Submitted by I. McKeever on Mon, 21/07/2025 - 16:55
On 18 July, the Canopy at CISL and Full Vision Capital convened global leaders in Cambridge for the Energy Innovation Forum 2025; a day dedicated to one of the most urgent and promising frontiers in the net zero transition: clean energy innovation.
"Our planet is at a critical juncture. Experts believe there is a high probability global warming will surpass the watershed of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels within the next five years. But we are here today because of a shared conviction that our Earth is not doomed. We believe in the power of innovation and human ingenuity to bring us back from the brink of catastrophe.", said Dr Peter Lee, Principal of Full Vision Capital, in his opening remarks.
“Cambridge is a vital centre for ideas and technology, powering UK tech growth and innovation. It’s the perfect hub for conversations around deep-tech solutions for a sustainable energy future. The world needs to phase out fossil fuels, and this shift presents an immense opportunity to align business, finance, and government to accelerate action.”, said James Cole, Chief Innovation Officer, CISL.
A global platform for clean energy action
With over 120 participants from the UK, US, EU, China, and Hong Kong, the forum provided a global platform for collaboration among entrepreneurs, corporates, researchers, and investors, all united by the mission to scale breakthrough clean technologies.
Jie Zhou, Head of International Innovation at CISL, commented on this collaboration: “It’s inspiring to see such a global turnout—over 120 investors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and corporates joined, with 20 expert speakers and more than 30 deep-tech energy solutions on display. From batteries to biofuels, storage to SAFs, the breadth of innovation was remarkable.”
Scaling solutions at speed
The day opened with a keynote by Sai Shivareddy, CEO of battery innovation company Nyobolt, who, since founding Nyobolt in 2015, has raised of $100m in capital to enable a new paradigm in energy storage and rapid charging. “We needed a new type of energy storage system to sustain a power-hungry world” said Shivareddy.
Sai was followed by Matti Lievonen, CEO of EcoCeres, whose pioneering Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) platform already holds 20% of the global market and who shared his experience in driving innovation and industry leadership when encouraging the adoption of biomass-based biofuels and bioproducts: “Innovators: Be bold, be grounded, scale your teams. Investors: Have a long-term horizon to help people. Industry leaders: Navigate complexity, listen to innovators, and think about your communities.”
From lab to unicorn
The first panel explored how startups move “from lab to unicorn,” moderated by CISL’s James Cole. Panellists from EnerVenue, Octopus Energy Climate Ventures, and EcoCeres shared hard-earned lessons from their journeys, focusing on commercialising deep-tech solutions, building partnerships, and overcoming scale-up barriers.
Key Takeaways:
- Deeply understand your market and the problem you're solving.
- Surround yourself with a team that believes in the mission.
- Leverage innovation ecosystems—universities and accelerators are critical launchpads.
- Invest in trust, relationships, and collaboration just as much as the tech itself.
Unlocking capital for clean energy ventures
In the second panel, senior investors from Kerogen Capital (delivering CelerateX), DexMat, InvestHK, and Cambridge Enterprise discussed how early-stage ventures can access capital and unlock scale.
A clear takeaway: Technical validation is vital, but so is building trust, demonstrating real-world traction, and showcasing ‘investability’ from day one.
“Understand the funding landscape. Know the players, the stages of funding, and what each investor looks for. If you're unsure, VCs can be powerful educators for first-time founders.”, said Mahesh Santiapillai, Investment Manager, Cambridge Enterprise
Jason Cheng, CEO & Founder, Kerogen Capital (CelerateX) added: “Investors want minimum risk and maximum impact: demonstrate adaptability to policy, broad customer appeal, and potential for income generation.”
Innovation showcase: Startups driving change
Ten startups from across the UK, Europe, the US, and Asia presented pioneering technologies aimed at accelerating the clean energy transition:
| Scaling Renewable Energy Generation | Gazelle Wind Power (Ireland) | Next-generation floating offshore wind technology |
| Huntanbio (UK) | Scalable, low-carbon diesel replacement for transport | |
| HKTech Solar Limited (China/HK) | Offering innovative organic photovoltaics (OPV) solutions for solar power assets | |
| Advanced Energy Storage & Efficiency | Feon Energy (US) | Safer, lighter, low-cost lithium battery electrolytes |
| i2Cool (HK) | Electricity-free cooling technology | |
| Luquos Energy (HK) | Safe, low-cost batteries bridging the gap between renewable resources and the constant demands of energy | |
| Barocal (UK) | Eco-friendly, efficient cooling systems | |
| Smart Energy Management & Decarbonisation | Decent Energy (UK, Canopy member) | Rethinking how energy is generated, shared, and consumed |
| Orange Power (UK, CISL Accelerator alumni) | Coordinates and aggregates energy savings across thousands of households | |
| Neutreeno (UK, Canopy member) | Advanced emissions data and supply chain decarbonisation |
“We really enjoyed attending the Energy Innovation Forum.”, said Tom Cox, CEO and Founder of Decent Energy. “Alongside the exposure to investors like Full Vision Capital, one of the most valuable aspects was connecting with other innovative startups. We had some genuinely insightful conversations about the challenges and opportunities in our respective markets and we're excited about how these discussions might evolve into collaborations that help bring some of these brilliant solutions into the UK and European energy landscape.”
Innovation starts with the problem
The event concluded with a keynote from Professor Yi Cui, Director of the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator, reminding the audience of the global stakes and the opportunity to lead with science, speed and scale.
“We need to flip the way we think. Don’t start by building something in a lab and then trying to grow that into a unicorn. Start by identifying an urgent problem that you feel passionate about, then build a solution in the lab with scaling in mind.”, said Professor Cui.
Cui noted the importance of building ecosystems, such as through the Energy Innovation Forum, the Stanford sustainability accelerator in the USA, and the Canopy in Cambridge, UK; "professors and students must work on tech innovation with global scaling in mind".
What’s next
- Innovation is critical to delivering the net-zero transition.
- Collaboration across borders and sectors must accelerate.
- Investment ecosystems need to support early-stage, deep-tech ventures.
- Universities and research institutions are natural homes for incubation and scale.
As the world races to decarbonise, events like the Energy Innovation Forum demonstrate the transformative power of global collaboration and the vital role of innovation ecosystems in shaping solutions for a sustainable future.
Explore how CISL supports sustainability innovation and helps scale real-world solutions.
Sustainability focused startups can join the Canopy directly as virtual international network members, Cambridge workspace members or via our Accelerator programmes.
