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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.
Drop-in Solution 4-Step Framework
Here is my 4-step framework to determine if your tech is a drop-in solution
Jan 9, 20257 min read
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๐จ๐ปโ๐ฌFrom Lab to Fab: Why You Need a CPO - Chief Production Officer๐ท๐ปโโ๏ธ
Why do you need a Chief Production Officer in your startup?
Jan 8, 20252 min read
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๐ Free One-Hour Consultations for Cleantech Scale-Ups ๐ฑ
This January, Iโm offering 20 free one-hour online consultations to startups and investors in the cleantech and climate tech space.
Jan 7, 20251 min read
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๐ฅDrop-In Solution
๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ?
Jan 6, 20252 min read
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๐ง ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต: ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฐโ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐จ๐ฝ ๐ง
2024 was a brutal year for hardtech climate startups.
Jan 2, 20251 min read
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๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐๐บ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ
Why should you avoid Green Premium and look for 10x value?
Dec 25, 20242 min read
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When Are You Ready To Scale?
๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐? ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐.
Dec 24, 20242 min read
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๐ก The Myth of IP Moats: Lessons from the Frontlines
Twice in my career, Iโve dealt with intellectual property (IP). Both times, I came out with one big realization: IP isnโt the holy grail investors think it isโespecially 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
Dec 23, 20242 min read
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๐ 2024: A Year in Climate Tech Review
As 2024 wraps up, itโs time to reflect on a year that was anything but dull for the climate tech world. A buzzword dominated this yearโ 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. Iโve written a few epitaphs on those who didnโt make it this year ( here , h
Dec 19, 20243 min read
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๐๏ธ Bulldoze or Make? The Two Podcasts On Northvolt
This week, I listened to two excellent podcasts dissecting the saga of Northvolt
Dec 18, 20242 min read
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๐ผ Negotiating the Term SheetโWhere the Real Work Begins
How to negotiate a term sheet for your offtake
Dec 3, 20242 min read
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๐ผ The Letter of Intent - Paving the Way to Your Offtake Term Sheet
How do you negotiate a Letter of Intent for your offtake agreement?
Nov 29, 20242 min read
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Is Your Scale-Up Built on Climate Bricks or Actual Building Blocks?
Review of Clean Tech ScaleUp Manual by Climate Brick
Nov 28, 20244 min read
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๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ. ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐?
Northvoltโs stumble is not a death knell; itโs a wake-up call.
Nov 25, 20241 min read
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๐๐ฅ The Battery Digitalization Chicken-and-Egg Problem
You need data to optimize production, but production has to be running to generate that data.
Nov 5, 20242 min read
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๐ Ramping-Up Battery Production: Lessons from Fraunhoferโs Report
๐ Scaling Up Hardware? Fraunhoferโs Battery Ramp-Up Report Shows Just How Hard It Gets!
Oct 31, 20243 min read
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MOU - Your First Step To Offtake
Youโve got your foot in the door with an NDA, but how do you keep momentum going on the way to an offtake? Donโt rush it! Start with an MOU!
Oct 17, 20243 min read
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Decarbonizing Shipping: Hydrogen, Synth Fuels, or Nuclear?
Will nuclear power decarbonize shipping?
Oct 16, 20242 min read
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