Emin Askerov
Cleantech FOAK Advisor

Two things I got wrong about Saudi Arabia BESS market

Is the Middle East really the next big thing for battery storage—or just another mirage?

What are the key drivers of heat pump market growth?

Data shows that 10x returns are extremely rare in the climate tech

What are the main challenges to NetZero in 2025?

What will be the next phase for the battery industry: boom, or bust?

In 2020, I was scrambling to get chips for our battery modules . Lead times had jumped from 2-3 months to over 9 months . Chipmakers prioritized gaming consoles and automotive giants, leaving cleantech startups like ours at the back of the line. That experience taught me just how fragile and unpredictable supply chains can be —and how they can make or break a scale-up. I was reminded of this while listening to The Green Blueprint  podcast episode, How Supply Chain Chaos Sank

Insights on the US climate policy from DC insiders and my thoughts on why this strangely resembles Russia.

Do acquisitions of climate tech startups by Big Oil help or hinder energy transition?

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

Investor's pressure to go big might have had a hand in it.

Battery startup descriptions don't make sense!

The stationary energy storage market tripled in 2023. But with the sector maturing fast, not every corner is ripe for VC-backed disruption

Venture investors watch the world burn and seek refuge in virtual worlds

2024 was a brutal year for hardtech climate startups.

I’ve just picked up my New Year read—a collection of solarpunk short stories. If you’re wondering, what is solarpunk, and why does it matter?  Here’s the heart of it: “Solarpunk is about finding ways to make life more wonderful for us right now, and more importantly for the generations that follow us—extending human life at the species level, rather than individually.” This line, from the article Solarpunk: Notes Toward a Manifesto,  hits home for me. Whether you’re in renewa

The last weekend of 2024 long-read on AI and Energy

As 2024 wraps up, it’s time to reflect on a year that was anything but dull for the climate tech world. A buzzword dominated this year— FOAK (First-of-a-Kind).  It symbolizes the growing realization that proving your tech in a lab is one thing, but scaling it to a factory is a different beast. Many startups found themselves stuck in the dreaded Valley of Death  between proving a pilot and scaling up. I’ve written a few epitaphs on those who didn’t make it this year ( here , h

If the magnitude of a problem is reflected by the books written about it, which would win?

Northvolt’s stumble is not a death knell; it’s a wake-up call.