impact
- Activate
- Renewables First
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