Joanna Richart's Hydro-journey ?? #EnergiseHer

Interviewed and written by Marta Colina Alonso, Researcher at Brightsmith

If there's someone who can redefine what perseverance means in energy transition, it's Joanna Richart, Ricardo's Head of Hydrogen Business. Her candor, determination, and remarkable passion for hydrogen technology have certainly inspired me - and are sure to inspire many more.

Joanna is a big believer in the value of cultivating diversity of thought across all levels of the energy transition. She is proof that, with strength of purpose, you can really make a difference - no matter what life may throw your way. Her open encouragement of others to believe in themselves throughout their career is admirable, and I hope you enjoy reading her story as much as I enjoyed hearing it first-hand ??

Hi Joanna! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Sure! I'm Joanna Richart, and I work at Ricardo as their Head of Hydrogen Business, so I oversee all their activities related to hydrogen – policies, energy environment, our engineering, the messaging we put out there... But a bit of my story before that, I studied engineering back in the Czech Republic, moved to England over 15 years ago and have been across several engineering companies since.

How did you get into the cleantech industry?

Well, it was by complete coincidence to be honest! Like I said, I studied engineering, but actually I started my career in purchasing when I finished my degree. Over time I realised it just wasn’t challenging enough for me, and I wanted to use my engineering knowledge more, so I applied for a manufacturing engineer position at Intelligent Energy, only for them to look at my profile and say "we need someone for purchasing", so I ended up in the same space, but that's how I first got into cleantech.

So why did you decide to study engineering in the first place?

As a kid, I thought I was a bit technical – I liked Meccano toys more than dolls, I liked climbing trees more than putting on pretty dresses, you know... I already wanted to go into the engineering branch at secondary school, but my parents swayed me away and suggested I choose a more general course and take some time to decide what I actually wanted to do. I then considered studying psychology, so I sought help from one of the university professors on learning materials for the entrance exam, and he told me he could explain it to me "if I visited him in his apartment one night". I said "no thanks!", and went and studied engineering instead.

Actually, my elementary school teacher once told me “you could never study a technical subject” She broke my spirit, I came home crying... she didn’t realise the harm she was doing! But, you know what, I met her the day I was graduating just as I was getting off the bus – and I looked at her – and said “you told me I couldn’t do it, and here I am! I got my master's in mechanical engineering!”

At the end of the day, I'm really glad I stood by what I believed in. Studying engineering wasn't easy, and maybe I wasn’t a natural-born engineer like other people, but I'm not a quitter - and ultimately it's about having the tenacity and belief that you can do it.

There’s clearly a challenge getting women into this sector and career path - why do you think we need more women pursuing this from an early age, at school or at university?

There's lots of studies that show the benefits of increasing the number of women in different areas of your company, but the real benefit of having more women is how it adds to the positives of diversity and equity in general.

Also, a lot of it is driven from the top, so having a really good leader who promotes it too is crucial. It's not about saying “we just need more women”, it's about being open to different opinions and characters. It's important to surround yourself with people who will challenge you, that's the only way companies and industries can truly grow bigger and better. Trusting and open culture unlocks the path to higher profits.

"I'm not a quitter - and ultimately it's about having the tenacity and belief that you can do it"

Thinking about your role now and the point you’re at in your career, what do you love most about what you do, and what makes you stay motivated?

Looking back, we used to say "we are changing the world", and it was a very passionate statement, but we definitely have changed the world! When we started promoting hydrogen, no one listened, everyone said “it's not safe”, or “hydrogen isn’t in our agenda”, and look where we are today, look at the momentum now.

I know I was a very small part of the movement, but even then I know there are moments where things would have fallen apart and I helped prevent that. So the fact that we have actually changed the world and our efforts continue to pay off is amazing and keeps me interested in what I do.

Considering all the growth we’ve seen so far, what do you think the future of the industry looks like?

I think its non-stoppable. And not just hydrogen, which is what I do, but everything in renewables. We're thinking in completely different dimensions now, specially about how we can work as a community to make sustainability accessible - States are recognizing more and more that everyone has a right to live in a clean world, and a right to mobility, so we will see that movement continue to grow.

"It's important to surround yourself with people who will challenge you, that's the only way companies and industries can truly grow bigger and better"

And for women?

As much as I love talking about women in this industry, women are also mothers, and there's nothing derogative about it. A lot of women have that dilemma: there's two things you love and everyone thinks "which one are you going to choose?" And most times there always ends up being a problem with whichever you choose. I know its hard to generalise, but it is really difficult to be a mother and a worker, and sometimes you just have to decide what you want for yourself. Both are equally great, as long as you follow where your heart is - I think that's something we're really going to see more of in the future. For me, my love and passion is hydrogen, if I could give it a hundred hours a day I would, but I know other brilliant women who have dedicated their life to being great mothers to our future generation. Making that choice is okay and a part of life.

If you could give one piece of advice to the next generation of women on how they can make the leap into clean energy, whether its very early on or they're in the middle of their career, what would you say?

Don’t be scared to cut back. If you really want it, take a pay cut, a step back... sometimes when changing careers or paths you might have to stall a bit if there's no other way to do it. And have tenacity and drive, know what you want, and that nothing can stop you from achieving it - that is probably the best advice you can take from me and my story.

Connect with Joanna and stay up to date with her exciting career here ??