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Upstart Continues Leadership Team Expansion

Upstart Power Continues Leadership Team Expansion

Appoints VP of Quality and VP of Fuel Cell Technology

Southborough, MA (February 23rd, 2022):  Upstart Power, a leading developer and manufacturer of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power systems for long-duration backup and distributed generation, announces two key executive hires that serve to strengthen the company’s leadership team and accelerate the commercialization of its Upgen™ portfolio of products.

Linda DeJulio-Gribben and Darren Hickey have recently joined Upstart Power’s executive leadership team as Vice President of Quality and Vice President of Fuel Cell Technology, respectively.  Ms. DeJulio-Gribben is leading the company’s Quality and Regulatory teams to deliver exceptional product quality and customer experiences throughout the company’s product lifecycles.  Darren Hickey will lead the company’s Fuel Cell Technology team that innovates and develops new SOFC technologies for the company’s next generation Upgen™ Power products.  DeJulio-Gribben and Hickey join Upstart Power at a pivotal time as the company is rapidly maturing the development of its initial commercial products and accelerating its ramp into volume manufacturing and global deployment.

‘The extensive talents, leadership, and experience that Linda and Darren bring to Upstart Power enable us to augment our existing leadership team and increase our capabilities in areas that are most critical to the successful commercialization of our residential and industrial fuel cell products,’ said Paul Osenar, President and CEO of Upstart Power. ‘The expert knowledge in fuel cell technology, quality management systems, and new product introduction that these individuals bring to our organization paired with their extensive experience in early-stage technology ventures will be instrumental in our future success.’

Prior to Upstart Power, Linda DeJulio-Gribben was a Senior Business Consultant for the Power Systems Group of Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. (MEPPI).  She also held several General Management roles and led Quality Assurance for the High Voltage Switchgear Division at MEPPI, focusing on production and supply base quality, and improving equipment field performance for major North American IOU customers.  Her time prior to MEPPI was spent in various leadership positions at Dupont, Corning, ABB, Siemens, and Pennsylvania Breaker, LLC.  Linda brings over 25 years of extensive leadership experience in general management, operations, and quality management and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  

Darren Hickey comes to Upstart Power from Cummins, where he was the Director of Fuel Cell Technologies leading a team of expert engineers driving innovation and development of heavy-duty fuel cells as well as the Principal Investigator on multiple DOE awarded programs.  Prior to Cummins, Darren was Product Design Leader at GE Fuel Cells developing SOFC systems including the base cell and stack architecture that went into pilot production.  As Co-Founder of EnerVault, he built a team of engineers for the development and scale-up of an advanced flow battery for grid scale energy storage.  Earlier in his career he was a member of the starting teams at Bloom Energy and Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited. Darren brings over 25 years of expert innovation experience in fuel cells and energy storage to the Upstart Power team.  He holds an M.S. Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona and a B.E. in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineer from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

About Upstart Power, Inc.

Upstart Power designs and produces market disruptive solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) generators for Residential and Industrial applications that are dependable, sustainable, carbon efficient, and virtually silent.  The Upgen™ products from Upstart Power work collaboratively with battery storage to cover for grid outages and solar shortfalls, providing 24-7-365, long-duration resiliency.  Founded in late 2018, Upstart Power is a privately held company, funded by investors including Enphase Energy, Sunnova Energy and Rogers Capital.

For more information, visit www.upstartpower.com