The scale and urgency of the transformation required to fight climate change has never been more clear. Building hardware and software products, acquiring the funding and creating a diverse community to enhance talent capacity and to drive innovation, is essential to tackling this global environmental crisis. In this podcast, host Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens Bank) Climate Tech & Sustainability SVP Maggie Wong will be interviewing Calectra CEO & Co-Founder Pauliina Meskanen to discuss decarbonizing manufacturing processes with thermal batteries to store high temperature heat, the role of customer discovery to building and scaling a product, and the importance of choosing the right partners and building relationships with trust and value creation.
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Show Notes
- Calectra aims to make process heating for heavy industry both cheaper and cleaner.
- Process heating accounts for roughly 20% of global CO2 emissions.
- Calectra’s thermal battery technology delivers high-temperature heat up to 1600°C by charging when electricity is cheap.
- The company was co-founded by Paulina Meskanen and Nate Weger after meeting in a DOE accelerator.
- Paulina’s background includes time as a startup operator, venture capitalist, and founder focused on deep tech and energy innovation.
- Calectra’s target industries are cement, steel, chemicals, and glass—industries with high-temperature process needs.
- Traditional industrial heating relies on natural gas and coal, leading to high costs and emissions.
- Calectra’s solution provides an alternative by using renewable energy and energy storage in ceramic bricks.
- Customer discovery and understanding pain points have been central to Calectra’s product and market strategy.
- The cement industry has been the most interested in Calectra’s solution due to its unique heat requirements.
- Calectra’s approach for market entry is to start with pilot systems, running them in parallel with existing equipment before full transition.
- Their technology is designed to be modular and scalable, allowing for installations from container-size pilots to small house–sized industrial systems.
- Reliability, safety, and cost-effectiveness are the cornerstones of their product development.
- Hardware startups face unique challenges, including shipping times and capital-intensive development.
- A mix of venture capital and non-dilutive grants has been critical in funding development and pilots.
- Choosing the right investors brings value beyond capital—offering networks and expertise.
- Diversity is seen as crucial for innovation, decision-making, and network-building in Calectra’s team and branding.
- Attention to inclusive language and neutral branding helps attract talent and broaden Calectra’s appeal.
- A major opportunity in climate tech is the rapidly decreasing cost of renewables (solar, wind), making broader electrification possible.
- Advice for others: build your network, create value for others, and enter the climate/energy space through intentional learning and relationship-building.
About the speaker
Pauliina Meskanen is the Co-Founder & CEO of Calectra, a thermal battery startup making up to 1600°C process heating cheaper and clearner for the heavy industry. Calectra is backed by the Department of Energy, Activate, the States of California and New York, and Aera VC. Before building Calectra, Pauliina built a consultancy and newsletter on hardware energy innovation (Survivaltech.club), was an investor in Nordic VC funds (Lifeline Ventures, Inventure, Wave Ventures) and the fourth employee at a VC-backed and now exited health tech startup (Kaiku Health). M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering, Aalto University, Finland.
About the host
Maggie Wong is an accomplished product management and capital markets leader with over 15 years of experience in driving product strategy, delivering global products, fundraising & capital allocation, and leading cross-functional teams. Outside of her role at Silicon Valley Bank to support New York / East Coast based climate tech companies and investors, she is also experienced in increasing program impact, growing community reach and implementing DEI initiatives at travel and fintech non-profits. Maggie is passionate about making a social impact for the next generation, tackling climate change and traveling. She is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese and a beginner in Spanish.