Welcome back to the latest edition of Future Mobility News & Views.

Before diving in, a quick personal milestone to share. Yesterday marked seven years since I joined Hyperion Search to lead our EV & Future Mobility practice. It’s been a journey shaped entirely by the people in this sector - the leaders, founders, operators, investors, teams and colleagues (past & present) for which I’ve had the privilege to get to know and work alongside all these years. The Doers. The ones who show up, push things forward, and deliver genuine impact. Thank You.

I’m hugely grateful for the trust, the conversations, and the chance to play my small part in helping the right people find the right missions, and in turn, helping so many ambitious organisations realise their scale objectives. And even with a decade in #emobility under my belt, it’s clear we’ve still got a long way to go - in fact, we haven’t even scratched the surface.

But what a moment to hit that milestone 👇🏼

Leadership hiring isn’t about who can speak to the most candidates - it’s about who can represent your story credibly and compellingly.

Next week marks my 10 year anniversary supporting eMobility and cleantech companies to scale - seven of those with Hyperion Search (Time flies!)

During that time, one thing has become obvious...

Every leadership hire is a leverage point.

The right Search partner elevates your credibility with the top performers and operators who matter.

The wrong approach risks fragmenting your message, and top‑tier candidates feel that instantly.

Briefing multiple 'recruitment agencies' might seem efficient, but it dilutes your narrative and weakens the signal you send to the market. It might work at entry-mid level but for senior leadership and executive level hiring, this approach is, in my opinion at least, one to avoid.

I’ve captured the why, and the impact in the short piece below and would welcome your thoughts?

You can view the pdf here: The Case Against Using Multiple Search Firms or view the video below:

Over the past few weeks, Niall Riddell, (CEO and Co-founder of Paua) and I have been comparing notes on the sheer pace of activity across the European eHGV landscape. It’s a sector that’s no longer “emerging” - it’s accelerating, diversifying, and becoming far more interconnected than many realise.

So, we decided to map it.

Together, we’ve created a comprehensive view of the companies pushing the heavy‑duty transition forward - charging operators and developers, hardware and software providers, ‘as‑a‑service’ models, vehicle manufacturers, operators, hauliers and more across the value chain.

What became clear very quickly is just how fluid this ecosystem is. Many organisations sit across multiple categories, and innovation is happening in parallel rather than in silos. This first edition captures a broad and representative snapshot, though we know there are more trailblazers out there redefining how zero‑emission freight will operate.

As such, future iterations will expand further, especially across operators, developers and the deeper layers of the value chain.

We’ll also be exploring the three fundamentals that ultimately determine whether scalable, zero‑emission logistics becomes reality: Talent, Capital and Collaboration.

At Hyperion, we’re deeply embedded in helping the companies driving the energy and mobility transition to scale - because let's face it, none of this happens without the right leadership talent and teams in place.

And equally, none of the companies featured will deliver zero‑emission freight alone. This transition depends on partnerships, interoperability, shared infrastructure and a willingness to collaborate across traditional boundaries. Collective progress will be the real catalyst for a fully decarbonised heavy‑duty sector.

And of course, none of this happens without committed capital. The continued growth of the organisations featured here is only possible thanks to Europe’s impact‑driven investors. Austin Wood and the team at SET Ventures are doing hugely important work on that front (check out their latest report on the topic of eHGV's).

We hope you find this market map useful. If you’re active in this space or feel you should be featured in future editions - I’d love to hear from you.

All the best,

Steve

View the European eHGV Market Map here

Soon we will close the curtain on what has been a total rollercoaster of a year for the EV sector. On one hand, the pace of innovation has been incredibly fast-paced but on the other, it has been a turbulent and, at times, frustratingly challenging period for many.

From the "wait and see" fatigue of policy uncertainties and geo-political power struggles to the very real physical hurdles of grid constraint bottlenecks and the cable theft crisis, the industry has been tested like never before. Coupled with a toughening investment climate, resilience hasn't just been a buzzword - it’s been a survival requirement for the leaders of our sector.

But despite the headwinds, we enter 2026 with a genuine sense of optimism. The EV transition is no longer a future concept or a niche ambition. The once nascent, EV bubble that many of the naysayers couldn't wait to burst, is now a complex, massive-scale industrial reality that continues to gain momentum. The foundations laid during this challenging and the on-going consolidation has and will only make the sector leaner, more focused, and ready for the next phase of growth. And as I always say, if it were easy, everyone would do it.

For us at Hyperion, this year marked a significant milestone - 12 months since we joined HC Group. It has been a whirlwind of growth across our core practices - EV, Energy Storage & Grid, Renewables, and Board. We’ve expanded our own team, walked the floors of major events across Europe and the US, and had the privilege of helping scale some of the most innovative teams in the sector. I know many of you have felt the market squeeze this year, but seeing the calibre of talent still dedicated to this transition gives me immense confidence as we look toward January.

Let’s take a look at the final quarter’s highlights across the industry.

Industry News Round-up 🚗⚡

EV Charging Infrastructure

Had a fascinating exchange recently with a successful cleantech founder who'd scaled and exited their business in recent years.

They openly admitted a strong dislike for recruiters, clearly stemming from some negative past experiences.

However, this same founder also confessed to spending 30+ hours a week on recruitment. That's 30 hours pulled away from strategy, product development, gaining commercial traction, fundraising – the core activities that drive a start-up.

And it wasn't just them; their HR and internal team leads were also bogged down, sifting through hundreds of applications.

It made me think:

When you need a leak fixed? You call a plumber.
When you need to re-wire your house? You get an electrician.
When you need to balance the books? You get an accountant
When you systems fail? You consult IT Support
When you need medical advice? You consult a doctor.

You get the gist...

So why do so many founders and HR professionals believe they can manage complex recruitment on their own? It often leads to a massive drain on vital time and resources.

Good recruiters aren't just a cost; they're a vital extension of your business. We're your eyes and ears in the market. We know your competition inside out, we understand the talent landscape, and can compellingly share your story to attract top-tier talent – the kind who aren't just spamming applications.

Don't let a past bad experience cost you and your team countless hours of headache. An experienced search consultant can take that pain away, save you money, and free you up to focus on what truly matters. It's simply naive to think otherwise.

The work myself and my team at Hyperion Search Ltd do has a 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 on helping cleantech companies to scale. Cleantech isn't just the latest fad for us, we live and breathe it and have been scaling innovative start-ups globally for a lot longer than most. 

It's a question I pose to my clients at the very start of a new search. Whilst many define it with hard numbers – "£X revenue delivered by X date" or "X projects delivered with X costs saved" – a fair few, though, simply say: "finding the right person." And that really got me thinking...

This weekend, I'll be running the Manchester Marathon, my fourth in five years and the first of two this year. Those four medals will stick with me forever, and they certainly haven't come about by chance. I've put in a serious amount of time and effort over the years, going from someone who couldn't run for a bus to someone who's no longer fazed by running 20 miles on consecutive weekends.

The thought of 26.2 miles though, can seem a bit daunting, but in many ways it reminds me a lot of the strategic graft required in the search for top talent. Finding the right person doesn't just happen overnight. Just like running a marathon, it isn't about a quick dash to the finish line. It involves proper planning and strategy, consistent effort, and the stamina and resilience to go the distance. And more often than not, it requires the skills and experience of someone far more clued up than yourself to help you get there – like a running coach.

Let's face it, everyone wants the best hire, but most of the time, the best talent isn't immediately visible, they're happy, motivated, well compensated and generally flying in their current role. A proper and persistent search is therefore required to uncover and then convince those exceptional individuals to come on board and genuinely drive your business forward and help you achieve your growth ambitions.

Mediocre, so-so talent doesn't take your business to the next level, just like being ill-prepared won't run a marathon for you. So don't rush the hiring process or settle for working with a firm who simply slings the cheapest and fastest CVs at your door. We all know a rushed hiring process has a high probability of ending in disaster - just like a rushed marathon.

That's where Hyperion Search Ltd comes in. Think of a search firm like us as your experienced running partner or coach, leveraging our knowledge and many years of experience to guide you through the twists and turns of the talent landscape, creating and delivering on a strategy to help you cross the finish line with the perfect hire not a rushed one.

If you are looking for senior or leadership talent and want to find the right partner to have a genuine impact on your success in doing so, feel free to get in touch.