Philip New left the position of CEO for the Energy Systems Catapult recently. Here he looks back on it becoming a critical part in the UK’s energy jigsaw – and what the future may hold. As one of BP’s earliest champions of alternative energy, Philip New spent decades pioneering new ways of powering human endeavour – in an often sceptical environment. Then in 2015, with 30 years of experience in the energy industry behind him, Philip took on the challenge of launching the Energy Systems Catapult as its CEO.

From enabling the consortia that produced thousands of ventilators for the National Health Service, setting up the Lighthouse testing labs network, scaling up vaccine manufacturing, to playing an integral role in creating the first compound semiconductor cluster, the UK’s Catapult Network is proving to be invaluable in achieving the country’s innovation ambition.