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Most discussions around energy storage focus on electricity. But what if the bigger opportunity is heat?

In this episode of Soliverse, Peter Pongracz speaks with Tommi Eronen, CEO and Co-Founder of Polar Night Energy, the company behind the world's first commercial sand battery.

Tommi shares the story behind the technology, how thermal energy storage works, and why industrial heat remains one of the most overlooked challenges in the global energy transition. The conversation covers thermal storage economics, district heating, industrial decarbonization, project deployment in Finland, and Polar Night Energy's vision for scaling Heat as a Service across Europe.

Connect with Tommi Eronen:

LinkedIn
Polar Night Energy

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Thank you for listening to Soliverse | The Future of Solar, the podcast for people building the future of solar, storage, and renewable infrastructure.

Each episode features grounded, unfiltered conversations with the people financing, developing, operating, and scaling real projects across the solar and clean energy ecosystem.

Soliverse exists to cut through noise, hype, and disconnected narratives and replace them with clarity, realism, and execution-focused insight for professionals who want to make smarter decisions, faster.

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Explore our partners:
PVX.AI, utility-scale solar design software

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🎙️ New episodes release bi-weekly.

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What does it take to build utility-scale solar at the speed the energy transition actually needs?

In this episode of Soliverse | The Future of Solar, Peter Pongracz speaks with Matt Campbell, CEO and Co-Founder at Terabase Energy Inc., about the future of solar construction, AI-driven robotics, energy storage, and the digital systems needed to scale solar from megawatts to gigawatts. Matt explains why traditional solar construction is still largely manual, why the industry needs integrated workflows instead of disconnected tools, and how Terabase is building a platform that connects yield simulation, construction management, data, AI, and robotics into one end-to-end system.

The conversation goes deep into the pressure created by data center power demand, grid constraints, battery storage, project scale, and supply chain realities. Matt also shares how Terabase approaches products like PlantPredict, Construct, and Terafab, why physical AI is changing what robots can do on real construction sites, and what it could take to build a gigawatt of solar in less than ten weeks.

Connect with Matt Campbell:
LinkedIn
Terabase Energy Website

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Soliverse | The Future of Solar, the podcast for people building the future of solar, storage, and renewable infrastructure.

Each episode features grounded, unfiltered conversations with the people financing, developing, operating, and scaling real projects across the solar and clean energy ecosystem.

Soliverse exists to cut through noise, hype, and disconnected narratives and replace them with clarity, realism, and execution-focused insight for professionals who want to make smarter decisions, faster.

📌 Explore more from Soliverse

Explore our partners:
PVX.AI, utility-scale solar design software

📲 Follow Soliverse and Peter for more insights and updates:
Peter on LinkedIn
Soliverse Instagram
Soliverse X (Twitter)
Subscribe on YouTube

🎙️ New episodes release bi-weekly.

Produced by APodcastGeek

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What if solar’s biggest advantage right now is not more complexity, but simpler communication? In this episode of Soliverse l The Future of Solar Episode 39, host Peter Pongracz is joined by Aaron Nichols, host of This Week In Solar and Marketing and BD Manager at Exact Solar, and Jacob Yang, Founder and CEO of Amp Your Story and clean energy marketer.

Together, they explore why solar, storage, and clean energy companies often struggle to communicate clearly, why energy security is becoming a stronger message for homeowners and businesses, how distributed generation and balcony solar are shifting the market, and why clean energy marketing needs to meet people where they are.

The conversation also covers data centers, rising electricity bills, utility relationships, community solar, solar conferences, personal branding, storytelling, and why simple, human, specific messaging can help the solar industry build trust and drive action faster.

Connect with Aaron Nichols:
LinkedIn
This Week In Solar on Apple Podcasts
This Week In Solar on Spotify

Connect with Jacob Yang:
LinkedIn

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Soliverse | The Future of Solar, the podcast for people building the future of solar, storage, and renewable infrastructure.

Each episode features grounded, unfiltered conversations with the people financing, developing, operating, and scaling real projects across the solar and clean energy ecosystem.

Soliverse exists to cut through noise, hype, and disconnected narratives and replace them with clarity, realism, and execution-focused insight for professionals who want to make smarter decisions, faster.

📌 Explore more from Soliverse

Explore our partners:
PVX.AI, utility-scale solar design software

📲 Follow Soliverse and Peter for more insights and updates:
Peter on LinkedIn
Soliverse Instagram
Soliverse X (Twitter)
Subscribe on YouTube

🎙️ New episodes release bi-weekly.

Produced by APodcastGeek

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Is Europe’s solar market hitting a wall, or entering its next phase? In this episode of Soliverse | The Future of Solar, host Peter Pongracz speaks with Antonio Arruebo Lacleta, Market Analyst at SolarPower Europe and the Battery Storage Europe Platform, about why solar installations are slowing, what negative power prices are telling us, and why battery storage is becoming essential for the future of the energy transition.

Antonio explains how curtailment, grid congestion, permitting delays, and weak flexibility markets are starting to drag on solar growth across Europe. He also breaks down why hybrid solar plus storage is quickly becoming the new default, which battery markets are moving fastest, where Europe still lacks manufacturing depth, and what policymakers need to fix to unlock the next wave of deployment. This is a grounded conversation for anyone working in utility scale solar, battery storage, project development, policy, or energy finance.

About this episode:
Learn more about Battery Storage Europe
Explore the Market and Policy Navigator
Read the EU Battery Storage Market Review 2025
Read the Mission Solar 2040 report
Battery Storage Europe, policy and action plans
Connect with Antonio Arruebo Lacleta on LinkedIn

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Soliverse | The Future of Solar, the podcast for people building the future of solar, storage, and renewable infrastructure.

Each episode features grounded, unfiltered conversations with the people financing, developing, operating, and scaling real projects across the solar and clean energy ecosystem.

Soliverse exists to cut through noise, hype, and disconnected narratives and replace them with clarity, realism, and execution-focused insight for professionals who want to make smarter decisions, faster.

📌 Explore more from Soliverse

Explore our partners:
PVX.AI, utility-scale solar design software

📲 Follow Soliverse and Peter for more insights and updates:
Peter on LinkedIn
Soliverse Instagram
Soliverse X (Twitter)
Subscribe on YouTube

🎙️ New episodes release bi-weekly.

Produced by APodcastGeek

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What happens when energy policy plans the future grid, but leaves storage out of the equation? In this episode of Soliverse | The Future of Solar, host Peter Pongracz sits down with Dr Radovan Kopecek, Co-Founder and Director at ISC Konstanz, to unpack why the next phase of solar depends on battery storage, local manufacturing, and clearer industrial strategy across Europe, the US, India, and China.

Dr Kopecek shares a sharp global view on solar manufacturing, hybrid projects, battery economics, European industrial policy, cybersecurity, and why space may become one of the most unexpected frontiers for crystalline silicon. This is a grounded, wide-ranging conversation for anyone working in utility scale solar, energy storage, renewable manufacturing, or the future of the grid.

About the guest
Dr Radovan Kopecek is Co-Founder and Director at ISC Konstanz, the International Solar Energy Research Center Konstanz. His work spans high-efficiency solar cell technology, PV manufacturing strategy, battery-adjacent energy systems thinking, training, and emerging solar applications including space.

Guest links
ISC Konstanz
ISC Konstanz, solar cells for satellites
LinkedIn
TikTok
PV Trainings
Important PV events

Referenced organizations and events
ESA, European Space Agency
DLR, German Aerospace Center
IEEE PVSC
IEEE PVSC, Area 12 Industry Perspective
EU PVSEC
EU PVSEC Programme, Industry Summit
Asian PVSEC
Gigawatt PV Tech Conference
Taiyang News
RCT Solutions
Premier Energies

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Soliverse | The Future of Solar, the podcast for people building the future of solar, storage, and renewable infrastructure.

Each episode features grounded, unfiltered conversations with the people financing, developing, operating, and scaling real projects across the solar and clean energy ecosystem.

Soliverse exists to cut through noise, hype, and disconnected narratives and replace them with clarity, realism, and execution-focused insight for professionals who want to make smarter decisions, faster.

📌 Explore more from Soliverse

Explore our partners:
PVX.AI, utility-scale solar design software

📲 Follow Soliverse and Peter for more insights and updates:
Peter on LinkedIn
Soliverse Instagram
Soliverse X (Twitter)
Subscribe on YouTube

🎙️ New episodes release bi-weekly.

Produced by APodcastGeek

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What does it really take to build, finance, and scale solar projects when policy keeps shifting, capital is more cautious, and grid constraints are getting harder to ignore? In this episode of Soliverse | The Future of Solar, host Peter Pongracz sits down with Benoy Thanjan, Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and host of the Solar Maverick Podcast, for a grounded conversation on where the solar market is actually headed across the U.S. and beyond.

They unpack the real-world state of solar in 2025 and beyond, from agrivoltaics and floating solar to community solar, storage, project risk, data center demand, recycling, repowering, and the long-term challenge of competing with China. Benoy also shares what developers, investors, and industry leaders need to understand now about energy independence, market messaging, and why creativity remains one of solar’s biggest competitive advantages.

If you work in solar, storage, development, project finance, or clean energy investing, this episode gives you a practical look at the forces shaping the next phase of the energy transition.

Connect with Benoy
Website
Solar Maverick Podcast
Podcast page
LinkedIn

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Soliverse | The Future of Solar, the podcast for people building the future of solar, storage, and renewable infrastructure.

Each episode features grounded, unfiltered conversations with the people financing, developing, operating, and scaling real projects across the solar and clean energy ecosystem.

Soliverse exists to cut through noise, hype, and disconnected narratives and replace them with clarity, realism, and execution-focused insight for professionals who want to make smarter decisions, faster.

📌 Explore more from Soliverse

Explore our partners:
PVX.AI, utility-scale solar design software

📲 Follow Soliverse and Peter for more insights and updates:
Peter on LinkedIn
Soliverse Instagram
Soliverse X (Twitter)
Subscribe on YouTube

🎙️ New episodes release bi-weekly.

Produced by APodcastGeek

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What really slows down utility-scale solar projects, bad engineering, weak execution, or the red tape nobody budgets for early enough?

In this episode of Soliverse, Peter Pongracz sits down with Phil Horwitch, co-founder of AMH Holdings, to unpack how the best solar teams handle permitting delays, stakeholder friction, QA/QC problems, and the hidden communication gaps that quietly derail projects. With more than a decade in utility-scale and distributed generation, Phil shares a grounded operator’s view on what separates teams that keep projects moving from teams that lose months, money, and momentum.

Phil explains why realistic timelines matter more than optimistic ones, why local relationships can speed up approvals, and why “buildable” engineering always beats “perfect” engineering on paper. They also get into battery storage trends, the growing need for solar education, and the kind of cross-functional thinking young engineers need if they want to build a long career in renewables.

If you work in solar development, EPC, engineering, project delivery, battery storage, or renewable infrastructure, this conversation is packed with practical insight on how successful teams think before the first shovel hits the ground.

Guest & Episode Links
Phil Horwitch, Co-Founder, AMH Holdings
LinkedIn
AMH Holdings LinkedIn

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Soliverse | The Future of Solar, the podcast for people building the future of solar, storage, and renewable infrastructure.

Each episode features grounded, unfiltered conversations with the people financing, developing, operating, and scaling real projects across the solar and clean energy ecosystem.

Soliverse exists to cut through noise, hype, and disconnected narratives and replace them with clarity, realism, and execution-focused insight for professionals who want to make smarter decisions, faster.

📌 Explore more from Soliverse

Explore our partners:
PVX.AI, utility-scale solar design software

📲 Follow Soliverse and Peter for more insights and updates:
Peter on LinkedIn
Soliverse Instagram
Soliverse X (Twitter)
Subscribe on YouTube

🎙️ New episodes release bi-weekly.

Produced by APodcastGeek

Send us Fan Mail

On this episode of the Soliverse Podcast, Peter sits down with Gijsbert Huijink, co-founder of SOL Romania, to unpack why Romania might just be Europe’s most underrated solar and battery market.

Gijsbert shares hard-won lessons from developing 1 GW+ of projects—from grid hacks and battery-first strategies to why Romania is moving faster than Germany or the Netherlands on BESS deployment.

They discuss:

• Why Romania is a sleeper hit for hybrid projects

• The “cooperative-to-gigawatt” journey behind SOL Romania

• Grid access, flexibility, and why BESS is easier in Bucharest than Berlin

• The downsides of poorly run CAPEX subsidies

• How they permitted a 350 MWp hybrid plant in under 12 months

• What other countries can learn from Romania’s pragmatism

• Why their team will stop at 1 GW and go windsurfing

⚡

Guest & Soliverse Links:

🌐 SOL Renewables Romania: https://www.solrenewables.ro

🔗 Gijsbert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gijsberthuijink/

🎧 Soliverse on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6C2HVmlEcsFXJqzxlfT9uA

🌐 Website: https://soliverse.energy

🔗 Peter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterpongraczsaas/

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Soliverse | The Future of Solar, the podcast for people building the future of solar, storage, and renewable infrastructure.

Each episode features grounded, unfiltered conversations with the people financing, developing, operating, and scaling real projects across the solar and clean energy ecosystem.

Soliverse exists to cut through noise, hype, and disconnected narratives and replace them with clarity, realism, and execution-focused insight for professionals who want to make smarter decisions, faster.

📌 Explore more from Soliverse

Explore our partners:
PVX.AI, utility-scale solar design software

📲 Follow Soliverse and Peter for more insights and updates:
Peter on LinkedIn
Soliverse Instagram
Soliverse X (Twitter)
Subscribe on YouTube

🎙️ New episodes release bi-weekly.

Produced by APodcastGeek