In recognition of Earth Day, we’ve been speaking to entrepreneurs who have used their education to make a difference. These individuals have created start-ups that solve a business problem in a sustainable way.

Heidemarie Haupt completed the International Flex Executive MBA at Polimi Graduate School of Management in 2021, and has since used her skills and experience to co-found Poseidon HyPerEs, a company that creates environmentally friendly batteries. These batteries are based on zinc-hydrogen peroxide chemistry and its seawater-based electrolyte.

We spoke to Heidemarie about her entrepreneurship journey so far and her aspirations for the future.

Can you tell us a little bit about your business and what it does?

Poseidon – the name of our start-up and product – is an innovative, green, and sustainable product to store energy based upon a unique patent pending redox flow battery technology. As the use of intermittent renewable energy sources rapidly grows in order to fulfil the energy transition requirements and the need of storage capacity also increases consequently, we engineered a battery that uses only earth-abundant, easy-to-supply materials guaranteeing the lowest environmental impact. The business was founded by myself, Federico Aiana, and Lorenzo Zagnoli.

What inspired you to start this business and tackle this issue?

The initial idea of Poseidon saw the light on a snowy day, returning from the ski slopes. While lazily sitting on the sofa sipping a tea, Federico organised a videocall engaging myself and Lorenzo in a conversation related to a disrupting energy storage technology he had in mind. And it was amazing to realize we could take one of the most inconspicuous, common, non-rare and non-polluting substance on earth – water – and use it to get what millions of people desperately need – energy. I call it: intuition. We were already a close- knit team working together during our EMBA and felt we were sort of destined to find ‘that’ idea.

How has your business school experience helped you become an entrepreneur?

I often say that without our business school, Polimi School of Management, we would not be here. I personally also emphasise that the link with the school could be considered fairly ’emotional’. We owe so much to this experience. Not only because our EMBA gave us the occasion to meet, but also because we were lucky enough to find deep inspiration in the months we spent in the school.

What challenges have you encountered while integrating sustainability into your business operations, and how have you overcome them?

The integration has been fairly easy, as we are green by nature. In a way it can be said we were born environmentally sustainable as our mission has always been that of creating a zero-impact product.

Poseidon represents a real technological revolution: the assembly of what you all always got under your nose in nature but never thought to put savvily together. Significantly, by engineering a green DNA product, we managed to overcome most of the challenges that typically emerge. Costs, for example, prove to be lower than those referring to more pollutant solutions, as well as supply chain concerns that again were solved by adopting a more local strategy which is effortlessly permitted by the design and technology of the battery. It turned out that if a solution is engineered with sustainability in mind from the very beginning, challenges result in being more manageable.

“Striking the right balance between profitability and purpose indeed requires vision, innovation, and a commitment to long-term success.”

As a sustainable-focused entrepreneur, how do you navigate the balance between profitability and purpose?

We understand this is a key challenge: as a company that needs to generate financial value for the stakeholders but at the same time is very focused on the environmental impact. Striking the right balance between profitability and purpose indeed requires vision, innovation, and a commitment to long-term success. From the beginning we have adopted a holistic approach that naturally integrates purpose and profitability creating value for the environment, society, and the shareholders. It could be said that we anticipated the growing consumer interest in eco-friendly solutions.

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the future of your sustainable business?

Of course, like any new entrepreneur, we are eager to generate an impact through our passion, knowledge and hard work. We call it: convert vision into value. We are strongly aware that energy is a key resource and will be so more and more in the future. Being able to store it safely, for long periods and in a sustainable way is a game changer for the coming decades. We treasure energy so much that in a way it feels as if we storing diamonds in a safe. We very much know it is a social responsibility, not only a business.   

What advice would you give to other sustainable business founders?

Sustainability means not only contributing to environmental and social wellbeing, but also offering long term viability in an increasingly conscientious market like that of energy. In these terms, we would recommend to define clearly the company’s purpose and mission and embrace innovation to develop sustainable solutions that can enhance the business.

Always prioritise positive social impacts like fair labour practices such as diversity and inclusion and be very transparent about company’s activities. Accountability builds trust with stakeholders, including customers, investors and employees. However, you must always stay committed to your values and vision, even when faced with challenges or setbacks.

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