It turns out, clean energy sometimes is rocket science.

Felipe is the CEO of FGC Plasma Solutions which is developing new ways to use plasma to make jet engines and other turbines more efficient.

FGC Plasma’s technology reduces the amount of fuel burned in those turbines. This is incredibly important because burning fuels will most likely be a part of air travel for the foreseeable future.

“Currently, manufacturers are pushing the efficiency limits of jet engines and turbines. FGC Plasma’s technology is a way of thinking outside the box to make the process even better.”

Felipe started exploring the technology and building FGC Plasma in Ohio at Case Western Reserve University. He has then gone on to NASA to do testing and is currently working at Argonne National Lab as part of the Chain Reaction Innovations program. There he is taking all of the science that he has done and creating products for customers that have to work under incredibly challenging conditions: inside a jet engine. And he has to do all of that while working on a tight budget.

“Most people think we [the clean energy industry] are all tree huggers,” Felipe commented. “Really, we are trying to help everyone gain from reducing inefficiency.”