Spent this weekend wrapping up two chapters for #WeTookTheRisk on an energetic leader and a team that I’ve always admired: @andykarsner & the original @department_of_en commercialization dream team – John Mizroch / Drew Bond / @___wendolyn___ / Carol Battershell / Steve Chalk / achiang311 / Michael Bruce / Brad Barton & Jacques Beaudry-Losique.
“I consulted everybody,” recalled Andy on his first steps to forming a vision for technology commercialization at DOE. He approached each conversation stating, “We’re at war. How do we win?” Reminiscing on the innovative advances made during the Manhattan Project, he saw himself advancing an agenda that was similar to developing a “secret weapon”. However, to Andy it was, “no longer just scientists on a chalkboard working on this in New Mexico…..instead we have entrepreneurs in garages, and we’ve got to support them in transitioning ourselves off of oil.”
This team helped set into motion the role DOE would play in fostering Public Private Partnerships and sped up the advancement and scale up of many of the key renewable energy technologies we see at play today. From the first Technology Commercialization Fund to inaugurating DOE’s Technology Showcase and the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, this team innovated how Government can play an integral role in the commercialization of renewables.
More to come as I cross over the 50% mark of my draft manuscript creation.
