Supercool

How AI-Powered Robots Rescued Recycling: AMP’s Dirty MRFs and Garbage Waterfalls

Americans think they recycle. Mostly, we don’t. More than half of all recyclable materials never reach a recycling bin. They go straight into the garbage, where the waste industry has historically had little economic incentive — and limited technology — to recover them. Matanya Horowitz founded AMP to build AI-powered robots that sort cans, bottles, and other valuable materials in recycling facilities, eventually deploying hundreds of robots across the country. Now AMP is building AI-powered mixed waste facilities — the modern version of what the industry calls dirty MRFs — that sort valuable materials directly out of the garbage stream. Trash moves down a conveyor belt, drops into what Matanya calls a “garbage waterfall,” and air jets fire in milliseconds to knock milk jugs, aluminum cans, and other materials onto separate conveyors. In this episode, Matanya explains why traditional recycling economics are broken, why the waste industry gave up on dirty MRFs decades ago, and how AMP’s full-scale facility in southeastern Virginia points to a different future: a recycling system that doesn’t require a recycling bin. Show Notes Guest: Matanya Horowitz, Founder & CTO [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matanya/] Company: AMP [https://ampsortation.com/]  For more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our: * Weekly Newsletter [https://supercool.beehiiv.com/subscribe] * Climate Adoption Playbook [https://getsuper.cool/playbook/] * Supercool on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/getsupercool]  * Supercool on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/getsupercool]

How to Burp a Cow: Hoofprint Biome Makes More Milk, Less Methane

Cow burps are one of climate’s strangest and most stubborn problems. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, and cattle are responsible for about 30 percent of global methane emissions. For years, the basic answer has been: eat less beef and drink less milk. Kathryn Polkoff, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Hoofprint Biome, thinks there is a better way. Hoofprint uses natural enzymes to reshape the cow’s rumen microbiome, cutting methane production while boosting dairy milk yield and beef cattle weight gain. No harsh chemical feed additives. Just a solution that helps farmers produce more with less methane. In Supercool’s first live recording, Josh talks with Kathryn at Raleigh-Durham Startup Week’s inaugural Climate Tech Day about cow burps, commercializing agricultural climate tech, and why Hoofprint could not exist without AI. It is a climate story about biology, business, and turning wasted energy into value. Show Notes Guest: Kathryn Polkoff, PhD, co-founder and CEO [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-polkoff-phd-0068a1182/] Company: Hoofprint Biome [https://www.hoofprintbiome.com/] For more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our: * Weekly Newsletter [https://supercool.beehiiv.com/subscribe] * Climate Adoption Playbook [https://getsuper.cool/playbook/] * Supercool on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/getsupercool]  * Supercool on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/getsupercool]

The Master Builder Returns: Augmenta Designs Waste Out of Construction

Construction has a hidden waste problem, and it starts long before anything reaches the job site. For centuries, the master builder was the person who translated architectural vision into buildable reality. Today, modern construction is too complex for any one person to play that role. A commercial building can contain hundreds of thousands of components across electrical, mechanical, plumbing, structural, and fire protection systems. No one can see it all. That turns construction into a zero-sum game. Trades compete for the same walls, ceilings, shafts, and risers. Some win. Some lose. And when those conflicts get discovered during construction instead of design, the result is rework, delays, wasted material, and systems that cost more than they should to build and operate. In this episode, Josh talks with Frio Iorio, co-founder and CEO of Augmenta, about using AI to bring constructability to the start of design: turning architectural models, engineering requirements, and project constraints into 3D designs that show what can actually be built before construction begins. The result: less material waste, fewer expensive mistakes, and buildings designed to use less energy for decades. Show Notes Guest: Francesco Iorio [https://www.linkedin.com/in/francescoiorio/] Company: Augmenta [https://www.augmenta.ai/] Documentary (referenced): Manufactured Landscapes [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufactured_Landscapes] For more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our: * Weekly Newsletter [https://supercool.beehiiv.com/subscribe] * Climate Adoption Playbook [https://getsuper.cool/playbook/] * Supercool on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/getsupercool]  * Supercool on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/getsupercool]

The Largest Private Recycling Company in America Just Showed Up

Ron Gonen built the largest privately held recycling and composting company in America largely in secret. For five years, his team acquired family-owned recycling operations across the country. When Circular Services finally surfaced two years ago — 35 facilities, municipal contracts in New York, Charlotte, Austin, San Antonio, and Phoenix — the industry's reaction was: wait, they did what? That's one piece of what Closed Loop Partners does. The company Gonen founded after serving as Mayor Bloomberg's Recycling Czar is built around a single thesis: the circular economy needs infrastructure. To build it, Closed Loop operates across three businesses: an asset management business with funds across venture, private equity, and credit; an advisory arm that works with corporations to redesign their supply chains; and Circular Services, the physical infrastructure that processes material and feeds it back in. His argument isn't environmental. It's economic. The global supply chains built over the last 60 years made sense under conditions that no longer exist. The businesses that figure out how to use what the economy throws away as their primary input aren't just the future. They're already winning. Show Notes Guest: Ron Gonen, Founder & CEO [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-gonen-807a49/] Company: Closed Loop Partners [https://www.closedlooppartners.com/] For more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our: * Weekly Newsletter [https://supercool.beehiiv.com/subscribe] * Climate Adoption Playbook [https://getsuper.cool/playbook/] * Supercool on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/getsupercool]  * Supercool on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/getsupercool]

The Missing Renewable: Wave Power Comes Ashore

Sign up for Johnson Controls' Free Webinar: Optimizing Lifecycle Value Webinar [https://info.jci.com/optimizing-life-cycle-value-webinar?campID=%20701QP00001NQdHiYAL%20&cname=MKG-SB-AMER-CPTR-FY26-048-BPS-Optimizing-Lifecycle-Webinar&lsmr=Eloqua&chnlmr=email&chnlor=email&lsor=Eloqua&utm_campaign=%20MKG-SB-AMER-CPTR-FY26-048-BPS-Optimizing-Lifecycle-Webinar%20&utm_content=CONTENT&utm_medium=email&utm_source=SUPERCOOL] -- The ocean is an unforgiving place to put a machine. That’s why wave energy has remained one of the most promising — and most elusive — sources of renewable power. In this episode, Josh talks with Catharina Belfrage Sahlstrand, Chief Commercial Officer of CorPower Ocean, about how the company is turning wave energy into a viable power source. They discuss CorPower’s spherical buoys, designed around a principle borrowed from the human heart, and the commercial challenge of getting utilities, developers, and large offtakers comfortable with a new source of clean energy. Catharina explains why surviving 60-foot waves off the coast of Portugal became a critical proof point, why CorPower is now building its first commercial wave farms in Portugal and Scotland, and how wave power — as a complement to wind and solar — can make the broader renewable mix more affordable. Show Notes Guest: Catharina Belfrage Sahlstrand, Chief Commercial Officer [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharina-belfrage-sahlstrand-815ab61/] Company: CorPower Ocean [https://corpowerocean.com/] For more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our: * Weekly Newsletter [https://supercool.beehiiv.com/subscribe] * Climate Adoption Playbook [https://getsuper.cool/playbook/] * Supercool on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/getsupercool]  * Supercool on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/getsupercool]