An Island Destroyed, A Purpose Inspired
When Leo was young, oil was discovered on a small island off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, an island he called home. Several years later the streams, beaches and sacred sites were destroyed or irreparably damaged due to oil drilling and related activities. Leo knew there had to be a better way and dedicated his life to prevent such destruction. In this episode we explore his experience and the passion that led him to found Quioevo, a technology startup that is tilting the balance of energy production. To learn more about how Quioevo is democratizing energy check out their website or find them on Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter.
Imperfect Show Notes
While these notes are not perfect (computer transcription is still a work in progress), they give you the gist of the conversation. Enjoy!
My conversation with Leo Alicante:
Morgan Bailey 0:02
Hello, and welcome to the profit meets impact podcast where we explore the intersection of doing well and doing good in the world. I'm your host Morgan Bailey, and I'm excited to bring you the wisdom of entrepreneurs and thought leaders, they're using business to create sustainable and meaningful change across the globe. Today, I am speaking with Leo Alicante, he is the founder of Quioveo. He's originally from Equatorial Guinea, where he has a pretty amazing story about how the impact of oil and gas turned him into an advocate for the democratization of energy. This is, you know, a really powerful story. And Leo, I'm really excited to talk to you. Welcome to the show.
Leo Alicante 0:45
Thank you for having me, Morgan.
Morgan Bailey 0:48
Leo, You know, when we first talked I was captivated by the story you told about how you got into working with energy and in a very nuanced different way, which we'll talk about soon. But where did that journey begin?
Leo Alicante 1:02
Oh, wow. Well, well. It began way way I was born, I was born in a little tiny island about 300 miles in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in Africa. Annobon, it’s called, in Equatorial Guinea. Very poor, disinvested. But very resourceful. That's where we grew up. I had an idyllic childhood, you know, woke up in the morning, run around the creeks, come home. There were food plants everywhere, there's food everywhere. Very innocent. But things change.
When I was about 12 years old, they discovered huge oil reserves near my island. At the beginning, we were all very excited. Because we interpreted that as ‘Oh, we are going to get wealthy!” Right? Because there's oil on my island.
But soon after that, give it five plus years after that, we all had a different perspective about what that meant for us. The beautiful beaches that we used to go and swim as young kids, you couldn't do that anymore, we're limited. We had started noticing that the country that we knew as young people was also changing. There was a lot of folks coming into the island, things started getting more expensive, and things started changing from there.
I was very lucky as a young man, that I was very good with math. And soon after finishing high school, I found myself going to the university in the United States to study petroleum engineering, to be part of the new economy that supposedly was going to change the country.
Morgan Bailey 3:08
So I'm curious. So you know, particularly how is this story as you know, you’re a young child, I mean, you growing up in this island that sounds in many ways untouched? You know, can you speak to like, you know, like, what actually changed as the oil and gas sector came into the eye?
Leo Alicante 3:25
Oh, my goodness. So this little tiny island I didn't have any cars as a young man. There were no cars, there were no roads. So you could go anywhere without having to worry about being run over by a big, big tractor. All of a sudden, we had these huge tractors that were drilling deep holes into the island, that you couldn't find a place to play anymore.
They're building houses and huge buildings that none of us natives could afford to live in those places. The little streams that are providing water to small villages were gone, because the pattern of those streams had been moved to make way for platforms and other energy infrastructure that we did not fully understand the consequences of that. I hope that makes sense.
Morgan Bailey 4:19
Yeah, absolutely. You know, and so I'm curious like, how quickly you know, because it sounds like... Was there an initial excitement that oil and gas was coming in? Was there initial excitement about the opportunity?
Leo Alicante 4:30
We were all very excited because the story that was sold to us as poor folks, is that our life was going to change and we were all going to get wealthy. That did not happen. Only folks in power were able to benefit from the oil royalties, any money that was coming from that. Poorer folks did not fully understand how that was going to impact them beyond whatever they were being told. And in the span of about, say, about five years or so, we knew that this story that was told to us was not going to be the case.
Morgan Bailey 5:15
And so, you mentioned, even just to be, I'm just trying to envision this because I'm envisioning this, this beautiful island, and then all of a sudden, these platforms and this environmental degradation, and even the beaches, it sounds like, suffered. Looking back, what's your sentiment on that whole experience? And how has that impacted you?
Leo Alicante 5:44
Well, it was devastating. You know, I remember being in school here in the United States, and I called back and I’d hear these horror stories about how the island was changing. I'm going to give you a small example.
Growing up, our ancestors meant a lot to us, and where they were buried. And I remember calling my parents one evening, and they were telling me about how, - and needless to say that we use the best properties on our island for our ancestors. And I remember calling my parents and they were telling me about how the beautiful land where we used to bury our ancestors, they were drilling an oil well, not too far away from those burial grounds. And in the process of doing so they completely destroyed the property, so much so that it fell into the ocean.
Morgan Bailey 6:47
The actual property fell, it fell into the ocean?
Leo Alicante 6:49
Fell into the ocean, because it was on a hill looking into the ocean. The most beautiful and valuable piece of land on the island, was saved to bury our ancestors. My grandparents were buried there.
And that story for me, looking back now, it was a turning point for me, when I knew that I needed to make a choice about which side I was going to be on. But that was the beginning of Illuminator and the idea of. Yes, we need energy. Because we need development, we need electricity, we need those things. But for me, it was a turning point, start thinking about a better way to get at that energy.
Morgan Bailey 7:41
Because originally, you actually went to the US to study petroleum engineering, Is this correct?
Leo Alicante 7:47
That's good. Yeah.
Morgan Bailey 7:48
And then this experience happened. And things started to shift. It sounded like.
Leo Alicante 7:53
Yes. Internally, I needed to have a deeper conversation with myself, as to which side I was going to be on. Definitely I was up for bringing energy bringing resources to this very disinvested Island, about how? How could we do this in a different way in a way that protects this beautiful land, that is the only thing I knew. It was my first love. But also bring resources and bring technology to a community that desperately needed it.
Morgan Bailey 8:33
So Alright, so you're in the US at this point. And you've had all these experiences, you have this shift. So where do you go from there?
Leo Alicante 8:44
So the first thing I did, because I was bound by contract, I had to do it, I finished my petroleum engineering degree. After finishing, I had a choice to go back and work in that industry, or I had a choice to follow my heart and jump into the unknown for lack of a better term.
The easiest path will have been for me to do what I had studied. I had a job guaranteed and I had a very visible path forward.
But I decided that I was not going to be a part of that. I need to be part of the alternative. And the first thing I do is to go back to school and study electrical and mechanical engineering because I knew I wanted to do renewables. I didn’t know how yet but I knew I needed to be part of the alternative. And that's what I did. I went back and in the process of studying this complex issue - because I will tell you climate change energy is not an easy thing to put to put your head around. And in the process of doing that, I came up with the concept of Quioveo Energy, started coming out of that process. And it’s “How can we look at this differently?” Despite so much money being thrown into this problem, we're still at a place even in the United States with only about 11% of renewables at grid level is renewable. Only 11% of the electricity that we use at grid level is sustainable. Right? Why is that? I start asking myself those tough questions. And those tough questions led me to Quioveo Energy.
Morgan Bailey 10:48
And talk to me, what does that name Quioveo mean?
Leo Alicante 10:51
That's a very good question. I'm gonna take you back to the island.
As a young man, the best part of school is recess time, you know, because you get to play with your buddies. And I remember, as young men, you know, during recess time, we'd run through the island, and we'll go to the highest peak, which is called Quioveo. And from there, on top of the island, we would look deep in the ocean, because from that, you see ocean all around you. We dreamed about a world beyond this ocean.
Beyond the horizon that we will see, will dream about what was beyond there, you know, what type of cool things we could dream about, or we could think about that would make our life in this little tiny poor Island better.
And Quoiveo is Portuguese, and it means “here to see, to witness, to be a witness of what's coming, it was beyond here.” So when I was in the United States I was thinking about, where the origin of thinking about a different path forward started, it took me back to this little hill in this little tiny island, in the middle of nowhere. And that's where the name Quioveo comes from.
Morgan Bailey 12:08
That's amazing. I love the symbolism of that. And, and I just imagine you on this island, as a young child thinking about these dreams, and now having, working on them, it's that's a pretty amazing symbolism. So tell me, as you started your business, and there's a myriad of different factors to think about when it comes to energy and climate change? It's no small problem. Where and how did you decide where to focus your energy?
Leo Alicante 12:44
So it's time from a humble place to know that this is a huge thing to tackle, right. The luckiest ones of us will stay here for if you're lucky, eight years, seventy years, I didn't have that much time, right? And I wanted to make sure that I found a place or a niche where I could make the biggest impact. And I zeroed in on the electric grid.
A lot of people don't know this, but the biggest consumer of electricity, at least in the United States, is the electric grid. The grid itself. The grid takes in a lot of electricity, and then it distributes that to you, me and everyone else. So if you want to have an impact on energy consumption, and you look at it deep enough, soon enough, you're gonna end up at the electric grid level, right? The place that you can make the most impact in terms of how much electricity we use in the United States, nobody will argue with you that it is the electric grid.
So since I knew that it was just me, that I had a limited amount of time on planet Earth, I wanted to go to the source where, with the smallest effort I can make the most impact.
Often when you find energy companies, you'll find a lot of folks building solar panels and building geothermal generation. But if we don't tackle the type of electricity that goes into the electric grid, I would argue, we will spend another 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years trying to deal with this issue of energy consumption and the type of energy that we're consuming.
Morgan Bailey 14:58
So what I'm hearing is there's a bunch of different types of energy generation out there. But the grid is kind of how they all come together. So if we're not addressing the efficiency of the grid itself, it doesn't really matter how great or efficient, the actual energy production. Am I hearing that correctly?
Leo Alicante 15:24
You're absolutely right, Morgan. I couldn't say that any better.
Generation creating more, more electricity is not the problem. The problem is that we have an electric grid that is not designed to handle the uniqueness of the new renewables, the type of renewables that we’re creating now.
You have to remember that the electric grid, as we know it, was designed in the late 1800s. Back then nobody was thinking that we're gonna have solar panels, or we're gonna have geothermal or we're gonna have winds as a way of creating electricity. Nobody was thinking about that.
So let's take a second to think about it - something that was designed in the 1800s having to adjust to the new technology that we have today. The electric grid is highly inefficient. Another thing that always gets me. If you think about the electric grid, as massive as it is about between 30 to 35% of the electricity that goes into the electric grid gets wasted, because of how inefficient it is. Think about that for a second - 30 to 35% of the electricity that goes into the grid goes wasted in the transmission lines, because it's very inefficient the way it was designed.
Morgan Bailey 17:00
I'm just trying to put this into context. We talk about reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, much of which is produced by fossil fuels. Almost just by tightening up the grid itself, you could probably have 10 to 15% reduction in greenhouse gas energy,
Leo Alicante 17:20
Just by doing that, just by that. And think about this. I mean, it always gets me when I think about it from this perspective. Most of the electricity that goes into the electric grid, still today, it comes from carbon based sources like coal, gas, you name it. So 90% of that electricity comes from those carbon based sources, number one, and once it's already in the electric grid, 33% of it goes to waste due to an inefficient system. I think about that, if we can change those two parts of the equation, how much we will be able to reduce the amount of co2 that we emit into the air?
Morgan Bailey 18:09
Yeah. So I love that. And I'm curious too, because in a previous conversation we've had, you've mentioned this idea that the sort of technology that you're producing, has generally only been available to large energy producers. And I think now we're seeing a host or a great number of smaller energy producers that don't necessarily have access to this technology. So talk to me a little bit about how is that shifting the game?
Leo Alicante 18:39
Our electric grid is very centralized. It was designed back in the late 1800s. And it was designed where there's a big power station that produces the electricity. It takes coal and it burns it and then produces electricity. And then we have very long transmission lines that move that electricity from generation plants, to the cities where we live. And it's one way traffic where the electricity comes from this way, and then it comes down to the cities.
And electricity is a very highly regulated commodity for obvious reasons. We need electricity for national security purposes. If you're a small mom and pop energy producing company, unless you meet a certain energy production threshold, you cannot participate in the electric grid. So let me let me break that down a little bit because that can be a bit complex.
I'm not sure who is the power company where you live, but I know here in Philadelphia our power company is called PECO. And we live in a deregulated electric jurisdiction here in Philadelphia. It's called PJM. And I'm throwing a bunch of terms at you, I apologize. If I’m a small energy company, and I care about renewables and I want my neighborhood or my neighbors to be able to use solar or wind or any type of sustainable source of energy, I have to be able to participate in the energy market. That makes sense, I have to be able to sell my electricity, to put into the electric grid, so that my neighbor's kid will be able to use it. Does that make sense?
The legal pressure for me to be able to participate into the electric market is about me being able to produce more than one megawatts of power. That's a big amount. I have to be able to produce a big enough electricity, where the local government will allow me to participate in the selling and buying of electricity at the electrical grid level.
Most mom and pops cannot get enough electricity to that level, number one. Number two, even if they're could, they need to have a view of the electric grid to know when they can participate, when is more optimal for them to participate without having to involve the big centralized power company. PECO. That makes sense?
Visibility of the grid is fundamental for small energy producers, that often are renewable companies, to be able to participate, I will argue in the biggest market when it comes to electricity.
So historically, this fact - the lack of visibility on the larger electric grid, and the ability to know when to participate, and the ability to know how to be able to produce big enough electricity to participate in that grid - has limited small mom and pop energy companies to take advantage of this huge opportunity, which is the electric grid.
Morgan Bailey 22:25
So what I'm hearing is, I think in analogy. So it's almost like you have a river coming past, and you have a hose, you got yet the large utility with a huge hose, and you got the small utility with a small hose. And the big utility understands the flow of the river, they can see it, the small utility has none of that. So they're like, they're either just wasting it into a big torrent, or they're able to utilize it when the river is small. And so what you're saying is, the technology that you're doing is allowing that visibility so that they can make those better decisions, and to allow their companies to be more viable along the way.
Leo Alicante 23:04
You're absolutely right. So we have identified that as a problem. But also an opportunity to be able to build technologies that will give these small energy producers an opportunity to jump into that huge river stream, or that big horse, for lack of a better term, going back to the analogy. So that's what Illuminator, our first product, is intended to do. To give small energy producers an opportunity to take to participate in the largest market available when it comes to electricity.
Morgan Bailey 23:44
So I love that. And I mean, I feel like I'm getting a lesson on the electrical grid, which I appreciate. So your business, you're launching your first product. It's a really powerful story and direction that you're headed. How has it been in terms of being able to raise money or to get support for what you're doing? And how much do you wrap into the purpose of the story into that messaging?
Leo Alicante 24:14
That's a very good question, Morgan. It's been a challenge. Traditionally, folks that look like me, from small places like me, do not have the network. I cannot call my dad's best friend from college and tell them our story and to explain the technology so they can invest in us. It's been a challenge. But it's also presented amazing opportunities because I think that there's a market out there for folks to hear my story and to support folks like me. Because often - especially with the issue of climate change - folks like me from places like I was born in, they suffered the worst effects of climate change. And to see folks like me, those that are most impacted by the worst effects of climate change, also being folks that want to create solutions for it, I think it's an attractive story for some folks as well. So I see the challenge, but I also see the opportunity for folks to want to support us in giving our technology a chance to have been successful in the market. That can be from the raising capital side of it, that could be for folks to open doors for us, or connecting us with other folks that are doing similar work, and building a larger network, to be able to be successful in what we're trying to do.
Morgan Bailey 25:55
What I love about everything you're doing, I mean, besides just addressing a really important problem? You have a unique personal connection with climate change that not a lot of us do. Nowadays, we are actually starting to see climate change affect almost every part of the world, and it's becoming more of a reality. But for you, it's extremely drastic. But you're also leveraging your business in a way that's also helping support these smaller growing businesses. So you're able to leverage that. The phrase the democratization of energy really comes to mind. So something I'm really appreciating there. So, when you think about your business moving forward, what's most important, that's going to give it that level of success?
Leo Alicante 26:47
That’s a very good question, Morgan. I think back to us being focused on who we are building technologies for is going to be very important. Being grounded into why I do this work. And focused on the folks that we want to use our technology, because we need to bring more folks, we need to get more folks involved in this whole issue of climate change, and the solutions that come with it.
From a business perspective, if we continue to remember who we're building technologies for I think we have a very good chance of being successful. If we forget why we would do this work, then we'll become another energy company out there that only focuses on profit, right, creating profit. We need to always be very focused on marrying mission with profit, for us to be able to be successful in the long run. I hope I've answered your question.
Morgan Bailey 28:02
Absolutely. And I think that's so critical. And I've just really appreciated that message right now is that keeping that purpose in mind, right? Because it's so easy. And I think there, I think many social entrepreneurs out there, start off with this great vision. When reality slaps you in the face, and you have to make, I can make more profit and go this way will be easier to market or I can stay to this. It's a difficult road to navigate. And, and I think it's a really important thing to continue to be connected to your mission. That thing that originally drove you into it, and that will allow you to sustain. But yeah, it's definitely you know, I mean, have you walked this similar path myself it’s not an easy road to walk.
Leo Alicante 28:50
It's not the easiest one. I can tell you that.
Morgan Bailey 28:53
But I'm guessing you wouldn't have it any other way.
Leo Alicante 28:56
Oh, I don't know how to do it any other way. Being able to represent places like that look where I was born, that's all I know. You know, so I won't have any other way, like you said.
Morgan Bailey 29:18
So I'm curious. I mean, it's a really amazing empowering story to just see the trajectory of your life. And I know there are a lot of other people out there who are seeing a lot of environmental devastation, who are seeing a lot of the social inequities who want to do something and who want to do it through business. What advice would you have for them as they're getting started on their journey?
Leo Alicante 29:45
Wow, that's a good question. Spend some time to think about why you got into doing it anyway. What hat drove you into studying What drove you into this work? Right? The Why? By, like we were talking about a second ago, often it is very easy to get distracted by other things. But if you remember your why I think you have a chance you have a better opportunity of being successful, you will be able to do your work with integrity. So my answer to your question is always ‘Remember your why.’
Morgan Bailey 30:36
Thank you. I think that's so critical. And it's a practice, it's a daily practice, because it changes. And, and so I'm curious, when it comes to remembering your why, how do you use that to inform how you make business decisions? Because I think we all feel this purpose. But then translating that into business decisions is often a murky road. Tell me how does that work?
Leo Alicante 31:08
So building structures… I love the whole, the whole current of the B Corp. Building structure within your company, to make sure they keep you within those rails. How your company is incorporated. The type of people that you hire. The easiest way I can answer your question is by building structures, to protect you from yourself. Because the time will come where it will be a human tendency to go that way instead of going that way. So building structures and systems within your organization, in terms of bylaws, in terms of the people that you hire, in terms of the advisors, in terms of a board of advisors to keep you grounded, and to keep you within the rails that intellectually, you wanted to stay within from the beginning.
Morgan Bailey 32:20
Yeah, I can absolutely appreciate that. And, the B Corp movement, I think it's definitely been great to help build in some of those systems and structures. So that you, just by the very nature of how your business is run, it's, it's helping me it's purpose.
Leo Alicante 32:35
Absolutely.
Morgan Bailey 32:36
So as we kind of start to wrap up, I'm just really appreciating this conversation. And I'm walking, you know, not walking away yet, but I feel pretty excited just about everything that you're doing. I'm curious, like, what's exciting, inspiring you right now?
Leo Alicante 32:52
When I started thinking about this work, it was just me and a bunch of boards and papers in my small office. But the more I get out there, and I talk about this work, I'm learning that there's a lot of people out there that have been feeling the same way. It's not just me. A lot of people are embracing this message of trying to envision a different type of electric grid and a different type of relationship with our energy systems. I see a lot of young people getting excited about wanting to collaborate, wanting to find a way to support and to be involved. That inspires me. I see even the large companies, the GEs of the world, the Siemens of the world. They’re also opening small offices. They start talking about renewables and sustainable energy in a way that was not happening like 10 years ago. So that inspires me. And that gives me hope that the future has a chance of looking better than where we are right now. I'm very hopeful that 10 years from now, 20 years from now, if we are having the same conversation we are saying look at how much progress we've made, because of folks that are willing to give this idea the opportunity going forward. that excites me.
Morgan Bailey 34:27
That's amazing. I resonate a lot with that. And I do hope 10 years, let's set a date. You and I will talk in 10 years. We'll look back. And hopefully that vision will be realized. So Leo I want to thank you a lot for this conversation. I want to thank you for what you're doing, your journey, your story. I think it's really powerful. And I know it'll probably inspire a lot of people as well as myself. I'm curious if people are interested in learning more about you and your organization, how can they do so?
Leo Alicante 35:04
Our website quioveo.comI may need to spell that.
Morgan Bailey 35:09
Yes. So yeah, you can spell it. I'll also put that in the show notes if people are interested.
Leo Alicante 35:13
Wonderful - it is quioveo.com. Please visit our website
Morgan Bailey 35:21
Amazing. I speak Portuguese and I never heard that word before.
Leo Alicante 35:28
I love it. There's always something to learn every day.
Morgan Bailey 35:32
Amazing, Leo, I wish you the best of luck on this and seeing where Quioveo and all the work that you're doing leads to. So thank you very much. And look forward to our next conversation.
Thank you, Morgan.
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