In this episode I’m Joined by Mike Nakrani, CEO of VEV. Mike is an OG in the electrification of transport, and that’s ignoring the milk float joyride! We talk about the challenges, opportunities and many converging technologies and factors that impact fleet electrification.

There are of course many examples now that light and heavy-duty electric fleets are here and scaling. Grid connections aside, the biggest challenges is to demonstrate and achieve better TCO and true commercial viability. As Mike said during our conversation, “Electrification only works when it works commercially.”. We also talk about how having worked in behemoths like Ford and BP have been a positive rather than a negative as he leads a nimble start-up, taking the good and the bad, and how he sees and leads innovation at speed.

We talked through:

• The new economics of fleet electrification
• What genuinely drives ROI
• Why scaling is very different from running a pilot
• Financing models and infrastructure ownership
• The role of software and optimisation
• And what kind of leadership this next phase requires

It’s a thoughtful conversation about what it really takes to move from ambition to operational reality, from pilots to scale.

I hope you enjoy it.

Mike Nakrani:

With more than two decades of experience spanning automotive OEMs, mobility services and energy transition, Mike Nakrani is steering VEV’s mission to support commercial fleets in moving to electric power.

He stands at the intersection of automotive, mobility services and the energy transition – three sectors converging rapidly. Through his role at VEV, he represents how commercial fleet electrification must be executed at scale: not just with EVs, but with systems, infrastructure and business models that work. His leadership offers insight into how fleets can drive real-world decarbonisation.

Nakrani promotes a pragmatic, ‘technology-neutral’ view of fleet decarbonisation – emphasising the transitional role that fuels such as HVO have to play, while reinforcing the scale and operational efficiency electrification delivers in the long term, delivering the most compelling business case for organisations needing to decarbonise.

About VEV:

VEV helps organisations deliver on their carbon reduction ambitions with an end-to-end fleet electrification solution that integrates across vehicle

About Hyperion Search:

At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results.

• Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd
• Website: www.hyperionsearch.com

Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribe

I'm very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the podcast Linked In page.

If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/

Also follow the podcast and to stay up to date.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-clean...

In this episode, I’m joined by Johannes Kirnberger, co-founder and Managing Director of Delta Charge, a Swedish-German company building Europe’s next-generation charging and battery infrastructure for electric freight. Johannes shares his journey from advising global institutions like the OECD and World Bank to co-founding a startup that's tackling one of Europe’s most complex infrastructure challenges—how to electrify heavy-duty transport at scale.

Johannes Kirnberger is the co-founder and managing director of Delta Charge, a Swedish-German energy company pioneering integrated charging and battery storage solutions for European industry and electric fleet. He previously advised the OECD, the World Bank and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on energy, digital, and climate policy. Johannes serves as a guest lecturer at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from ESCP Business School, a Master of International Public Management from Sciences Po, and a Master in International Affairs, Energy and Environment from Columbia University.

About Delta Charge:
Headquartered in Munich, Delta Charge is a Swedish-German energy infrastructure company pioneering end-to-end charging and battery storage solutions for Europe’s freight sector. The company develops and finances a pan-European network of truck-charging depots and battery-enabled industrial hubs. Its platform combines intelligent software, grid-connected batteries, and fixed-price charging services to help fleet operators electrify their operations while supporting a more flexible and resilient power grid. Backed by Delta Capacity, one of Scandinavia’s leading battery energy storage developers, the company aims to deploy over €300 million in infrastructure and deliver 1.8 TWh of clean energy annually by 2030, anchoring the backbone of Europe’s zero-carbon freight future.

Social links:
Johannes Kirnberger LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanneskirnberger/
Delta Charge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deltacharge/
Delta Charge website: https://www.deltacharge.com/

Episode Links:
Book Recommends:
Termination Shock- Neil Stephenson - https://amzn.eu/d/1XmpfDC
About Hyperion Search:
At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit str

About Hyperion Search:

At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results.

• Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd
• Website: www.hyperionsearch.com

Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribe

I'm very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the podcast Linked In page.

If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/

Also follow the podcast and to stay up to date.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-clean...

In this episode, David Hunt discusses the key insights from the Hyperion Q4 Market and Talent Review, highlighting the significant shifts in the cleantech sector during 2025. The conversation covers the maturation of the industry, the focus on execution over exuberance, and the evolving demands for leadership and talent across various sectors, including energy storage, EVs, and renewables. The episode also touches on the challenges faced by hard tech and the implications for the future as the market prepares for 2026.

Takeaways

• 2025 was a year of maturity in cleantech.
• The focus has shifted from technology to execution.
• Nearly 50% fewer companies reached seed to Series A rounds.
• Talent demand is focused on operational discipline and execution.
• AI-driven optimization is becoming crucial in mobility.
• Solar has overtaken coal as the EU's largest electricity source.
• The pilot to readiness gap in hard tech is widening.
• Boards need to be operator-led for effective scaling.
• Talent markets are becoming more selective with higher expectations.
• The next phase of the transition is about delivery, not invention.
• Navigating the Cleantech Landscape: Insights from Hyperion
• 2025: The Year Cleantech Matures

Sound Bites

• "The pilot to readiness gap is widening."
• "Boards need operators, not just advisors."
• "AI becomes invisible infrastructure."

Chapters

00:00Introduction to the Hyperion Q4 Review

01:212025: A Year of Maturity in Cleantech

03:20Energy Storage and Grid Market Insights

05:09EV and Future Mobility Developments

07:01Renewables: Milestones and Talent Trends

08:35Challenges in Hard Tech and Funding

09:55Looking Ahead: Key Themes for 2026

Links

• Hyperion Q4 Market and Talent Review - https://hyperionsearch.com/market-reviews/
• Net Zero Insights -State of Cleantech 2025 - https://stateofclimatetech.com/

About Hyperion Search:

At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results.

• Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd
• Website: www.hyperionsearch.com

Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribe

I'm very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the podcast Linked In page.

If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunt-cleantech/

Also follow the podcast and to stay up to date.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-clean...