Solar-Powered Data Centers with Exowatt

Hannan Parvizian is Co-founder and CEO of Exowatt. Exowatt turned heads earlier this year when it announced a $20 million Seed round with backers including Andreessen Horowitz, Atomic, and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. The company has developed a novel combined solution for energy generation and storage that concentrates heat from the sun, stores it as thermal energy, and converts it on demand to electricity.

They've primarily focused their go-to-market around the data center boom driven by AI and argue that their solution is purpose-built for the massive energy need of data centers. We were eager to hear from Hannan as the rapid increase in energy demand from hyperscalers and AI remains a huge topic in the energy space, especially as we work to transition away from fossil fuels while also meeting AI-fueled demand.

In this episode, we explore Hannan's insights on the limitations of "traditional" solar PV and lithium-ion battery storage in meeting these needs—and how Exowatt aims to bridge this gap.

In this episode, we cover: 

• [2:01] An overview of Exowatt
• [4:56] Exowatt's technology and approach
• [6:29] Reasons for pursuing a thermal energy storage solution
• [14:46] Hannan's previous startup experience
• [16:45] How Exowatt's Seed round came together
• [20:07] Response to skepticism about Exowatt's technology
• [24:41] Technical details on the Exowatt P3 system
• [29:09] Geographical and land use considerations
• [34:33] Comparison of Exowatt's approach to other thermal energy storage solutions
• [38:59] Exowatt's manufacturing and deployment strategy
• [41:48] Pricing and economics of the company's system
• [43:10] Current deployments and future growth plans
• [43:44] Hannan's perspectives on Exowatt's competitive advantages and challenges
• [46:02] Where Exowatt needs help

Episode recorded on Oct 10, 2024 (Published on Nov 7, 2024)

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