What Thomas Edison’s legacy looks like in the 21st century

Zero: The Climate Race

Bloomberg

Technology, Business, Science

4.7 • 219 Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2024

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

General Electric Co was officially founded in 1892, when several of inventor Thomas Edison's ventures were consolidated into one company. From then on, it was a behemoth. But now that’s changed: A break-up that began last year has concluded with GE splitting off into three separate companies. Scott Strazik is the CEO of GE Vernova, which focuses on wind turbines, nuclear power, and carbon capture, as well as grid solutions such as software and batteries. Strazik joins Zero to talk about how the company is in the "early innings of an investment super cycle," and how it intends to overcome difficulties in offshore wind.

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Past episode about the grid and the march toward electrification
Past episode about how Microsoft is squaring its AI growth with its carbon negative ambitions
Past episode with BloombergNEF’s Jenny Chase about the goal of tripling renewables by 2030

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Will Mathis, Siobhan Wagner, Monique Mulima, Ethan Steinberg, Blake Maples, and Jessica Beck. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Zero. I am Akshadrati. This week, Edison's 21st century legacy.
0:18.6	The General Electric Company was officially founded in 1892, but its story starts much earlier
0:25.1	with the inventor Thomas Edison.
0:28.0	He didn't just invent things and sometimes take credit for other inventions, but he also
0:33.5	had a lot of business ideas.
0:35.4	He made and sold lamps and light bulbs and fixtures and sockets
0:39.7	and power plants and the grid. The list goes on. He was able to do all of that because he had some
0:47.4	hefty backers, including J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilt family. Eventually, a bundle of his businesses and some others were
0:56.5	consolidated into GE. And from there on, it was a behemoth. GE was one of the original 12 companies
1:04.9	listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. And as recently as 2015, GE was number 24 on the Fortune 500 list of global companies.
1:19.6	Now, that's all changed. A breakup that began last year has concluded, with GE splitting off into three separate companies, one focusing on
1:29.9	healthcare, another on aerospace, and the third is GE Vernova, which carries Edison's biggest
1:36.7	legacy. And my guest today is its CEO, Scott Streisik.
1:41.7	GE Vernova is the biggest player in making turbines for gas power plants.
1:46.6	It also makes plenty of wind turbines.
1:49.4	It's got its hands in building nuclear power and carbon capture.
1:53.5	And some of its other business lines include solutions for the grid, such as software,
1:57.6	and batteries.
1:59.1	Since its initial listing earlier this year,
2:01.6	GE-Wernova's share price has skyrocketed.
2:04.9	But the company faces plenty of challenges,
2:07.5	especially in the wind business.
	...

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