In Energy, Ten Strategic Relationships Can Matter More Than 10,000 Leads.

Some businesses scale primarily through distribution. Energy businesses often scale through ecosystems.

That difference has shaped much of my career.

At the Hydrogen Energy Cluster Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, our role was to connect more than 120 stakeholders from industry, government and research.

The lesson was not simply that networking matters. It was that emerging markets require coordination.

Energy projects depend on capabilities no single company controls

Consider what may be required to build one significant energy project.

• —Technology
• —A site
• —Electricity and grid access
• —Permits
• —Financing
• —A customer
• —Engineering and operations
• —Insurance
• —Potentially public support

No individual company controls all of those elements. This means competitive advantage can come from assembling the right ecosystem earlier and more credibly than others.

A good partnership removes uncertainty

The best strategic partnerships do more than produce leads. They answer questions.

• —A credible engineering partner tells the customer: this can be delivered.
• —A strong financing partner says: this can potentially be financed.
• —An industrial offtaker says: there is real demand.
• —A recognised technology provider says: the technical risk is manageable.
• —A local partner says: this organisation understands the market.

Every strong relationship reduces one dimension of uncertainty. That makes the entire proposition easier to buy.

Logo partnerships are not partnerships

Companies sometimes mistake an MOU or co-marketing agreement for strategic cooperation.

A useful partnership needs a reason to exist.

• —What can both organisations achieve together that neither can achieve as effectively alone?
• —Which risk disappears?
• —Which capability becomes available?
• —Which customer problem becomes easier to solve?
• —Which market becomes accessible?

Without a clear answer, the relationship may look impressive on a slide but create very little commercial value.

Build ecosystems deliberately

Business development should therefore not be treated as miscellaneous networking around the sales organisation. In emerging energy markets, ecosystem design can be a core strategic capability.

The right ten relationships can materially change the probability that a project happens. Ten thousand names in a database cannot.