EnergyLab Angels

Adam Skan is a Principal at Impact Ventures Australia, where he sources investment opportunities in early-stage climate technology, ocean health, and circular economy companies. He previously spent five years at EnergyLab, including three years leading the Climate Solutions Accelerator, where he identified climate tech startups, managed investment documentation, and facilitated connections between founders and investors. He holds an honours degree in mechanical engineering and has work experience in nuclear energy, automotive manufacturing, and startup investment.

Audun Fiskerud leads the Investment Ready Startups program at EnergyLab Queensland. He works with early-stage companies on investment readiness and advises established organizations on building organizational capabilities for innovation. He brings over 20 years of experience in startups, innovation strategy, research, and learning program development.

Beryl Visser is Program Lead at EnergyLab, where she leads the Climate Solutions Accelerator and manages an angel investor network of over 280 members. With seven years of experience in clean energy and climate technology development across Australia and Sub-Saharan Africa, she works with startups, industry partners, investors, and research organizations on commercialization and early-stage investment. At EnergyLab, she screens and assesses startups, supports capital deployment, and helps early-stage companies develop commercial strategies aligned with technology readiness and market expectations.

Danny Kennedy is a clean energy entrepreneur and investor with over 30 years of experience in climate and energy work. He serves as Secretary of the Global Solar Council and Senior Adviser to the Sunrise Project and Wollemi Capital, and previously founded New Energy Nexus, a global platform for climate funds and incubators that operated from 2015 to 2024. Kennedy co-founded multiple solar companies including Sungevity, which pioneered remote solar design, and has held board positions at organizations including Powerhive in Kenya and the Global Solar Council; he also authored "Rooftop Revolution: How Solar Power Can Save Our Economy – and Our Planet – from Dirty Energy" and co-hosted the award-winning podcast series "Climate of Change" with Cate Blanchett.

Derick Gyabeng is Program Lead for Supercharge Australia at EnergyLab, where he works on accelerating Australia's lithium battery value chain. He previously conducted scientific research at Deakin's Institute for Frontier Materials, investigating ionic interactions in novel ionic liquid electrolytes for lithium batteries using experimental and computational methods. He holds a PhD in Engineering from Deakin University.

James Tilbury is a Partner at Linden Sustainability focused on climate reporting and disclosure. With over 15 years of experience in sustainability consulting, he has held roles at ERM, BCG, and EY, and co-founded EnergyLab and Impact Ventures. He holds a master's degree in environmental science from Oxford and an undergraduate degree in civil and environmental engineering, and has contributed to research on stranded assets and the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.

Kirk McDonald is Project Manager for Supercharge Australia at New Energy Nexus, an accelerator focused on the lithium battery value chain in Australia. The program has supported 50 startups over three years that have collectively raised over $150 million.

Luke Vanderzeil is Community Manager at EnergyLab, where he supports and grows a community of over 180 climate tech startups, manages the organization's events and communications including two newsletters, and maintains the coworking office experience. Previously, he served as Schools Manager at ClimateClever, a startup focused on emissions reduction through a gamified digital platform, where he expanded the client base to over 150 schools across Australia. He holds experience from the Australian Film School and has worked in education focused on sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Nick Lake is co-founder and director of EnergyLab. He has built his career in renewable energy and clean technology following early exposure to solar energy applications in developing markets. Lake invests in clean technology and property.

Sam Wood is Strategic Initiatives Lead at EnergyLab, where he works on climate technology ventures. He holds a degree in biology and international politics and has experience in systems, processes, management, and strategy within the startup ecosystem.

Tom Kloosterman leads the Energy Scaleup Program at EnergyLab and is co-founder of Blauwe Bagger. He focuses on supporting impact-driven startups through growth and scaling initiatives, with particular emphasis on the energy sector.