Clean Energy’s Missing Link
A parliament of Owls formed a company to make renewable power more reliable.
Spring 2025
Scott Pett ’22
Photos by Jeff Fitlow
Energy reliability is something most of us take for granted — until we don’t. Power failures can range from a minor inconvenience to a major crisis, especially when extreme weather strikes. Given the challenges of an aging grid and growing energy demands, renewables like solar and wind have the potential to not only cut emissions but also help keep the lights on.
But renewable energy sources have a well-known challenge: timing. We don’t control when the sun shines or the wind blows. and the demand for energy fluctuates throughout the day, often out of sync with supply. Developing a reliable storage system for capturing renewable energy when it’s abundant and then delivering it when and where it’s needed most is the challenge.
Tierra Climate, a company co-founded by Jacob Mansfield ’16 and Emma Konet ’24, is creating storage solutions that ensure renewable energy is both available and dependable.
“Renewables are like funky Tetris pieces,” says Mansfield. “They don’t slide neatly into the grid’s existing structure. And as demand skyrockets, it’s getting trickier to line everything up. Reliability is going to be the defining issue of our energy future — without better storage, we risk having too many gaps.”
Tierra Climate’s AI-powered platform analyzes real-time grid conditions, optimizing when batteries store and release power.
“Our job is to make sure batteries step in at the right moments to keep things balanced, so renewable energy is always available when people need it,” says Konet.
Mansfield and Konet met years ago on Citibank’s Houston trading floor, where they worked on adjacent power desks. Years later, in 2022, Mansfield reached out to Konet while exploring opportunities in energy storage. Their conversations quickly revealed a shared concern. “Batteries weren’t operating to reduce emissions like they should have been,” recalls Konet, a 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 for Energy honoree.
“So, our software is designed to help large-scale batteries — the size of battery that could power up to 20,000 homes — decide when to charge and when to discharge — not just based on market prices, but based on when they can have the biggest impact.”
Founded in 2023, Tierra Climate’s AI-powered platform analyzes real-time grid conditions, optimizing when batteries store and release power. As CEO, Mansfield makes sure every decision aligns with their EARTH values: energy, authenticity, responsibility, trust and humility. That ethos has helped their company to grow — and along the way, they’ve been joined by fellow Rice alumni Jason Goldman ’07 and Grant Boggess ’19.
At the core of Tierra Climate’s work is a belief in building a grid that isn’t just reliable but also equitable — meaning cleaner, healthier and economically beneficial. By helping batteries fulfill their potential as tools for emissions reduction, they’re making renewable energy a practical, scalable solution for communities around the world. “It’s about creating a future where everyone benefits,” Konet says.