Having the Energy for the Long Game: A Tech Startup Story with Adelan
Adelan has been building toward the future for three decades, which is a rare statement in startup land and a powerful context for this conversation with Dr Michaela Kendall, CEO and co-founder. In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, we dig into how a family project became a company, why the first factory is a meaningful turning point, how to time demand when supply chains are still forming, and the simple commercial rule Michaela returns to again and again, that the winning solution must be cheaper for the customer while still doing the job better.
Listen to the Podcast
Available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
The thread running through it all: energy and persistence
Michaela is very clear that persistence is the characteristic that carried Adelan through the highs and the hard patches, and that stamina only matters if it is tied to a strong offer that solves a real customer problem at a sensible price. Her summary is disarmingly direct, get to know your customers, understand their problems, and make it cheaper. That combination of energy and commercial clarity sits at the heart of Adelan’s story.
From family project to company with a purpose
Adelan began as a father–daughter experiment in tubular solid oxide fuel cells, which quickly revealed untapped potential. When an early patent was sold by a university to US investors who raised significant capital on the back of it, Michaela and family incorporated to keep subsequent innovations in the UK and to pursue the commercial path themselves. That moment validated the market value of the work and set the direction of travel.
What the product does and where it fits first
At its core, Adelan builds very efficient, quiet generators that produce power and sometimes usable heat or cooling from readily available fuels, with biofuels as the preferred option and hydrogen as an option when practical. The team mapped hundreds of applications, from remote power and backup on construction sites to leisure uses, and then narrowed to the sweet spots where the proposition saves money today and removes air pollution while reducing carbon.
Build supply before you scale demand
You will not find splashy mass marketing from Adelan, not because they doubt the product, but because supply chains across hydrogen technologies remain immature and can make early units artificially expensive. The decision has been to stay visible in the right circles, avoid creating demand that cannot be met, and invest the energy in hardening supply so the company can under promise and over deliver when volume is ready.
First factory, tenfold capacity, and a targeted team
Adelan moved into its first factory last year, stepping from a capacity of about one thousand units toward an intermediate target around ten thousand, which is a practical bridge to true mass manufacturing. The hiring focus reflects that shift, with manufacturing, engineering, operations, and buyers working together to achieve pricing that meets customer expectations at scale.
Funding, location and the reality of industrial scale
Scaling green tech in Britain brings a specific set of challenges, from historic advice to offshore manufacturing to the comparative pull of markets where industrial policy and procurement are designed to localise production. Adelan has collaborators in the US and intends to manufacture there alongside a UK base as conditions allow, which is a pragmatic response to policy and financing environments while staying true to the company’s roots.
Stepping into the CEO role
Investor expectations formalised Michaela’s move into the CEO seat, a transition handled with honesty inside a long-running family business. That shift brought clarity of direction toward commercialisation and scale, and while change is rarely simple, she describes it as invigorating and remains focused on growth.
Founder notes you can use tomorrow
Michaela’s advice is grounded and consistent, know exactly who the customer is, spend time with their problems, and make the product cheaper through efficiency and scale, because cost matters even when the mission is climate. None of this removes the need for energy over years, it simply points that energy at the commercial levers that create durable momentum.
What stood out in this episode
Adelan’s story shows how deep tech becomes a business when you pair scientific conviction with patient capacity building, and when you only amplify demand at the moment your supply chain can answer the call. The lesson for founders is not complicated, pick the first market you can win, stand up the factory that matches it, and use your energy to close the gap between prototype economics and volume economics without losing sight of customer value.
Listen to the Podcast
Available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
If you enjoyed this conversation and want to learn more about Adelan and Dr. Michaela Kendall, please connect on LinkedIn and check out their website. Dr. Michaela recently presented a talk on “UK Hydrogen Technology Strategy – Comparisons and Contrasts with Other Countries” at The Hydrogen Conference.
