Welcome to our February newsletter! This month: reflections from Detroit, CATALYZE speaker announcement, and a new visual of our engagement model. Estimated read time: 4 mins

Friends and colleagues,

This month has brought new headwinds and a significant regulatory rollback. But when we take in the full picture – both in the US and globally – it’s clear the energy transition is not stopping. 

Global and US clean energy investment reached record highs in 2025. Key technologies across industries continue on downward cost curves while AI accelerates new breakthroughs. In the US there is strong bipartisan support for renewable baseload power and innovations that will make the grid cleaner, smarter, and more resilient. 

US federal policy matters, but was never going to get clean energy over the finish line on its own. Commercial drivers, technology advancements, and state policy play an equally, if not more, important role. The narrative is shifting from one of moral obligation to one of abundance, affordability, and security enabled by cheap, clean electrotech. 

There are more reasons than ever to back clean energy – and that’s why momentum is still growing. 

Susan Kish, CEO & Jonah Wagner, President

Join the momentum in Detroit

“Crisis breeds innovation. We’ve had more than our fair share of crises – but that means we have more than our fair share of innovation”

Jeanette Pierce, The City Institute

There is a version of Detroit’s story that we all know: the successive industrial booms, the gilded age, the automotive revolution, followed by job losses, population decline, and civic landmarks crumbling into disrepair. 

This is the starting point for a powerful photo series at Newlab Detroit. The first image, from 2006, shows the building virtually in ruins: like the adjacent Michigan Central Station, an architectural gem turned into potent symbol of decline. The last, from 2023, shows its complete restoration and transformation into a “beacon of innovation”.

Today, Michigan Central and Newlab Detroit are home to a thriving community of startups and innovators working toward a more sustainable future. A place where you can see and feel momentum in the very walls – and where we are proud to be hosting ASME CATALYZE in June.

CATALYZE is gaining pace with this week’s announcement of our first slate of speakers, who include Tim Latimer (CEO of Fervo Energy), Jigar Shah (Multiplier), and Milo Werner (General Partner at DCVC).

We’re building out a hands-on, execution-focused program across key sectors including industrial heat, clean steel, geothermal, nuclear, solar, fusion, critical minerals, data centers, and storage as well as topics such as financing gaps, workforce development, and standardization.

And we’re exploring how to connect CATALYZE to local businesses, initiatives, artists, and innovators to generate even more momentum around Detroit’s next chapter as the epicenter of advanced energy and industry.

Registration is now open - get your early bird ticket now!

If you would like to be part of CATALYZE as a sponsor, speaker, or collaborator, or want to connect us with others you think we should be talking to, reply to this email.

With thanks to Jeanette Pierce from The City Institute for the quote and the fascinating tour of Detroit.

Meet us in Houston!

We will be representing the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium at this year’s CERAWeek and Geothermal Rising. Let us know if you would like to connect on financing, policy, or pipeline development for next-generation geothermal energy.

CERAWeek Agora |  March 23-27  |  Houston, TX
Geothermal Rising Investment Forum  |  April 7  |  Houston, TX

Susan will also be speaking at the CERAWeek Agora, which focuses on energy innovation and emerging technologies.

A model for momentum

The core challenge facing clean energy today is not capital or technology, but alignment. This is the founding principle of Constructive and a growing consensus in the industry: “The next decade will be defined not only by what we can build but by how well we can connect, coordinate and optimize what we have.” (WEF)

Constructive’s model is designed to create this alignment. We build broad alignment through high-profile, high-impact events like CATALYZE, and deep alignment through sustained, data-driven dialogues around key opportunity spaces like geothermal.

These events and dialogues connect to build system-wide momentum, providing the structure for trust, follow through, and real world execution. We are excited to share a new illustration of this model below, showing some of our upcoming events and how dialogues “thread through” them. (You can click the image to view and download a full sized version)

Momentum doesn’t come from duplicating efforts but from multiplying them. In that spirit, we always welcome your input on which events we could be connecting to, which initiatives we can build on, and which opportunity spaces we should consider. If you have suggestions, reply to this email.

Join us in congratulating Ann Mettler, Jon Fuller and the team behind Catalyse Europe, an exciting new initiative that launched this month to translate Europe's policy ambitions into real world progress. Connecting deep policy expertise with market-driven innovation, Catalyse Europe focuses on unlocking scale and technological strength through cross-sector collaboration. At a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty and rapid change in the energy landscape, this kind of alignment is what will deliver durable impact - and ensure Europe's security and prosperity.

Congratulations also to Jigar Shah and Jamie Nolan for launching their new podcast Energy Empire, which focuses on the real people and stories behind the energy transition — and how “abundant, affordable energy is reshaping the global economy, creating new industries, and unlocking what may be the greatest wealth-creation opportunity of our generation.” The cover art is by Rosie, our Creative Director, who will be joining Jamie on the podcast soon to talk about why design is so important to what we do.

• ICYMI, Bad Bunny’s message on energy resilience reached its biggest stage yet at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The performance of his 2022 song El Apagón, featuring sparking transmission poles, was a reference to the chronic power outages that have been plaguing Puerto Rico since the 2017 hurricanes.

• Krysta is reading the IEA’s State of Energy Innovation 2026 report, which paints a picture of active but increasingly competitive global energy innovation and calls for predictable funding, stronger deployment frameworks, and international collaboration to translate laboratory breakthroughs into real-world energy systems.

• Mike and Rosie just discovered a mutual love of musician Jon Hopkins, a master of momentum building.

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