Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based Founder operating in the Clean Energy space. If you think a Founder is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Mahesh Kolli
Founder, President, and Joint Managing Director of Greenko Group
Greenko is the largest renewable energy company in India with over $6 billion in investments and operating 5000MW of energy assets across 15 states in thecountry. Mahesh Kolli, a young & dynamic first-generation serial entrepreneur. After graduating in Mechanical Engineering, he has successfully founded and developed multiple businesses in Information Technology, Environmental Technologies, Clean Energy and Urban Infrastructure sectors over the last decade. His entrepreneurial journey started with an environmental solutions company focused on technology transfer from developed markets to India. Mahesh believes in creating infrastructure that has a lasting social impact while contributing to the growing demands of India as a nation and has always strived to contribute to the growth of the country thorough establishing suchbusinesses. Mahesh made his mark in the Indian Energy Sector by co-founding Greenko Group, a focused clean energy company along with Mr. Anil Chalamalasetty in 2006. Greenko is India’s leading Integrated Power Player & is replacing fossil fuel dependency with digitized, decentralized & decarbonized energy solutions. Mahesh is a keen participant and panelist in various investor forums and interacts with regulatory authorities and policy makers to ensure the development of the clean energy sector in India. In Feb 2019 the CEO club India awarded Mahesh with the “Unicorn Award ” for Greenko, for its exponential growth in ten years of operation to become the largest clean energy company operating in India . Outside of work, Mahesh stays in close touch with his roots and contributes towards the development of skilled individuals who can play a constructive role in India’s future.
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About Greenko Group: Greenko Group is a renewable energy company, replacing fossil fuels with integrated decarbonized energy and grid assets.
Joanna Hubbard
Co-Founder and CEO of Electron
Jo-Jo Hubbard is the co-founder and COO of Electron, one of the original energy tech firms to harness blockchain technology for transactive grid systems. She is a thought leader on the topic of digital energy and a frequent keynote speaker at energy and technology events. Her previous experience includes renewable energy investment banking, cleantech VC, and strategy consulting at McKinsey & Co. Jo-Jo sits on advisory boards for several UK utilities on digital transformation and community trading models and writes for international publications on these topics.
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About Electron: Electron is accelerating the energy industry’s transition to Net Zero by making granular, market-based interactions possible.
Paul Ellis
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Electron
Paul Ellis is co-founder and CEO at Electron, a new platform focusing on reinventing the retail energy market in the UK using the Ethereum blockchain. Prior to Electron, Paul spent 13 years in Investment Banking. He founded a development business and fin tech incubator. He then created and ran an electronic trading platform for credit derivatives for a number of years.
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About Electron: Electron is accelerating the energy industry’s transition to Net Zero by making granular, market-based interactions possible.
Bashar Aboudaoud
Co-Founder and CSO of Brinc
Bashar is an entrepreneur that has established several businesses in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and London. From 2002-2009 he co-founded Ecico Group’s Hong Kong procurement business and established major clients in Europe and the Middle East. In 2005 he founded Cicero Capital that invested in prime real estate in Guangzhou and London. Cicero Capital built up an investment portfolio of high end residential and commercial properties in Guangzhou that caters to foreign multinationals and local state owned enterprises requirements. Bashar also entered the F&B business in 2008 and opened his first restaurant in Guangzhou.
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About Brinc, Brinc Accelerator of Accelerators: Brinc is a leader in global venture acceleration, operating 18 multidisciplinary accelerator programs in 7 countries.
Lorenzo Simonelli
Founder, Chairman & CEO of Baker Hughes
Lorenzo Simonelli is President & CEO of GE Oil & Gas, an advanced technology equipment and services company that serves all segments of the oil and gas industry from extraction to transportation to end use. The business employs 43,000 people around the world. Before joining GE Oil & Gas, Lorenzo was President and CEO of GE Transportation, a global transportation leader in the rail, mining, marine and energy storage industries. During his five-year tenure, he expanded and diversified GE Transportation by focusing on advanced technology manufacturing, intelligent control systems, and a diverse approach to new propulsion solutions to solve the world’s toughest transportation challenges. Lorenzo has also served as CFO Americas for GE Consumer & Industrial, as well as General Manager, Product Management for GE Appliances, Lighting, Electrical Distribution and Motors. He joined GE’s Financial Management Program in 1994, where he worked on assignments in GE International, GE Shared Services, GE Oil & Gas and Consolidated Financial Insurance. Originally from Florence, Italy, Lorenzo is is a Business & Economics Graduate from Cardiff University in South Wales.
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About Baker Hughes: Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides solutions for energy and industrial customers worldwide.
Duncan Grierson
CEO and Founder of Clim8 Invest
Duncan Grierson is a Entrepreneur with VC experience in Paris, London, Silicon Valley & Chicago. He is a Founder CEO of 2 ventures backed by over £50m from likes of Goldman Sachs, Fidelity et al.
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About Clim8 Invest, Lirica, Moixa Energy Holdings: Clim8 Invest provides an app that allows individuals to invest in industries that work towards fighting climate change.
Mauro Pasta
Co-Founder of Cuberg
Co-Founder of Cuberg.
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About University of Oxford: Cuberg is a company delivering lithium metal cells produced on existing lithium-ion manufacturing lines for electromobility solutions.
Inty Grønneberg
CEO and Founder of Ichthion
Inty is a co-founder of Ichthion and Ph.D. researcher at Imperial College London. He is a designer, maker, and entrepreneur interested in Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (IEEs), with a special focus on clusters of hardware and tangible technologies. Inty has a strong industrial background, as a result of his work with several companies in South America, Asia and Europe since 2007. He has also been involved as a co-founder in other initiatives, such as EvoT, Fusehunt, PHD Network and SOSEcuador. In the industrial sector, he worked in several senior roles, such as Manufacturing Operations Manager, Senior Specialist Manufacturing Engineer, among others. He was certified instructor of process improvement techniques for Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors.
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About Ichthion: Ichthion engaged in Development of cutting-edge technology to restore the ocean environment.
Sandra Sassow
Founder & CEO of SEaB Energy
Sandra Sassow is Founder & CEO at SEaB Energy.
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About SEaB Energy, SEAB Energy Inc, Unreasonable: SEaB Energy has patented a micro anaerobic digestion system for onsite and in-building conversion of organics to energy, water, & fertiliser
Antonio Cianci
Co-Founder & CEO of Airlite
Antonio Cianci is co-founder and CEO at Airlite® / AM Technology Ltd.
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About Airlite, Kauffman Fellows: Airlite is a Bozen, Italy-based company that produces natural high performance paints.
Arun Jayadev
Co Founder & Director of Airlite
Arun Renuka Jayadev is strengthening the cleantech team since November 2008. As a Principal, his primary task is to source and evaluate new deals and to support the current cleantech portfolio. An Indian native, Arun has exclusively focused on the cleantech industry in the last years. He has worked for Spanish S.I. Capital, a private equity firm investing in renewable energies, where he conducted extensive research on cleantech investments. Prior to this he has worked for a start up electric motorcycle company and also served as an advisor to an Australian Waste to Energy company. He has helped organize five clean technology forums across the world, e.g. the first industry-specific seminar in Spain, which brought together start-up companies, VCs and executives for the first time. Arun started his career as a consultant with Computer Associates on projects in India, the U.S. and various other locations. There, he has managed teams of up to 16 people. Arun holds a MBA from IESE Business School, Barcelona in 2008, where he took also the opportunity to study one term at UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles. In 2003, he finished a BE with a focus on computer science with distinction at the Rashtriya Vidhyalaya College of Engineering, Bangalore.
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About Airlite: Airlite is a Bozen, Italy-based company that produces natural high performance paints.
Massimo Bernardoni
Co-Founder & Director of Airlite
Massimo Bernardoni is co-founder and director at Airlite® / AM Technology Ltd.
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About Airlite: Airlite is a Bozen, Italy-based company that produces natural high performance paints.
Glyn Cotton
Co-Founder of WATR
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About WATR: WATR develops a water monitor that is self-powered, portable, easy to install, with a live data dashboard and notification alerts.
Scott Porter
Co Founder and CTO of WATR
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About WATR: WATR develops a water monitor that is self-powered, portable, easy to install, with a live data dashboard and notification alerts.
Lawrence vK-B
Co-Founder of Q2i Group
An experienced entrepreneur and listed Board member in Tech, Finance Services, Telecoms and Clean Energy sectors. Skills – Strategy, marketing, technology and management domains with real experience in building, funding and consolidating businesses Execution rather than talking – Block Chain, Fintech, Innovation and Value Creation
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About Q2i Group, THE WORLD BANK: Blockchain Interoperability – Complex Transactions Monetised – Blockchain Agnostic Platform – Q2iD – ID Control – Q2iPay
Phil Gower
Director and Co-Founder of Q2i Group
A senior technology leader and development manager, experienced from greenfield to enterprise. He has formerly worked at State Street as Development Manager and Head of Strategic Technology
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About Blue Spear Software, Q2i Group: Blockchain Interoperability – Complex Transactions Monetised – Blockchain Agnostic Platform – Q2iD – ID Control – Q2iPay
Mark Standish
Director and Co-Founder of Q2i Group
Senior business and technology executive and investor in the financial and asset management industry. Former COO of Egerton Capital, founder of a hedge fund consulting firm and former professional services manager at Advent Software
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About Q2i Group: Blockchain Interoperability – Complex Transactions Monetised – Blockchain Agnostic Platform – Q2iD – ID Control – Q2iPay
Tom Lipinski
Founder & Technical Director of Ventive
Founder of the company, Tom is an exceptional visionary and inventor. He is highly regarded in the sustainable construction sector, with his achievements recognized by more than 20 prestigious industry awards. Tom, a firm believer in Better by Design, is constantly proving his ability within the built environment. You can often find Tom locked away in the test facility, playing with his sensors.
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About Q-Bot, Ventive: Ventive creates healthy internal environments. Pioneers of Passive Ventilation with Heat Recovery
Tom Mason
Co-Founder and CEO of Bramble Energy
Tom has led the engineering and manufacturing development of the PCBFC since 2013. He was involved in the development of the PCBFC whilst working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at UCL. With initial proof of concept shown, Tom was appointed as the technical lead of an InnovateUK funded manufacturing project (101979). As a co-founder of Bramble Energy Tom joined the company as a director and Chief Technology Officer when the company spun-out of the universities in late 2016 before moving to the role of CEO in September 2017. With close to 10 years of electrochemistry experience, Tom is the foremost authority on all things PCBFC. Tom’s appointment to the role of CEO brings a fresh approach to leading the Bramble Energy team.
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About Bramble Energy: Bramble Energy is an innovator energy technology company that designs and manufactures high-performance, low-cost, and fuel cell stack
Dan Mauger
CIO & Co-Founder of Demand Logic
Dan is an experienced developer of enterprise information and ecommerce systems and has an MSc in Information Systems from City University for which he won a departmental award. Dan leads on the development of Demand Logic’s core software, from the underlying data management engines to the front-end web application.
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About Demand Logic: Demand Logic is an online energy efficiency system that analyzes data from building management systems.
Joe Short
Chief Scientist & Co-Founder of Demand Logic
Joe is a clean-tech innovator and advocate who has worked for over 25 years in the sustainability sector, both in campaign organisations and start-ups. He has a degree in physics/philosophy from York University, trained in journalism at Reuters, has an MSc in renewable energy technology and a masters in sustainable development. Before co-founding Demand Logic, he successfully promoted demand response in policy and Parliament. At Demand Logic he leads on innovation, science and machine learning, as well as working on design, communications and development.
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About Demand Logic: Demand Logic is an online energy efficiency system that analyzes data from building management systems.
Gilbert Lennox-King
CEO & Co-Founder of Demand Logic
Mike is a leading expert in building services engineering, and has worked in the field for over 20 years. He has designed and delivered controls systems for multi-million pound installations, including for major banks, covering business-critical systems. Mike leads all our engineering and energy efficiency work and provides consultancy support for clients.
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About Demand Logic: Demand Logic is an online energy efficiency system that analyzes data from building management systems.
