In the purpose-economy era travelling in a green-tech car. Heading to the future

It was a bizarre and almost unfathomable choice, even impossible to understand, at least at first glance. Leaving the NASA giant behind to pursue a dream of research, innovation, and the future. As you know, however, life often unfolds beyond our strategic plans on paper, and what was initially labelled as 'madness' ultimately proved to be a winning decision. An idea for doing business, but also a way of being and experiencing the world as a protagonist. That is the story of Fabrizio Martini a Milanese born in 1986 and an expert in energy storage technologies. In his background as a NASA engineer, he managed a project worth over 10 million dollars.

There is more to his history. This talented Italian globetrotter, by personal choice, has played a role in achieving six world records for the so-called ultracapacitor technology involving hi-tech energy devices. He also successfully led the development of a battery for space exploration as part of the Venus Rover Project. Over the years, he was responsible for commercializing the first high-temperature ultracapacitor for oil, gas and geothermal applications. However, Fabrizio Martini has also been the contact point for several companies in the aerospace and defence fields, holding no less than fourteen patents related to energy storage technologies. In 2015, in Boston, he founded Electra Vehicles, a startup combining data, machine learning, artificial intelligence and electrification. "Do you know what's the greatest thing I've learned?  All of us on this planet want a better world. And that good forces are more powerful than evil forces. I believe in the electric revolution. So he told Repubblica, interviewed by Eleonora Chioda.

Travelling
From 2015 to the present day, from Boston to Las Vegas. A journey of three thousand miles - or almost five thousand kilometers - aboard a green vehicle powered solely by electricity and with proprietary AI-driven technology installed for monitoring, optimizing and controlling the car's battery. A mission that re-interprets the iconic American "coast to coast" journey focusing on the environmental and technology. The Electra Vehicles challenge combines technology, sustainable mobility, ongoing research, teamwork, international alliances and a beyond looking mindset. Sella Group also boarded this vehicle that rethinks sustainable mobility and writes new pages of the future (read our report here). The journey spanned about ten days heading to the CES in Las Vegas, the world's largest innovation and technology fair. An incredible journey that grinded kilometers while driving through breathtaking landscapes and various cultures. Inside the car Fabrizio Martini, was escorted by Electra Vehicles technical solution architect Pietro Mosca.

Their mission was to assess the vehicle's health in real time by monitoring the battery's performance through proprietary software technology supported by IoT hardware. Data collected from the battery, environment and driving habits are cloud processed using advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, generating detailed insights for both the driver and vehicle management, even in fleet contexts. "This analysis will enable predictive maintenance, anticipating anomalies to safeguard battery health, extend battery life by up to 40 per cent and provide accurate range estimates. The system, based on AI-driven monitoring, will further reduce range anxiety, improve safety and optimise performance with real-time coaching," says Martini.

Field Choice
Electra Vehicles was founded in Boston ten years ago and a European office in Turin since 2022. The company employs fifty people across nine countries worldwide. The company raised over 25 million dollars and a further raising of up to 40 million dollars is going on. The intuition started from that bizarre, unfathomable choice: at the time, Fabrizio Martini was working with the main investigators on battery extension for space rovers. He wondered: what would it be like to shift our attention from Space to Earth? This led his interest moving to technology for ground vehicles. Today, the main limits hindering the massive adoption of electric cars are multiple and interconnected. Range anxiety, i.e. fearing not to be able to find a place to recharge, is one of the biggest barriers: 54% of drivers fear running out of charge, exacerbated by often inaccurate estimates of battery range with errors of up to 20%. Additionally the high costs associated with the development of new battery chemistries, which can take up to 10 years and investments of around $1 billion. Another challenge is the limited lifespan of batteries which typically last around 8 to 10 years, resulting in increasing maintenance costs and heavier operational weights. Finally, when it comes to fleets, the integration of electric vehicles introduces critical issues related to residual value, failure prediction and maintenance planning, making the transition more complex and expensive. This journey tries to dispel these clichés and turn the impossible into possible. Far from being an odd choice it represents a strategic direction.

High-purpose work
From the "what" to the "how" and especially the "why". Environmental, social and community challenges become central to those leaders and companies, that are questioning their role in the world. Moreover, what sets this transformation apart from previous technological advancements is that it occurs alongside global challenges such as the climate crisis. "We can no longer reason as if we had infinite resources and negligible constraints," emphasized Mario Calderini, a professor of Impact and Sustainability Management at the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano a few months ago during an episode of our #CosaCambia live from the Open Innovation Center in Turin. There's a pressing need for action, rather than a wish. This was also highlightened by The Economist  in a groundbreaking cover story published four years ago. "No place is safe", it read in clear letters, alluding to a world that is 3 degrees warmer. A dystopian and surreal vision featuring penguins watching TV from an armchair adrift in the middle of the ocean. A wonderful cover in its drama. There is a clear sense of urgency to act to change things, by collective, plural action. The story of a runner who also became, despite himself, a dragger of crowds and ideals made the headlines, again in America. Initially, trail runner Jared Campbell's mission seemed impossible. To raise funds for air quality defence by running the highly demanding route up Salt Lake City's Grandeur Peak. Located in Utah, this area is marked by vast deserts and the Wasatch Mountains. The following year a few friends joined Campbell's race and the subsequent year even more participants. Over a span of twelve years, this initiative evolved into Running Up For Air, a global movement featuring several races, hundreds of runners and thousands of dollars raised worldwide. This is how a race can build a community to inspire change far beyond the trails. In the face of declining air quality, individuals are coming together to take action. A story captured by the clothing brand Patagonia in a documentary which chronicles the very origins of Running Up for Air. 'Why should we care about the air? Because we care about people,' Patagonia's trail running ambassador Luke Nelson told the press. To change the world, we must, once again, start with the people. 
 

Involvement, particularly of the younger generation, makes the difference. Never before has the Z generation, even before knowing about their salaries, expressed the will to understand the purpose of a company and recognize the centrality of human capital in corporate policies. The attraction of talent increasingly depends on how much a company values its people and, in turn, the planet. "Young people are looking for jobs with a higher purpose," Time headlined, referencing a research by McKinsey . Many individuals no longer want merely work, but to dedicate themselves to others, to the environment, and the communities in which they live. Analysts point out that 70 per cent of Americans define their purpose through their work. This is an important figure as it redefines the paradigm for organisations of the future. That is 7 out of 10 workers. "Welcome to the new workplace, where making a positive impact and embracing purpose are essential to attract younger workers, expecting their employers to demonstrate their purpose beyond profit," Bruce Horovitz wrote in Time. Of course, there is a huge difference between said and deeds, involving hardships and contradictions. The global consulting firm Gallup asked workers a key question: "does your organisation have a positive impact on people and the planet?" Only 43% of respondents answered affirmatively. Employees who agree with this are twice as likely to be engaged in their work and are 5.5 times more likely to trust their company's leadership. This is the litmus test of the new purpose economy that has become synonymous with meaning, values, personal growth.
 

The new purpose economy
Yes, but what are we talking about? The first person to theorise about it now eleven years ago was Aaron Hurst in his bestseller 'Purpose economy - how your desire for impact, personal growth and community is changing the world'. This book was also referenced by the New York Times  in an article by his byline with the provocative title: "Being good is not the only way to go". In short, there is much more at stake. «Several changes are taking place in our economy: millennials moving away from conventional career paths to launch startups or small businesses rooted in local communities. We share everything from bicycles and cars to extra rooms in our homes. We now easily create, buy and sell handicrafts in our local areas. Purpose is the new engine of the economy,» Hurst writes. Similar to the information economy that has historically driven innovation and economic growth, this visionary entrepreneur argues that our new economic era is centered by connecting people to their purpose. "It is an economy where value lies in establishing purpose for both the employees and customers, meeting needs beyond their own and enabling personal growth and community building. This new era is already fuelling demand for a whole range of products and services. This is the Purpose Economy," recalls Hurst, who twenty-five years ago left a well-paying technology job to launch Taproot, paving the way  for millions of professionals and Fortune 500 companies to volunteer. The purpose economy represents a significant movement of people prioritizing - regardless of the field - the social impact in their work. A conscious contribution to the community - whatever local or global, - starting by addressing the social issues that matter most to them. It is proven that there is even more to be gained. Today, for all organizations of excellence - whether large multinationals, SMEs or even micro-sized enterprises - positioning and business strategies must necessarily be integrated by actions taken on the environmental and social sustainability front. 

So, the impact refers to generating value for the company, its stakeholders, and the communities in which it operates. This understanding is essential for the most effective impact-driven companies. At Sella, Tiziana Monterisi shared her insights about her venture, Ricehouse building ecological houses out of rice wastes and boosting knowledge exchange between architects and farmers. Additionally, we heard from Francesca De Gottardo, founder of Endelea, a B-Corp startup creating clothes and accessories in African fabrics between Milan and Tanzania, fostering the exchange of knowledge between different skills. And then again Stefano Caccavari, whose Mulinum has breathed new life into the last stone mill in Calabria and, now in Tuscany, has rekindled a wheat chain employing dozens of people. In our broadcast from the Holden School in Turin, which took place a year and a half ago, as part of one of our #CosaCambia we featured from the Netherlands Iris Skrami, who introduced us to Renon,  Simone Chiriatti,  from Puglia, talking about Olivami, from the Venetian region Gianni Dalla Mora, introducing Womsh, Michele Fenoglio, from Piedmont, and his Wami, Edo Volpi, from Tuscany, with Vapori di Birra, from Afghanistan Selene Biffi introducing She works for peace. The key focus for future enterprises is all about corporate culture. Simon Sinek, one of the world's leading management scholars and author of the bestseller 'Partire dal perché' (Start with Why) published by FrancoAngeli, also wrote: 'Today, more than in the past, people do not buy what you do, but why you do it". Towards this new shift, valuing essence over appearance, substance over superficiality, and practicality over mere facade, all policies for future organisations should be built on this principle.