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EMIN ASKEROV
Cleantech FOAK and Scale-up Consiglieri
My insights and blog
Dive into my latest thoughts on Greentech trends, startup strategies, and investment insights. Stay ahead in the green revolution.
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Is your biggest bottleneck the product… or the team?
How to build an A-class team - HelioRec story
Emin Askerov
Jul 221 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.
Emin Askerov
Jul 103 min read
Field Notes from the FOAK Frontlines – Via Separations
Everyone wants to decarbonize industry. Not many talk about what happens after the pilot works. Scaling hardware isn’t linear. It’s...
Emin Askerov
May 51 min read
Mastering the FOAK Journey: A Practitioner’s Guide to Scaling Cleantech
We don’t have a cleantech innovation problem — we have a FOAK execution problem.
Over the past year, I’ve been building something I wish I had when I started scaling my first climate tech venture: a practical, experience-based framework for getting First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) projects off the ground.
In my latest article, I’ve pulled together my 50+ posts into a structured overview that maps the FOAK journey—from the moment you decide to leave the lab to the day your NOAKs are r
Emin Askerov
May 14 min read
Getting Utilities to Buy Your Product: Lessons from LineVision and the Utility Gauntlet
LineVision experience in selling to Utilities
Emin Askerov
Apr 243 min read
Behind the Scenes
What am I working on?
Emin Askerov
Apr 231 min read
AI and energy use? Not an energy problem — it's a hype problem.
Do we really have an AI energy problem? Or is it just hype (as usual)?
Emin Askerov
Apr 161 min read
ChatGPT Profiled Me
Logging in to ChatGPT today, I was greeted with a suggestion to describe me based on all of the chats I had. I’ve been using ChatGPT for...
Emin Askerov
Apr 111 min read
What will happen to Cleantech in 2025?
What are the main challenges to NetZero in 2025?
Emin Askerov
Mar 191 min read
EPC for Your FOAK: Make or Break Decision
How to chose and EPC for your FOAK
Emin Askerov
Mar 182 min read
Scale-Up Killers: How Supply Chain Chaos Can Sink a Startup
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...
Emin Askerov
Mar 102 min read
Power and Progress: Does Technology Benefit All By Default?
the most cyberpunk thing I’ve read this year wasn’t fiction—it was a book by Nobel Prize winning MIT economists
Emin Askerov
Mar 64 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
Emin Askerov
Feb 282 min read
🐝 Bees Against Honey: Should Climate Startups Exit to Big Oil?🍯
Do acquisitions of climate tech startups by Big Oil help or hinder energy transition?
Emin Askerov
Feb 172 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
Emin Askerov
Feb 138 min read
🔋 Battery Startups, Let’s Get to the Point!
Battery startup descriptions don't make sense!
Emin Askerov
Feb 72 min read
Stationary Energy Storage: Which Business Models Will See Most Growth?
The stationary energy storage market tripled in 2023. But with the sector maturing fast, not every corner is ripe for VC-backed disruption
Emin Askerov
Feb 63 min read
How Big Should Your FOAK Be?
A 3-step framework for scaling-up to FOAK
Emin Askerov
Jan 271 min read
FOAK Scale-Up Case - A Must-Listen for Climatetech Founders
De-icing a frozen water tower in the middle of nowhere is not on anyone’s job description. However, this is a reality that you can come...
Emin Askerov
Jan 202 min read
🔥VC Climate Tech Funding Down Again—What Now? 🔥
Venture investors watch the world burn and seek refuge in virtual worlds
Emin Askerov
Jan 161 min read
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