Scaling Climate Tech with Asia: The Power of Global Investment and Partnership
Join us for a special Good Morning Silicon Valley (GMSV) Earth Day event on Thursday April 24th, "Scaling Climate Tech with Asia: The Power of Global Investment and Partnership" where we’ll bring together climate investors, industry leaders, and innovators to discuss the trend of climate tech and impact investing.
This special event will take place in San Francisco 4:00 to 6:00 PM, featuring a VC roundtable discussion (4:10–4:45 PM) followed by a Startups Panel Discussion (5:00-5:30 pm) and networking session (5:30–6:30 PM).
The panel explores the growing collaboration between Asia and the world on climate tech. We will discuss how Asian VCs and corporations seek and invest in overseas climate tech solutions to align with their strategic goals. In addition, we will explore the ways to empower climate tech ecosystems in Asia through investments and partnerships.
Engage with industry experts and professionals who are driving sustainable solutions and investment opportunities in climate tech.
Check-in (4:00-4:10 pm, The door opens at 3:45 pm)
VC Panel Discussion (4:10-4:45 pm)
Panelists (in alphabetical order by the speaker's last name):
Chief Growth Officer
New Energy Nexus
Driving growth and business development at New Energy Nexus by building new products and expanding into emerging climate ecosystems and new markets. Previously, he led the expansion of New Energy Nexus into Asia, including China, Thailand, and Indonesia, while launching innovation programs with LG Energy Solutions, Hyundai, Kia, and Hub71 in Abu Dhabi. His work is driven by a passion for advancing and democratizing clean energy solutions globally, shaping strategic narratives, fostering ecosystems, and contributing to U.S.-China climate diplomacy.
Director of Venture Studio and Marketing at NEC X
Ryoko Hirano is the Director of Venture Studio and Marketing at NEC X, where she leads its venture studio programs that support tech startups from day one, helping them launch and scale with strategic investment and corporate partnerships. With extensive experience in global partnerships and business development, she has worked with emerging startups across multiple countries, driving growth and innovation.
Partner at Lowercarbon Capital
Shuo Yang is a Partner at Lowercarbon Capital. A serial entrepreneur and Y Combinator alum, Shuo has founded and operated companies in both the United States and China. He will always be an entrepreneur at heart, and he brings a strong founders-first mentality to every aspect of his work as an investor.
Moderated by Lawrence Yen
Founding Partner at MIH Climate Impact Capital
Lawrence is the Founder of MIH Capital, an early stage climate tech VC fund. MIH Capital works with corporations from Asia to accelerate development of global climate and sustainability technology innovation through investments and upstream downstream collaboration.
Current investments include innovations related to clean energy, green chemistry, circular economy, sustainable food and agriculture, and climate adaptation.Lawrence has co-founded four companies. He is also a former board member of one of the largest environmental protection non-profit foundation in the Greater China region.
Startups Panel Discussion (5:00-5:30 pm)
Panelists (in alphabetical order by the speaker's last name):
Dr. Ghazal Izadi – Chief Operating Officer, XGS Energy
Dr. Ghazal Izadi is the Chief Operating Officer at XGS Energy, where she leads global operations, technology strategy, and commercial scaling of the company’s breakthrough geothermal power solutions. With over a decade of international experience spanning oil & gas, energy technology, and clean power, Ghazal is at the forefront of delivering scalable, dispatchable geothermal as a critical component of the future energy mix.
Prior to joining XGS in 2022, Ghazal held senior technical and commercial leadership roles at Baker Hughes, where she worked across unconventional oil & gas and geothermal sectors, managing reservoir services and technology deployment across North America, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. Her work bridged the subsurface to surface value chain—combining data-driven reservoir insights, well design, and surface facility integration to support both traditional and emerging energy systems.
At XGS, she applies this cross-sector expertise to drive commercialization of the company’s proprietary thermal energy harvesting system, unlocking baseload geothermal power in geographies and markets previously considered inaccessible.
She holds a Ph.D. from Penn State University in Reservoir Engineering and has authored over 40 technical papers in energy and geothermal innovation.
Ying Liu, Founder and CEO of Blue Lake Packaging
Ying Liu is the Founder and CEO of Blue Lake Packaging, a plastic-free packaging solutions provider committed to driving innovation and operational excellence in the fight against plastic waste and pollution.
A former corporate executive and a serial entrepreneur, Ying has built a diverse career spanning multiple industries. Before founding Blue Lake, she combined her passion for travel and technology by launching a software company that streamlined travel itinerary planning.
Prior to that, she spent 12 years at Apple, most recently as Senior Director of Product Operations and Supplier Responsibility, leading complex product launches from concept to mass production. As the founding Managing Director of Apple China’s Procurement and Operations, she built the Apple China operations and supply chain from the ground up. She led the Asia-based team, bringing up hundreds of suppliers across the region to ensure supply continuity and quality consistency across supply chains, from components, to modules, to finally assemblies.
Hannah Sieber, CEO and Cofounder of Artyc
Hannah Sieber is a serial entrepreneur in the clean tech and electrification space. She is the CEO and Cofounder of Artyc, which builds and designs battery powered self-cooling containers for shipping temperature sensitive goods. Prior to that she co-founded Ecoflow, a consumer battery company that is valued at over $1 billion. Alongside her co-founders, she was recognized as Forbes 30 under 30 in Energy in 2018 for their work at Ecoflow. She is passionate about building physical products that drive transformational change, improve our climate, and support our communities. Hannah is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has lived in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing. She holds an MS in Earth Science and an MBA from Stanford University.
Uyen Tran, founder and CEO of TômTex
Uyen Tran is the founder and CEO of TômTex, a material innovation company transforming biopolymer in nature into 100% bio-based alternatives to leather and plastic. Born in Vietnam and now based in New York, Uyen’s journey from studying design and textile at Parsons School of Design to launching a next-gen materials startup reflects her deep commitment to sustainability, design, and circular innovation. Her work has been recognized by Vogue Business, TIME, and Bloomberg.
Moderated by Kevin Ku, Watershed
Kevin is a software engineer working in the corporate sustainability space. He leads a team focused on measuring and reducing scope 3 emissions throughout the supply chain.
Event hosted by: Good Morning Silicon Valley Association (GMSV)
Good Morning Silicon Valley is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering global innovation and cross-border collaboration within the green economy. We support innovative ideas and provide a platform that connects entrepreneurs with international resources and opportunities. Through our events and discussions, we aim to facilitate strategic networking, cross-border partnerships to accelerate the global growth of green innovations.
Calling for speakers or sponsors for GMSV Earth Day event in 2026. Or let us know if you want to get involved in other upcoming GMSV events?
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1m7L4To-8O8rsPoCJAed2xJu10mYq1XrsWTMJyxWcxRY/edit
Event partners (In alphabetical order):
Parking & Validation:
Guests can receive validated parking when parking at Embarcadero garages. Please bring your parking ticket for validation. The rate after validation is $2 per hour for 4 hours.
Embarcadero Garages:
Four Embarcadero Center: Enter on Clay Street at Drumm
Three Embarcadero Center: Enter on Drumm Street at Clay
One & Two Embarcadero Center: Also applicable for validation
By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of SF Climate Week