Boris Gragera

I’ve spent the last 14 years building hard-tech technology across Ireland, South Korea, the US and the UK. Today I’m building INITION ENERGY, developing advanced battery manufacturing technology for high-performance applications. Along the way I’ve learned that building deep-tech is not just about technology. It’s about: → manufacturing → customers → procurement → capital → execution. On X I write about: Defence Tech | Batteries | Manufacturing | Commercialisation Follow if you’re interested in what it really takes to turn hard technology into a real business.

I don’t see any school hiring really experts in AI. The current teachers aren’t prepared for the change.

Europe and UK doesn't have a battery research problem. It has an industrial know-how problem. The UK and Europe have world-class universities, talented PhDs and technology centres developing new battery technologies. But where are the highly skilled technicians being trained to manufacture batteries? Battery manufacturing is a specialised discipline. It requires practical expertise in electrode processing, coating, drying, calendering, cell assembly, formation, process control and troubleshooting. You don't acquire this know-how simply by studying electrochemistry or completing a PhD. Battery manufacturing is an industrial skill that must be learned through hands-on experience. And this is where the UK and Europe are falling short. We have invested heavily in research, but we haven't built the industrial training ecosystem needed to develop the people who know how to manufacture batteries reliably and competitively. Technology centres should not focus exclusively on research projects and laboratory demonstrations. They should also train technicians in real manufacturing processes, using industrial equipment and solving real production problems. I don't know anyone doing it seriously. We need PhDs, engineers and technicians working together, with each bringing a different and essential set of skills. China and Korea's advantage isn't just its investment in battery factories. It is also decades of accumulated manufacturing experience, process know-how and a workforce that understands how to make batteries. You cannot buy industrial know-how overnight. And you cannot build a competitive battery industry without the people who possess it. If the UK and Europe want to compete in battery manufacturing, they must stop treating practical manufacturing expertise as an afterthought. Research creates possibilities. Industrial know-how turns them into reality. #BatteryManufacturing #BatteryTechnology #AdvancedManufacturing #DeepTech #IndustrialStrategy

One of the biggest changes happening in Defence Tech: Procurement is becoming a startup advantage. For years, founders assumed: “Defence takes 5–10 years to buy anything.” That’s changing. Governments increasingly need: → autonomous systems → drones → counter-drone technology → secure communications → advanced energy → manufacturing capability. The startups that understand both technology AND procurement will have a huge advantage. We validated a strategy that commercialise technology into security and defence in months instead of years. DM if you want to know more.

Europe doesn’t have a battery factory problem. It has a battery technology and manufacturing competitiveness problem. We’re seeing billions going into European battery capacity. That’s good. But capacity alone doesn’t create sovereignty. Real industrial sovereignty requires: → technology → process know-how → manufacturing equipment → materials → supply chain → talent → competitive economics. A factory built in Europe isn’t necessarily a European technology advantage. The real strategic asset is the know-how inside the factory.

I’ve spent years working on battery manufacturing. One lesson keeps coming back: Scaling a technology is not the same as repeating a laboratory experiment. At scale, everything changes: Yield. Throughput. Energy consumption. Equipment. Quality control. Factory footprint. Supply chain. This is why I believe the next generation of deep-tech companies won’t be won by technology alone.

Why, when I explain my entrepreneurial journey, why just few people believe it? I started in Ireland 14 years ago, with 0% English. One year later, I moved to South Korea. After three years there, I moved to New York, and after COVID, I continued my journey in the UK. Why did I move so often? Because at every stage, I was looking for the right ecosystem to make the project I was leading possible. It wasn’t about changing direction. It was about finding the right place, people, talent, capital, and opportunities to turn an ambitious idea into reality.

The majority of people don’t know what freedom mean because they never lived in a place without it. Phrase from my grandfather when I was child.

A los que nos decidamos al hard-tech, todo sigue parecido. La gente piensa que la ciencia física se hace con un promp.

La última de un cuñado ayer anti coche eléctrico. Me dice me lo compraré cuando no haga falta cargarlo nunca, se debería de cargar con la energía que generan las ruedas. Mataron al que inventó la auto carga de por vida. 🤦

Hola a todos, si podéis echar un voto por aquí se agradece. No conozco al resto de los candidatos, pero a @JuanCVezVazquez sí y no se me ocurre nadie mejor para ganar ese premio o cualquier otro: linkedin.com/posts/juan-carl…