Malta Inc Hiring for VP of Business Development at Cambridge, MA Full Time

THE COMPANY:

Malta, Inc. (“Malta”) is accelerating the global transition to a decarbonized grid by developing and deploying novel, low-cost, environmentally safe grid-scale energy storage solutions. Malta’s technology was originally conceived by Dr. Robert B. Laughlin, Professor of Physics at Stanford University and Nobel Laureate, and de-risked and scoped at “X,” Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory. In 2018, Malta spun out as an independent company and has continued the work of commercializing its proprietary long duration energy storage (LDES) technology.

Malta’s technology relies on well-understood and long-utilized equipment: turbomachinery, heat exchangers, a salt loop and a coolant loop integrated into a closed-loop Brayton cycle whose working fluid is clean, dehydrated air. This type of equipment has been in use around the world for many decades; Malta is integrating this equipment in a novel way for LDES applications.

The strength of Malta’s technology and growth potential is underscored by the quality of its strategic partners and investors. The company has attracted world -class technology partners, including Alfa Laval (a leading global provider in the areas of heat transfer and liquids handling) is developing Malta’s novel heat exchangers; Siemens Energy (a global provider of energy equipment and services) is developing custom turbomachinery; and Proman (a global engineering and construction firm) is designing the overall system and balance of plant.

Malta is also proud to have as investors not only a number of its strategic partners, but also several of the most prominent technology companies and investors in the world. Its shareholders include Google, Breakthrough Energy Ventures (energy-focused investment firm founded by Bill Gates), Siemens Energy, Alfa Laval, Proman, Dustin Moskowitz (co -founder of Facebook) and Concord New Energy. The company is well-capitalized, having raised more than $85 mm in Series A and B financings since 2018.

Malta is focused on commercializing its first product in the US and internationally: a 100 MW, 10-24+ hour electricity storage plant. Critical to Malta’s success will be finalizing and deploying its first unit while building a pipeline of future projects around the world.

THE COMPANY (continued):

Currently, the Company has focused its commercial efforts on key markets in North America, Europe, and Middle East.

The U.S. policy and regulatory landscape, both federally and in various states like California, is pushing toward market design that supports the value proposition of long duration storage. Parallel to these governmental efforts, private sector initiatives are actively working to decarbonize industrial processes. Companies, from tech giants to manufacturing leaders, are exploring, and investing in technologies and strategies to reduce their carbon footprints and make their operations more sustainable. This dual momentum from the public and private sectors signals a robust commitment to a cleaner energy future.

Following the recent departure of our previous Vice President of Business Development for North America, it is paramount for Malta’s continued growth to bring onboard a dynamic successor.Critical to the success of this role will be forming alliances with customers, deployment partners, regulators, and policymakers in the USA and Canada to increase the speed and scale of Malta’s execution capabilities. To seize the momentum, we are actively seeking a new Vice President of Business Development to lead Malta’s commercialization and product deployment efforts in North America.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The VP Business Development will be responsible for growing Malta’s business in California and other key North American markets through relationships with energy service providers, large industrial and commercial customers, project developers, EPC contractors, utilities, regulators/policymakers, and other key trade allies. The VP Business Development for North America will report to the EVP of Global Business Development.

This person will work with a variety of stakeholders to raise awareness of Malta’s product capabilities, facilitate the commercialization of Malta’s technology, and secure grants and contracts to develop a pipeline of projects. This individual will be responsible for preparing proposal for customers and influencing policies in support of Malta’s business plans and to match Malta’s competitive advantages, informing the executive team of developments in the market, and working with cross-functional teams to create successful market development strategies. The individual will also track and review proposals on Malta’s behalf from various stakeholder groups (government, NGOs, trade associations, etc.) in the energy storage space and travel to industry trade group meetings and in-person meetings as appropriate to maximize the impact of their advocacy.

A successful candidate will be execution-oriented and have experience working with large industrial groups, and political decision makers as well as regulators at the local, state, and federal levels to advance policy goals in the areas of long-duration and seasonal energy storage solutions.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Lead all aspects of Business Development, including Sales and Project Origination in North America.
• Team Building: Recruit, onboard, and mentor a high-performing, agile, solution driven and customer-oriented business development team
• Performance Management: Set clear performance metrics and KPIs for the team, conduct regular performance evaluations, and provide feedback and coaching to ensure the team is always functioning at its best
• Training & Development: Identify skill gaps within the team and facilitate training sessions, workshops, or external courses to elevate team capabilities
• Collaboration & Communication: Ensure seamless communication between the BD team and other departments like Marketing, Product Development, and Operations. Foster a culture of collaboration, ensuring the BD team is integrated and aligned with the company’s broader objectives
• Resource Allocation: Manage the team’s budget and resources, ensuring optimal allocation for maximum impact. Address any resource constraints and work to resolve them promptly
• Propose, develop, and launch new partnerships with utilities, IPPs and large industrial, CCA, municipals and commercial clients and EPC contractors
• Initiate customer leads a well as preparing and presenting proposals to customers using your experience and network within the target region(s) and segments
• Oversee targeted research and elaborate together with our market analytics team viable use cases for specific customer segments incorporating incentives available, regulatory filings, utility planning documents and other sources of information; with the objective of creating high value leads
• Advance customer and partner engagement in support of commercial performance metrics, such as advancing and signing agreements that demonstrate commercial traction of the Malta technology in the North American market
• Lead sales negotiations and contracting for current and new projects
• Coordinate with our financial department applications for project grants, tax incentive schemes and other project funding opportunities
• Proactively identify potential business risks and devise mitigation strategies. Collaborate with the legal and operations teams to ensure all business activities adhere to industry regulations and standards
• Help to shape Malta’s market development strategy to achieve scale in North America including engagement with key regulatory bodies and market organizations, suggesting regulatory and market mechanisms that will help Malta achieve scale in key North American markets
• Further developing the competitive landscape analyses, including creating executive and Board-level materials evaluating the latest trends in LDES market development
• “Rolling up your sleeves” and providing direct support for projects including project management, project documentation, supporting project development, feasibility analysis and fatal flaw assessment, market pricing research and incorporation with project economic modeling
• Coordinating across disciplines within the organization to manage project-level and other strategic efforts
• Support for other critical initiatives, e.g., pursuing federal and local funding support for projects and solicitation opportunities as they arise including Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Requests for Information (RFIs)
• Communicate developments in the legislative and regulatory markets as well as the commercial pipeline in the target market(s) to Malta leadership in a timely and easily understandable manner
• Build Malta’s brand as an industry and technology leader by speaking at conferences and testifying at regulatory venues
• Collaborate cross-functionally with a variety of teams (Product, Public Relations, Operations, Marketing, Engineering, Legal, etc.) to deliver on partnership commitments and mature key internal capabilities
• Leading and managing the North American BD team:
• Effectively advocate within stakeholder organizations and industry advocacy groups
• Carry out other duties as assigned

Requirements

Professional Experience and Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in public policy, economics, and/or business; master’s degree preferred

A minimum of ten (10) years of experience in a similar or related role, including policy/market development work on energy storage with industrial customers, regulators, legislators, and/or utilities

Deep knowledge and expertise on the following areas: long-duration and seasonal energy storage policies, regulations, tax incentive and other governmental funding schemes likes grants and loan programs relevant for California and other North American key markets; technology commercialization; project interconnection and contracting

Superior communications skills, both written and verbal, as well as strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to synthesize and make accessible complex and nuanced ideas to executive team and key external stakeholders

Excellent organizational, prioritizing and time management skills

Experience working with executive-level positions in either the public or private sectors, and ability to connect with stakeholders of all levels

Prior leadership positions within industry organizations are a plus

Availability for travel inside the USA and Canada (> 90 days/year).

Workplace location: home office with monthly meetings at the headquarters in Cambridge/Boston

Strong commitment to the mission, goals, and policies of Malta

Full business proficiency in English

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Training & Development
• Wellness Resources
• Competitive Salary, bonus and equity