TOP 10 Most-Read Thought Leaders in Energy Transition

Discover also our 2026 Rankings of the Most Read Thought Leaders in Business Impact, Carbon, Circularity, Climate Change, Energy, Environmental Sustainability, ESG, Ethical Governance, Green Tech, Nature, Renewables, Social Responsibility, Sustainable AI, Sustainable Business, Sustainable Finance, and Sustainable Lifestyle. Explore how this year's leaders compare to the most influential Energy Transition voices of last year!

illuminem is proud to present the most-read Thought Leaders in Energy Transition globally, as recognised by illuminem's ever growing community of 700,000+ readers.

The energy transition in 2025 stopped being a story about technology and became a story about power, in both senses of the word. The clean energy build-out continued at pace, but the year's defining theme was the realisation that whoever controls the materials and manufacturing controls the transition itself. China's export controls on rare earth elements and battery components laid the dependency bare: a single country now refines the lion's share of nearly every mineral critical to grids, batteries, and electric vehicles. What had been framed as an engineering challenge was revealed as a geopolitical one.

Against that backdrop, the voices on this list grappled with the transition's hardest questions: how to secure supply chains without stalling progress, how to finance the decarbonisation of utilities and heavy industry, and how to ensure the shift is just as well as fast. From hydrogen's contested role to the lessons of China's clean-energy ascent, they approached the transition not as an inevitability but as a contest whose outcome is still being decided.

What distinguished Noé van Hulst in that conversation was the authority of long experience. As Special Advisor on Hydrogen to the IEA and former Chairman of the IEA Governing Board, he has helped shape global energy policy for decades. His most-read piece made the case for "electrons for peace" – the idea that a clean energy system, built right, could be a force for geopolitical stability rather than a new arena for rivalry.

Joining him on the list, Nicola Armaroli – Research Director at the Italian National Research Council – examines what happens when misinformation and hype around rare earths distort public understanding, Carolyn Kissane – Associate Dean at New York University and Breaking Energy's Top 10 Energy Communicator – explains how China won the clean-energy race, and Venera Anderson – Founder and CEO of Zanpa Edge, a boutique global strategic advisory – traces Japan's green transformation.

Drawn from over 2,500 thought leaders publishing on illuminem Voices, the ranking below reflects the voices that shaped how the energy transition conversation evolved in 2025. Please join us in congratulating the Thought Leaders of the Year in Energy Transition, and every voice contributing to this vital global debate on illuminem.

1️⃣ Noé van Hulst - Fmr. Chairman of the IEA Governing Board
Country: Netherlands 🇳🇱
Most-Read Thought Piece: Electrons for peace
Profile: Noé van Hulst is a globally renowned hydrogen expert. He currently serves as Special Advisor Hydrogen to the IEA, Vice-Chair of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy, Hydrogen Advisor to infrastructure company Gasunie, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Energy Policy (CIEP), and Fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. He has also been the Dutch Ambassador to the OECD, Chairman of the IEA Governing Board, and General Director for Energy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands.

2️⃣ David McEwen - Director at Adaptive Capability
Country: Australia 🇦🇺
Most-Read Thought Piece: Onions, orchestration and opportunity: the 3 "O's" of EVs and charging
Profile: David McEwen is a Director at Adaptive Capability, a consultancy specializing in climate risk and emissions reduction strategy, program, and project management. He collaborates with businesses, community leaders, policymakers, designers, and engineers to drive change. His book, Navigating the Adaptive Economy, was published in 2016. David holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a certificate in Sustainability and Climate Risk from the Global Association of Risk Professionals.

3️⃣ Nicola Armaroli - Research Director at the Italian National Research Council
Country: Italy 🇮🇹
Most-Read Thought Piece: When rare earths become political fiction
Profile: Nicola Armaroli is Research Director at the Italian National Research Council and Member of the Italian National Academy of Sciences. He studies the conversion of light into electricity and fuels and the transition of the global energy system. Nicola has travelled as a visiting lecturer worldwide and published hundreds of scientific articles.

4️⃣ Venera N. Anderson - Founder and CEO of Zanpa Edge
Country: Japan 🇯🇵
Most-Read Thought Piece: Japan's Green Transformation (GX): promise, paradox, and the path forward
Profile: Dr. Venera N. Anderson is an illuminem Thought Leader on energy transition. Following her tenure on Wall Street at Franklin Templeton, Citigroup (Salomon Smith Barney), Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse, now she is the Founder and CEO of Zanpa Edge, a boutique global strategic advisory. Her work experience includes serving as a Co-Founder and Non-Executive Board Director of the Carbon Management Society, a Council Leader on the US-Japan Council; a member of the HBR Advisory Council. She is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow, a Savvitas Global Ambassador, a "Women of the Revolution - 2026" Honoree by Supply Chain Queen, a Top Female Leader of 2025 by Mogul AI, and a "Women in Hydrogen 50 - 2025" Honoree by Hydrogen Economist and H2 Tech. She is a co-author of the book "Touching Hydrogen Future" (2nd ed.), the author of "The Fight Against Poverty in the BRICS Countries," and a co-author of five books on poverty in transitional economies.

5️⃣ Jean-Baptiste Vaujour - Professor of Practice at Emlyon Business School
Country: France 🇫🇷
Most-Read Thought Piece: The challenge of a generation: decarbonising utilities
Profile: Jean-Baptiste Vaujour is an energy economist. He is a Professor of Practice at Emlyon Business School and the founder of a consulting firm. He is a registered expert at the European Commission on Energy and Infrastructure Financing, a member of the Future Energy Leaders of the World Energy Council, and a recipient of the Marcel Boiteux Prize for Energy Economics.

6️⃣ Michelle Arellano-Meza - Leader of the Future Energy Leaders Programme at the World Energy Council
Country: Ecuador 🇪🇨
Most-Read Thought Piece: From diesel to dignity: Ecuador's fight for energy
Profile: Michelle Arellano is an international affairs professional, with over 15 years of experience in the field. Her expertise lies in energy sustainability and climate change, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective that includes socio-economic insights to an often technocratic sector. She is currently leading the Future Energy Leaders programme at the World Energy Council, where she promotes clean and just energy transitions for a healthier, more inclusive future for all.

7️⃣ Robert Serec - CEO of White Hydrogen
Country: Slovenia 🇸🇮
Most-Read Thought Piece: Lead or lose: a call to secure Europe's future through sustainability
Profile: Robert Serec is the CEO of White Hydrogen, a company converting waste into clean energy and promoting the mainstream adoption of clean technology solutions. As a strategic consultant with a track record of driving organizational transformation and profitability, Robert combines his expertise in leadership and international business and fluency in six languages to guide organizations toward sustainable growth across multiple industries, including gaming, education, and manufacturing.

8️⃣ Leon Stille - Business Development Director and co-owner of Hovyu BV
Country: Germany 🇩🇪
Most-Read Thought Piece: An electric arsenal: bridging defense and energy transition
Profile: Leon Stille is Business Development Director and co-owner of Hovyu BV, a carbon capture scale-up. He is also the founder of New Energy Institute, working as an independent energy expert, and serves as Manager of Education and Partnerships at Impact Hydrogen. Additionally, he holds teaching positions at Mines de Nancy, NCOI University of Applied Sciences, Rome Luiss School of Management, and HEC Paris. As a seasoned energy professional with expertise in both renewable and conventional energy technologies, Leon holds leadership roles at organizations such as TNO and Plug Power, contributes to pioneering projects like Boundary Dam 3, and serves as an advisor to the European Biogas Association, Hydrogen Europe, and the International Gas Union.

9️⃣ Carolyn Kissane - Associate Dean and Clinical Professor at the NYU School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: How China won the clean-energy race
Profile: Carolyn Kissane is Associate Dean and Clinical Professor at the New York University School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs and Founding Director of NYU's Energy, Climate, and Sustainability Lab.

🔟 Monica Collings - Non-Executive Director at Dalcour Maclaren
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Most-Read Thought Piece: Navigating the UK's energy transition: progress, challenges, and the path ahead
Profile: Monica Collings is a portfolio non-executive working plurally across a number of board and strategic advisory positions, including at Dalcour Maclaren and Adler & Allen.

Congratulations to our most-read thought leaders of the last year. In a time when the sustainability conversation was pulled in every direction at once, the voices on this list helped move it forward with clarity and intellect. We are proud to amplify their voices, and look forward to what comes next.

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