Tony Leo walked through the doors of Energy Research Corp. in 1978 with a newly minted degree in chemical engineering, a job researching batteries for US Navy submarines and a desire to do something a little different. At the time, Energy Research was a young research company that didn’t even have a commercial engineering department.

Forty-six years later, the company, renamed FuelCell Energy, is a global leader in the commercialization of clean energy technologies, and Leo rose to the top as executive vice president and chief technology officer. In between, his career took  on legendary status, with numerous patents and an array of prestigious honors. He was a sought-after guest speaker at conferences around the world and was a go-to source for regulators, policy makers and journalists alike.

“The nature of the job kept changing and stayed interesting as we changed from an R&D company to a commercial-focused company,” he said.

Not only was he instrumental in FCE’s emergence as a global player, his discoveries and work to promote the industry helped make Connecticut the fuel cell capital of the U.S.

Among his accomplishments and honors:

• A recent patent on carbon recovery from fuel cells that is already the largest portion of FCE’s sales pipeline.
• Excellence in Energy Award from the Connecticut Power and Energy Society in 2023.
• Top Product of the Year Award for FuelCell Energy’s Trigeneration Platform from Environment + Energy Leader in 2022.
• Chairman of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers PTC-50 Fuel Cell Performance Test Code committee.
• Member of the National Petroleum Council’s Hydrogen Study Coordinating Steering Committee
• Member of Connecticut’s Hydrogen Study Task Force.
• Advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy on hydrogen policy.

“FuelCell Energy, and the fuel cell industry would not be where they are today without Tony and his inquisitive, problem-solving approach to the business,” said Jason Few, president and CEO. “Not only do we admire all his exceptional accomplishments for FCE and beyond, but we have grown so close to him as our friend and one of our longest-tenured team members. We congratulate Tony on a remarkable career and wish him all the best in retirement.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office sent their regards and best wishes, thanking Tony for all his leadership and contributions over the decades.

Frank Wolak, President and CEO of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association commented, “Over his career, Tony Leo has been at the forefront of numerous advancements in fuel cell technology and electrochemistry. I have had the privilege of knowing Tony for over 25 years and the added privilege of working with him for 15 of those. He embodies the full meaning of enabling a world empowered by clean energy.”

Inspired by the Space Race

Leo grew up in Rotterdam, N.Y., just outside of Schenectady, at a time when rockets were heading to the moon and the boundaries of science and engineering were being expanded.

“Growing up in the 60s, a lot of young people were inspired by the space program and by the first application of nuclear energy for power production,” he said.

Leo went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. The traditional path would have sent him to a fossil fuels company. Afterall, this was the 1970s and cleaner forms of energy were a tiny blip on the landscape.

“Our college placement office got a letter from Energy Research Corporation announcing openings for chemical engineers,” he said. “So, I went for an interview. Working on advanced clean energy technology was so different from what I was seeing in the oil and gas and petrochemical companies that I couldn’t resist.”

It was a heady time at ERC. At the time the company was focused on research into batteries and fuel cells. Co-founder Martin Klein ran the battery development team, while fellow co-founder Bernard Baker oversaw the fuel cell work.

Leo joined the battery team, which was doing research for the Department of Defense and the recently created Department of Energy building batteries to DOD specifications for submarines. When the company decided to develop commercial products around its carbonate fuel cell in the late 1990s, he moved into the fuel cell group to manage its first MW-scale carbonate demonstration project in Santa Clara, Calif.

“It was fun and a great learning experience to work on the transition between and R&D-focused company to a commercial company,” he said.

At the time, ERC had to rely primarily on Fluor Engineers and GE Industrial Systems to design the company’s first products. Leo was put in charge of building the company’s internal engineering support.

“Once that capability was put in place, it was moved under Operations, and I focused again on Funded Advanced Technology, but now with a focus on doing R&D that aligned with our commercialization objectives,” he said.

A lasting impact on FCE

Leo was instrumental in the work that resulted in the Tri-gen system now employed by Toyota at the Port of Long Beach, the first and only system in the world that uses biogas to produce renewable electricity, and hydrogen and usable water.

Another recent highlight was the agreement with ExxonMobil’s Esso Nederland BV affiliate to build a pilot plant in Rotterdam to test FCE’s carbonate fuel cell technology that captures CO₂ emissions before they are released into the atmosphere, while also making valuable co-products.

FCE’s carbon capture technology also has significant potential for the food and beverage industry, which relies on CO₂.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of innovations in the company, but I think my recent patent on carbon recovery from fuel cells is going to be very impactful for the company,” he said. “Carbon recovery is already the biggest portion of our sales pipeline.”

After 46 years in the industry, Leo believes the best is yet to come for fuel cells and clean energy.

“In the near term, the expanding market for power driven by data centers and artificial intelligence should drive more demand for onsite power generation, since the grid may not be able to supply the power data centers need,” he said. “In the long term, the drive to decarbonizations will increase demand for our carbon capture solutions and our hydrogen solutions.”