Power to change the world

Seven years later the company, Boston Power, has 500 employees and is expanding to China with 600 new employees. The battery has been sold all over the world, in HP’s new laptops, for example.

And the battery, which is the first in the world to be Swan certified, has hopefully made the world a somewhat more environmentally friendly place.

‘It’s a very small company, but we have built a vessel that is seaworthy. I’m quite satisfied and hope I can inspire others to think differently. If you dare to think outside the box and create new systems, you can make the world a better place’, says Christina Lampe-Önnerud in her Dalecarlian accent.

She grew up in Ludvika, with a father who was an innovator and developer at Asea. He travelled around the world, and the family received many visitors from other countries.

‘I saw myself as a citizen of the world early on and was encouraged at home to work with engineering and innovations.’

The world awaited, but first she spent a few years in Uppsala. She studied chemistry and mathematics and continued with doctoral studies. The subject was lithium-ion batteries, which were a hot item in the early 1990s.

Together with her supervisor, Professor Josh Thomas, whom she describes as ”incredibly pleasant, funny, and intellectually challenging”, she went to Boston for a conference. She presented her findings to the world’s leading battery researchers – and was totally captivated by the innovative setting.

It was not long before she and her husband decided to move there, each with a post doc at prestigious MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

‘There was a unique combination of an extremely high pace and incredibly friendly people who wanted to help each other. It was interesting. When you have lots of people who dare to think outside the boxes that exist today – new solutions abound!’

A few years later the business world beckoned. As a consultant for Arthur D Little she travelled the world and worked with innovations in the energy field. In 2004 she took the step of starting her own company after having become aware of a serious safety problem.  Together with her team she had investigated 100 battery explosions, in laptop computers, for example. What if a safer battery could be made?

‘Ever since I was a child I have dreamt of starting my own company with all my heart. It was really a matter of wanting to solve a problem. I understood that if we succeeded we would attract a great deal of interest.’

The company grew rapidly, and now it is time to move the headquarters to China, where the big market is.

‘China has a clear policy about creating sustainable systems and is investing heavily in electric cars. In the West the attitude is more wait and see’, she sighs.

‘It’s high time we reconsidered our energy policy for the future, otherwise we risk being left behind.’

As chairman of the board she will help set up the new office in Beijing, but she plans on staying in the US with her husband and two children.

What happens next?
‘We’ll see. There are many unsolved problems to address regarding our energy supply. Everything is so market-adapted now, and there are incredible opportunities to contribute’, says Christina Lampe-Önnerud with contagious enthusiasm.

Over the years she has learned to build strong teams and get other people to join forces with her. She started this back in her Uppsala days, when she led children and youth choirs in the Municipal Music School and in the choir Allmänna sången.

As a business leader she made use of her experience of getting 50–60 people to join together to create beautiful music.

‘The choirs taught me how to lead a high-performance group. It’s a matter of allowing yourself to be inspired and to devote yourself to the point where you let go of everything else, live in the present, and forget your predetermined notions of what you can and cannot do.’