Sebastian Bastek joins Breakthrough Energy’s Innovator Fellows program as CEO of Valoron in Munich, Germany. Sebastian has a background in engineering and business. During his six years as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, Sebastian worked on a broad range of challenges across the chemicals, materials, and semiconductor industries,including large-scale capital projects, major transformation programs and long-term strategy developments. As the Chief Executive Officer of Valoron, Sebastian leads Valoron’s mission to radically transform how we manage and utilize waste today.

Valoron’s thermochemical recycling process turns mixed, unsorted waste into high-quality chemicals and fuels. This approach tackles both waste management and sustainable fuel and chemicals production, contributing to a circular carbon economy. The BE Fellows program will help to demonstrate market readiness and unlocking the next phase of development.

Sebastian holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration with a focus on energy technologies from RWTH Aachen University, Germany. As part of his studies, he also spent a year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, and earned a Master of Science degree from Tsinghua University, China. Sebastian has been a PhD researcher at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, and the project leader of TUM’s international future lab on green hydrogen technologies.