Team Spotlight: George Chalmers

What did you do before joining Molten?

I had built a business in energy data before Molten which is now sits within Octopus Energy. Before that I worked in public market equities at Credit Suisse, focusing on large-cap companies.

Earlier in my career I worked on off‑grid solar projects in India through a Cambridge–Tata collaboration - that was my first exposure to renewables.

In the new role I’ll continue to spend my time focusing and investing in energy, industrial tech, and broader themes around resilience and European sovereignty.

What are your main responsibilities at Molten?

My core focus areas have always been energy and industrial technology - once called clean-tech, then climate-tech, now probably something else. The industry has always been obsessed with naming things. I try to ignore that and focus on the fundamentals: backing good businesses in structurally growing, and sometimes overlooked, markets. The work I do can vary day to day. I spend a little more than half my time with portfolio companies, working closely with management teams, both in and outside of board rooms. However I can support them best really.

The rest is internal work, investment committees, and making sure I protect time for thematic research. It’s the easiest thing to lose, but it’s the most important part of the job.

And then there’s the constant flow of conversations with companies and prospective investments.  Some investments can happen pretty quickly but I would say a majority come from a quite extended period of getting to know then team properly beforehand. As much as investing is about the company and how they’re creating change and bringing value, it’s even more so about the team behind the idea that’s driving it forward.

Is this an exciting time for those sectors, despite uncertainty?

Yes, genuinely so – the energy transition, industrial re-shoring, and  resilience are structural, decade-long shifts. Early-stage companies in these spaces are solving problems that must be solved regardless of economic cycles or political backdrops.

What themes are you working on or seeing this year?

There's a real focus on European resilience right now - looking at how Europe strengthens its supply chains, energy systems and critical infrastructure in a more uncertain world.

Energy security and independence have become a defining topic within energy. Three years ago, everyone talked about climate; now they talk about energy security. But ultimately, they lead to the same place: more localised renewable generation and a faster energy transition.

Additionally, AI - the infrastructure needed to power it, the software to optimise and plan it, and the challenge of connecting it to an already strained grid - is becoming one of the most tangible drivers of new energy demand and industrial build-out seen in a long time.

What were the key moments for you in 2025?

A highlight of 2025 was leading the Series B in Modo Energy - a company I'd followed for years and built real conviction in. On the new investment side, I was glad to lead a round in General Index, another company I'd tracked closely before the opportunity came together.

 What recent trends or activity in your space has stood out this year?

Last year saw a couple of notable acquisitions in energy data, both in the UK and globally. Given the interest and drivers behind these transactions, I expect more to follow within certain verticals - it remains an very acquisitive space.

That backdrop matters, but the main focus at Molten is not to overly focus on near-term activity — it's to focus on the long-term. Which trends and companies will create the most value over the next 10+ years, and why? Those are the questions we need to be asking now.

What companies do you manage in the Molten Portfolio?

I lead investments and sit on the boards of Altruistiq, BeZero, Concretene, General Index, ModoEnergy, RenewRisk, Currence (fka Sightline) and SatVu.

Some say climate tech is going out of vogue with investors. What’s your take?

I've never been entirely comfortable with the phrase 'climate tech' - I called it energy for most of my career. The label shifts with the times: a few years ago everyone was talking about net zero targets, now it's energy security. But the underlying trend doesn't change with the framing.

What endures is the economics. Solar and batteries are being deployed at scale because they're the cheapest option - not because of policy mandates or investor enthusiasm. That's always been the foundation of the thesis for me.

There will always be hype cycles, and climate as a narrative will ebb and flow. We try and focus on the long-term structural shifts and the themes that should be impervious to such swings in sentiment.

How do you think AI plays into energy investment? 

AI is both a challenge and an opportunity for energy — it's creating a step-change in electricity demand that the grid wasn't built for, and that buildout is one of the most significant infrastructure investment moments we've seen in a generation.

What is one piece of advice you’ve received over the years that has stuck with you?

During an internship at an investment bank, I was dismissive about a sales rotation. Someone senior pulled me aside and told me that everything I would ever do in my professional career would be 'sales' in some form — so I should suck it up and get good at it.

15 years later - I'm sure he was right. Whether it's fundraising (for a company or a fund), hiring, convincing a founder to take your term sheet, being influential on a board - it's all sales at the end of the day.

Thanks for sitting down with us today, George. To find out more about George and his investments you can check out his team profile page here.