Ep. 153: Val Miftakhov, Co-Founder & CEO ZeroAvia

This week's guest is Val Miftakhov, Co-Founder & CEO of ZeroAvia.

ZeroAvia is building the world's first practical zero-emission aviation powertrain. ZeroAvia utilizes hydrogen power to accelerate the transition to sustainable aviation.

Before focusing on climate solutions, Val held several senior business and product positions at Google and McKinsey & Company and was a nuclear researcher at Stanford Linear Accelerator. Val is a serial entrepreneur in the EV space dedicating the last decade to electrifying transportation. He founded eMotorWerks, a company working on smart grid EV charging solutions. Val founded ZeroAvia in 2017 and assumed the role of CEO in May 2019. With two degrees in Physics, Val holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and Masters from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. He is a two-time winner of Russian Nationwide Physics competitions. In his spare time, Val makes good use of his airplane and helicopter pilot licenses.

In this episode, Val takes me through ZeroAvia's inception, what the company is working on, and why he decided to tackle zero-emission aviation. We discuss why batteries or bio/synthetic fuel aren't the best solutions, where hydrogen power fits in, and how zero-emission aviation impacts the airline industry. We also dive into key milestones for the company, the public-private partnerships it has secured, and the future of ZeroAvia. It was great to be joined by Val and learn more about his experience in zero-emission aviation.

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded April 1st, 2021