About our Guest

Chris is a commercial Energy and Mobility lawyer, with nearly 20 years' experience in the sustainability sphere. With specialist knowledge of battery storage, solar, EV infrastructure and wind, Chris regularly advises funders, asset owners, developers and contractors on renewable energy projects and the trading and procurement of renewable power. From PPAs and optimisation agreements to commercial frameworks for energy and EV developments, Chris has worked on some of the most exciting UK and international energy and mobility developments.

Chris also takes an active role in the development of energy policy, and was a steering group member of the Government's Energy Data Task Force as well as chairing the Electricity Storage Networks Markets and Revenues Group.

He was also included in The Lawyer's HOT 100 for his pioneering work in battery storage and EV Charging.

About Shoosmiths:

Shoosmiths works with developers, investors, and funders across clean energy and infrastructure; from onshore wind and solar to energy storage, hydrogen, and PPAs.

The energy transition is creating both opportunity and complexity. New technologies and data are opening up better ways to build and operate assets, but navigating regulation, risk, and investor expectations isn’t straightforward.

What stands out is a pragmatic approach. Not just spotting issues, but helping clients decide where to push forward and where to be cautious.

The team brings deep sector experience and advises across the full lifecycle of projects; supporting everything from development and construction through to financing and long-term operation, both in the UK and internationally.

Connect with Chris Pritchett and Shoosmiths

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pritchett-66553511/
• Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shoosmiths/
• Website: https://www.shoosmiths.com/sectors/energy-and-infrastructure/clean-energy-development

About the Host

David Hunt

David Hunt is a cleantech thought leader, podcast host, and former executive search and solar EPC founder. As Non-Executive Chair and a long-time advisor to growth-stage and scaling businesses, he brings deep insight into leadership, energy transition, and the future of climate-focused industries. David supports businesse as a NED and Advisor via Stoa Advisory, and through his podcast and writing, David explores the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a more sustainable world.

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

Substack: https://davidhuntcleantech.substack.com/

About the Podcast

Leaders in Cleantech explores the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the energy transition. Through in-depth conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and industry leaders, the podcast focuses on leadership, scaling companies, and the realities of building in a complex and rapidly evolving sector.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/
• Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/

🎧 Sponsored by Hyperion Search

Hyperion Search is a specialist executive search firm focused on the cleantech sector.

The firm partners with startups, scaleups, investors, and corporates to build leadership team

About our Guest

Dr. Pete Armstrong:

Dr.Pete Armstrong is the CEO/CTO and co-founder of Mixergy, a smart hot water technology company reshaping how we heat and store energy. After completing his PhD on intelligent hot water systems at Oxford University with co-founder Ren Kang, Pete helped pioneer Mixergy’s technology that makes hot water smart and a connected energy asset. Today, Mixergy leads the shift to smart, connected hot water systems across social housing, new build and commercial developments, setting a new standard for the industry.

About Mixergy:

Mixergy transforms hot water from a passive utility into an intelligent, connected energy asset. By placing hot water at the heart of energy management, we help create smarter homes, more efficient buildings, and a more flexible grid. This lowers bills, improves comfort, and enable greater use of renewables.

Our patented technologies power an intelligent operating system built into next-generation hot water storage for new build, social housing and commercial buildings. This system gives users and providers greater control over energy use, enables seamless grid connectivity, and optimises performance, without compromising on comfort.

Connect with Pete Armstrong and Mixergy

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-armstrong-45039136/
• Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mixergy-ltd/about/
• Website: https://www.mixergy.co.uk/

About the Host

David Hunt

David Hunt is a cleantech thought leader, podcast host, and former executive search and solar EPC founder. As Non-Executive Chair and a long-time advisor to growth-stage and scaling businesses, he brings deep insight into leadership, energy transition, and the future of climate-focused industries. David supports businesse as a NED and Advisor via Stoa Advisory, and through his podcast and writing, David explores the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a more sustainable world.

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

About the Podcast

Leaders in Cleantech explores the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the energy transition. Through in-depth conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and industry leaders, the podcast focuses on leadership, scaling companies, and the realities of building in a complex and rapidly evolving sector.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leaders-in-cleantech-podcast/
• Website: https://leadersincleantech.com/

🎧 Sponsored by Hyperion Search

Hyperion Search is a specialist executive search firm focused on the cleantech sector.

The firm partners with startups, scaleups, investors, and corporates to build leadership teams and boards across clean energy, mobility, and infrastructure.

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

Feedback & Community

I’m always keen to hear feedback, guest suggestions, or topics you’d like explored in future episodes.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider subscribing or leaving a review — it helps the show reach more people across the cleantech community.

Philipp Man – terralayr

In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I’m joined by Philipp Man, co-founder and CEO of terralayr, a company building a new kind of energy infrastructure platform focused on flexibility and battery storage. Philipp shares his journey from commodities and entrepreneurship into the energy sector, and the insight that led to terralayr: the growing flexibility gap in power systems as renewable generation scales.

As he puts it:

“We wanted to build something akin to the AWS for power.”

terralayr combines battery asset development with a software platform that virtualises and commercialises storage capacity, enabling customers to access flexibility without owning and operating assets themselves. The conversation explores how this model sits at the intersection of infrastructure and technology — and why that distinction may become less relevant as energy systems evolve.

We also discuss the state of the European storage market. Despite the growing focus on batteries, Philipp is clear that we are still early:

“We’re really just at the beginning… you need to grow over 10x in the next four years.”

From there, we move into some of the real-world constraints holding the sector back — particularly grid access and bureaucracy, and what needs to change to accelerate deployment.

The discussion also touches on broader themes shaping the energy transition, including:

• The role of battery storage in enabling renewable integration
• Why flexibility is becoming a critical part of the energy system
• The shift from asset ownership to access and platform models
• The impact of geopolitics and energy security on policy direction
• The need to reframe the transition around energy sovereignty and abundance

On the talent side, Philipp shares a disciplined approach to building teams, with a strong emphasis on hiring quality over speed and creating a culture where high performers set the standard:

“The most important thing you can control is who comes through the door.”

He also reflects on the realities of building a company in this space, from landmark commercial deals and fundraising milestones to the operational challenges that come with scaling infrastructure.

Finally, we discuss leadership, resilience, and the importance of mindset, seeing challenges not as problems, but as opportunities to build capability and long-term advantage.

Philipp Man:

Philipp Man is co-founder and CEO of terralayr, an energy flexibility company founded in late 2022. Prior to terralayr, Philipp founded and ran CHRONEXT, a leading online marketplace for luxury watches, which he sold in early 2023 to focus on terralayr. Philipp started his career at Glencore in the middle distillates division and within BCG’s Energy Practice. Born in Cologne, he studied in the UK at King's College and the University of Cambridge and lives in Switzerland.

About terralayr:

terralayr provides energy flexibility services on demand. terralayr is a fully integrated energy flexibility provider, aggregating its own and third-party battery storage assets through a cloud-like aggregation platform. Customers such as power producers, traders, grid operators, and energy-intensive businesses gain access to flexibility without having to own or operate assets themselves. Asset owners tap into top-tier flexibility off-takers, can optimise their revenue mix between merchant and contracted revenues, and benefit from a streamlined asset infrastructure setup. terralayr develops and operates its own battery storage portfolio, with multiple assets currently live in Germany, several more under construction, and a multi-GW pipeline in development.

Social links:

• Philipp Manon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippman/
• ter

In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I’m joined by Adrien Pinsard, CEO of Telis Energy, a Carlyle-backed renewable energy platform targeting a 10GW development pipeline across Europe by 2030.

Adrien reflects on nearly two decades in the renewables sector, moving from private equity investor to platform builder and entrepreneur. Before launching Telis in 2022, Adrien spent 14 years investing in renewable projects at Platina Energy Partners and later served as Interim CEO of Macquarie’s 11GW European solar developer, Cero Generation.

We discuss the thinking behind Telis’ decentralised development model, with dedicated local teams operating across the UK, France, Germany and Italy, and how that structure helps navigate the realities of developing infrastructure in different markets. As Adrien explains:

“To be a successful developer, you need a very strong local presence. You have to understand communities and the local market.”

The conversation also explores how the European renewables landscape is evolving. Adrien highlights two key shifts in recent years: the growing saturation of solar in some markets, and the rapidly increasing role of battery storage, driven by falling costs and rising power market volatility.

We also discuss broader themes shaping the next phase of the energy transition, including:

• The changing economics of renewable development
• Why batteries and hybrid energy hubs are becoming central to projects
• How grid constraints are shaping development strategy
• The importance of capital discipline in a tougher investment environment
• The impact of geopolitical volatility on energy security and renewable deployment

Looking ahead, Adrien sees renewables playing an increasingly important role in Europe’s energy resilience:

“Renewables are very well placed to provide energy security. Once the assets are in the ground, they’re homegrown.”

Finally, Adrien reflects on the entrepreneurial journey of building a platform from scratch, and the importance of trust and culture when building teams across multiple markets.

Adrien Pinsard:

Adrien Pinsard has a 17-year track record of renewable energy investment and development.

Prior to founding Telis, Adrien was Interim CEO of the Macquarie Group 11GW European solar energy developer, Cero Generation. Adrien spent 14 years at Platina Energy Partners, led the energy team as a partner and deployed €1bn in renewables

About Telis:

Telis seeks to play a significant role in the European energy transition targeting a 10GW renewable energy pipeline by 2030 delivered through subsidiaries across Europe’s key markets. Backed by The Carlyle Group, Telis couples the scale and synergy of an international platform with an emphasis on local knowledge and networks, sector expertise and an entrepreneurial mindset to capture emerging opportunities across the green energy segments.

Social links:

• Adrien Pinsardon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrien-pinsard-5b77471a/
• Telis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/telis-energy1/
• Telis website: https://telisenergy.com/

Episode Links:

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership - Patrick M. Lencioni

https://amzn.eu/d/0dyAuxb9

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 grow

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 vehicles, charging infrastructure and power. VEV is owned by Vitol, a world leader in energy, which to date has committed circa $2 billion to sustainable energy initiatives worldwide.

VEV navigates the complexities of EV transformation to design and implement cost-effective EV fleets optimised for specific fleet requirements. It supports EV fleet operations to guarantee resilience and keep mission-critical fleets running at scale. Bespoke, scalable business solutions are designed around the customer’s own fleet data analysed by a powerful assessment tool, VEV-IQ, and VEV’s experts in energy and sustainable e-mobility. VEV sets businesses up for success in an electrified future.

Social links:

Mike Nakrani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-nakrani-28400012/
VEV on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vev-services/
VEV website: https://www.vev.com/

Episode Links:

From Good to Great- Jim Collins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_to_Great

Benjamin Graham- The intelligent investor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligent_Investor

About Hyperion Search:

At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership

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 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.

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/

Devrim Celal– Kraken

In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, David Hunt is joined once again by Devrim Celal, Chief Flexibility & Marketing Officer at Kraken, nearly six years after their first conversation in 2019—back when Devrim was CEO of Upside Energy.

Since then, Upside Energy was acquired by Octopus Energy and evolved into Kraken, now one of the world’s leading energy technology platforms, serving tens of millions of customers and optimising flexible power at global scale.

Rather than a linear success story, Devrim reflects on the last decade as a series of distinct phases: early uncertainty, pivotal strategic pivots, the acquisition decision, rapid scaling within Octopus, and now Kraken’s transition into a fully independent global company.

The conversation explores leadership at scale, the reality of building culture through growth, the trade-offs founders face between conviction and adaptability, and what the future holds for flexibility, storage, EVs, data centres and grid optimisation.

This is a thoughtful, honest discussion about long-term impact, not short-term hype—and what it really takes to build enduring companies in the energy transition.

Devrim Celal:
Devrim is the Chief Flexibility and Marketing Officer at Kraken. Overseeing Kraken’s flexibility and product capabilities, the cloud-based flexibility platform controls and optimizes distributed energy resources such as batteries of all sizes, EVs, solar and wind generation or heat pumps with machine learning and AI to match electricity supply and demand, helping the electricity grid deal with the natural volatility of renewable generation. Kraken is currently contracted to manage over 42 GW of power.

Previously, Devrim was the CEO of Upside Energy, which was acquired by Kraken in 2020. Before starting Upside Energy, Devrim’s professional career saw him take up executive roles with blue chip management consultancies and finance companies such as Publicis Sapient, Kearney and Lansdowne. He also holds an MBA from Yale University. In 2023, Devrim joined the Elexon Board, which manages the Balancing and Settlement Code of Great Britain’s energy system, as a Non-Executive Director.

About Kraken:
Vienna-based innovator enspired is known for pioneering automated energy trading and Kraken is the most-loved operating system for energy.

Powered by Utility-Grade AI™ and deep industry expertise, we help utilities modernize their entire operations – from their customers relationships and billing to generation, through to optimising when your EV or heating and cooling at home uses energy.

Kraken uses this powerful technology to analyse more than 15 billion data points a day, coordinating across the whole energy system to bring down costs, revolutionise customer service, and make energy more reliable, efficient and resilient.

Kraken has grown in just a few years to manage over 70 million customer accounts, quadrupling our contracted revenue in the last three years, to $500m.

The technology is proven across major global utilities in 30 countries, bringing down cost-to-serve by 40%, delivering best-in-class customer service and employee satisfaction at utilities – three of the UK’s top ten best employers amongst big companies run on Kraken.

And we manage the largest virtual power plant of residential assets in the world, over 2.5GW, enough to power a city of around 3 million people.

Created as part of the Octopus Energy Group in 2016, Kraken has been operationally independent for some time and officially announced its separation from its parent company in September this year. This strategic move allows Kraken to fast-track investments into its technology, expand into new energy markets and regions, and drive innovation – all while building on its utility roots.

Social links:

• Devrim Celal on LinkedIn: