Eric Burns joins Breakthrough Energy’s Innovator Fellows program from Thunderstone in San Francisco, California and Edmonton, Canada. Eric is a PhD chemist with a 10+ year track record of co-founding and leading organizations, startups, and teams . Most recently, Eric was a climate associate and in-house entrepreneur at Deep Science Ventures.

Mining is facing a known efficiency and environmental challenge. Without a change to the way we mine and source critical mineral supply, we won’t be able to secure tomorrow’s infrastructure requirements. Thunderstone tries to solve these challenges by turning ore bodies into an ideal in-situ mine project. Enhanced fluid and permeability control can allow us to achieve both excavation-less and tailing-less mining and lower cost metal extraction. The Fellows program will help Thunderstone gain access to world-class experts that can help derisk critical scaling pains as they derisk tech and market.

Eric has dedicated his entire education and career to solving critical challenges in climate, health, and wellbeing. Eric finds time for fun, often live looping various instruments at an open mic stage or jamming with fellow musicians on the electric violin. He is also a passionate ad-hoc home chef and ingredient enthusiast who despises recipes, as well as an avid follower of geopolitics and history.
Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from North Carolina State University, a Master of Research in Green Chemistry from Imperial College London, and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH Zürich), completed at the Paul Scherrer Institute.