ABOUT
Lydian was founded in 2021 in Cambridge, MA by a group of talented engineers, scientists, and operators to enable widespread sustainable flight.
Since inception, we've reached key milestones at an unprecedented pace. We’ve produced our first fuel product and successfully commissioned our pilot demonstration.
With lifecycle emissions reductions up to 99% compared to fossil jet fuel, our novel technology and lower costs make adoption easier and a net-zero aviation industry possible. We're moving fast to make the sustainable future a reality.
Supported by top climate investors and partners.
FOUNDERS + TEAM
Joe Rodden, CEO
Joe has spent his career building software to help the world’s most sophisticated companies make complex strategic decisions in dynamic market conditions. Most recently, at Form Energy, Joe supported the commercialization of a novel iron-air battery for grid-scale energy storage. He previously worked at Affirm, which he helped prepare for IPO as an early lead on the strategy and finance team, and BlackRock, where he advised some of the firm’s largest private and public clients on and complex capital markets transactions.
Joe received his BA in Applied Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Harvard.
Dr. Branko Zugic, CTO
Branko is a trained chemical engineer who has spent 20+ years in industry and academia focused on novel materials for energy and green chemistry applications. He led R&D at Open Water Power, an MIT spinout that was acquired by L3Harris after successfully demonstrating its aluminum-water battery technology with the US Navy.
Branko previously did postdoc research at Harvard University, where he developed the nanoporous metal catalysts that would ultimately inspire Lydian’s technology. Branko holds a PhD from Tufts University and a BS from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, both in Chemical Engineering.
We’re a team of intellectually curious, collaborative, and purposeful engineers, scientists, and operators. We’re passionate about addressing the climate crisis and energized by solving the hardest, highest impact problems that come our way.
We bring expertise from leading institutions:
