Challenges & Opportunities for Start-Ups Supporting the Energy Transition | Insights by Hani Elshahawi
Start-ups have a key role in accelerating the Energy Transition as they develop and offer disruptive technologies that help decarbonise economies. They introduce solutions that digitise energy ecosystems, democratise power generation, better monitor and measure energy use.
To give us insights as to how start-ups can fully contribute in achieving a more sustainable future, we invited our US partner Hani Elshahawi, a thought Leader, entrepreneur, and game changer, for an interview.
(This interview with Hani Elshahawi was first published on TechnologyCatalogue.com. You can find the full blog here.)
Start-ups have a key role in the Energy Transition as they develop and offer disruptive technologies that help decarbonise economies. They introduce solutions that digitise energy ecosystems, democratise power generation, better monitor and measure energy use, among others. Private and public sector investments are pouring into these young companies, a clear sign of their critical role both from economic and social perspectives.
Given the ability of startups to develop and deliver innovative solutions, how can we then maximise their potential to accelerate Energy Transition?
To give us insights as to how start-ups can fully contribute in achieving a more sustainable future, we invited our US partner Hani Elshahawi, a thought Leader, entrepreneur, and game changer, for an interview. Hani partners with innovators, academics, start-ups, investors, and customers to create impact and drive growth through integration, collaboration, digitalization, and education. He holds several patents and has authored over 150 technical publications.
Before establishing his own company NoviDigiTech.com, Hani was Deepwater Digitalisation Lead, GameChanger, and Formation Testing and Sampling Principal Technical Expert at Shell, where he spent a total of 18 years. Prior to that, he spent 15 years with Schlumberger in over 10 countries in Africa, Asia, and North America during which he has held various positions in interpretation, consulting, operations, marketing, and technology development.
Read Hani’s insights below.
1. What are the major priorities for businesses in the coming years that can serve as opportunities for start-ups?
Two areas are top of mind for most executives and for me as I work with start-ups, entrepreneurs and end-users: (1) ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and (2) Digitalisation.
There is increasing attention on ESG, especially when it comes to finding solutions that are technology-driven. These are not just green or clean tech, which aim to reduce environmental impact via energy efficiency, more sustainable use of materials or environmental protection actions. These solutions also encompass what may be collectively termed as climate tech — a broader set of sectors which tackle the entire challenge of decarbonising the entire economy by the middle of the century. ESG in its latest manifestation also encompasses social equity, climate change, and sustainability at large.
Then, you have digitalisation. Over the last decade, digital has been upending industries across the board and has also made industry boundaries a lot more permeable than ever before. It has had deep impact on our lives and promises a future that is more data-driven, customer-centric and in many ways, more democratised. Although it is a relatively late comer, the energy industry has not been immune to these changes, especially post-COVID as has been the case for the pharmaceutical, biological and medical industries. In all of these, we saw a dramatic increase in the uptake of digital technologies over the last couple of years.
2. How can start-ups approach huge industries? Are there new ways of offering their novel innovations to major industries who are likely more welcoming of proven technologies?
I will first talk about what not to do. It is important to avoid drowning in endless proof of concept (POC)’s and demos. Most do not generate revenues and burn time — Time is the lifeblood of innovators, especially for start-ups or small companies. Another error to avoid is building bespoke solutions built from the ground up for every customer. This means that the company has not done enough homework to really understand the landscape.
Now here are a few best practices that I would recommend. Understand your customer problems and challenges first before offering solutions. Spend time really understanding the need behind the need using a combination of customer discovery and market research. Be sure to understand how pervasive a problem is and the variations of the solutions among different players. Market segmentation helps you avoid trying to serve everybody everywhere, which is impossible, but instead focus on market segments that offer the greatest product-solution-market fit and in which you can truly add value. Then, and only then, start designing modular solutions that can be adapted to each customer’s needs, with building blocks that can be reused for other customers.
Read the full interview here.
