Philipp Man – terralayr

In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, I’m joined by Philipp Man, co-founder and CEO of terralayr, a company building a new kind of energy infrastructure platform focused on flexibility and battery storage. Philipp shares his journey from commodities and entrepreneurship into the energy sector, and the insight that led to terralayr: the growing flexibility gap in power systems as renewable generation scales.

As he puts it:

“We wanted to build something akin to the AWS for power.”

terralayr combines battery asset development with a software platform that virtualises and commercialises storage capacity, enabling customers to access flexibility without owning and operating assets themselves. The conversation explores how this model sits at the intersection of infrastructure and technology — and why that distinction may become less relevant as energy systems evolve.

We also discuss the state of the European storage market. Despite the growing focus on batteries, Philipp is clear that we are still early:

“We’re really just at the beginning… you need to grow over 10x in the next four years.”

From there, we move into some of the real-world constraints holding the sector back — particularly grid access and bureaucracy, and what needs to change to accelerate deployment.

The discussion also touches on broader themes shaping the energy transition, including:

The role of battery storage in enabling renewable integration
Why flexibility is becoming a critical part of the energy system
The shift from asset ownership to access and platform models
The impact of geopolitics and energy security on policy direction
The need to reframe the transition around energy sovereignty and abundance

On the talent side, Philipp shares a disciplined approach to building teams, with a strong emphasis on hiring quality over speed and creating a culture where high performers set the standard:

“The most important thing you can control is who comes through the door.”

He also reflects on the realities of building a company in this space, from landmark commercial deals and fundraising milestones to the operational challenges that come with scaling infrastructure.

Finally, we discuss leadership, resilience, and the importance of mindset, seeing challenges not as problems, but as opportunities to build capability and long-term advantage.

Philipp Man:

Philipp Man is co-founder and CEO of terralayr, an energy flexibility company founded in late 2022. Prior to terralayr, Philipp founded and ran CHRONEXT, a leading online marketplace for luxury watches, which he sold in early 2023 to focus on terralayr. Philipp started his career at Glencore in the middle distillates division and within BCG’s Energy Practice. Born in Cologne, he studied in the UK at King's College and the University of Cambridge and lives in Switzerland.

About terralayr:

terralayr provides energy flexibility services on demand. terralayr is a fully integrated energy flexibility provider, aggregating its own and third-party battery storage assets through a cloud-like aggregation platform. Customers such as power producers, traders, grid operators, and energy-intensive businesses gain access to flexibility without having to own or operate assets themselves. Asset owners tap into top-tier flexibility off-takers, can optimise their revenue mix between merchant and contracted revenues, and benefit from a streamlined asset infrastructure setup. terralayr develops and operates its own battery storage portfolio, with multiple assets currently live in Germany, several more under construction, and a multi-GW pipeline in development.

Social links:

Philipp Manon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippman/
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