Introducing Rondo’s New CEO!

By John O’Donnell

This is a great day. I have a great piece of news to share with you. Eric Trusiewicz has stepped up to lead Rondo Energy as CEO and I am stepping into the role of Chief Innovation Officer at Rondo.

This is a moment we’ve been working towards for years.  Eric has been an important part of the Rondo team since early on, starting as a strategic advisor in early 2021 when Rondo was still in a garage, then leading our development in Europe, and stepping up as our President in 2023. Today he’s taking on the role of CEO, and I couldn’t be more proud.

Rondo is becoming the organization we need to make our vision a reality.  We’re nurturing our culture while we’ve been building a phenomenal team; Eric’s been at the heart of that.  He’s put in place the commercial team, processes, and focus to open market after market. 

On four continents we’re now contracting, engineering, and building heat battery projects that create value for ourselves, our customers, and our partners.  Eric’s industrial experience in companies large and small, as well as experience working with climate tech investors, has been hugely valuable as we now build the worldwide organization and continue to raise capital to deliver these projects and set the foundation for our next stage of growth.

One challenge startups run across is “outgrowing the founders.”  This is my sixth lap around the startup track. I’ve built companies previously in the computer, semiconductor, and solar industries. I’ve worked with great teams before, but I have never had the privilege to work with such an amazing team, on such a massively critical challenge, at anything like our speed.  

This moment – the startup moving from innovation to industrialization – is one where companies often stumble.  We’ve spent the last year working on, and planning for, this transition and it’s already going great; I have deep confidence that Eric will make Rondo the #1 trusted supplier worldwide of low-cost, zero-carbon process energy, and help us attract the best investors and partners. I’m looking forward to continuing to work together with him and the rest of the leadership team to build an amazing company.

Rondo has opened the path to supply the energy used for the world’s manufacturing using intermittent electricity.  We created the definitive Heat Battery.   Our physics breakthrough let us build the world’s safest, highest temperature, most efficient energy storage of any kind, using cheap, widely available, safest material for energy storage: brick.  Brick that’s basically made from dirt. We eliminated electrochemistry, we eliminated critical minerals, and we completely eliminated risks of fire, gas release, or toxics. 

Dirt-simple means we can go fast. With our partners, we’ve established large scale production capacity, and we’re ramping fast to meet our customers’ requirements.   That hypergrowth needs hyperfocus and capability – and I’m delighted to have that leadership now in Eric’s hands.

I’m now taking up the role of Chief Innovation Officer, and will be working with strategic partners on new uses of Rondo’s technology platform.  Rondo today has investment partnerships with some of the world’s largest miners, data center operators, renewables developers, and producers of fuels, building materials, food, beverages, and clothing. 

Our patent portfolio spans from electrons to molecules – hydrogen, ethylene, cement, alumina, and CO2, among others. I’m thrilled to be working with these partners to find the ways we can make the biggest contributions in their businesses. And I’m excited to identify and work with new partners as we learn how to extend our reach.

“Fifteen percent in fifteen years.”  We said that – I said that – two years ago.  Rondo can cut world CO2 emissions by fifteen percent in fifteen years, and cut the costs of producing everything from baby food to cement.  Studies since then, notably SystemIQ’s, have shown that fifteen percent is a little low, the opportunity is bigger. Tesla also says that electro thermal energy storage is the largest emerging opportunity in energy storage globally. And experience says that that timing is a little tight; building the renewables will take somewhat longer.  But building this is one of the greatest business opportunities of our time.

I look forward to continuing to work with Eric, the whole Rondo team, and with you on this journey. Full steam ahead!