A decade of low-carbon investments: Jonathan’s story
Jonathan describes how his time at bp influences his work today, sharing that "at bp, being a diverse and global company means you must understand different cultures and the role culture plays in fostering a high-performing team"
Jonathan first joined Castrol Ventures in 2012 and remembers his time at the company fondly, “we consistently had a high performing team, comprised of a great bunch of people. We had a really fun time too which made work a lot easier.”
Staying within the bp group, Jonathan became a managing director at bp’s venture capital division, bp ventures, in 2016. It was a seamless move and “one of those places that felt really familiar – I instinctively felt I fit in,” he remembers.
Jonathan’s remit focused on global mobility at an important time for the business. “bp was pursuing electrification and mobility was a key part of it. We were trying to understand where the market was going, to define our role, and then to make strategic investments. One notable investment was in Lightning eMotors, “a business building, engineering and customising zero-emissions vehicles.”
Still working in the venture capital space, now as an investment partner at the Clean Growth Fund, Jonathan keeps an eye on notable investments in the sector. He admires bp ventures’ increasing focus on the energy transition.
After his time at bp, Jonathan moved to Centrica Innovations in 2017, where he observed that “there was a notable lack of institutional funding going to early-stage companies trying to decarbonize the energy sector because traditional investors deemed them to be too early-stage.”
That observation led to his joining the Clean Growth Fund in 2020. “We’re investing in early-stage UK start-ups that can prove their technology tangibly reduces greenhouse emissions,” he explains. “We are currently looking into digital solutions that balance supply and demand as more renewables come onto the grid. We’re passionate about sustainable grid management and recently invested in piclo energy - a digital platform allowing customers to auction off any excess electricity they’ve accumulated – reducing energy wastage.”
Jonathan describes how his time at bp influences his work today, sharing that
Jonathan still keeps in touch with former bp colleagues, providing and taking advice.