Energy sector needs firms with mentality of Tesla and Amazon to move forward, CEO says
The energy sector requires new companies with the mentality of a Tesla or Amazon to push forward in the years ahead, according to the ex-CEO of energy infrastructure powerhouse Snam.
“It took a Tesla to disrupt … the car manufacturing sector, it took an Amazon to disrupt the retail market, and I think it’s going to take new companies to disrupt the energy sector,” Marco Alvera, who is now the CEO of Tree Energy Solutions, a firm looking to develop projects that use green hydrogen, said.
Alvera, who was speaking to CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick during a recent interview, went on to emphasize the importance of companies adopting an approach centered around dynamism.
“I think it’s always the agile companies that can really do … kind of a zero-base design and build the whole organization around the purpose, around the speed of execution, around the seriousness,” he said.
“The time it takes Amazon to build one of their warehouses — there’s no way a conventional company can do that,” he went on to state.
“This is about taking some of the West Coast mentality, some of the Tesla mentality, some of the, you know, ‘we can do it and we can do it quickly’ attitude and delivering faster than a conventional approach would be able to deliver,” he said.
Electric vehicle firm Tesla and tech giant Amazon are two of the world’s most recognizable companies. Alongside their core businesses, both have made plays in the energy sector over the past few years.
Tesla, for example, has ventured into battery storage, while Amazon has been involved in large wind and solar investments.
Alvera’s comments come at a time of huge change for the energy industry, with major economies around the world looking to move away from fossil fuels in the long term whilst simultaneously grappling with volatile market conditions and uncertainty.
The European Union, for instance, is looking to ramp up its renewable energy installations over the next few years as it pursues its target of becoming climate neutral by the year 2050.
The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, sees hydrogen as being an important tool in this shift, with its president, Ursula von der Leyen, expressing support for it during her State of the Union address in September.
Described by the International Energy Agency as a “versatile energy carrier,” hydrogen has a diverse range of applications and can be deployed in a wide range of industries.
It can be produced in a number of ways. One method includes electrolysis, with an electric current splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable source such as wind or solar then some call it “green” or “renewable” hydrogen.
The vast majority of hydrogen generation is currently based on fossil fuels, but the commission has said it wants 40 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers to be installed in the EU by 2030.
It’s within this environment that companies like Tree Energy Solutions are looking to gain a foothold in the emerging green hydrogen sector.
At the start of October, it was announced that TES and Australia’s Fortescue Future Industries would work together on a major green hydrogen project.
According to a statement dated Oct. 5, FFI will invest 30 million euros (around $29.76 million) in TES.
“The first phase of this partnership is to jointly develop and invest in the supply of 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen with final locations being currently agreed,” the statement added.
During his interview with CNBC, Alvera was asked whether we had the technology to get large-scale green hydrogen out there in masses, and who was leading the technological race within the sector.
“We absolutely have the technology,” he replied. “China [is leading], I would say, by a big margin on solar panels and on the electrolyzers,” he added. “There’s European technologies, there’s U.S. technologies.”
“So we have the technologies, what we don’t have is a manufacturing capability to scale those technologies up in time.”
“And that’s where I would like to see more policy focus and more entrepreneurs really investing [in] … the factories.”
With new models rolling out from General Motors, Porsche, Honda, and several others, US EV sales increased by over 10% in the first three months of 2025. Nearly 300,000 EVs were sold in the first quarter of 2025. These were the top-selling models.
New EVs drive US sales growth in Q1 2025
Electric vehicle sales showed mixed results in the first quarter. Although Tesla is the center of attention as it continues to lose market share, several new EV models made an impressive debut.
With over 30,000 EVs sold in the first quarter, more than double the number sold last year, GM surpassed Ford and Hyundai Motor, placing second behind Tesla. GM’s Chevy is now the fastest-growing EV brand in the US, with the new electric Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado arriving.
GM sold 10,329 Chevy Equinox, 6,187 Blazer, and another 2,383 Silverado EVs in Q1. Thanks to its partnership with GM, Honda had an impressive sales quarter, selling over 14,000 EVs, including its luxury Acura brand.
The Prologue SUV remained one of the top-sellers with 9,561 units sold in the first quarter, while the Acura ZDX added another 4,813.
According to Cox Automotive, Honda led EV sales growth for new entrants in Q1, followed by Acura, Jeep, and Dodge.
Jeep sold 2,595 Wagoneer S models during the quarter, its first electric SUV sold in the US. Dodge, another Stellantis-owned brand, sold 1,947 Charger EVs, or what it calls the world’s first electric muscle car.
Although Chevy’s Equinox EV made a statement in Q1, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E remained the top-selling non-Tesla with 11,607 models sold.
| Rank | EV model | Q1 2025 sales |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 64,051 |
| 2 | Tesla Model 3 | 52,520 |
| 3 | Ford Mustang Mach-E | 11,607 |
| 4 | Chevrolet Equinox EV | 10,329 |
| 5 | Honda Prologue | 9,561 |
| 6 | Hyundai IONIQ 5 | 8,611 |
| 7 | Volkswagen ID.4 | 7,663 |
| 8 | Ford F-150 Lightning | 7,187 |
| 9 | BMW i4 | 7,125 |
| 10 | Tesla Cybertruck | 6,406 |
After introducing the upgraded 2025 IONIQ 5 (which now has even more range and an NACS charging port), Hyundai sold 8,611 electric SUVs in Q1, an increase of 26% from last year.
Porsche had the highest EV sales volume growth after launching the electric Macan. With 3,339 units added, the Macan EV made up for Porsche Taycan sales falling 18% to just 1,019.
As Cox Automotive Analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty noted, “The year certainly started strong, but the road ahead will be anything but smooth.”
Trump ending federal incentives and introducing new tariffs will “pose a monumental challenge for many automakers,” according to Valdez Streaty. Despite several new models arriving and significant incentives being offered (at least for now), the rest of 2025 “will likely be a volatile one for EV sales in the US.”
Ready to score some savings while they are still here? We can help you get started. You can use our links below to find deals on the top-selling EVs in your area.
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![Electric concrete pump truck can drive 30 miles, pump 65 cubic yards [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/putzmeister_electric-pump.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Based on a capable Volvo FM Electric 8×4 chassis, Putzmeister revealed one of the world’s largest all electric concrete pump trucks at the bauma equipment expo in Munich, Germany this week. The zero-emission concrete pumper can up to 50 km and pump approximately 50 cubic meters of concrete on a single charge.
50 km (a little over 30 miles) and 50 cubic meters (about 65 cubic yards) may not seem like impressive numbers, but consider this: a single cubic yard of concrete weighs a little over 4,000 lbs. (2 tons). A bit of simple math later, and you’ve got a quiet, vibration-free machine blasting (65 cu. yds ×4,100 lbs./yd = 266,500 lbs.) of construction material nearly 140 feet (42 meters) in the air.
That’s over 130 tons of construction material moved a really long way, and that’s (of course) without the use of diesel or gas.
“Volvo Trucks is the innovator when it comes to new technologies in combination with electric trucks. After presenting electric concrete mixers and heavy applications for mining, we are proud to show yet another world-class innovation for the construction segment here at bauma,” says Christoph Fitz, Head of Sales at Volvo Trucks in Germany. “With this electric pump truck, customers can have a zero-exhaust emission solution, low-noise operation and an efficient process thanks to the work-while-charging capacity.”
The Volvo FM Electric-based concrete pump is motivated by a pair of electric motors developing a continuous 330 kW (442 hp) of output through the company’s proprietary I-Shift gearbox. The truck’s four battery packs add up to 360 kWh of capacity, which can DC fast charge at speeds up to 250 kW or operate continuously (pumping even more material) with grid power or PU500 remote power connection.
Electrek’s Take
There will surely be a few nay-sayers who’ll try to cite the relatively short-sounding range of trucks like this, or the 100-ton Tadano mobile electric crane, but the range is typically more than enough to operate in urban environments and motivate the asset across even the largest job sites. Additionally, the ability to plug in to grid power and operate 24/7 makes all of that quieter, safer, cleaner … and moot.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Putzmeister; Volvo Trucks.
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This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes an analysis of how the Trump tariffs will affect e-bike pricing in the US, USB-C chargeable e-bikes launched by Ampler, Specialized e-bike recall, Juiced Bikes revived as a brand, kayak camping with the JackRabbit XG Pro, Walkcar’s new device that does the walking for you, and more.
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