I moderated the panel where we spotlighted two founders who are redefining what it takes to champion the energy transition.
- Chris Graves s (Co-Founder & CEO, Noon Energy ) — raised ~$31M in equity (Seed + Series A) and secured an additional $10M+ in non-dilutive grants from NSF, ARPA-E, and the California Energy Commission to advance carbon–oxygen long-duration storage.
- Marian Bocek (Co-Founder & CEO, InoBat ) — raised ~€210M for InoBat, including €160M in equity (Series A–C) and ~€50M in non-dilutive grants. In parallel, secured an additional €214M commitment for a joint venture EV gigafactory with Gotion. Now opening €200m Series D to scale up operations and accelerate growth in ESS, critical infrastructure, and e-mobility.
The discussion revealed that success in climate tech demands more than breakthrough technology — it requires resilient teams, strong fundamentals, and trusted partnerships.
Founder priorities
- No time to waste: rather than pitching widely, founders should seek a fast match and authentic alignment with investors who truly care and are committed to adding value as long-term partners.
- Resilient leadership – building a high-quality founding and management team that can adapt under stress is the key succes
- Profit focus – prove real customer demand and profitable, scalable unit economics before painting the big vision.
We discussed capital flow trends in energy transition at the Investors Panel.
Thank you Ely Sandler (Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education) for modereting the panel, featuring Morris DeFeo o (Herrick, Feinstein LLP), Christine Weydig (Tiger Infrastructure Partners), and Stephen Meyer (IGC Fund).
Investor priorities:
- Proven unit economics – show profitability at small scale with a clear path to scale, backed by hands-on human capital and optimized financing structures (project/debt).
- Market alignment – focus on strong demand signals such as hyperscaler load growth, grid-enhancing technologies, and circular economy/waste-to-value solutions.
- Geopolitical and policy resilience – structure deals to withstand tariffs, policy swings, and supply chain risks by favoring local production, diversified sourcing, and markets with strong regulatory support.
