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Everything here comes from having built FOAKs, not just studied them. The Playbook is a structured guide to scaling cleantech from lab to commercial delivery. The Monitor tracks the largest FOAK projects in real time. The Blog is where I think out loud. Start with the Playbook → if you're scaling a FOAK. Start with the Monitor → if you want to know what's actually happening in the field.


The FOAK Location Selection Framework: Lessons from Choosing a Gigafactory Site
In the end, it had to be a political decision. After half a year of sifting through more than twenty locations and countless meetings with local officials, our future 8 GWh factory came down to two options. Tatarstan: a highly industrialised region east of Moscow, with a strong industrial park, permits ready, and—most importantly—right next to our main customer, Kamaz. Kaliningrad: a Russian exclave in Europe, wedged between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, on the unfini
Sep 4, 20253 min read


Electric Mobility: What We Own, What We Share, and What We Fear
What is the future of electric mobility?
Jul 31, 20254 min read


Building the Smart Factory: Turning a Manufacturing Idea into a 500 MWh Reality in 9 Months
This post is about how Duke went from idea to operational factory in under 9 months—and what practical lessons it offers for cleantech scale-ups.
Jul 10, 20253 min read


Can Europe make decent EVs? Looks like it can! Welcome - Renault 5!
What Renault 5 might mean for the EU car industry.
Jun 24, 20252 min read


From Lab to Fab: How LeydenJar Rewired Its DNA to Scale
How to transform from project to product.
Jun 4, 20252 min read


A shared roadmap with a committed client matters more than an off-take
Off-takes are the holy grail of climatetech FOAKs. Conditional off-takes are the norm. Is there another way?
May 28, 20251 min read


Working With Working Capital
Working capital is a big challenge for B2C solar and storage startups. Or is it?
May 7, 20251 min read


Want to Build Batteries in Europe? Start with the Hardest Part – and the Right Partner
This year, the mood at the Smarter E Europe expo in Munich is different. With many EU battery startups going under, the only way to survive is to find the right partner from Asia.
May 6, 20251 min read


How to Build a Battery Industry
How the EU can build its own battery industry
Apr 15, 20252 min read


The Middle East BESS market- where I was wrong
Two things I got wrong about Saudi Arabia BESS market
Apr 1, 20252 min read


Middle East: A Hot Market for BESS or Just Hot Air?
Is the Middle East really the next big thing for battery storage—or just another mirage?
Mar 27, 20252 min read


What will happen to Cleantech in 2025?
What are the main challenges to NetZero in 2025?
Mar 19, 20251 min read


The Battery Industry’s Next Phase: Boom, Overcapacity, and a Coming Bloodbath? 🔋⚡
What will be the next phase for the battery industry: boom, or bust?
Mar 12, 20251 min read


🇰🇷Back in Korea: Scaling Batteries with JR Energy Solution📈
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
Mar 3, 20252 min read


Europe’s Cleantech Reality Check: The Good, The Bad, and The Missing Pieces
Review of Breakthrough Energy and Cleantech for Europe report on the state of European manufacturing competitiveness
Feb 28, 20252 min read


The Three Missing Elephants in the EU Auto Industry Debate
New Allianz report on EU Auto Industry and its three missing elephants.
Feb 18, 20252 min read


The 4-step Framework for Building a Demo Project
The 4-step Framework for Building a Demo Project: Your Critical Step Between Pilot and FOAK
Feb 13, 20258 min read


Europe’s Auto Industry: Time for a Rethink, Not a Rescue
What to do wıth Europe's auto industry?
Feb 12, 20252 min read


Revolutionary Change or Extinction
No sugarcoating. No diplomatic cushioning. Just a stark reality check.
Feb 11, 20252 min read


Why Are Western Battery Startups Failing? 🪫
Investor's pressure to go big might have had a hand in it.
Feb 10, 20252 min read
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