Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
How can the U.S. government bridge the gap between clean energy innovation and large-scale deployment? Will the Trump administration accelerate progress or put up roadblocks for clean tech? And how can the U.S. stay competitive with China, which already holds a commanding lead in the sector?
Jigar Shah joins Cleaning Up fresh from his four-year tenure as Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office (LPO). Appointed in 2021, Shah transformed the once-obscure office into a clean-tech commercialization powerhouse, committing more than $100 billion in loans to U.S.-based companies. But with a new administration implementing sweeping cuts to the federal workforce, is all his work at risk? Or will market forces and the very real risk of blackouts keep clean energy innovation moving forward?
In this conversation with Michael Liebreich, Shah shares how he turned the LPO into a driving force for clean technology deployment, and what lessons can be learned by policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs. He also offers a candid assessment of the opportunities and challenges across key sectors—from advanced nuclear to sustainable aviation fuels.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Links and more:
• DoE Liftoff Reports: liftoff.energy.gov
• Episode 9 with Jigar Shah: youtube.com/watch?v=QJhhinSeh9I
• Episode 193, Mike Headroom's AI Audioblog: youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
05:00 - Joining the Loan Programs Office
09:00 - How the LPO Funds Clean Tech
14:30 - What Types of Money
18:45 - How Much Money Did Jigar Spend?
23:40 - The Inflation Reduction Act
27:45 - Evaluating Companies
31:10 - The State of Advanced Nuclear
32:30 - The State of Carbon Capture and Management
34:10 - The State of Clean Hydrogen
36:20 - The State of Geothermal
39:00 - The State of Sustainable Aviation Fuels
42:05 - The State of Long Duration Storage
45:20 - The State of Offshore Wind
48:00 - US Need for Electricity
51:50 - Blackouts
53:40 - Chris Wright, The New Energy Secretary
56:10 - Hope for Europe?
58:00 - China-US Competition
01:02:00 - Jigar's Next Venture
01:05:51 - Outro
How can the U.S. government bridge the gap between clean energy innovation and large-scale deployment? Will the Trump administration accelerate progress or put up roadblocks for clean tech? And how can the U.S. stay competitive with China, which already holds a commanding lead in the sector?
Jigar Shah joins Cleaning Up fresh from his four-year tenure as Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office (LPO). Appointed in 2021, Shah transformed the once-obscure office into a clean-tech commercialization powerhouse, committing more than $100 billion in loans to U.S.-based companies. But with a new administration implementing sweeping cuts to the federal workforce, is all his work at risk? Or will market forces and the very real risk of blackouts keep clean energy innovation moving forward?
In this conversation with Michael Liebreich, Shah shares how he turned the LPO into a driving force for clean technology deployment, and what lessons can be learned by policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs. He also offers a candid assessment of the opportunities and challenges across key sectors—from advanced nuclear to sustainable aviation fuels.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Links and more:
• DoE Liftoff Reports: liftoff.energy.gov
• Episode 9 with Jigar Shah: youtube.com/watch?v=QJhhinSeh9I
• Episode 193, Mike Headroom's AI Audioblog: youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
05:00 - Joining the Loan Programs Office
09:00 - How the LPO Funds Clean Tech
14:30 - What Types of Money
18:45 - How Much Money Did Jigar Spend?
23:40 - The Inflation Reduction Act
27:45 - Evaluating Companies
31:10 - The State of Advanced Nuclear
32:30 - The State of Carbon Capture and Management
34:10 - The State of Clean Hydrogen
36:20 - The State of Geothermal
39:00 - The State of Sustainable Aviation Fuels
42:05 - The State of Long Duration Storage
45:20 - The State of Offshore Wind
48:00 - US Need for Electricity
51:50 - Blackouts
53:40 - Chris Wright, The New Energy Secretary
56:10 - Hope for Europe?
58:00 - China-US Competition
01:02:00 - Jigar's Next Venture
01:05:51 - Outro
