Energy Transition Ventures

Craig Lawrence pairs a technical background—including patents from portable fuel cells to office furniture—and leadership at IDEO’s energy practice to co-build companies focused on grid modernization and distributed energy resources.

Cofounder of Energy Transition Ventures, a venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur who previously helped launch Royal Dutch Shell's North American CVC fund and co-founded Jane Capital Partners, a cleantech investor. He has co-founded seven startups across energy and SaaS, holding CEO, CFO, VP, and Chairman roles, and holds a B.A. in Economics from Texas A&M.

Anouck Champsaur focuses on early-stage technology and its commercialization. She previously served as Head of Business Development & Partnerships at Noon Energy, co-founded XL Batteries (a redox flow battery startup spun out of Columbia University), and spent three years as an investor on the Industrial Biotech team at Sofinnova Partners covering chemicals, materials, food, and agriculture. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University and a B.S. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley, and began her career at the DOE-funded Molecular Foundry.

David Niebauer has spent about 20 years serving as General Counsel for cleantech startups and investors, having previously led the San Francisco venture capital practice at Graham & James (now Squire Patton Boggs), where he focused on venture capital financing and M&A. His General Counsel roles have included companies such as Smart Wires, Zenergy Power, Brillouin Energy, TerraPass, Carbonflow, SRECTrade, and LumiGrow, along with Jane Capital Partners and Old Growth Ventures. He holds a B.A. from the State University of New York, an M.A. from the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Deborah Merril is an executive focused on consumer energy. She co-founded Just Energy (NYSE: JE), a large US independent energy retailer, where she later served as CEO, and now leads the retail and C&I business for EDF Energy in the US. Earlier in her career she was Vice President of Enron Energy Services. She holds an MBA from Texas A&M University and a BA from the College of Wooster.