“Learn to advance”

RainIons™' mission is to combat climate change, reduce air pollution and save lives through a nature-based biomimicry technology. “Our goal is to develop our cutting-edge science and technologies to scale it globally and have a large impact ”, says Hélène Thibieroz, CEO and Co-Founder of RainIons™. “To accelerate our traction, we will license our technology and work with committed net-zero partners to fight climate change and remove air pollution”.

Hélène combines the steadiness of a CEO with the agility of a founder. After 20 years in business and technology where sound procedures and commitment to results are key. She ran the We Grow Green Tech Accelerator for five years with over 50 clean tech businesses in energy, carbon, waste, water, etc. About this experience, she shares some valuable insights: “In the startup world, you learn from your mistakes. We call this failing forward, and it’s an invaluable exercise in resilience, humility, swiftness, and other skills that are critical if you want to succeed in business.”

Hélène also shared challenges she observed with entrepreneurs: “As an entrepreneur myself who’s worked with a large and diversified set of startup founders I have observed great foundational knowledge but lack of resources to carry out their visions. Crucial component for any startup is traction and time to market. This is during this traction window from prototype to revenues where most startups fail due to insufficient resources. I created We Grow Green Tech to assist green entrepreneurs during this traction by focusing on practical resources toward growth.”

Hélène, while speaking of milestones, adds, "First and foremost, scaling innovation takes time." It's nice to achieve milestones by signing early deals, but you must realize that these steps are merely the beginning of the long journey to the top. Maintaining team focus through losses, successes, and discouragement is vital. Second, be humble with your successes, learn fast from your failures, and stay the course. Third: be agile. The startup world is an amazingly dynamic and high-speed environment. You have to learn to move fast, pivot when needed and make it happen when the opportunity arises. Never become to comfy with your position and expect the unexpected.”

Hélène is excited to share her future vision” “At RainIons™, we’re creating a breakthrough technology in Climate Tech. We have two patented technologies, our direct air capture system to remove air pollution and CO2 already present in the air and our exhaust technology to neutralize at the source of exhaust air pollutants and CO2 emissions. Our technology can benefit everyone, in places where current innovations such as renewable energy and electrification are not yet prevalent, and where people are dying from air pollution. Our objective is to have a worldwide impact and become the global leader in pollution reduction and CO2 removal technologies.”

When being asked where she sees the main differentiator, Helene shares the following: “ Being heavily involved with green innovation, I know that cost is a big factor. Even a 30%–40% cost reduction may not be enough to start negotiations.” Hélène illustrates that “adopting RainIons™ requires no major retooling, innovation, or infrastructure modifications. By enabling our clients to join the carbon economy and earn carbon credits, RainIons™ will become a negative pricing solution, that could accelerate adoption”.

When talking about RainIons™ journey, Helene highlights the resilience of her team : “ The biggest achievement of our team by far is our hard work, dedication, and commitment to build a prototype. We were often told that what we were trying to do was not possible. The pandemic made everything much more complicated, as we were a globally distributed team without a dedicated lab. We contacted more than 30 companies in pursuit of the right partner. We had to reschedule our final testing at least five times. Throughout this time, we continued to work hard together to develop our prototype, and finally have a breakthrough technology which proves our science works.

Regarding future projects, Helene shares a lot of inspiring news. “We have so many initiatives coming up!”, she shares. ”To give you an idea, we're launching a project in India to clean up generator pollution; a smart city initiative in South Africa based on direct air capture technology; in discussion for a pilot program for mining companies in the Middle East; and a decarbonization and air pollution solution for US fleets. Heavy transportation/machinery, cement/steel industries, as well as maritime transportation are also key verticals where we have been approached. Lastly, retrofit is a huge opportunity. With more regulations and our current cost structure, we offer a solution that is economically approachable and scalable”.

She last shared what attracted her to join this challenging and exciting journey. “When RainIons™ founder Mark DiCarlo approached me about becoming CEO; I was moved by his sincerity, mission, as well as his technology. The low-cost technique and adoption in the carbon market could make it a solution relevant to various industry verticals and accessible to people worldwide. Few biomimicry or green/climate tech firms have such high scaling potential.

Also, in the world of Climate Tech, innovation frequently involves huge investments and often targets a certain population. RainIons™ is a simple method to democratize Climate Tech by making it available to everyone. Please watch our website for updates and success stories and connect with us for pilots and prototypes, says Hélène. IE