Rooted in Change

Jan Christoph Bohnerth

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To tackle the climate crisis, we need radical action and bold ideas. Those advocating and delivering green solutions, lowering humanity's impact on the planet, are our champions. The podcast “Rooted in Change” interviews European cleantech protagonists about their solutions. Guests share ideas on how to accelerate change and deliver meaningful global impact.

FEB 10

Tobias Sodoge - NeoCarbon

Data centers generate immense heat and require constant, energy-intensive cooling to run their servers. Those facilities typically vent that excess energy as waste, until now. NeoCarbon turns data centers into carbon capture machines by integrating Direct Air Capture technology directly into their infrastructure. By utilizing the servers' waste heat to power the process, NeoCarbon acts as a thermal buffer that drastically reduces cooling needs while actively capturing CO2. Tobias, NeoCarbon’s CEO, joins me to talk about this paradigm shift in collaboration, the holistic solution for facility operators and the company's commercial focus on the data center market. Tune in to learn what NeoCarbon's approach has to do with the German "Reinheitsgebot" for brewing beer.

44 min
JAN 20

Thomas Bräck - Meva Energy

Heavy industries need high temperatures to run their processes, making certain processes hard to electrify. Those companies continue to rely on fossil gas, until now. Meva Energy replaces fossil gas by building gasification plants directly on-site at the factory. By converting local biomass residue into clean, renewable gas, Meva provides the intense heat needed for industrial processes, cutting carbon emissions and stabilizing energy costs instantly. Thomas, Meva's Business Development Manager, joins the podcast to talk about the technology, applications and the company's future plans.

29 min
12/09/2025

Hanna Ojanen - Carbo Culture

Reaching Net Zero is one of the defining challenges of our time, but reducing emissions alone won't be enough - we also need to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere. That’s exactly where Carbo Culture comes in. Their team has developed a proprietary technology that converts waste biomass into stable biochar. In this episode, I talk with Hanna about how their technology works, the critical role of biochar in the climate equation and what it takes to scale a physical solution to a gigaton level. We also dive into a crucial but often overlooked angle: the lessons she brings from her background in the Prime Minister’s Office in Finland and how navigating the complex world of policy is just as vital as the engineering when building a deep-tech market from scratch.

36 min
11/18/2025

Karthik Kunjali - Stockholm Water Technology

Clean water is one of the defining challenges of our time and even its own Sustainable Development Goal. One essential piece of the puzzle is wastewater purification. That’s exactly where Stockholm Water Technology comes in. Their team has developed a chemical- and membrane-free purification technology that uses only electricity to remove contaminants and even recover valuable nutrients. In this episode, I talk with Karthik about how their technology works, why it matters and what it could mean for the future of water treatment. We also dive into an unexpected angle: the lessons he brings from his career as a professional athlete and how they shape his approach to building and scaling a deep-tech company.

33 min
10/28/2025

Felix Bünning - viboo

As the heating season kicks off, energy use and energy bills start climbing fast. In this episode, I talk with Felix, co-founder and CEO at viboo, who are tackling this challenge head-on. Their platform uses AI-driven heating control to help light commercial buildings save energy, cut costs, and reduce CO₂ emissions. We dive into how their solution works, why it’s particularly effective for light commercial buildings, and how it makes energy efficiency both smart and affordable and how buildings can become an active part of the energy transition.

37 min
10/07/2025

Emilio Dal Re - Unbound Potential

Unbound Potential is rethinking batteries. By removing costly membranes and complex cell stacks, their membrane-free redox flow technology stores energy in two liquids with minimal hardware, lasting over 20,000 cycles. I chat with the company's CFO Emilio Dal Re about how it works, why it matters for the energy transition, and the recent pre-seed funding plus early pilots with companies like Amazon.

48 min
09/16/2025

Frédéric Juillard - TreaTech

Waste streams are often overlooked, but they hold enormous potential. TreaTech has developed a technology that captures the full value of a broad range of end products - from renewable gas to clean water, salts and minerals - turning waste into valuable resources. In this episode, I chat with Frederic, co-founder of TreaTech, about how the technology works, why it’s a game-changer for the waste treatment industry and how it could help build a truly circular economy. We also dive into the challenges of scaling this approach and what’s next for the company.

48 min
08/26/2025

Lars Stegmann - CAP-XX

Supercapacitors aren’t as well-known as batteries, but they play an important role in the energy storage landscape. Unlike batteries, they can charge and discharge almost instantly, making them ideal for applications that require short, powerful bursts of energy. In this episode, I chat with Lars Stegmann, CEO at CAP-XX, the company behind the world’s thinnest supercapacitors. We explore how the technology works, why it matters for the energy transition and how CAP-XX powers a green transition.

28 min

To tackle the climate crisis, we need radical action and bold ideas. Those advocating and delivering green solutions, lowering humanity's impact on the planet, are our champions. The podcast “Rooted in Change” interviews European cleantech protagonists about their solutions. Guests share ideas on how to accelerate change and deliver meaningful global impact.

Creator

Jan Christoph Bohnerth
Years Active

2022 - 2026
Episodes

49
Rating

Clean
Show Website

Rooted in Change