Climate Insiders Continuum - Tackling the Wind Turbine Recycling Challenge (feat. Nicolas Derrien)
Nicolas Derrien is the CEO and Founder of Continuum. He's a fervent entrepreneur who believes NO composite should be buried or burned and simply left for future generations to deal with.
We cover:
-The big problem of end of life wind turbines
-The best solutions to recycling composite materials and fiberglass at SCALE
-The best ways to fund a super CAPEX intensive business
-The pathways to global scale and the opportunity for large corporates to play an important role
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ABOUT CLIMATE INSIDERS:
Learn all the insights from Europe's top Climate Tech Founders and Investors. Listen to the stories behind the startup successes, understand the drivers of investment decisions, and become a true Climate Insider.
Check us out at: https://www.climateinsiders.co
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ABOUT THE GUEST:
Nicolas Derrien is the CEO and Founder of Continuum. He's a fervent entrepreneur who believes NO composite should be buried or burned and simply left for future generations to deal with. It’s our responsibility to do something better and Nicolas wants to dedicate all his time and energy to cracking this problem.
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SHOW NOTES:
0:09 - Intro
0:53 – Introduction to Nico’s work
2:05 – What was the inspiration for starting a composite material recycling company?
4:24 – What happens with the wind turbines after they reach their “expiration” date of 20-25 years?
6:12 – Is there a world where wind blades recycling is possible? Why mechanical processes are preferred to chemical ones?
9:44 – The question of funding. What are the core learnings on how to Raise Funding for Super CAPEX Intensive Businesses?
11:49 – Are VCs absolutely necessary to get the permit to start?
13:00 – Opening of the 36000 tons factory west of Denmark, why is it such a big deal for the whole industry?
14:49 – There is the supply side for wind turbine solutions, what about the demand side?
18:02 – Is there room for multiple technologies? Should VCs fund more companies or focus on a smaller number of them?
20:37 – One way to reframe the problem is to talk about government’s sovereignty
22:13 – How to protect companies in Europe? Will the EU technologies remain European? How to use geopolitics in your company’s favor?
23:44 – The role of the big companies? What is the optimal pass for the industry?
25:12 – When is it a good idea to start selling your company in order to maximize the impact?
26:49 –What kind of hires do you need to scale such a hardware startup? Can you offer remote first culture?
29:27 - Outro
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ABOUT THE HOST:
Yoann Berno https://www.linkedin.com/in/yberno/ After a career spent building and investing in top tech startups, Yoann is now a founding member and General Partner at Climentum Capital focused on investing in game-changing technological solutions to our worsening climate crisis.
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Nicolas Derrien https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolasderrien1/
Continuum https://www.continuum.earth/