Background
For two decades, Zenk has worked at the nexus of policy, finance, and technology to support the industrial transformation that is required to remain globally competitive in a zero-carbon future. Presently, he is Managing Director of Earth Finance where his focus is on aviation, marine, and heavy-duty trucking solutions for decarbonization including renewable molecules and electrons.
Previously, Tim was the President at Molecule LLC, a boutique renewable energy strategy firm, where he specialized in developing new markets for renewable fuels through partnerships and ecosystem development.
Earlier he lived in San Diego and worked at Sapphire Energy, where they invented renewable crude oil and produced the first renewable diesel, naphtha, and SAF using the feedstock microalgae. His team developed the largest and first end-to-end algae commercial demonstration, funded with a $100 million USDOE/USDA grant and a $100 million investment from Bill Gates. The Green Crude Farm was supported by a sophisticated biotechnology hub at Scripps San Diego, the Research and development center in Las Cruces, NM, and Green Crude farm in Columbus NM (100 wet acre scale).. The company raised $1 billion, was awarded over 350 patents along the biology to renewable chemicals and molecules value chain. Zenk finished his time with Sapphire as the EVP of Business Development, New Markets and Technology after having had several strategic roles reporting to the president. In 2016, Tim was awarded the Green Chemistry Award by the Environmental Protection Agency for his work on algae commercialization and sustainability.
Tim is an expert in federal and state clean fuels policies and technologies that have been implemented in California, Oregon, and Washington. He is the founder of the Washington Green Hydrogen Alliance. He was awarded a coveted U.S. China EcoPartnership by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi of the Peoples Republic of China at the Great Hall of the People for his work with SinoPac on algae to energy.
In Tim’s early career he served in several government roles for Vice President Al Gore, in Congress for Rep. Norm Dicks and on the staff of Washington’s 19th Governor, Booth Gardner.
