Matthew Klippenstein (he/him)
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klippenstein.bsky.social
Matthew Klippenstein (he/him)
@klippenstein.bsky.social
1.1K followers 630 following 2.3K posts
Canadian engineer; early Tesla fan turned early Tesla critic. Peripatetic: H2, FC, wind, EVs & infra; eNGO to corporate, R&D to manufacturing, cost-down to collective action; plus comics and a stage play. Opinions own.
Blog: https://eclectic-lip.ghost.io
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klippenstein.bsky.social
Complex systems live [or die] on diversity [or lack thereof].
Princeton Univ Press blurb on Scott Page's book below.

You don't spend equal amounts on niches (ASL, Cree, LDV FCEVs) vs the dominant vector, but you keep options open. As with DAC. /5

press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
This book provides an introduction to the role of diversity in complex adaptive systems. A complex system—such as an economy or a tropical ecosystem—consists of interacting adaptive entities that produce dynamic patterns and structures. Diversity plays a different role in a complex system than it does in an equilibrium system, where it often merely produces variation around the mean for performance measures. In complex adaptive systems, diversity makes fundamental contributions to system performance. Scott Page gives a concise primer on how diversity happens, how it is maintained, and how it affects complex systems. He explains how diversity underpins system level robustness, allowing for multiple responses to external shocks and internal adaptations; how it provides the seeds for large events by creating outliers that fuel tipping points; and how it drives novelty and innovation. Page looks at the different kinds of diversity—variations within and across types, and distinct community compositions and interaction structures—and covers the evolution of diversity within complex systems and the factors that determine the amount of maintained diversity within a system.
November 17, 2025 at 9:09 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Efficiency is relevant for simple machines. And like beef (100 calories of feed --> 2 edible calories) H2 vehicles seem unnecessarily complex.

But complex systems, like our energy systems, are different from simple machines. /4b
November 17, 2025 at 9:09 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
John Ralston Saul covers this in his magisterial book on the Indigenous Recovery -- "The Comeback."
It's the Monolith and the Circle.
Do we seek policies to make everyone the same -- or to make everyone included? The shames we bear as Canadians come from the former; every pride from the latter.
November 16, 2025 at 7:58 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Lower hoods should be available in some Japanese carmakers’ [non-BEV] lineups soon.

www.cnbc.com/2024/05/28/t...
"With these engines, each of the three companies will aim to optimize integration with motors, batteries, and other electric drive units," they said in a joint statement. Toyota owns about a fifth of Subaru and roughly 5% of Mazda. The three said their efforts will help decarbonize internal combustion engines by making them compatible with alternative fuel sources such as e-fuels and biofuels. They also hope more compact engines will revamp vehicle design by allowing for lower hoods.
November 16, 2025 at 7:12 AM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Indigenous Peoples should not need a “permission slip” from settlers to build projects. Pembina puts it well.
We respect their right to pursue our living standards — or we don’t. /1

www.pembina.org/media-releas...
"On Ksi Lisims LNG, while we respect the Nisga'a Nation's agency to advance resource projects on their territory, LNG is becoming an increasingly risky economic bet. Yesterday's World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency reported a massive supply of LNG coming online, outpacing demand and reinforcing its prediction that 70% of LNG export projects under construction may not be able to recover their capital costs. The production of gas itself
November 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Glowing profiles of terrible people is a something of an NYT tradition... 😬
Title of a New York TImes profile about Nazi leader Adolf Hitler dated Aug 20, 1939. Which is to say, less than 2 weeks before Germany (and the Soviet Union) invaded Poland, inciting the Second World War. Title reads: HERR HITLER AT HOME IN THE CLOUDS; High up on his favorite mountain he finds time for politics, solitude and frequent official parties. HERR HITLER IN THE CLOUDS
November 14, 2025 at 5:49 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Reminds me of Toyota’s aspiring hybrid tech free-licensing effort. Which didn’t have many takers as of 2024.
November 14, 2025 at 3:59 AM
klippenstein.bsky.social
4/ Canada's auto production has fallen a lot in ten years -- from 2.4 MM/y in 2014 down to 1.3 MM/y in 2024. It's been a rough decade.

h/t autoleap.com/blog/how-is-...
November 8, 2025 at 5:44 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
2b/ I made this chart ... six years ago while at a non-profit administering an EV infrastructure program. (That's why the targets are now out of date.)
There were always going to be speedbumps, you might as well plan for them.
tinyurl.com/pluginbc-aug2019
A landscape view of mountains seemingly rising out of the water. A black line traces the terrain, roughly representing rising ZEV market share from 0% (at the water line) to 100% (the top of the highest peak)
November 8, 2025 at 5:44 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Underneath the Darth Vader mask of “world’s richest man” he is a pathetic, pathetic creature…
Old pale wormy pathetic Anakin Skywalker underneath the Darth Vader mask.
November 8, 2025 at 4:43 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
FYI Ani is based on a character from the manga “Death Note” (2003-2006), even his fantasy girlfriend is someone else’s IP!
November 7, 2025 at 11:06 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Shareholder version of the “Crack Suicide Squad” deleted scene from Life of Brian…
A bunch of men in feudal Japanese armour lay dead on the ground, having committed suicide, in a deleted scene from Monty Python’s Life of Brian.
November 6, 2025 at 7:24 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Gah...! Quick message Jo, to say I haven't forgotten...! It's on my list! The thing is that you deserve a multi-slide reply so unlike one-off posts, I have to pore through my library of info.
As a good faith gesture here are a couple topic-adjacent slides I had handy just now.
Diagram discussing the Kano Model and the disruptive innovation curve. The disruption curve but showing that EV's are merely continuous innovation whereas e-bikes are the true disruptive innovation.
November 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Fujifilm survived, and its former film division has as many employees as it did in ~2000!
They diversified into cosmetics (collagen expertise), pharmaceuticals (antioxidants developed for film) and have been selling (small amounts of) film this whole time. 😊
Chart showing the collapse of photographic film sales from roughly 2000 to 2010. Also shown: relatively consistent employee count at Fujifilm from about 2000 to 2025. Chart showing the collapse of photographic film sales from roughly 2000 to 2010. Also shown: relatively consistent employee count at Fujifilm. - - - - - - - - A text box reads: I could be known for one thing, I might choose “popularizing the fact that while Kodak died, Fujifilm survived”. Despite the collapse of film sales in the early 2000s, Fujifilm survived. Its former photo division has about as many employees today as 25 years ago. It was rough sailing – they did emergency layoffs, and the employee count was boosted by later acquisitions – but Fujifilm survived. It had enough resilience (“adaptive capacity”) to bounce back from catastrophe. After doing a meticulous review of its capabilities, Fujifilm used its collagen processing expertise (important for photographic film) to enter the high-margin cosmetics market. It used its corporate library of 3,000 film additive candidates to enter the pharmaceuticals sector, and a timely merger/acquisition gave it more time to scale up these new businesses.
November 3, 2025 at 10:29 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
TIL/confirmed that Elon Musk's Grok AI anime girl is very clearly based on Misa Amane from the 2003-2006 Japanese manga series, "Death Note". $TSLAQ

(h/t @davidgerard.co.uk who thinks Death Note informed/inspired the idea of Roko's Basilisk, but I haven't finished reading it yet.)
Character Misa Amane from the manga Death Note is shown sitting in profile. As of chapter 30 or so, it looks like the character has the ability to perceive a person's identity, has a limited ability to see their future, and can kill them through (using a "Death Note"). Add on time travel and AI, and it isn't too far from the concept of Roko's Basilisk. The "Ani" AI character from Grok, created by the dim princeling who left South Africa the year Apartheid ended and never had an idea he didn't steal, and very, very clearly based on the character Misa Amane from "Death Note".
November 3, 2025 at 5:49 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Which are the dominant Chinese tea brands?

I love that in Japan, Kikkoman (est 1603) and Yamasa (est 1645) have been locked in soy sauce competition for almost 400 years.

China's tea growing regions will have competed for what, 1000+ years? 😅
An image featuring a Kikkoman soy sauce container and a Yamasa soy sauce container
November 2, 2025 at 4:43 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
@keubiko.bsky.social BYD is super vertically integrated, but reportedly pays suppliers after 270 days. (Longer payment cycles are apparently the norm there.) This suggests they fund growth with working capital, right?
And if revenue stalls too long, things get dicey right?
3. BYD’s profits slump Chinese electric auto giant BYD reported another slump in its quarterly profits amid growing domestic competition. Much like Tesla, which has seen its market share in the U.S. drop in recent months as rivals surged ahead, BYD saw its third-quarter profits tumble 33% from a year earlier to roughly $1.1 billion. Total revenue dropped 3%. The Shenzhen-based company — the world’s largest electric automaker — remains dominant in China, but rivals Geely Automobile Holdings and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. saw increases in third-quarter sales of 96% and 84% respectively, Bloomberg reported.
October 31, 2025 at 4:45 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
Renown renewables opponent who added 4 years to transmission permitting ... nonetheless supports rooftop PV, battery storage (cc @jigarshahdc.bsky.social) and endorsed a recent utility-scale solar farm.

We all contain multitudes! 🤔

@latitudemedia.bsky.social

www.oregonlive.com/environment/...
"Gilbert still dislikes utility-scale projects that rely on transmission lines to move the power across the state, preferring local solutions such as energy efficiency, rooftop solar and community battery systems – she even has a solar panel on her cabin in Wisconsin. But she recently surprised clean energy proponents when she testified in support of Sunstone Solar, the state’s largest approved solar project, set to be built on about 10,000 acres of farmland in Morrow County. She backed that project, she said, because its developer agreed to put about $11 million into a new fund to compensate farm owners for the damages to the local economy."
October 29, 2025 at 6:23 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
2/ it all points back to the fact EVs are experiencing an adoption *curve*, not an adoption *step function*.

via Wikipedia 👇
The Heaviside step function, from Wikipedia.
October 29, 2025 at 2:56 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
“What if Toyota was right all along?”
A worthy read (and heresy, to some) by @patrickgeorge.bsky.social.

cc:
@niedermeyer.online @bradmunchen.bsky.social
@montanaskeptic.bsky.social
Excerpt from article, last seven words are highlighted. Now, the ubiquitous Corolla is getting an electric option too-while its architecture stays flexible for gas and hybrid power as well. And that's about to provoke an interesting thought experiment among the EV faithful: **What if Toyota was right all along?**
October 29, 2025 at 2:56 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
PS - did you see The Left Hand of God at the game last night?? 😂😂😂
A photo of the LA Dodgers' 1960s pitching legend, Sandy "the left hand of God" Koufax, attending the 18-inning marathon game 3 between the Toronto Blue Jays and the LA Dodgers. The caption by Mike Baker reads: "it's cool to see that this game's starting pitcher is still hanging in there"
October 28, 2025 at 6:08 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
[coughs politely]
(NRSVUE translation, Matthew 19)
October 28, 2025 at 3:11 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
5/ I forgot Bluesky highlights the last tweet, and [4] was risque content from The Economist. 🤦
So, still on-theme, Japan started investing in AUS' Lynas Rare Earths in 2011, after China rattled its rare earth export ban saber.
wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/LYC/0299...
Chart from a Powerpoint slide from Lynas Rare Earths, indicating Japan made its first investment in the company in 2011. (Meaning, not long after the 2010 Senkaku/Daioyu Islands Incident, after which China threatened to restrict rare earth exports to Japan.)
October 26, 2025 at 11:38 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
2/ Lanthanum and Cerium supply are available to Japan through Australia (mining) then Malaysia (refining) through Lynas Rare Earths.
lynasrareearths.com
Chart from a 2018 Toyota press release explaining their goal to reduce ND (neodymium) content in magnets by replacing some of it with La/Ce (lanthanum and cerium), both of which Japan can access via Malaysia.
October 26, 2025 at 11:31 PM
klippenstein.bsky.social
@lorak.bsky.social @clarajeffery.bsky.social my contribution to the weekend nature timeline cleanse 👍
Tree with yellow leaves. Evergreens in the background. A shock of colour from red and green leaves from different plants in the foreground. Tree with yellowing leaves in the background. Alas, some cars are visible in the background too.
October 26, 2025 at 10:37 PM