Tom Buttgenbach

CEO & Founder
8minute Solar Energy

From an early age growing up in Germany, Tom Buttgenbach was fascinated with science and had a desire to build. An interest in clean and affordable energy ultimately led him to earn PhDs in physics and astronomy from Caltech, with the objective of studying nuclear fusion. After concluding nuclear fusion would not be scalable, he entered the business world.

A number of successful experiences led Buttgenbach back to his initial passion: clean, affordable energy to solve one of the largest problems facing humanity – climate change. With a vision for the future promise of solar photovoltaic technology, an eye for design and development and a principled approach to investing in the business for the long term, 8minute Solar Energy was born in 2009. Today, 8minute provides 10% of Los Angeles’ power during the day and counts every major utility in California and Nevada among its customers.