Selling the future of hydrogen to the navigators of green transition

Our new Chief Sales Officer reflects on the commercial future of hydrogen technology after 100 days on board with us at Hydrogen Mem-Tech.

Like many of us at Hydrogen Mem-Tech, Jørgen Svare has a professional past in the oil and gas industry. It’s a treasure trove of experience and knowledge when working to sell the future of hydrogen energy and contributing to the green transition.

“Norway can look back on 40-50 years of being a significant oil and gas nation, providing a lot of technological inventions and advances along the way. I have been part of that for 20 years myself, and I hope and think that the experience and know-how can help us achieve something similar within the field of hydrogen,” says Jørgen Svare.

As Hydrogen Mem-Tech’s new Chief Sales Officer, Jørgen is responsible for bridging the gap between the most futuristic ambitions of technology and product development on one side, and the commercial potential and market realities on the other. In short: Selling the future of hydrogen to companies that are trying to navigate the unpredictability of emerging technologies in the green transition. Everyone feels a sense of urgency and impatience at once.

“After making the rounds at a few conferences, I have realised that the knowledge of the possibilities of hydrogen technology varies a lot. Wind and water are very concrete and easy to comprehend, while hydrogen can seem almost abstract in comparison. But there are so many challenges that can be solved with hydrogen solutions! That has been a great revelation for me and brings extra excitement and motivation to this job,” says Svare.

As much as he has a positive outlook on the future of hydrogen technology and the concept of cleaning gas on location with Hydrogen Mem-Tech’s technology, he also acknowledges some immediate challenges concerning the insecurities inherent in the current marketplace.

“We experience a lot of curiosity and a hunger for more information among potential customers and companies, which is a great starting point for us,” he says.

“A lot of businesses know that they are looking for something. But they are not so sure what this ‘something’ is. In many cases, that can be the type of technology that we offer. But how we can fit our product to their needs, that’s a crucial part of the puzzle and needs proper exploration,” he explains.

“This means that Hydrogen Mem-Tech not only sells a great product but also takes on the role of advisors and partners for our customers, helping them to calibrate the solutions to make the proper fit. We must help them to identify how they can achieve their low-emission visions with help from our technology and how we can integrate it into their existing processes.”

The bottom line is about, well, the actual bottom line: Reducing emissions for sure, but in an economically viable way.

“That is the great thing about our technology. It can be set up in a refinery, a large industrial facility, on a ship or at one end of a pipeline and immediately reduce emissions. For a reasonable price. No need to wait ten years, we have the solution and can make a big difference right away, with a process and setup with great effect that can last a long time with a minimum of maintenance.”

Selling the future of hydrogen to the navigators of green transition is a motivational task. Taking on the chief sales role in the scale-up phase of Hydrogen Mem-Tech brings even more excitement.

“I have worked for a start-up before, I think I was employee number seven or something, and the first one with a commercial background among a bunch of engineers. Hydrogen Mem-Tech has already come a long way also within sales. But the challenge is the same, and that is to capitalise on the product,” he says.

“A big part of succeeding is getting the tech people to be more commercial in their thinking, while my sales team and I need to understand the technology properly. It’s about finding a common language.”

SELLING THE FUTURE: Jørgen Svare (left) together with sales colleague and business development manager Stephan Laux at World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam, Netherlands in May 2024.

That duality can also be transferred to Jørgen’s favourite pastime: Running with his four-year-old flat-coated retriever Leo in the northern woods of Oslo, where he lives with his wife and two kids (15 and 12).

“He is really named Leonardo, after Da Vinci. We had very high ambitions for this dog.”

He laughs out loud when asked if it’s the dog that takes him running as much as him taking the dog running.

“That depends on form and season! He is more motivated than me during the winter, while I want to run more when the weather gets warmer. But it’s always a pleasure for both of us, and we always work it out together! That’s how it’s done in the woods, and that’s how it’s done in Hydrogen Mem-Tech.”