Jay Whitacre Ph.D., Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Aquion Energy Inc.

Jay Whitacre Ph.D., Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Aquion Energy Inc.

FINALIST / TECHNOLOGY
As an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Jay Whitacre strived to take the problems surrounding energy storage and address them with real-world solutions powered by innovation and collaboration.
It’s a mentality he took into the business sphere when he founded Aquion Energy Inc. in 2008. Whitacre founded Aquion to help answer three questions — how much energy does the world need, where are the holes in how we currently store energy and how quickly can we develop stationary storage technology that is costeffective, renewable, nontoxic and can be produced quickly on a large scale?
Whitacre’s excitement about the work of his team is contagious. He is excited about problem-solving and making a positive impact on the world. Whitacre’s attitude and his ability to engage his team in Aquion’s mission have helped make the company a worldwide frontrunner in the stationary storage space. It’s a prestigious honor, and Whitacre has remained focused on leading the company through its many growth phases.
Whitacre maintains his sights on business decisions and thoughts of where the company should be positioned in order to take advantage of future growth opportunities. The Aquion management team joins Whitacre in leading the company with a focus on growth and problem-solving.
The company’s innovative approach to problem-solving has taken a significant amount of effort, since the field of stationary energy storage is still yet to be completely defined. However, Whitacre has identified some market separators that make Aquion’s approach unique. Aquion’s technological innovation has emphasized low-cost, zero environmental impact and a very long functional lifetime. With that focus, the company has no direct competitors in its space.
HOW TO REACH: Aquion Energy Inc., www.aquionenergy.com