TerraPraxis is a small and brand new organisation with a special focus on speeding up progress on crucial but neglected clean energy technologies.
They mainly focus on influencing international fora, and national governments in the UK, continental Europe and North America.
TerraPraxis researches, and advocates for the expansion of, energy innovation, with a particular focus on advanced nuclear power – a form of nuclear power that is much safer and potentially cheaper than existing nuclear plants. They combine high-quality technical analysis with advocacy in energy policy circles in international fora (such as the Clean Energy Ministerial and the IEA) and in Europe and North America.
This recommendation exemplifies our strategy of funding advocacy for solutions that are of critical importance but comparatively neglected.
TerraPraxis works on one of our priority interventions within climate change – promoting energy innovation, with a particular focus on a neglected but important energy technology – advanced nuclear power. Most research suggests that we will need a huge scale-up of nuclear power, along with renewables and other technologies, if we are to avoid dangerous climate change.1
In spite of that, there is almost no philanthropic support for nuclear advocacy in Europe, and relatively little in the US, and potentially as a result, limited policy support for nuclear either. TerraPraxis is a small organisation that helps to correct this imbalance. Nuclear power is the largest source of zero-carbon electricity in both the US and the EU, is one of the safest and cleanest energy technologies available, and has been scaled up rapidly in the past to decarbonise electricity systems in Sweden, France and elsewhere.
TerraPraxis is a brand new organisation and so has no track record. However, in their earlier work, Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll have been involved in several successful projects.
TerraPraxis staff are a trusted voice on energy policy for nuclear for many national governments, especially in the UK, the US and Canada. They have also been successful at shaping the conversation among influential international organisations and institutions, such as the International Energy Agency, the US National Renewable Energy Lab, ARPA-E (the US government energy innovation body), and the Clean Energy Ministerial.
TerraPraxis is led by Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll, who previously co-led the non-profit Energy for Humanity. Both Kirsty and Eric are strongly motivated by both climate and humanitarian concerns — committed to decarbonising energy in a world of rising energy demand by making sure that we make use of all of the low-carbon energy tools available to us. One of the main reasons we recommend TerraPraxis is that we believe that Kirsty Gogan is one of the most articulate, credible and compelling voices on the role that nuclear energy can play, along with renewables and other technologies, in solving the climate challenge. Many of the experts and civil servants we spoke to in the UK and North America share a similar view. She has more than 15 years’ experience as a senior advisor to the UK Government on climate and energy policy.
Eric Ingersoll is a highly regarded advisor and entrepreneur who complements Kirsty Gogan’s skills as an advocate with high-quality technical work. Eric has been an interim leader or strategic advisor to over 30 startups. He raised over $100 million of private equity for General Compression, a wind energy storage company which he founded, and was lead inventor of technology. He has led an array of projects related to regulatory, financing, and project delivery barriers in the nuclear sector for a variety of clients, including government agencies in the US and abroad, including the development of a definitive cost study on advanced nuclear technology.
TerraPraxis is a seed-funding opportunity that is one of the clearest cases of funding additionality we have ever come across. It is very unlikely that they would receive funding if they did not receive it from Founders Pledge members. Because they have found it so hard to fundraise, Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll previously funded their nonprofit work through Lucid Catalyst, a for-profit consultancy. As a consequence, Eric and Kirsty had to optimise for finding consultancy projects that were not necessarily the best option from a social impact point of view. With additional philanthropic money, they would be able to prioritise projects that they believe would make the biggest difference to climate change, rather than those that were appealing to consultancy clients.
At this stage, we would be happy to recommend additional funding of up to $250,000 to TerraPraxis. This money would be divided between specific projects and general improvements in operational capacity. $100,000 would be spent on disseminating the findings of the report Missing Link to a Livable Climate, which was co-authored by Kirsty and Eric. The report discusses how we can most cost-effectively produce zero-carbon hydrogen, a key piece in the climate change puzzle, necessary to decarbonise significant fractions of industry, heating and transport. Featured on the front page of the London Sunday Times, this report describes how the world can still meet the Paris goals of 1.5–2°C if sufficient, low-cost, clean hydrogen and synthetic fuels are produced to replace oil and gas in shipping, aviation and industry.
The further $150,000 would be used to improve general organisational capacity at TerraPraxis. TerraPraxis has a small team of only two and a half full-time-equivalent employees, and we would like to give them the opportunity to improve the organisational capacity as they see fit.
In addition to the direct impact of funding to TerraPraxis, part of the value of supporting them would be to gather information on what the organisation could do if they did not have to rely on paid consultancy. We view the $250,000 as a seed grant through which to test whether we should recommend additional funding in 2021.
Carbon180 is led by its co-founders, Noah Deich (Executive Director) and Giana Amador (Managing Director), both of whom have worked in the climate space before founding Carbon180 (originally known as the “Center for Carbon Removal”) in 2015. When the organisation was founded, these solutions were already a large part of scenario literature but not reflected in policy discussions. Their focus on fixing blindspots, together with a strong commitment to adapt — including a rebrand and a move to DC to better focus on policy advocacy — reveal a strong commitment to impact.
We have also found Carbon180 to be a highly strategic organisation with a clear and proven theory of impact, strategic focus, and strong internal organisation. Carbon180’s approach has also been praised by other trusted charity leaders and experts.
This makes us confident that Carbon180 is well-positioned to continue driving policy change through effective advocacy.
Since TerraPraxis is an entirely new organisation and brand, there is more uncertainty about how they will perform than for more established organisations. Moreover, since Kirsty and Eric have previously relied on paid consultancy to fund their non-profit work, we are unsure about how they will do when they have an injection of moderate philanthropic support. As discussed, part of the rationale for a grant to them would be to gather information about each of these two uncertainties.
Disclaimer: We do not have a reciprocal relationship with any charity, and recommendations are subject to change based on our ongoing research.
TerraPraxis is a small and brand new organisation with a special focus on speeding up progress on crucial but neglected clean energy technologies.
They mainly focus on influencing international fora, and national governments in the UK, continental Europe and North America.
TerraPraxis researches, and advocates for the expansion of, energy innovation, with a particular focus on advanced nuclear power – a form of nuclear power that is much safer and potentially cheaper than existing nuclear plants. They combine high-quality technical analysis with advocacy in energy policy circles in international fora (such as the Clean Energy Ministerial and the IEA) and in Europe and North America.
This recommendation exemplifies our strategy of funding advocacy for solutions that are of critical importance but comparatively neglected.
TerraPraxis works on one of our priority interventions within climate change – promoting energy innovation, with a particular focus on a neglected but important energy technology – advanced nuclear power. Most research suggests that we will need a huge scale-up of nuclear power, along with renewables and other technologies, if we are to avoid dangerous climate change.1
In spite of that, there is almost no philanthropic support for nuclear advocacy in Europe, and relatively little in the US, and potentially as a result, limited policy support for nuclear either. TerraPraxis is a small organisation that helps to correct this imbalance. Nuclear power is the largest source of zero-carbon electricity in both the US and the EU, is one of the safest and cleanest energy technologies available, and has been scaled up rapidly in the past to decarbonise electricity systems in Sweden, France and elsewhere.
TerraPraxis is a brand new organisation and so has no track record. However, in their earlier work, Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll have been involved in several successful projects.
TerraPraxis staff are a trusted voice on energy policy for nuclear for many national governments, especially in the UK, the US and Canada. They have also been successful at shaping the conversation among influential international organisations and institutions, such as the International Energy Agency, the US National Renewable Energy Lab, ARPA-E (the US government energy innovation body), and the Clean Energy Ministerial.
TerraPraxis is led by Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll, who previously co-led the non-profit Energy for Humanity. Both Kirsty and Eric are strongly motivated by both climate and humanitarian concerns — committed to decarbonising energy in a world of rising energy demand by making sure that we make use of all of the low-carbon energy tools available to us. One of the main reasons we recommend TerraPraxis is that we believe that Kirsty Gogan is one of the most articulate, credible and compelling voices on the role that nuclear energy can play, along with renewables and other technologies, in solving the climate challenge. Many of the experts and civil servants we spoke to in the UK and North America share a similar view. She has more than 15 years’ experience as a senior advisor to the UK Government on climate and energy policy.
Eric Ingersoll is a highly regarded advisor and entrepreneur who complements Kirsty Gogan’s skills as an advocate with high-quality technical work. Eric has been an interim leader or strategic advisor to over 30 startups. He raised over $100 million of private equity for General Compression, a wind energy storage company which he founded, and was lead inventor of technology. He has led an array of projects related to regulatory, financing, and project delivery barriers in the nuclear sector for a variety of clients, including government agencies in the US and abroad, including the development of a definitive cost study on advanced nuclear technology.
TerraPraxis is a seed-funding opportunity that is one of the clearest cases of funding additionality we have ever come across. It is very unlikely that they would receive funding if they did not receive it from Founders Pledge members. Because they have found it so hard to fundraise, Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll previously funded their nonprofit work through Lucid Catalyst, a for-profit consultancy. As a consequence, Eric and Kirsty had to optimise for finding consultancy projects that were not necessarily the best option from a social impact point of view. With additional philanthropic money, they would be able to prioritise projects that they believe would make the biggest difference to climate change, rather than those that were appealing to consultancy clients.
At this stage, we would be happy to recommend additional funding of up to $250,000 to TerraPraxis. This money would be divided between specific projects and general improvements in operational capacity. $100,000 would be spent on disseminating the findings of the report Missing Link to a Livable Climate, which was co-authored by Kirsty and Eric. The report discusses how we can most cost-effectively produce zero-carbon hydrogen, a key piece in the climate change puzzle, necessary to decarbonise significant fractions of industry, heating and transport. Featured on the front page of the London Sunday Times, this report describes how the world can still meet the Paris goals of 1.5–2°C if sufficient, low-cost, clean hydrogen and synthetic fuels are produced to replace oil and gas in shipping, aviation and industry.
The further $150,000 would be used to improve general organisational capacity at TerraPraxis. TerraPraxis has a small team of only two and a half full-time-equivalent employees, and we would like to give them the opportunity to improve the organisational capacity as they see fit.
In addition to the direct impact of funding to TerraPraxis, part of the value of supporting them would be to gather information on what the organisation could do if they did not have to rely on paid consultancy. We view the $250,000 as a seed grant through which to test whether we should recommend additional funding in 2021.
Carbon180 is led by its co-founders, Noah Deich (Executive Director) and Giana Amador (Managing Director), both of whom have worked in the climate space before founding Carbon180 (originally known as the “Center for Carbon Removal”) in 2015. When the organisation was founded, these solutions were already a large part of scenario literature but not reflected in policy discussions. Their focus on fixing blindspots, together with a strong commitment to adapt — including a rebrand and a move to DC to better focus on policy advocacy — reveal a strong commitment to impact.
We have also found Carbon180 to be a highly strategic organisation with a clear and proven theory of impact, strategic focus, and strong internal organisation. Carbon180’s approach has also been praised by other trusted charity leaders and experts.
This makes us confident that Carbon180 is well-positioned to continue driving policy change through effective advocacy.
Since TerraPraxis is an entirely new organisation and brand, there is more uncertainty about how they will perform than for more established organisations. Moreover, since Kirsty and Eric have previously relied on paid consultancy to fund their non-profit work, we are unsure about how they will do when they have an injection of moderate philanthropic support. As discussed, part of the rationale for a grant to them would be to gather information about each of these two uncertainties.
Disclaimer: We do not have a reciprocal relationship with any charity, and recommendations are subject to change based on our ongoing research.
