Sparkz CEO delivers insights during global discussion at London energy conference

June 17, 2026 

 

Sparkz CEO and Founder Sanjiv Malhotra Ph.D was part of an important global discussion around the US energy landscape during ChargingUpCapital at DLA Piper Energy and Natural Resources Sector‘s London office June 17, 2026.

Malhotra reflected on some key reflections from the session:

Investment appetite remains strong — the US continues to attract significant capital, supported by long-term structural drivers.

Policy and tax incentives are key market accelerators — the OBBB and related measures are driving pipeline activity, accelerating project timelines and supporting capital recycling through JVs and asset rotations.

Domestic supply chains are a strategic priority — onshoring of manufacturing is gaining momentum

Storage is now viewed as a core infrastructure asset — BESS has evolved into a financing-led, cashflow-generating segment, with strong growth expected across multiple states.

Overall, the US market continues to offer strong opportunity and Sparkz is providing energy solutions by addressing the rapidly growing power needs of AI infrastructure, data centers, utilities, defense applications, and other mission-critical infrastructure.

Founder & CEO

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra is the founder and CEO of Sparkz—the battery start-up reinventing the energy supply chain.

 

Malhotra has been a leader in the energy sector for nearly three decades as a founder, investor and executive. Most recently, he served as the inaugural director for the Energy Investor Center at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

 

At DOE, Malhotra led the Obama Administration’s initiative to boost public-private partnerships to accelerate the commercialization of technologies developed in national research centers like Oak Ridge National Labs.

 

Malhotra was recruited to the Department of Energy after a successful exit of Oorja Protonics—the world leader in methanol fuel cells—which he founded and led as CEO for 10 years. Oorja raised $50 Million in equity financing from leading VCs such as Sequoia, DAG Ventures, Artis Capital and others during his tenure. He boosted Oorja’s revenue and profitability growth, while expanding operations globally in Japan, China, South Africa, Mexico, and India.

 

Oorja was acquired in 2014 by the Private Equity firm MinXing Growth Fund.

 

As an investor and consultant, Malhotra has worked at leading venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers as an advisor on clean energy and advanced materials.

 

Earlier in his career, Malhotra led the engineering and product development team at H Power, a pioneer in hydrogen fuel cells. As part of the management team, he managed the successful IPO, which raised more than $100 million in August 2000.

 

He began his career as a post-doctoral fellow at the renowned Lawrence Berkeley National Labs on electrochemical storage systems. Dr. Malhotra has authored seven patents and more than 40 publications in various fields of energy storage technology and materials. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and an M.B.A from University of Iowa.