engineering a cleaner future with caroline hargrove | conversations in cleantech | season two, episode seven

in this episode of conversations in cleantech, we’re joined by caroline hargrove, cto of ceres energy.  ceres are pioneers of a unique technology that aims to deliver clean energy that addresses climate change and air quality. creating a fuel cell from ceramic and steel, ceres aim to provide a technology that ticks all the cleantech's fuel cell needs - cost-effective, robust, scalable and transitional.    our guest for this episode is truly a leading force in engineering. at the beginning of her career, caroline was awarded a phd from cambridge where she went on to gain extensive experience in f1 engineering working at mclaren. more recently, she spent three crucial years as cto of babylon health during a very interesting time in the world and joined as cto of ceres in november after three years as a board member.   alongside these incredible roles, caroline also has another med-tech board role, she's a trustee of a charity, a fellow of the royal academy of engineering, was previously a visiting professor at oxford, won the CPIs first women of engineering and manufacturing award in 2017 and was named one of the 50 most influential women in engineering in the uk.  all of this deservedly culminated in caroline receiving a CBE for services to engineering in 2020.   in this episode, caroline discusses a plethora of topics, including but not limited to; the importance of raising the visibility of engineering as a career, why passion is key in living your purpose, her experience as a woman in engineering and how ceres are pioneering within the fuel cell space.   hosted by jenny gladman, director at brightsmith group and emily hart, principal consultant at brightsmith this episode of conversations in cleantech contains a wealth of knowledge, insight and advice to those within the cleantech space or looking to come into it.  timestamped guide: 00:50 - introduction to carloline 02:09 - introduction to co-host, emily 02:38 - about caroline and her journey so far 07:57 - did you always know you'd do something technical? 10:08 - what was it about cleantech that really appealed to you? 13:05 - how are you settling in at ceres? 18:46 - how would you explain the fuel cell sector and the potential impact it can have for our planet? 26:11 - is there anyone you've worked closely with or seen from afar that has really inspired your career? 31:05 - were there any other challenges you had to overcome to get to where you are today? 36:31 - what are the highlights from your career? 42:57 - could you tell us about how you've approached inspiring young people to follow their passion and purpose? 48:12 - what do you envisage for the cleantech space in the future?   connect with your hosts,  jenny gladman and emily hart, on linkedin. find your guest, caroline hargrove on linkedin. thanks for listening to conversations in cleantech, brought to you by brightsmith. This podcast is a loaded hype production.