Leaders in Cleantech

Dr. Gideon Schwich – cylib

Dr. Gideon Schwich co-founded and co-leads cylib GmbH in 2022 alongside Dr Lilian Schwich and Paul Sabarny. He holds a PhD in Production Engineering/Metallurgy from RWTH Aachen University. Before co-founding cylib, he led the Sustainability practice at umlaut/Accenture, managing a team of consultants and advising major European automotive OEMs and aerospace manufacturers on sustainability strategies. His extensive sustainability consulting experience and operational leadership have been instrumental in scaling cylib's operations and driving strategic growth. About cylib: cylib is a holistic and sustainable battery recycling company founded in 2022 in Aachen, Germany, by Dr. Lilian Schwich, Paul Sabarny, and Dr. Gideon Schwich. The company emerged from research conducted at RWTH Aachen University to produce advanced materials for sustainable batteries and resilient European value chains. cylib operates an integrated network across Germany: research and development at the Aachen headquarters, hydrometallurgical processing in Dormagen (under construction), and mechanical processing in Bavaria. The water-based OLiC (Optimized Lithium and Graphite Recovery) technology efficiently recovers raw materials from battery packs, black mass, or production scrap, achieving over 90% recovery rates for lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, and manganese with an 80% reduced carbon footprint compared to primary extraction, enabling true material circularity. Books and links mentioned Connect with Gideon Schwich and Cylib LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gideon-schwich/ Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cylib/ Website: https://www.cylib.de/ About the Host David Hunt David Hunt is a cleantech thought leader, podcast host, and former executive search and solar EPC founder. As Non-Executive Chair and a long-time advisor to growth-stage and scaling businesses, he brings deep insight into leadership, energy transition, and the future of climate-focused industries. David supports businesses as a NED and Advisor via Stoa Advisory, and through his podcast and writing, David explores the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a more sustainable world. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/ Substack: https://davidhuntcleantech.substack.com/ About the Podcast Leaders in Cleantech explores the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the energy transition. Through in-depth conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and industry leaders, the podcast focuses on leadership, scaling companies, and the realities of building in a complex and rapidly evolving sector. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/ Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/ 🎧 Sponsored by Hyperion Search Hyperion Search is a specialist executive search firm focused on the cleantech sector. The firm partners with startups, scaleups, investors, and corporates to build leadership teams and boards across clean energy, mobility, and infrastructure. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Feedback & Community I’m always keen to hear feedback, guest suggestions, or topics you’d like explored in future episodes. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider subscribing or leaving a review — it helps the show reach more people across the cleantech community.

Rupert Newland – Arenko Group

Rupert Newland is a British entrepreneur. He founded Arenko in 2014 and serves as Chief Executive. Arenko provides large energy companies with enterprise-grade software to manage their asset portfolios, stakeholders and AI applications by unlocking performance from data, connectivity and automation embedded in its proprietary Nimbus software. Under his leadership, Arenko has deployed Nimbus on some of the largest and most complex battery and renewables portfolios and has inked contracts with many of the world’s largest energy companies. He previously established, grew, and exited a BESS owner-operator division of Arenko. Prior to founding Arenko, he spent seven years advising and funding renewables projects and trained as an Architect at the University of Sheffield.. About Arenko Group: Arenko is the software company behind Nimbus, a platform that enables operators of complex, multi-technology BESS and renewables portfolios to manage and monetise their assets. In a volatile energy market, Nimbus offers a secure and resilient enterprise-grade ‘digital backbone’ that is trusted by major utilities, Independent Power Producers and funds. It delivers market-leading asset control, performance monitoring and fully automated trading capabilities that enable portfolio owners to succeed amid complexity. Originally incubated in the advanced UK battery energy storage system (BESS) market, Nimbus has now been deployed on over 1.2GW of utility-scale BESS, hybrid and standalone renewables generation capacity across the UK, Europe and the US. The platform is responsible for over 1.8TWh of traded power and over £150 million in revenue generated by Arenko customers.targeted to grow from near zero today to hundreds of millions of tonnes annually by 2050. OXCCU is building the technology to fill that gap. Books and links mentioned Orsted/Honsea project - https://arenko.group/arenkos-nimbus-software-to-operate-europes-first-battery-co-located-with-offshore-wind/ What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence by Stephen A. Schwarzman, https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/what-it-takes-book-stephen-a-schwarzman-9781471189555#NGR9781471189555 Connect with Rupert Newland and Arenko Group LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupert-newland-48892121/ Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arenko-cleantech/ Website: https://arenko.group/ About the Host – David Hunt David Hunt is a cleantech thought leader, podcast host, and former executive search and solar EPC founder. As Non-Executive Chair and a long-time advisor to growth-stage and scaling businesses, he brings deep insight into leadership, energy transition, and the future of climate-focused industries. David supports businesses as a NED and Advisor via Stoa Advisory, and through his podcast and writing, David explores the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a more sustainable world. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/ Substack: https://davidhuntcleantech.substack.com/ About the Podcast Leaders in Cleantech explores the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the energy transition. Through in-depth conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and industry leaders, the podcast focuses on leadership, scaling companies, and the realities of building in a complex and rapidly evolving sector. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/ Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/ 🎧 Sponsored by Hyperion Search Hyperion Search is a specialist executive search firm focused on the cleantech sector. The firm partners with startups, scaleups, investors, and corporates to build leadership teams and boards across clean energy, mobility, and infrastructure. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Feedback & Community I’m always keen to hear feedback, guest suggestions, or topics you’d like explored in future episodes. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider subscribing or leaving a review — it helps the show reach more people across the cleantech community.

Hyperion Q2 2026 Market Review

In this episode, I’m joined by Steve Robinson and David Beeston from Hyperion Search for a Q2 cleantech market review, looking across technology, investment, infrastructure and talent. The central theme of the conversation is clear: the market is moving from announcement to alignment, or perhaps more sharply, from ambition to execution. Capital is still flowing, M&A activity continues, and the energy transition is still moving forward — but the bar has risen. Investors, boards and leadership teams are now looking for businesses that can execute, integrate and scale in real-world conditions. We discuss the continued convergence of renewables, storage, EV infrastructure, fleet electrification and data centres, and why the challenge is increasingly less about individual technologies and more about systems thinking. Grid constraints, energy management, capacity, utilisation and operational delivery now sit at the centre of many business models. Steve shares his view on the EV charging and fleet electrification market, where the focus is shifting from rollout to utilisation, returns and integrated energy solutions. David explores the storage and grid landscape, including the growing realism around European battery supply chains, the role of China, the rise of circularity and recycling, and the move away from pure merchant exposure towards more risk-managed storage revenue models. We also discuss how these market shifts are changing senior hiring. Companies are becoming more precise about the leaders they need. The demand is for people who have seen scale, complexity and execution before — leaders who can build functions, manage assets, navigate grid and regulatory complexity, and turn strategy into delivery. Finally, we look at data centres as a fast-emerging energy challenge. The AI boom is creating huge demand for power, flexibility and resilience, making energy infrastructure talent increasingly important to the future of digital infrastructure. About the Host David Hunt is a cleantech thought leader, podcast host, and former executive search and solar EPC founder. As Non-Executive Chair and a long-time advisor to growth-stage and scaling businesses, he brings deep insight into leadership, energy transition, and the future of climate-focused industries. David supports businesses as a NED and Advisor via Stoa Advisory, and through his podcast and writing, David explores the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a more sustainable world. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/ Substack: https://davidhuntcleantech.substack.com About the Podcast Leaders in Cleantech explores the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the energy transition. Through in-depth conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and industry leaders, the podcast focuses on leadership, scaling companies, and the realities of building in a complex and rapidly evolving sector. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/ Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/ 🎧 Sponsored by Hyperion Search Hyperion Search is a specialist executive search firm focused on the cleantech sector. The firm partners with startups, scaleups, investors, and corporates to build leadership teams and boards across clean energy, mobility, and infrastructure. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Feedback & Community I’m always keen to hear feedback, guest suggestions, or topics you’d like explored in future episodes. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider subscribing or leaving a review — it helps the show reach more people across the cleantech community.

Nacho Gimenez - OXCCU

In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I sit down with Nacho Gimenez, Chief Operating Officer at OXCCU, to explore his journey from chemical engineer, to venture investor, and now back into an operational leadership role at one of Europe's most exciting climate technology companies. We discuss OXCCU's breakthrough approach to producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other hydrocarbons by converting CO₂ into valuable products and why reducing the cost of synthetic fuels will be critical to decarbonising aviation and the wider chemicals industry. Nacho explains the company's novel Fischer-Tropsch technology, its scale-up journey, and why flexibility of feedstock and simplicity of process are central to its strategy. Beyond the technology, we also reflect on leadership. Nacho shares what it's been like moving from the analytical world of venture investing back into the day-to-day reality of building a company, where culture, speed of decision-making, and creating psychological safety are just as important as engineering excellence. We also discuss: Why sustainable aviation fuel is central to aviation's decarbonisation Converting waste CO₂ into fuels and chemicals Scaling deep-tech from pilot plant to commercial deployment The role of strategic investors and industrial partnerships Moving from investor to operator Building culture and psychological safety in deep-tech businesses The future of sustainable hydrocarbons beyond aviation About our Guest Nacho Gimenez is the Chief Operating Officer at OXCCU, an Oxford University spinout developing a single-step process to convert CO2 or biogas directly into sustainable aviation fuel. He joined OXCCU because he believes the hardest problems in energy are also the most important ones, and that science is only the first step needed to change the world. Someone has to scale it up and build things. His career spans over 25 years across the energy value chain. After studying chemical engineering and researching zeolites catalysis, he moved into refining with BP in Spain, commodity trading, and technology investment at BP Ventures, where he rose to Managing Director. From there, he spent years backing the people building the energy transition from the outside, until he decided it was time to join them. At OXCCU, Nacho is bringing together the scientists in R&D with the engineers as the company grows from pilot plant to demonstration scale, to the first commercial plants. He believes the best teams are based on trust, share a sense of urgency, and take ownership of the outcomes without fear. That culture is not built in a workshop. It shows up in how a team handles a hard day. Aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise. OXCCU's Fischer-Tropsch chemistry, the same family of reactions first developed 100 years ago in Germany, is now adapted to use CO2 as a feedstock instead of coal, and it is one of the most direct routes to solving that problem. Twenty-five years of energy experience, from the lab bench to the trading floor to the boardroom. Nacho is now putting all of it to work at OXCCU. About OXCCU: OXCCU is an Oxford University spinout developing a technology that converts CO2 or biogas directly into sustainable aviation fuel in a single step. Founded on over a decade of catalysis research at the University of Oxford, the company has developed a bifunctional iron-based catalyst that eliminates the complexity and cost of conventional power-to-liquid routes. Most approaches to synthetic fuel require multiple reactors, a hydrocracker, and significant capital infrastructure. OXCCU does it in one. No wax. No hydrocracker. No rare earth metals. The result is a simpler process, lower capital cost, and more competitive SAF economics. OXCCU has raised over £41 million from some of the most strategically credible investors in aviation and energy, including IAG, Safran, Aramco, ENI, Orlen, and Trafigura. The company delivered its OX1 pilot plant on time and on budget, and is now advancing OX2, its demonstration plant at Oxford Airport, targeting commercial-scale production before 2030. Aviation is responsible for around 2.5% of global CO2 emissions and has no credible electrification pathway. Regulatory mandates in the UK and European Union are already requiring airlines to blend increasing volumes of SAF, with power-to-liquid fuels specifically targeted to grow from near zero today to hundreds of millions of tonnes annually by 2050. OXCCU is building the technology to fill that gap. The same catalyst that makes SAF can also produce naphtha, olefins, solvents, and other hydrocarbon products from CO2 or biogas. Aviation is the first port of call. It will not be the last. Books and links mentioned The Hard Thing about Hard Things- Ben Horrowitz: https://a16z.com/books/the-hard-thing-about-hard-things/ Moral Ambition - Rutger Bregman: https://rutgerbregman.com/books Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari: https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens/ The Alchemy of Air - Thomas Hager: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alchemy-Air-Thomas-Hager/dp/0307351793 Connect with Nacho Gimenez and OXCCU LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nacho-gimenez Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxccu/ Website: https://www.oxccu.com About the Host David Hunt is a cleantech thought leader, podcast host, and former executive search and solar EPC founder. As Non-Executive Chair and a long-time advisor to growth-stage and scaling businesses, he brings deep insight into leadership, energy transition, and the future of climate-focused industries. David supports businesses as a NED and Advisor via Stoa Advisory, and through his podcast and writing, David explores the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a more sustainable world. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/ Substack: https://davidhuntcleantech.substack.com About the Podcast Leaders in Cleantech explores the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the energy transition. Through in-depth conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and industry leaders, the podcast focuses on leadership, scaling companies, and the realities of building in a complex and rapidly evolving sector. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/ Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/ 🎧 Sponsored by Hyperion Search Hyperion Search is a specialist executive search firm focused on the cleantech sector. The firm partners with startups, scaleups, investors, and corporates to build leadership teams and boards across clean energy, mobility, and infrastructure. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Feedback & Community I’m always keen to hear feedback, guest suggestions, or topics you’d like explored in future episodes. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider subscribing or leaving a review — it helps the show reach more people across the cleantech community.

Howard Johns – CEO POP Energy

Howard Johns has spent more than two decades doing exactly one thing: putting clean energy in the hands of people. POP is the natural culmination of that work. Following a degree in Energy and Environmental Technology, his journey began in the 90s as an activist and protestor - trying to stop a coal mine in South Wales and various roads across the UK. Realising you can’t solve the problem by saying no he set about building solutions; building his first solar PV system in 1999. His journey transformed in 2002 when he founded Southern Solar, growing it from a one-man operation into one of the UK’s leading solar development and installation businesses — 120 employees, eight offices, and thousands of projects delivered across homes, councils, commercial organisations and for investors. He helped build the industry too, serving as Chairman of the Solar Trade Association for five years, leading the campaign to protect the Feed-in Tariff and becoming the sector’s most prominent public voice at the time. But Howard has always known that solar on rooftops is only the beginning. In 2007, he founded Ovesco CIC — a pioneering community-owned energy company that delivered the UK’s first community-funded solar power station and won an Ashden Award. For the last decade Howard has focused on large scale renewables developing and managing over 900MW of solar and wind assets worth £1.5bn as CEO of Bluefield Services, and developing two new companies whilst there, an O&M business which grew to 650MWs under management and a development business. And alongside all of this he has been delivering solar projects in Africa, and authored Energy Revolution, written to inspire communities worldwide to take ownership of their energy. Howard understands the technology, the finance, the policy and the human story behind the energy transition, and POP is his latest attempt to build a company that puts people at the centre of the energy transition. About POP Energy: People Owned Power empowers communities to install, generate, store and share their own renewable energy, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood. Bills go down, energy security goes up, and power flows to where it belongs: in the hands of people. We are retrofitting the energy system from the bottom up: focusing on generating and storing energy where it’s used, in homes and businesses. We take a consultative approach to proposing a full renewables system for customers that meets their needs and goals, and suits their budget and property. This can be any combination of solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, insulation and electric vehicle chargers. Each system we install reduces a household’s reliance on the grid whilst increasing local renewable energy generation, cutting emissions linked to fossil fuels. On average, households reduce their grid reliance by 80%, with others generating up to 120% of their energy needs, with the excess clean energy exported back to the grid. Some of our fully-electrified homes have reached ‘zero bills.’ Energy generated and used locally is 3 to 5 times more effective than centralised systems, therefore these systems deliver an outsized impact. Many households report that producing their own power has changed how they think about and use energy, reducing consumption even further. Moreover, we support communities to take back the power over their resources. Keeping money flowing locally, instead of to fossil fuel companies. By reducing demand, and building local generation and storage, we can, collectively, meet a high proportion of our energy needs. To advance this mission, we are developing financial and digital tools to help households profit from the abundant renewable power on their roof through the flexibility aggregation markets. The first step on this journey is launching locally owned financing mechanisms where local people can invest in their community's en

Chris Pritchett – Shoosmiths

About our Guest Chris is a commercial Energy and Mobility lawyer, with nearly 20 years' experience in the sustainability sphere. With specialist knowledge of battery storage, solar, EV infrastructure and wind, Chris regularly advises funders, asset owners, developers and contractors on renewable energy projects and the trading and procurement of renewable power. From PPAs and optimisation agreements to commercial frameworks for energy and EV developments, Chris has worked on some of the most exciting UK and international energy and mobility developments. Chris also takes an active role in the development of energy policy, and was a steering group member of the Government's Energy Data Task Force as well as chairing the Electricity Storage Networks Markets and Revenues Group. He was also included in The Lawyer's HOT 100 for his pioneering work in battery storage and EV Charging. About Shoosmiths: Shoosmiths works with developers, investors, and funders across clean energy and infrastructure; from onshore wind and solar to energy storage, hydrogen, and PPAs. The energy transition is creating both opportunity and complexity. New technologies and data are opening up better ways to build and operate assets, but navigating regulation, risk, and investor expectations isn’t straightforward. What stands out is a pragmatic approach. Not just spotting issues, but helping clients decide where to push forward and where to be cautious. The team brings deep sector experience and advises across the full lifecycle of projects; supporting everything from development and construction through to financing and long-term operation, both in the UK and internationally. Connect with Chris Pritchett and Shoosmiths LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pritchett-66553511/ Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shoosmiths/ Website: https://www.shoosmiths.com/sectors/energy-and-infrastructure/clean-energy-development About the Host David Hunt David Hunt is a cleantech thought leader, podcast host, and former executive search and solar EPC founder. As Non-Executive Chair and a long-time advisor to growth-stage and scaling businesses, he brings deep insight into leadership, energy transition, and the future of climate-focused industries. David supports businesse as a NED and Advisor via Stoa Advisory, and through his podcast and writing, David explores the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a more sustainable world. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/ Substack: https://davidhuntcleantech.substack.com/ About the Podcast Leaders in Cleantech explores the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the energy transition. Through in-depth conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and industry leaders, the podcast focuses on leadership, scaling companies, and the realities of building in a complex and rapidly evolving sector. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/ Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/ 🎧 Sponsored by Hyperion Search Hyperion Search is a specialist executive search firm focused on the cleantech sector. The firm partners with startups, scaleups, investors, and corporates to build leadership team

Pete Armstrong - CEO/CTO of Mixergy

About our Guest Dr. Pete Armstrong: Dr.Pete Armstrong is the CEO/CTO and co-founder of Mixergy, a smart hot water technology company reshaping how we heat and store energy. After completing his PhD on intelligent hot water systems at Oxford University with co-founder Ren Kang, Pete helped pioneer Mixergy’s technology that makes hot water smart and a connected energy asset. Today, Mixergy leads the shift to smart, connected hot water systems across social housing, new build and commercial developments, setting a new standard for the industry. About Mixergy: Mixergy transforms hot water from a passive utility into an intelligent, connected energy asset. By placing hot water at the heart of energy management, we help create smarter homes, more efficient buildings, and a more flexible grid. This lowers bills, improves comfort, and enable greater use of renewables. Our patented technologies power an intelligent operating system built into next-generation hot water storage for new build, social housing and commercial buildings. This system gives users and providers greater control over energy use, enables seamless grid connectivity, and optimises performance, without compromising on comfort. Connect with Pete Armstrong and Mixergy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-armstrong-45039136/ Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mixergy-ltd/about/ Website: https://www.mixergy.co.uk/ About the Host David Hunt David Hunt is a cleantech thought leader, podcast host, and former executive search and solar EPC founder. As Non-Executive Chair and a long-time advisor to growth-stage and scaling businesses, he brings deep insight into leadership, energy transition, and the future of climate-focused industries. David supports businesse as a NED and Advisor via Stoa Advisory, and through his podcast and writing, David explores the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a more sustainable world. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/ About the Podcast Leaders in Cleantech explores the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the energy transition. Through in-depth conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and industry leaders, the podcast focuses on leadership, scaling companies, and the realities of building in a complex and rapidly evolving sector. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/ Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/ 🎧 Sponsored by Hyperion Search Hyperion Search is a specialist executive search firm focused on the cleantech sector. The firm partners with startups, scaleups, investors, and corporates to build leadership teams and boards across clean energy, mobility, and infrastructure. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Feedback & Community I’m always keen to hear feedback, guest suggestions, or topics you’d like explored in future episodes. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider subscribing or leaving a review — it helps the show reach more people across the cleantech community.

Philipp Man – terralayr

Philipp Man – terralayr In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I’m joined by Philipp Man, co-founder and CEO of terralayr, a company building a new kind of energy infrastructure platform focused on flexibility and battery storage. Philipp shares his journey from commodities and entrepreneurship into the energy sector, and the insight that led to terralayr: the growing flexibility gap in power systems as renewable generation scales. As he puts it: “We wanted to build something akin to the AWS for power.” terralayr combines battery asset development with a software platform that virtualises and commercialises storage capacity, enabling customers to access flexibility without owning and operating assets themselves. The conversation explores how this model sits at the intersection of infrastructure and technology — and why that distinction may become less relevant as energy systems evolve. We also discuss the state of the European storage market. Despite the growing focus on batteries, Philipp is clear that we are still early: “We’re really just at the beginning… you need to grow over 10x in the next four years.” From there, we move into some of the real-world constraints holding the sector back — particularly grid access and bureaucracy, and what needs to change to accelerate deployment. The discussion also touches on broader themes shaping the energy transition, including: The role of battery storage in enabling renewable integration Why flexibility is becoming a critical part of the energy system The shift from asset ownership to access and platform models The impact of geopolitics and energy security on policy direction The need to reframe the transition around energy sovereignty and abundance On the talent side, Philipp shares a disciplined approach to building teams, with a strong emphasis on hiring quality over speed and creating a culture where high performers set the standard: “The most important thing you can control is who comes through the door.” He also reflects on the realities of building a company in this space, from landmark commercial deals and fundraising milestones to the operational challenges that come with scaling infrastructure. Finally, we discuss leadership, resilience, and the importance of mindset, seeing challenges not as problems, but as opportunities to build capability and long-term advantage. Philipp Man: Philipp Man is co-founder and CEO of terralayr, an energy flexibility company founded in late 2022. Prior to terralayr, Philipp founded and ran CHRONEXT, a leading online marketplace for luxury watches, which he sold in early 2023 to focus on terralayr. Philipp started his career at Glencore in the middle distillates division and within BCG’s Energy Practice. Born in Cologne, he studied in the UK at King's College and the University of Cambridge and lives in Switzerland. About terralayr: terralayr provides energy flexibility services on demand. terralayr is a fully integrated energy flexibility provider, aggregating its own and third-party battery storage assets through a cloud-like aggregation platform. Customers such as power producers, traders, grid operators, and energy-intensive businesses gain access to flexibility without having to own or operate assets themselves. Asset owners tap into top-tier flexibility off-takers, can optimise their revenue mix between merchant and contracted revenues, and benefit from a streamlined asset infrastructure setup. terralayr develops and operates its own battery storage portfolio, with multiple assets currently live in Germany, several more under construction, and a multi-GW pipeline in development. Social links: Philipp Manon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippman/ ter

Adrien Pinsard – Telis

In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I’m joined by Adrien Pinsard, CEO of Telis Energy, a Carlyle-backed renewable energy platform targeting a 10GW development pipeline across Europe by 2030. Adrien reflects on nearly two decades in the renewables sector, moving from private equity investor to platform builder and entrepreneur. Before launching Telis in 2022, Adrien spent 14 years investing in renewable projects at Platina Energy Partners and later served as Interim CEO of Macquarie’s 11GW European solar developer, Cero Generation. We discuss the thinking behind Telis’ decentralised development model, with dedicated local teams operating across the UK, France, Germany and Italy, and how that structure helps navigate the realities of developing infrastructure in different markets. As Adrien explains: “To be a successful developer, you need a very strong local presence. You have to understand communities and the local market.” The conversation also explores how the European renewables landscape is evolving. Adrien highlights two key shifts in recent years: the growing saturation of solar in some markets, and the rapidly increasing role of battery storage, driven by falling costs and rising power market volatility. We also discuss broader themes shaping the next phase of the energy transition, including: The changing economics of renewable development Why batteries and hybrid energy hubs are becoming central to projects How grid constraints are shaping development strategy The importance of capital discipline in a tougher investment environment The impact of geopolitical volatility on energy security and renewable deployment Looking ahead, Adrien sees renewables playing an increasingly important role in Europe’s energy resilience: “Renewables are very well placed to provide energy security. Once the assets are in the ground, they’re homegrown.” Finally, Adrien reflects on the entrepreneurial journey of building a platform from scratch, and the importance of trust and culture when building teams across multiple markets. Adrien Pinsard: Adrien Pinsard has a 17-year track record of renewable energy investment and development. Prior to founding Telis, Adrien was Interim CEO of the Macquarie Group 11GW European solar energy developer, Cero Generation. Adrien spent 14 years at Platina Energy Partners, led the energy team as a partner and deployed €1bn in renewables About Telis: Telis seeks to play a significant role in the European energy transition targeting a 10GW renewable energy pipeline by 2030 delivered through subsidiaries across Europe’s key markets. Backed by The Carlyle Group, Telis couples the scale and synergy of an international platform with an emphasis on local knowledge and networks, sector expertise and an entrepreneurial mindset to capture emerging opportunities across the green energy segments. Social links: Adrien Pinsardon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrien-pinsard-5b77471a/ Telis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/telis-energy1/ Telis website: https://telisenergy.com/ Episode Links: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership - Patrick M. Lencioni https://amzn.eu/d/0dyAuxb9 About Hyperion Search: At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business grow

Mike Nakrani – VEV

In this episode I’m Joined by Mike Nakrani, CEO of VEV. Mike is an OG in the electrification of transport, and that’s ignoring the milk float joyride! We talk about the challenges, opportunities and many converging technologies and factors that impact fleet electrification. There are of course many examples now that light and heavy-duty electric fleets are here and scaling. Grid connections aside, the biggest challenges is to demonstrate and achieve better TCO and true commercial viability. As Mike said during our conversation, “Electrification only works when it works commercially.”. We also talk about how having worked in behemoths like Ford and BP have been a positive rather than a negative as he leads a nimble start-up, taking the good and the bad, and how he sees and leads innovation at speed. We talked through: The new economics of fleet electrification What genuinely drives ROI Why scaling is very different from running a pilot Financing models and infrastructure ownership The role of software and optimisation And what kind of leadership this next phase requires It’s a thoughtful conversation about what it really takes to move from ambition to operational reality, from pilots to scale. I hope you enjoy it. Mike Nakrani: With more than two decades of experience spanning automotive OEMs, mobility services and energy transition, Mike Nakrani is steering VEV’s mission to support commercial fleets in moving to electric power. He stands at the intersection of automotive, mobility services and the energy transition – three sectors converging rapidly. Through his role at VEV, he represents how commercial fleet electrification must be executed at scale: not just with EVs, but with systems, infrastructure and business models that work. His leadership offers insight into how fleets can drive real-world decarbonisation. Nakrani promotes a pragmatic, ‘technology-neutral’ view of fleet decarbonisation – emphasising the transitional role that fuels such as HVO have to play, while reinforcing the scale and operational efficiency electrification delivers in the long term, delivering the most compelling business case for organisations needing to decarbonise. About VEV: VEV helps organisations deliver on their carbon reduction ambitions with an end-to-end fleet electrification solution that integrates across vehicles, charging infrastructure and power. VEV is owned by Vitol, a world leader in energy, which to date has committed circa $2 billion to sustainable energy initiatives worldwide. VEV navigates the complexities of EV transformation to design and implement cost-effective EV fleets optimised for specific fleet requirements. It supports EV fleet operations to guarantee resilience and keep mission-critical fleets running at scale. Bespoke, scalable business solutions are designed around the customer’s own fleet data analysed by a powerful assessment tool, VEV-IQ, and VEV’s experts in energy and sustainable e-mobility. VEV sets businesses up for success in an electrified future. Social links: Mike Nakrani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-nakrani-28400012/ VEV on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vev-services/ VEV website: https://www.vev.com/ Episode Links: From Good to Great- Jim Collins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_to_Great Benjamin Graham- The intelligent investor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligent_Investor About Hyperion Search: At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership

Johannes Kirnberger– Delta Charge

In this episode, I’m joined by Johannes Kirnberger, co-founder and Managing Director of Delta Charge, a Swedish-German company building Europe’s next-generation charging and battery infrastructure for electric freight. Johannes shares his journey from advising global institutions like the OECD and World Bank to co-founding a startup that's tackling one of Europe’s most complex infrastructure challenges—how to electrify heavy-duty transport at scale. Johannes Kirnberger is the co-founder and managing director of Delta Charge, a Swedish-German energy company pioneering integrated charging and battery storage solutions for European industry and electric fleet. He previously advised the OECD, the World Bank and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on energy, digital, and climate policy. Johannes serves as a guest lecturer at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from ESCP Business School, a Master of International Public Management from Sciences Po, and a Master in International Affairs, Energy and Environment from Columbia University. About Delta Charge: Headquartered in Munich, Delta Charge is a Swedish-German energy infrastructure company pioneering end-to-end charging and battery storage solutions for Europe’s freight sector. The company develops and finances a pan-European network of truck-charging depots and battery-enabled industrial hubs. Its platform combines intelligent software, grid-connected batteries, and fixed-price charging services to help fleet operators electrify their operations while supporting a more flexible and resilient power grid. Backed by Delta Capacity, one of Scandinavia’s leading battery energy storage developers, the company aims to deploy over €300 million in infrastructure and deliver 1.8 TWh of clean energy annually by 2030, anchoring the backbone of Europe’s zero-carbon freight future. Social links: Johannes Kirnberger LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanneskirnberger/ Delta Charge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deltacharge/ Delta Charge website: https://www.deltacharge.com/ Episode Links: Book Recommends: Termination Shock- Neil Stephenson - https://amzn.eu/d/1XmpfDC About Hyperion Search: At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results.

Hyperion Q4 Market and Talent Review

In this episode, David Hunt discusses the key insights from the Hyperion Q4 Market and Talent Review, highlighting the significant shifts in the cleantech sector during 2025. The conversation covers the maturation of the industry, the focus on execution over exuberance, and the evolving demands for leadership and talent across various sectors, including energy storage, EVs, and renewables. The episode also touches on the challenges faced by hard tech and the implications for the future as the market prepares for 2026. Takeaways 2025 was a year of maturity in cleantech. The focus has shifted from technology to execution. Nearly 50% fewer companies reached seed to Series A rounds. Talent demand is focused on operational discipline and execution. AI-driven optimization is becoming crucial in mobility. Solar has overtaken coal as the EU's largest electricity source. The pilot to readiness gap in hard tech is widening. Boards need to be operator-led for effective scaling. Talent markets are becoming more selective with higher expectations. The next phase of the transition is about delivery, not invention. Navigating the Cleantech Landscape: Insights from Hyperion 2025: The Year Cleantech Matures Sound Bites "The pilot to readiness gap is widening." "Boards need operators, not just advisors." "AI becomes invisible infrastructure." Chapters 00:00Introduction to the Hyperion Q4 Review 01:212025: A Year of Maturity in Cleantech 03:20Energy Storage and Grid Market Insights 05:09EV and Future Mobility Developments 07:01Renewables: Milestones and Talent Trends 08:35Challenges in Hard Tech and Funding 09:55Looking Ahead: Key Themes for 2026 Links Hyperion Q4 Market and Talent Review - https://hyperionsearch.com/market-reviews/ Net Zero Insights -State of Cleantech 2025 - https://stateofclimatetech.com/

Devrim Celal – Kraken

Devrim Celal– Kraken In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, David Hunt is joined once again by Devrim Celal, Chief Flexibility & Marketing Officer at Kraken, nearly six years after their first conversation in 2019—back when Devrim was CEO of Upside Energy. Since then, Upside Energy was acquired by Octopus Energy and evolved into Kraken, now one of the world’s leading energy technology platforms, serving tens of millions of customers and optimising flexible power at global scale. Rather than a linear success story, Devrim reflects on the last decade as a series of distinct phases: early uncertainty, pivotal strategic pivots, the acquisition decision, rapid scaling within Octopus, and now Kraken’s transition into a fully independent global company. The conversation explores leadership at scale, the reality of building culture through growth, the trade-offs founders face between conviction and adaptability, and what the future holds for flexibility, storage, EVs, data centres and grid optimisation. This is a thoughtful, honest discussion about long-term impact, not short-term hype—and what it really takes to build enduring companies in the energy transition. Devrim Celal: Devrim is the Chief Flexibility and Marketing Officer at Kraken. Overseeing Kraken’s flexibility and product capabilities, the cloud-based flexibility platform controls and optimizes distributed energy resources such as batteries of all sizes, EVs, solar and wind generation or heat pumps with machine learning and AI to match electricity supply and demand, helping the electricity grid deal with the natural volatility of renewable generation. Kraken is currently contracted to manage over 42 GW of power. Previously, Devrim was the CEO of Upside Energy, which was acquired by Kraken in 2020. Before starting Upside Energy, Devrim’s professional career saw him take up executive roles with blue chip management consultancies and finance companies such as Publicis Sapient, Kearney and Lansdowne. He also holds an MBA from Yale University. In 2023, Devrim joined the Elexon Board, which manages the Balancing and Settlement Code of Great Britain’s energy system, as a Non-Executive Director. About Kraken: Vienna-based innovator enspired is known for pioneering automated energy trading and Kraken is the most-loved operating system for energy. Powered by Utility-Grade AI™ and deep industry expertise, we help utilities modernize their entire operations – from their customers relationships and billing to generation, through to optimising when your EV or heating and cooling at home uses energy. Kraken uses this powerful technology to analyse more than 15 billion data points a day, coordinating across the whole energy system to bring down costs, revolutionise customer service, and make energy more reliable, efficient and resilient. Kraken has grown in just a few years to manage over 70 million customer accounts, quadrupling our contracted revenue in the last three years, to $500m. The technology is proven across major global utilities in 30 countries, bringing down cost-to-serve by 40%, delivering best-in-class customer service and employee satisfaction at utilities – three of the UK’s top ten best employers amongst big companies run on Kraken. And we manage the largest virtual power plant of residential assets in the world, over 2.5GW, enough to power a city of around 3 million people. Created as part of the Octopus Energy Group in 2016, Kraken has been operationally independent for some time and officially announced its separation from its parent company in September this year. This strategic move allows Kraken to fast-track investments into its technology, expand into new energy markets and regions, and drive innovation – all while building on its utility roots. Social links: Devrim Celal on LinkedIn:

Juergen Mayerhofer – enspired

In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I speak with Juergen Mayerhofer, CEO and co-founder of enspired, the Vienna-based company using fully automated, AI-driven trading to optimise flexible power assets – especially grid-scale batteries – across multiple European markets. Juergen shares how he stumbled into energy via Austrian gas market liberalisation, fell in love with physical energy systems, and eventually founded enspired in early 2020 with the simple but powerful idea that flexibility is the key resource for integrating more renewables. We talk about how the company has scaled from its first pump storage and thermal assets in Germany to managing ~5 GW of flexibility (including over 1.3 GW of batteries), now active across ten markets and expanding into new geographies. We dig into why enspired thinks like a software and R&D company rather than a classic trading house, how they use automation, machine learning and reinforcement learning in practice, and why they’ve chosen to publish independently verified revenue performance instead of leaning on AI buzzwords. Juergen also reflects on the realities of founding just before COVID, expanding rapidly across borders, and building a diverse, high-performance culture designed to move into new countries in weeks, not years. About Juergen Mayerhofer: enspired CEO and co-founder Juergen Mayerhofer holds an MBA in energy management and has worked in the energy sector for over 20 years, contributing to the expansion of renewables in the grid in various expert positions. Under his bold and devoted leadership, enspired evolved from a small-scale startup with a workforce in the single digits into a successful institution with global recognition. As an enthusiast and first mover in BESS optimization, Juergen is a highly respected and trusted figure in his field as well as the power industry at large. About enspired: Vienna-based innovator enspired is known for pioneering automated energy trading and cross-market battery storage optimization across Europe with an advanced technical infrastructure running on billions of data points, AI, machine learning, and reinforcement learning. The self-developed optimization platform is operated 100% in-house, which makes it highly flexible in adapting to new markets and changing market conditions. By optimizing the power assets of their customers across all available energy markets, enspired unlocks essential flexibility to integrate more renewables while providing grid stability, enspired's commercial strategy achieves maximum revenues with minimum degradation, extending asset life and profit over time. As the first and only BESS optimizer with published portfolio performance, enspired is tackling the lack of monetary transparency in the industry by granting insight into real, independently confirmed revenues. In 2024 alone, enspired enabled 2.5 million tons of emission savings and aims to integrate 50 GW of flexibility by 2035 to achieve the ultimate goal of accelerating the energy transition. Social links: Juergen Mayerhofer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juergenmayerhofer/ enspired on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/enspired/ enspired website: https://www.enspired-trading.com/ About Hyperion Search: At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results. Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Follow us online, write a review (please) or

Gregory Dewerpe – Noa

In this episode I’m joined by Gregory Dewerpe, Founder of NOA (formerly A/O), to cut through the noise on climate investing. We talk about the shift from abundance to discipline, why Europe and the US are now playing different games, and how AI will matter in the physical world—grids, buildings, materials—rather than the hype layer. Candid, practical, and economics-first: adoption wins when solutions are cheaper, smarter, and scale. What we cover Why A/O became NOA: moving from “proptech” to a broader physical world mandate; why naming and focus matter for specialist funds; being memorable and thesis-true. Specialist > generalist: generating alpha by doing the less obvious in crowded markets; why NOA prefers hard tech and infrastructure over “consensus safe” deals. How NOA deploys: flexible first cheques ($2–15m), stage-agnostic from seed to B; focusing on capital actually at work by Series B rather than chasing ownership optics. Some of Greg’s quotes “We won’t generate alpha by doing what everyone else does. Being a specialist lets us have a qualified, differentiated opinion.” “The built world doesn’t need to be greener — it needs to be smarter. Make it smarter and it will be greener.” “We shouldn’t build climate on altruism. Adoption happens when solutions are cheaper and more efficient.” About Gregory Dewerpe Gregory Dewerpe is the Founder and Managing Partner of noa, Europe’s largest built world venture capital firm. He oversees the firm’s vision and strategy, manages partnerships with portfolio companies and LPs, and is a recognised voice in tech and climate—particularly around decarbonisation and the energy transition in real estate. He founded noa (formerly A/O) after more than a decade of deep investment in the real estate sector, identifying it as a key vector for climate innovation. This insight stemmed from his previous work founding AMD Capital, a specialist real estate investment and advisory firm. Earlier in his career, Gregory worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse and Citigroup, where he structured over $30bn in new investments. He holds an MSc in Business & Finance from HEC Lausanne and has attended executive education programmes at LSE and Harvard Business School. About Noa: noa is Europe’s largest built world VC firm and a global sustainability tech leader, focused on transforming real estate and construction—the world’s most polluting and least digitised industry. noa backs breakthrough innovations across the full lifecycle of the built world—from raw materials and design to energy, operations, and urban transformation. Its mission is to improve quality of life, accelerate decarbonisation and climate resiliency, and drive automation and sustainable living. The firm invests across software, hardware, deep tech, AI, and new materials, including overlaps with fintech and insurtech. Social links: Gregory Dewerpe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorydewerpe/ Noa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/noavc/ Noa website: https://www.noavc.com/

Liliane Ableitner – Exnaton

About Liliane Ableitner: Liliane is the co-founder and CEO of the climate tech startup exnaton. In 2019, she graduated with a PhD in information systems from one of Europe’s most renowned universities ETH Zurich. In 2020, she co-founded a startup with her two fellow PhD colleagues and was listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for young entrepreneurs. Until today, the startup has received Venture Capital from Silicon Valley based True Ventures, Germany’s largest VC GFC, and the Zurich climate tech fund übermorgen. The startup has won numerous awards such as the SAP Innovation Awards 2022 and Liliane was a speaker at TEDxZurich in 2022. Among others, the following media has covered Liliane, her two co-founders and the climate tech startup Exnaton: Handelsblatt, NZZ, SRF, Handelszeitung, VSE, Blick, Energate and PV Magazine. About Exnaton: exnaton is a multi-award-winning spin-off company from ETH Zurich, founded by three former PhD students and colleagues with a shared vision for a sustainable energy future. Building on their research in the software and energy sectors, they developed an AI-powered white-label billing platform designed to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. Today, exnaton supports more than 50 utilities across five countries. The platform enables utilities to launch and scale Distributed Energy Resources (DER) offerings by transforming complex energy data into clear customer invoices and delivering actionable insights. Exnaton powers use cases such as energy sharing, dynamic tariffs, EV smart charging, and more – empowering utilities and their customers to actively participate in the energy transition. Social links: Liliane Ableitner on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilianeableitner/ Exnaton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/exnaton/ Exnaton website: https://www.exnaton.ai/en About Hyperion Search: At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results. Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribe I'm very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitter. If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidhuntcleantech/ Also follow our podcast handles to stay up to date. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/ Instagram: Leaders in Cleantech Podcast (@leadersincleantech.podcast) | Instagram Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/

Leaders In Clean Tech #156: Andrew Gilligan – Fluence

Join David Hunt, host of the Leaders in Cleantech podcast, as he delves into the future of battery storage with Andrew Gilligan, Senior Director of Global Markets and Development at Fluence. In this episode, Andrew shares his journey from the solar industry to joining Fluence, insights about global storage markets, and the evolving supply chains required to support large-scale battery deployments. They discuss the economic and regulatory factors driving storage adoption, particularly in the US and Europe, and the role of battery storage in addressing growing energy demands and supporting AI data centers. Tune in for an in-depth conversation on the trends, challenges, and opportunities in the cleantech sector. 00:00 Introduction to Leaders in Cleantech Podcast 00:43 Meet Andrew Gilligan: Senior Director of Global Markets at Fluence 01:21 Andrew's Journey in Clean Energy 05:17 Fluence's Role in the Energy Storage Market 11:56 Global Market Dynamics and Challenges 15:03 US vs. European Energy Storage Markets 21:09 Supply Chain and Regulatory Challenges 23:56 The Future of Energy Storage 25:51 Energized by Industry Resilience 26:28 AI and Data Centers: Powering the Future 27:49 Battery Storage Innovations 30:20 Global Market Trends and Opportunities 41:53 The Importance of Talent in Energy Transition 47:07 Future Outlook for Fluence and Battery Storage

Joachim Lohse – Ampcontrol

In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I speak with Joachim Lohse, CEO and co-founder of Ampcontrol, about his journey from writing LinkedIn blog posts as a young consultant to founding one of Europe’s most innovative smart charging software companies. We discuss the technical and leadership challenges of scaling a company at the heart of the EV transition, and what it really takes to support the electrification of critical infrastructure like logistics fleets, ports, and buses. Ampcontrol is tackling some of the most complex problems in fleet electrification—from grid constraints and site-level optimisation, to uptime, scheduling, and energy cost reduction—and Joachim shares both the strategic decisions and hard-won lessons from the last six years of building the business. We also touch on the importance of predictable policy, the rising complexity of fleet charging logistics, and the cultural principles that shape his international team. Joachim Lohse is the founder and CEO of Ampcontrol, the leading AI-powered smart charging software that optimizes electric fleets. Since 2019, Joachim has collaborated with charging networks, utilities, and fleet operators worldwide to lower total charging costs and ensure reliable operations during the transition to electric vehicles. Joachim is a recognized leader in the e-mobility space, working closely with key stakeholders to shape the future of electric transportation around the world. About Ampcontrol: Ampcontrol is a leading AI-powered software for electric fleets. Fleet operators use Ampcontrol to reduce EV charger downtime and electric fueling costs. The software connects to the EV charging hardware and vehicle telematics to make real-time decisions and provide detailed monitoring tools to fleet operators. Benefits are on-time departures, a low peak power demand, energy cost reductions, fully charged vehicles, and more. Ampcontrol’s API-based platform allows easy and seamless compatibility with existing software systems. The VC-backed company deploys in the US, Europe, LATAM, and Africa. Social links: Joachim Lohse on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joachim-lohse-4629a7102/ Ampcontrol on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ampcontrol-io/ Ampcontrol website: https://www.ampcontrol.io/ Episode Links: 📍Join Joachim and others at the Ampcontrol-hosted EV Fleet Summit in Rotterdam: https://www.ampcontrol.io/company-news/ampcontrol-hosts-ev-fleet-summit-in-rotterdam-to-advance-electric-fleet-management-in-europe About Hyperion Search: At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results. Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribe I'm very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitt

Emmanuel (Manu) Masini – Mantle8

Hydrogen has for decades been talked about as the fuel of the future, the economics, among other things stand it’s way, producing cheap hydrogen isn’t easy, but what if nature has already done the hard work for us? In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I speak with Emmanuel Masini, founder and CEO of Mantle8, a pioneering natural hydrogen exploration company. We dive into Emmanuel’s journey from geologist to entrepreneur, why natural hydrogen could be a game-changing addition to the energy mix, and how Mantle8’s technology is accelerating the race to unlock this overlooked resource. Episode Notes In this conversation, Emmanuel and I explore the promise of natural hydrogen — also called geological or white hydrogen. Unlike green or blue hydrogen, natural hydrogen is formed by the Earth itself, waiting to be discovered and harnessed. About Emmanuel (Manu) Masini Emmanuel Masini is a geoscientist, entrepreneur and founder of Mantle8 – a pioneering energy company advancing the exploration and extraction of natural hydrogen as a low-cost, ultra-low-emissions energy source. With more than a decade of experience in structural geology, subsurface modelling and energy systems, Emmanuel has led geoscience projects across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Before founding Mantle8, he co-founded the geology-focused research and consulting company M&U and worked with Total on applied geoscience projects. Of note, is Masini’s leadership of the "Orogen Research" program, whilst at M&U and at Total. This program is a collaborative effort between Total, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the French Geological Survey (BRGM) involving approximately one hundred researchers, which focuses on the study of orogens, which are mountain ranges formed by the collision of tectonic plates. He also contributed to major research initiatives with the Strasbourg, Grenoble, Toulouse and Austin Universities. He holds a PhD in structural geology from the University of Strasbourg. About Mantle8 Mantle8 is a natural hydrogen exploration company based in France. Founded by Emmanuel Masini in 2024, Mantle8 brings together a team of geoscientists with 20 years of experience in the field that has previously worked together as M&U, a geology research and consulting company. Mantle8 has developed geoscience-based technologies that detect the best natural hydrogen locations with world-first accuracy. Mantle8’s validated technologies visualise the entire hydrogen-generating system, including the amount and quality of hydrogen present, at an unparalleled level of detail. The company already holds a number of exploration permits for some of the largest natural hydrogen reservoirs close to demand and works towards making €0.80/kg hydrogen a reality. Social links Emmanuel Masini on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuel-masini-273251132/ Mantle8 on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mantle8/ Mantle8 website: https://mantle8.com/ Episode Links The precious 'white gold' fuel buried in the Earth- https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250723-the-worlds-race-to-drill-for-natural-white-hydrogen About Hyperion Search At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd Website: www.hyperionsearch.com Follow us online, write a review (please) or

• Transcript

Joe McDonald – TEM

Rewiring Energy: Disruption, Transparency, and Scaling with Purpose – Joe McDonald, TEM In this energised episode, David Hunt is joined by Joe McDonald, Co-founder and CEO of TEM – a fast-scaling UK energytech startup reshaping how energy transactions are done. From his early days at LimeJump and the acquisition by Shell, to co-founding TEM and challenging the very core of how electricity is bought, sold, and valued – Joe shares a story of timing, execution, and bold ambition. Joe and David dive into: The broken nature of the wholesale electricity market – and how TEM is fixing it with AI-driven infrastructure Why energy transparency is the antidote to greenwashing How scaling culture and teams in a remote-first world requires deep intentionality Lessons from Shell, LimeJump, and what it really means to build a challenger business Fundraising, lucky timing, and the power of storytelling in startup success From disrupting energy incumbents to reimagining organisational design, this is a deep and inspiring episode for cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, and energy innovators alike. 🔑 Key Quotes: “We’re not trying to be greedy – we’re trying to build something enduring. That means picking the right people, partners, and investors.” – Joe McDonald “We’re not just innovating around the edges; we’re replacing the wholesale electricity market itself.” – Joe McDonald “Remote-first doesn’t mean working from your bedroom – it means being intentional about culture, connection, and collisions.” – Joe McDonald “This is about power – both in electrons and in people. Rewiring how energy is transacted is a chance to redistribute both.” – Joe McDonald About Joe McDonald: Joe McDonald is a seasoned energy entrepreneur with over 12 years of experience in the sector. He co-founded tem. in 2021, aiming to revolutionize the way renewable energy is bought and sold. Prior to tem., Joe held leadership roles at Limejump, including Vice President of Sales and Product, where he was instrumental in developing virtual power plants that enabled small renewable energy assets to access market opportunities akin to larger utilities. His efforts contributed to Limejump's successful acquisition by Shell in 2019, earning him a spot on Forbes' 30 Under 30 Europe list. At tem., Joe leverages his deep expertise in product development, sales, and business development to drive the company's mission of transforming the renewable energy landscape. The platform uses a unique AI-powered matching algorithm to facilitate transparent, affordable, and direct energy transactions between businesses and renewable energy generators across the UK. Joe is passionate about democratizing access to clean energy and believes in creating systems that serve not just large corporations but also small and medium-sized enterprises. His vision is to build an energy market that is transparent, efficient, and equitable for all participants. About tem: TEM (The Energy Market) is a new energy infrastructure company challenging the traditional wholesale market by creating a transparent, machine-learning-powered transaction layer. It enables both independent generators and business consumers to bypass costly middlemen – creating a smarter, fairer, and more efficient energy system for all. Social links: Joe McDonald on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-mcdonald-energy/ tem on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/temmarketplace/ tem website: https://www.tem.energy/ About Hyperion Search: At Hyperion Search, we specialize in buildi