Steps Ventures · Energy & Defence Advisory
AtomH2
Diesel Replacement
AtomH2 (Barcelona, NATO DIANA 2026) stores excess solar as hydrogen in solid metal hydrides and converts it back to electricity via fuel cell: no combustion, no diesel logistics, days of autonomy instead of hours. It retires the diesel generators that run hardest at telecom and critical sites. We mapped Europe's estate - 34,000+ diesel-reliant sites across 30 countries, with Spain as the beachhead.
Field Study
The AtomH2 Field Study
A field study of the diesel-reliant telecom estate across 30 European countries: every site scored by genset runtime, solar yield (PVGIS / Global Solar Atlas), AtomH2 system sizing, and payback vs the diesel baseline. Spain and Slovakia are built out in detail; the live tool drills into any market.
Site locations modelled, population- and terrain-weighted · Solar: PVGIS / Global Solar Atlas · Economics illustrative
Open full screen ↗Strategy · New York City · June–September 2026
3-Month NYC Sprint — 10 High-Value Activities
NYC Climate Week (September 22–28, 2026) lands during the UN General Assembly, when every major investor, corporate sustainability officer, and policy maker is in Manhattan. AtomH2 can compress 6 months of BD into 3 weeks if the sprint is prepared in advance.
Apply by 15 Jun
Climate Week NYC — Tech Demo Slot
The Climate Group accepts startup demo applications in June. A 3-minute hardware demo at the main September program reaches 1,000+ corporate sustainability leads and journalists in a single morning. First-mover credibility before EU competitors arrive in the US market.
Prepare in advance
Portable prototype or high-quality demo video ready by Aug 1. Apply to Climate Week Open call + Bloomberg Green Startup Spotlight simultaneously.
Schedule Aug–early Sep
AT&T / Verizon / T-Mobile — Sustainability Leads
The three US majors collectively operate 220,000+ towers, all with VRLA battery backup expiring or diesel backup in rural sites. AT&T has a 2035 carbon-neutral network commitment; Verizon has a 2030 target. NYC headquarters are within walking distance of each other in Midtown.
Prepare in advance
Run the US equivalent of the Spain tower analysis (OpenCelliD, PVGIS, same model). Arrive with a province-level breakdown of their tower estate by solar potential and payback. Request meetings 6 weeks out — target VP Infrastructure and VP Sustainability.
Schedule Aug
American Tower / Crown Castle — Tower REIT Decarbonization
American Tower (NYSE: AMT) and Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) are the largest tower landlords globally. Both face Scope 3 pressure from tenants and ESG fund activists. Their NYC investor relations offices will be active during Climate Week. The pitch: AtomH2 as the solution tower REITs can offer tenants as a sustainability upgrade.
Prepare in advance
Pull their most recent sustainability reports for their backup power language and targets. Prepare a slide showing how AtomH2 changes their Scope 3 calculus. Target IR teams first, then ops.
Schedule Sep (via warm intro)
Breakthrough Energy / Lowercarbon Capital — NYC Office Meetings
BEV has a NYC office and is active during UNGA / Climate Week week. Airloom is a BEV portfolio company — Mike can facilitate a warm intro. Lowercarbon Capital (Chris Sacca) is vocal on deep-tech hardware. Either fund investing or co-signing an introduction carries enormous credibility for AtomH2's Series A.
Prepare in advance
Coordinate intro request through Mike / Airloom channel by early August. Prepare a one-pager that leads with NATO DIANA validation + Spain market TAM (€3-4B) + US upside.
DC day-trip from NYC, Sep week
US DFC (Development Finance Corp) — Off-Grid Emerging Market Pitch
DFC funds clean energy infrastructure in emerging markets and has an explicit off-grid telecom mandate under its 2X Women Initiative and PREP (Power Africa). The sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia off-grid tower market is 10x Spain in size. DFC does NYC meetings during UNGA week and has DC offices for a same-week visit.
Prepare in advance
Build a brief deck on off-grid telecom in Nigeria, Kenya, or Bangladesh using AtomH2. Frame as DFC-eligible: USD 5M–50M loan/equity facility to deploy pilot fleet. Bring IFC precedents.
Schedule Aug (via DIANA credential)
US DoD / AFWERX — Energy Security for Forward Bases
NATO DIANA is a direct door-opener to US defense audiences. AFWERX (USAF innovation) and DARPA's ETO office both have energy security priorities — solid-state H2 storage with no combustion risk is ideal for forward operating bases and US bases with height restrictions (like Airloom's pitch). A 30-minute meeting sets up a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) application.
Prepare in advance
Prepare a 1-page defense brief emphasizing: no flammable gas venting, no diesel fuel logistics, low infrared signature. Reference the NATO DIANA programme explicitly. File AFWERX Spark Cell inquiry by mid-August.
Apply/request by 1 Aug
Goldman Sachs Sustain / JPMorgan Cazenove — ESG Investor Meetings
Goldman Sustain (September, NYC) and JPMorgan's annual ESG investor day both draw the asset managers who own AT&T, Verizon, and the tower REITs. A 10-minute presentation slot or back-to-back 1:1s during the conference coffee breaks puts AtomH2 in front of the people who pressure the operators to decarbonize. This accelerates corporate BD by creating pull from investors.
Prepare in advance
Apply for startup showcase slots — Goldman Sustain takes applications, JPMorgan accepts referrals from portfolio companies. Prepare a two-slide financial summary: TAM, payback economics, and Series A ask.
Check Sep/Oct calendar, DC or NYC
CTIA / Wireless Infrastructure Association — Industry Standards Meeting
CTIA is the US telecom industry body. The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) runs a working group on tower sustainability. Presenting the Spain analysis at a WIA working group meeting gets AtomH2 into the industry conversation and into procurement frameworks before competitors do.
Prepare in advance
Join as an associate member (low cost). Request a working group presentation slot. Bring a printable version of the province-level solar + payback analysis.
Sep (easy win, low prep)
Spanish Trade Commission ICEX — NYC Office Introduction
ICEX has a trade office in NYC specifically to connect Spanish startups with US partners, investors, and customers. AtomH2 is exactly the kind of deep-tech export they want to showcase. ICEX can provide: shared meeting space, introductions to Spanish-American business networks, co-branding for US investor decks, and potential grant support for the US roadshow.
Prepare in advance
Email ICEX NYC by August. Bring a Spanish and English version of the pitch. Ask specifically for introductions to their US utility and infrastructure contacts.
Pitch stories 4 weeks before Climate Week
Bloomberg Green / Reuters Energy — Press Briefing
Both publications do dedicated Climate Week coverage and actively seek hardware startups with data-backed market stories. The Spain tower map — 43,000 sites, PVGIS solar data, per-province economics — is exactly the kind of visual story they publish. A single Bloomberg Green piece during Climate Week generates more qualified inbound than 6 months of cold outreach.
Prepare in advance
Write a 2-paragraph press pitch by mid-August: "Barcelona startup maps Spain's 43,000 cell towers for solar hydrogen conversion." Attach a screenshot of the interactive map. Target: Akshat Rathi (Bloomberg Green), Nina Chestney (Reuters Energy Transition).
Execution Timeline
What Needs to Happen When
Now → June 15
Lock in speaking slots
- ·Apply: Climate Week NYC demo program
- ·Apply: Bloomberg Green Startup Spotlight
- ·Apply: Goldman Sachs Sustain showcase
- ·Join CTIA / WIA as associate member
- ·Email ICEX NYC intro
- ·Contact AFWERX Spark Cell
July → August
Build collateral
- ·US tower market analysis (mirror of Spain tool)
- ·Defense one-pager (NATO DIANA lead)
- ·DFI project brief (off-grid emerging markets)
- ·Press pitch draft (Bloomberg, Reuters)
- ·Physical demo kit or high-quality demo video
- ·US entity / partnership structure (if DoD needed)
Aug → Sep 22
Schedule meetings
- ·AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile sustainability (6 wks out)
- ·American Tower, Crown Castle IR teams
- ·BEV / Lowercarbon NYC offices (via warm intro)
- ·DFC NYC meetings during UNGA week
- ·Press briefings: Bloomberg Green, Reuters
- ·Book hotel (sells out fast during UNGA week)