David Danielson

David T. Danielson is a prominent figure in the clean energy and climate technology sector. He currently serves as the Managing Director at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a position he has held since January 2017.13 Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a $1 billion fund focused on fighting climate change by investing in clean energy innovation.3

Danielson's career is marked by significant contributions to energy innovation and policy:

1. Government Service:

   • Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) from May 2012 to May 2016.12
   • Co-founder and first employee of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) from May 2009 to May 2012.1

2. Academic Role:

   • Adjunct Professor at Stanford University since June 2016, where he teaches courses on climate-tech entrepreneurship.13

3. Private Sector:

   • Prior to government service, he was a clean-energy venture capitalist at General Catalyst Partners.2
   • Founder and president of the MIT Energy Club during his time as a PhD student.2

4. Current Investments: Danielson is an investor in several innovative companies, including Equilibrium Energy, Electric Hydrogen Co., Lilac Solutions, Redwood Materials, and Form Energy, among others.1

Danielson holds a PhD in Materials Science from MIT and a BS in Materials Science from UC Berkeley.2 His expertise lies in the development of next-generation climate technologies and the creation of new R&D and organizational models for high-impact climate-tech innovation.2