Arnold Leitner is a cleantech pioneer, a serial entrepreneur, and an expert in energy markets. He designed and built one of Germany’s first super-efficient “passive” houses. 

 

Earlier in his career, Arnold worked as an energy consultant at S&P Global and authored the influential study “Fuel from the Sky” for the US Department of Energy. In 2005, he founded SkyFuel Inc., a prominent cleantech company whose parabolic solar collector won an R&D 100 Award in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. SkyFuel was acquired in 2015. Arnold then founded Leitnium (formerly YouSolar) to develop PowerBloc, a modular, scalable, multi-source power system – a nanogrid platform for distributed power that serves as a private utility. 

 

Arnold also served as chair of the Solar Electric Division of the American Solar Energy Society from 2007 to 2009. He holds multiple patents in the energy sector, a PhD in physics from the University of Colorado Boulder, and an MBA in entrepreneurship and finance from Columbia University. Arnold has raised over $50 million in funding from private and institutional investors, including $15M for Leitnium.