Emin Askerov
Cleantech FOAK Advisor

How to transform from project to product.

Batteries have brought me to Korea once again. The last time I was here was just before the COVID lockdown, and now, I’m back—this time in Eumseong, the heartland of Korea’s battery industry —at the factory of JR Energy Solution . I’ve mentioned JR in my posts before, and there’s an hour-long interview with its founder and CEO, Duke Oh , on my podcast . JR is my client, and I’m thrilled to be helping them scale! Who is JR Energy Solution? Founded in 2022 , JR Energy Solution

Review of Breakthrough Energy and Cleantech for Europe report on the state of European manufacturing competitiveness

What to do wıth Europe's auto industry?

No sugarcoating. No diplomatic cushioning. Just a stark reality check.

A Pilot is your first real-world test—where you prove that your technology works outside the lab.

A 3-step framework for scaling-up to FOAK

Here is my 4-step framework to determine if your tech is a drop-in solution

Why do you need a Chief Production Officer in your startup?

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲?

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆? 𝗕𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

Twice in my career, I’ve dealt with intellectual property (IP). Both times, I came out with one big realization: IP isn’t the holy grail investors think it is—especially when scaling hardware. The first time, I was buying a license to manufacture wind turbines. It looked promising: a ton of encrypted files, sent to our HQ with much fanfare. But when we finally cracked open the IP treasure chest, we discovered it only explained how to build one  wind turbine. The know-how to m

You have to choose between your ego and your fees. This was a phrase I heard while listening to the Redefining Energy podcast episode “Northvolt - Epitaph.” It sums up perfectly the choice Europe is facing in the battery industry. Here is why.  This year, I’ve actively traveled around Europe, meeting with battery industry players. I was representing my client, a Korean company specializing in the most difficult part of battery manufacturing - making anode and cathode electrod

You need data to optimize production, but production has to be running to generate that data.

🚀 Scaling Up Hardware? Fraunhofer’s Battery Ramp-Up Report Shows Just How Hard It Gets!

🔑 What are the 4 things crucial to your FOAK offtake and how to negotiate them? 🔑

Does the Offtake pyramid work? In my case, it was a little different.

Northvolt grew fast—maybe too fast.

🔋 The Problems Are Clear. The Solutions Are Mistimed. Except One.

Cleantech Scaleup? Here's Your Real Problem, And Two Things To Do About It.