In this episode of New World in the Making, I sit down with Mônica Felício Fragoso, architect, urban planner, and co-founder of Shifted, a climate tech startup reimagining how the world stores electricity.

Mônica spent 18 years in the automotive industry before making the leap into the startup world. And what she's building now reflects everything that experience taught her about systems, scale, and what it actually takes to change the physical world.

Shifted's technology combines two of the most proven energy systems we already have, pumped hydro and compressed air, into one long-duration storage solution that uses no rare materials, no lithium, no cobalt. Just steel, water, and air. It's a radical simplification hiding a sophisticated answer to one of the hardest problems in the energy transition: what do we do when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing?

We talk about:

How Shifted's hybrid pumped hydro and compressed air system actually works
Why long-duration storage is the missing piece of the renewable energy puzzle
What 18 years in automotive taught Mônica about designing systems that scale
The leap from corporate career to co-founding a deep tech startup
Why building with abundant materials matters for a truly global energy transition
The role of heat management in making compressed air storage efficient
What it means to design something for the public good, not just the market
The deeper question underneath all of it: what kind of world are we building?

For anyone curious about the energy transition, long-duration storage, climate tech, systems design, and what it looks like when an architect decides to redesign the grid.

→ Listen & subscribe: https://bio.site/newworldinthemaking→ Read more on Substack: https://newworld.substack.com→ Support & become an Active Maker: https://buy.stripe.com/14A28qgJS86obz572U9oc00

About Shifted

Shifted develops long-duration energy storage by combining pumped hydro and compressed air, a mineral-free, scalable alternative to lithium batteries designed to make renewable energy fully dispatchable.

→ Connect with Mônica Felício Fragoso on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-felicio-fragoso/

→ Learn more about Shifted: https://shifted-energy.com/

→ Shifted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shifted-energy-storage/

⚠️ Disclaimer
All content shared in this episode is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing discussed should be considered financial, investment, or legal advice. The views expressed by the guest are their own and do not necessarily reflect my personal views or positions. Listeners are encouraged to do their own research and form their own conclusions.

Thank you for listening and for being part of the new world in the making.