Emin Askerov
Cleantech FOAK Advisor

The FT article on GM’s lithium manganese-rich (LMR) push reads, on the surface, like a familiar innovation narrative: bold leadership, unproven chemistry, long timelines, big upside. That framing misses the point. GM is not choosing LMR because it is elegant. GM is ending up at LMR because its option set has collapsed. Let’s look at the context. US support for EVs has weakened. Incentives are being rolled back. Sales are falling well short of expectations, with EV volumes dow

Once or twice a year, if you stay long enough in climate and battery scale-ups, you encounter a technology that politely asks you to forget thermodynamics, manufacturing constraints, and twenty years of painful industrial learning. Like a lot of other things, this year’s entry arrived early. The battery world is currently excited about Donut Lab solid state battery. Let’s outline the plausible range of outcomes: 1 Worst case: it’s a scam. Svolt has already called it out (yo

Chinese EV Exports rose despite tariffs.

What scrapping the Europe's EV target really mean

Why touchscreens are not the key strength of the Chinese car industry.

What is the future of electric mobility?

What Renault 5 might mean for the EU car industry.

How the EU can build its own battery industry

New Allianz report on EU Auto Industry and its three missing elephants.

What to do wıth Europe's auto industry?

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

Battery startup descriptions don't make sense!

Turkey's EV startup is ramping up sales.

What Canoo failure can teach cleantech scaleups?

Why should you avoid Green Premium and look for 10x value?

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

Observations from the second week of meeting EU battery players

Why read my blog?

As VW shuts down factories and Chinese EVs flood the market, it’s clear that Europe’s legacy automakers are feeling the pressure

Every waste management project hinges on a single, often-overlooked factor that can make or break it: the supply of waste. Circular economists love to talk about the mountains of waste piling up around us, but try building a recycling facility, and you’ll quickly discover that all that “waste” is either elusive, diverted elsewhere, or just not there yet. And in the case of battery recycling, the waste is barely even on the map.  Last week, Eramet announced a pause on its plan