Leaders in Cleantech

The mobility transition, and the electrification of transport! If that doesn’t get you excited perhaps you’ve found the wrong podcast!! Desmond Wheatley, a Scotsman in San Diego has a passion for this transition, and a great story to tell of the evolution of a cleantech business, he has lead for nearly ten years. Who saw the emobility transition ten years ago? Well, Desmond was one of a handful of...

I make no apology for starting the year back talking about batteries. EnerVenue caught my eye recently after a $12m seed round, but whilst they are a very young company, their technology has been used for many years, mainly in space! They now have a way to make their technology cost competitive and not so astronomical in cost (see what I did there?). Getting energy storage right, at all scales and...

What’s it all about? My passion for helping cleantech start ups ot grow and scale has been a driving force behind founding and growing Hyperion Executive Search. On top of this in the last couple of years I have been working with an exploring both the cleantech VCs and global Incubators and Accelerators. You may have heard my recent podcast episode with Emily Reichart of Greentown Labs, one of the...

What’s it all about? Wireless Charging!! A concept that blows the mind of some, and yet it’s here and in operation. I met Andy Daga at a conference we were both speaking at, and I’ve wanted to get him onto the podcast ever since. From working on the Space Station, to working on irradicating fuel stations, Andy has a fascinating background, and company doing amazing things. I hope you enjoy the epi...

What’s it all about? Flexibility! The key to the clean energy transition is flexibility and all the other tools and services energy storage provides, the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of cleantech. I discuss the latest trends and activities, financial and technological with Florian Mayr. Florian is a regular speaker at cleantech conferences and shares some very valuable insights with me on this episode. Abou...

What’s it all about? Hydrogen vs Batteries!! Not at all. We’re (Clean) technology agnostic here. The challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss are enormous, and we need all the tools in the armoury to stand a chance. That said, it’s important we use the right tool for the right job, and that’s something I discuss with Phil Caldwell, CEO of Ceres Power, what is the best use case for fuel c...

We’ve had the opportunity to speak to some of the pure play cleantech VCs in Europe over the last few months, this time I was delighted to reach out to Dan to share his thoughts from a US perspective. I really like Dan’s approach to both technologies and management teams, and his efforts and take on the diversity and inclusion issue. I hope you enjoy the conversation. About Dan Goldman: Dan Goldma...

I’ve been privileged to work with Rupert and his team over the last few years and to see the evolution of his business, as the energy transition and in particular the evolution of battery energy storage has seen challenges and opportunities. Here Rupert and I discuss that journey and how he sees the sector continue to evolve over the coming years. About Rupert NewlandRupert founded Arenko in 2015...

What’s it all about? I love when small start-ups emerge from accelarators and incubators and start playing with the big boys, engaging with Utilities and large corporates. A partnership increasingly happening and increasingly collaborative, with great results. Here Simon Bushell, CEO of Sympower shares his start-up journey, milestones and thoughts on 100% renewables and an electrified mobility fut...

What’s it all about? Heating, cooling and energy efficiency! Don’t switch off! This stuff is so important, and I’m glad to focus on technologies and leaders across the cleantech sector. We all have a part to play, and Tado is a cool German start up doing great things to address the inefficiency of home heating and cooling. And Toon is an experienced CEO happy to share successes and mistakes and th...

That the cleantech industry is so dynamic is one of its biggest appeals, and its biggest challenges. At Hyperion our goal is to help the world’s best cleantech companies find the talent to achieve their goals and ambitions, and to help founders towards their desired exit. I interviewed LImejump founder, and former CEO Erik Nygard on a previous episode, at the time Hyperion were supporting him to h...

Since first expanding the Hyperion Executive Search activities into the US over the last three years, I’ve been very aware of the awesome job Greentown Labs do at supporting, nurturing and releasing into the world some amazing cleantech companies. Some of which have gone on to be our clients. So with the announcement of their expansion to Houston, I though it would be a great opportunity to hear t...

My team at Hyperion Executive Search have loved building teams for some of the amazing companies being funded by Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Long durations energy storage is a genuine game-changer, and after a recent $10million fundraise I was delighted to ask Quidnet Energy CEO Joe Zhou to share his, and their story. About Joe ZhouJoe Zhou is the CEO of Quidnet Energy, which commercializes a br...

Ben is typical of most of us cleantech entrepreneurs, swimming against the tide and trying to bring the world with us. He shares his story from university, through business and personal triumph and tragedy, to the future of smart mobility and cleantech events, conferences and networking, via some super fun Tesla roadtrips. About Ben PullenBen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Generation.e which is a un...

I first met Tomas at an eMobility event in the UK a few years ago. His passion and enthusiasm, as well as the fact his firm, Contrarian Ventures are one of the most active cleantech VCs out there at the moment, made him an ideal person to share the views of the VC at this challenging time. The good news is deals are being done, and money is there to be deployed across the investor community. We sh...

After last week’s episode we return to the ground but stay with eMobility. Last mile deliveries have never been more needed, as we’re currently so reliant on home deliveries. It’s also fair to say cities, mayors and citizens are quite liking the clean air and lack of both air and noise pollution, I can only expect the successes of Voltia and others in this space will continue. That said, when I fi...

As you’ll know I feel a fair amount of guilt over the amount of flying I typically do. Not an issue at present, but as we discuss on this episode, despite the present situation, aviation is on a fast-upward trend, and has a huge environmental impact. So it was a pleasure to speak to Val Miftakhov to see just how close we are to electric flight, at least on a regional level. It was also interesting...

I really excited about this campaign, #Cleantechheroes It’s an opportunity for me to give back to, and support the sector I love so much, and that has and continues to do so much for me. There is so much content and advice out there at the moment around COVID-19 and Working from home. It can be a lot of noise and distracting at times. Cleantech heroes is about cutting through the noise and offerin...

I was introduced to Gideon by co-founder Pieter Waller. I met Pieter at the rEVolution event in Amsterdam two years ago. It’s been fascinating to watch their growth, including an A-round of fundraising, and a partnership with Porsche. Gideon share some really valuable insights from that journey, in particular we talk luck and resilience! About Gideon Van DijkGideon is CEO and Co-Founder at Charget...

As you know by now, my first cleantech love and experience was in solar PV. At that time, creating my own solar business, Jigar Shah was an inspiration. Sun Edison really moved the dial forward for solar in the US and then across Europe and beyond. Now funding a range of clean energy and technology infrastructure projects, and a leading voice in the cleantech sector, I was delighted to have Jigar...

As you know, I’m a bit of a battery nerd, and we’ve had many great CEOs and experts in the subject on the podcast to date. I’d been very keen to have a conversation on the podcast with Doug Campbell, CEO of Solid Power for some time, solid state batteries being another big leap in battery evolution. I hope you enjoy the conversation. About Doug CampbellDoug Campbell is the CEO and co-founder of So...

The podcast is all about the cleantech and start-up journeys of the leading CEOs and founders in the sector. For some time I’ve been told I should share my story, but whilst not exactly being a ‘wall-flower’ I’ve been reluctant to do so. But when a scheduled guest has to cancel, I thought this would be a good time to share my journey, trials, tribulations, successes and failures and hopes for the...

What’s it all about? As you will hear on the podcast I was introduced to Liam Berryman via a mutual friend and previous podcast guest, Michael Hopkins. I’m so excited about some of the unseen (literally) technologies that are playing such an important role in the fight against the climate crisis. Nanotechnologies are one such area, and this is what we explore on this podcast. I hope you enjoy the...

What’s it all about? I’ve always loved Solar and the concept of free, ubiquitous energy. Our episode this week comes from the CEO of a company that converts light at all levels into energy for the fast-growing wearables market and beyond. Wireless headphones that don’t need charging, ever, is just the start. I hope you enjoy the episode. About our guestGiovanni Fili is an experienced entrepreneur...

I first saw Charlotta pitch Blixt at Ecosummit and was subsequently introduced via my friends at BayWa Ventures. I loved her enthusiasm, and I take my hat off to anyone that has founded, exited and founded companies on many occasions. I’m sure you’ll be inspired by her story. About our guestCharlotta has been an entrepreneur for 20 years and active in several roles setting up businesses in various...