Antora Insider: A Q&A with Bijan Shiravi, Engineering Project Manager
Industry is the single biggest driver of climate change, accounting for nearly a third of global emissions. Decarbonizing industrial heat — which accounts for the majority of industrial emissions — requires converting intermittent renewable electricity into the always-on heat used in industries like steel, cement, and chemicals. Antora’s thermal battery bridges this gap by using wind and solar electricity to heat up blocks of solid carbon to glowing-hot temperatures, storing this heat for hours or days, and discharging it at temperatures up to 1500°C.
Behind Antora’s technology is a dynamic, world-class team of engineers and leaders, which we’ll highlight in this series. Today, we hear from Engineering Project Manager Bijan Shiravi. From his undergraduate days, Bijan found a passion for renewable energy and climate, which led him to help build electric vehicles for Tesla. Now, he’s putting that expertise to work at Antora to solve the challenge of decarbonizing industry.
Can you tell us a bit about your role at Antora Energy?
I’m focused primarily on Antora’s “box,” the core product which takes in power from wind or solar to heat up carbon blocks and then discharges either heat or power. As an engineering project manager, my job is to help execute the design, prototyping, testing, construction, procurement and delivery of this box, on time and within budget.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and what brought you into climate tech?
My first real exposure to renewable energy was during my undergraduate studies. I was attending the University of California San Diego (UCSD), pursuing a degree in nanoengineering and working in an organic photovoltaics research lab. This experience showed me how much room there is for innovation in addressing climate change and demonstrated that a career in the renewables field was technically interesting, economically viable, and morally imperative. I was raised with the notion that my responsibility is to leave the world in a better place than when I found it, and a career in renewable energy enables me to pursue that goal.
After starting my career in the pharmaceutical manufacturing space and earning a master’s degree, I took a job at Tesla working on their motor technology. Following that five-year journey at Tesla, I came across an opportunity with Antora. Tesla has been at the cutting edge of electrifying transportation, which was an important part of why I joined there in the first place. And after having inspiring conversations with the team at Antora, it was clear that the two companies were very similar in terms of their drive to innovate and their industry leadership.
What makes you passionate about Antora’s mission?
Antora’s mission is something that stands out to me. A lot of businesses can get lost with pie-in-the-sky aspirations, but our goals are specific and achievable, and the team is 100% committed to making them happen. Part of what drew me to Antora is the technology: there’s no smoke and mirrors or fancy solutions. It’s all simple, tried-and-true components that work together in a unique way. Between those two factors, it’s very easy to look at what we’re doing, see the problem, and clearly map out the best path forward to solving it.
Apart from the technology, the people and the culture that Antora has cultivated are what sets it apart from any other company I’ve been a part of. From leadership down, everyone lives the company’s core values every day, working with a clear sense of joy and appreciation for one another and what we’re working to achieve. There’s never a day that goes by where I don’t feel valued for my contributions to the projects that we’re building.
How do you see the climate tech industry evolving in the next five or 10 years?
Climate and renewable energy as a whole are at a really exciting inflection point. There’s been an upswing in government policy to help accelerate decarbonization across industries, and society is becoming vastly more climate-conscious. As that level of awareness grows, I expect to see growth in the amount of capital being set aside for climate initiatives, whether that’s supporting startups or fueling projects at major organizations. In the short term, there will still be challenges to overcome. But the challenges are all solvable, and I expect the world will be well on its way to wide-scale decarbonization in the next five or 10 years.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing startups in renewable energy and energy storage?
Managing and controlling supply chains will be critical for any clean energy business. Groundbreaking technologies and tools demand a host of different resources, whether that’s difficult-to-source minerals or large amounts of capital. Getting what’s needed, and doing so quickly, will be a major challenge over the next few years. That’s where I think Antora has an advantage, because the carbon blocks and insulation we use are easy to source, are domestically available at scale, and face few supply chain constraints. That means we’re able to get our systems built quickly and get straight to work on deployment, which is critical for our long-term success and that of our customers.
Any professional accomplishments that you’re most proud of?
Looking back on my time at Tesla, it’s a unique feeling to know that over three million Tesla vehicles are running on motors that I had a direct hand in helping bring to market. When I joined Tesla, electric vehicles were something of a novelty. But today, electric vehicles — and Teslas in particular — have become ubiquitous. Knowing I was a part of that growth will always be a great achievement for me.
Now, I’m very excited for the accomplishments to come at Antora. The opportunity to directly help make major strides in decarbonizing billions of tons of industrially emitted CO2 is tantalizing. As I think about that next accomplishment, there’s plenty of work left to do, but I’m confident I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren that I spent my career helping electrify industry and point to just how much carbon we’ve prevented from getting into the atmosphere.
What advice would you give to someone looking to carve out a career in climate tech?
For engineers or those with an engineering bent, focus on the fundamentals first — those foundational pieces like mechanical and chemical engineering open the doors for anyone trying to get into the climate tech industry. It’s not about immediately becoming an environmental engineer; what matters most is that you have a solid understanding of engineering and/or gain experience in manufacturing, then you can take that knowledge and build something that’s really impactful.
For example, I found my way into clean energy by working in a manufacturing environment launching pharmaceuticals products, which provided relevant experience to get me in the door to help launch EV products. At the end of the day, every climate company or organization needs a broad set of people, and there are opportunities for people of all different skillsets and backgrounds.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I’m all about being active and getting out into nature. I love doing everything from running marathons to scuba diving. I’ve also had the travel bug from a young age and love to go to new places, try new things, and experience different cultures along the way. It’s all about capitalizing on my youth as much as possible, which is a guiding principle that’s driven me to go on trips across the world to beautiful destinations like Guatemala, Thailand, and Peru, among other places.
What’s a fun fact about yourself most people might not know?
I’ve been an avid runner since I was a kid, and I completed my first marathon when I was only 11 years old. I’ve run a handful of marathons since then as well. It’s such a rewarding experience to tackle a big challenge and, for me, taking on that first marathon was something I’ll never forget.
