Commercial Co-founder, Next generation manufacturing for battery materials

Join us to build a venture securing the future of electrification by scaling the next-generation of battery materials manufacturing.

We are seeking applications from experienced industry or startup professionals with deep commercial domain expertise and a keen interest in founding and scaling an impact driven, high growth company from the ground up.

The Opportunity

Deep Science Ventures and Prosemino are building a new climate tech venture to eliminate graphite anode material supply as a critical bottleneck to global electrification.

Synthetic graphite anode underpins lithium-ion batteries - and today its production is:

• >95% concentrated in China
• Extremely energy-intensive (~11 MWh per tonne)
• Slow, polluting, and geopolitically fragile

We are building a fundamentally new synthetic graphite manufacturing process that dramatically reduces energy intensity, accelerates production rates, and enables geographically flexible supply. The ambition: make graphite anode material cheaper, cleaner, and scalable enough to keep up with battery demand.

We are now seeking a Commercial Co-Founder to partner with our technical founder and take this venture from formation through Series A and beyond.

This is a ground-floor opportunity to build a company at the centre of the energy transition, addressing a material already shaping trade policy, industrial strategy and global conflict.

Location: UK
Commitment: Part-time initially → Full-time post venture incorporation and spin-out (target Q3 2026)
Equity: Meaningful founder equity + competitive salary post-incorporation

The Role

As Commercial Co-Founder, you will own the venture’s commercial strategy and execution from day one.

Working hand-in-hand with the technical founder, you will:

• Validate market demand and define target segments
• Build early customer, supplier, and strategic partnerships
• Secure commercial proof points (LOIs, MOUs, offtake pathways)
• Lead fundraising from pre-seed through Series A
• Shape pricing, go-to-market strategy, and long-term commercial positioning

This is a deeply hands-on role. You will personally develop customer relationships, negotiate early agreements, and help to build financial and techno-economic models. As the company grows, you will recruit and lead the commercial function.

Requirements

Must-Have Experience:

• Previous experience in either a startup/early-stage company environment, or leading commercial scale-up in a relevant industrial setting (or both).
• A track record in fundraising from venture capital, grant writing, grant management and building commercial partnerships.
• Exposure to regulatory processes for industrial chemicals/materials (ideally battery-related).
• A strong network across relevant industries such as electrode/cell manufacturing.

Essential Capabilities:

• Lead customer discovery to identify and prioritise target markets, building relationships from initial outreach through to binding offtake agreements, and refining value proposition based on market feedback
• Identify and secure feedstock supply partnerships with petrochemical/coal/other amorphous carbon suppliers.
• Co-develop and maintain techno-economic models, pricing strategy and financial models with the founding team, and lead commercial negotiations and contract structuring.
• Lead fundraising efforts with commercial due diligence materials, building investor relationships and communicating commercial progress.
• Demonstrated B2B sales and business development experience, ideally in materials, chemicals, or related industrial sectors, with a track record from cold outreach to signed agreements.
• Willingness to operate across strategic and administrative tasks, with resilience, strong self-direction, and ability to thrive in uncertain environments.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to build credibility across diverse stakeholders, present to senior executives and investors, and work collaboratively with a technical co-founder.
• Ability to recruit and lead team members as the company grows, with a desire to build and scale an organisation aligned with company mission and values.

Valuable “Nice-to-Haves”:

• Experience managing customer application testing programmes, developing go-to-market strategy, and assessing partnership structures including distribution, licensing, and joint development.
• Ability to scope and manage regulatory pathways, coordinate with consultants and certification bodies, and substantiate environmental claims.
• Understanding of graphite, batteries, or materials industry dynamics.

Benefits

Joining a world-class team

This venture is a collaboration between Deep Science Ventures and Prosemino.

Deep Science Ventures is a leading deep-tech venture studio with a portfolio of 50+ science-led companies at a total valuation of ~$500m. You will have the support of a team who have founded companies and led translation of science at some of the most respected universities, charities, funds and government agencies in the world.

Prosemino is the first climate tech venture builder with its own dedicated lab spaces, specialising in electrochemistry and advanced materials. They are accelerating clean energy technologies essential for achieving net-zero, with an existing portfolio of 7+ companies.

Togther, the team is offering:

• Purpose-built lab and office facilities in London for electrochemistry and materials development.
• A majority equity stake in the new company between you and your co-founder, once the company is incorporated (target Q3 2026)
• Access to proprietary venture-building tools and processes that are proven to create high-impact companies from scratch.
• Access to a global network of investors, advisors, and industrial partners
• Continuous post-pinout support including fundraising, commercial partnerships, recruitment and team-building.