Going Clean is Dirty Business

Harry Otto Brünjes

The true story of limitless clean power, and why we still don’t have it. Maverick TV director turned hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Nick Abson (and same guy who brought us Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’) - resurfaces after years underground - to tell his unbelievable story, in conversation with filmmaker Harry Otto Brünjes; having been locked in an against-all-odds battle to liberate clean energy, after the tech was stolen by Russians. A limited narrative video podcast. 6 episodes per season, in 3 seasons. UNBELIEVABLE. UNSCRIPTED. UNFOLDING. Follow along the journey at @goingcleanpod on Instagram and TikTok JOIN THE MISSION at https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season 1

  1. Epiphany

    Episode 1

    Epiphany

    What if the clean energy revolution wasn't waiting in the future but was discovered decades ago and quietly left behind? In 1990, television producer Nick Abson was researching a documentary about the "perfect car" when he uncovered something far bigger than vehicle emissions. What began as a simple question, became a lifetime obsession that would take Nick from television studios to fuel cell factories, from boardrooms to courtrooms and into a battle with some of the most powerful interests on Earth. In this opening chapter, Nick retraces the moment that everything changed. The epiphany that launched a billion dollar clean energy crusade and the first clues that the future wasn't being held back by technology, but by something else entirely. Key takeaways - How a TV documentary about the "perfect car" led to the discovery of hydrogen fuel cell technology - Why fuel cells powered the Apollo missions and remain one of the most efficient forms of clean energy - The hidden history of a technology that predates the modern oil industry - How concerns about emissions and climate impact were being raised decades before they entered mainstream debate - The surprising figures, from oil executives to space engineers, who believed the future belonged to hydrogen - Nick's life changing realisation that limitless clean power was possible - The origins of a mission to create community owned energy that anyone, anywhere could build - Why some technologies thrive and others seem to disappear just as they're about to change the world This story doesn't end when the episode does. We're building more than a series. We're building a community. Join the conversation, challenge the ideas, share your perspective and help us spread the story. Follow on Instagram: @goingcleanpod Follow on TikTok: @goingcleanpod Check out the website: https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness.com/ Contact the team: goingcleanisdirtybusiness@gmail.com Follow, subscribe and share this episode. The bigger this community becomes, the harder this story is to ignore. 00:00 Introduction 01:08 Nick Today, Life in a Homemade Lab in France 02:02 The Arson Attack That Set Him Back a Year 09:53 Where It All Began, The Epiphany 11:04 The TV Show That Changed Everything 17:16 Broken in the Snow, Nick's Darkest Moment 20:39 The Oil Executive Who Saw It Coming 24:29 A Brief History of Fuel Cells 30:30 The Conference, the Briefcase and the First Fuel Cell Nick Ever Saw 41:04 Called to Los Angeles and Why Nothing Would Ever Be the Same The true story of limitless clean power, and why we still don’t have it. Maverick TV director turned hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Nick Abson (and same guy who brought us Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’) - resurfaces after years underground - to tell his unbelievable story, in conversation with filmmaker Harry Otto Brünjes; having been locked in an against-all-odds battle to liberate clean energy, after the tech was stolen by Russians. JOIN THE MISSION at https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    45 min
  2. Catalysis

    Episode 2

    Catalysis

    Nick Abson had never built a car. He had no fuel cell. He had no company. So naturally, he stood up in front of 3,000 people at an international conference and told the entire fuel cell industry that he would beat Mercedes-Benz to it. What started as outrage at watching a decent man get pushed off a stage turned into one of the most unlikely promises ever made in the history of clean energy. And somehow, against every conceivable odd, he would almost keep it. In this episode, Nick recounts the moment he lost his temper in Long Beach and accidentally started a revolution. He explains why the hydrogen fuel cell industry was already being quietly controlled before it had even taken off, the sandwich shop explanation that changed his daughter's mind, and the phone call from a Brooklyn acquaintance that led to the birth of Zevco, his zero emissions vehicle company, in a hotel phone booth. The true story of limitless clean power, and why we still don’t have it. Maverick TV director turned hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Nick Abson (and same guy who brought us Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’) - resurfaces after years underground - to tell his unbelievable story, in conversation with filmmaker Harry Otto Brünjes; having been locked in an against-all-odds battle to liberate clean energy, after the tech was stolen by Russians. JOIN THE MISSION at https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    20 min
  3. Shot at dawn

    Episode 3

    Shot at dawn

    What happens when a TV director walks into a Belgian nuclear bunker, meets a chain smoking engineer and discovers a fuel cell factory quietly building the future of clean transport, just before it all starts to disappear? Nick Abson cuts a deal with a Belgian manufacturer to build a fuel cell engine for his TV show, when he receives an early morning phone call: They are being suddenly shut down and just like that, the project, the promise and the future he thought he had secured start to unravel. What follows is a frantic scramble involving emergency fundraising, Rothschild meetings and a desperate attempt to save a company already slipping out of existence. It’s a rare glimpse of a working clean energy future, seen just long enough to realise it might disappear before the world is ready to understand what it’s looking at. Key takeaways - The moment a TV director stumbled into Belgium’s nuclear era research site and discovered the world’s only industrial fuel cell production line - Why a quiet deal with a manufacturer to build a TV show suddenly collapsed overnight - What it looked like when fuel cells were already being manufactured at scale, before the world even noticed - How Elenco was quietly building alkaline fuel cells for the European Space Agency - The surreal reality of a “future factory” inside a nuclear research campus buried over radioactive waste - Why the entire operation depended on fragile political and institutional funding - How the loss of the ESA contract triggered a rapid collapse of a functioning clean energy system - The role of corporate and political pressure, including competition from Siemens - Why emergency fundraising turned into a desperate scramble through banks, investors and rewritten business plans - How a working version of the clean energy future nearly existed, before disappearing in plain sight This story doesn't end when the episode does. We're building more than a podcast. We're building a community. Join the conversation, challenge the ideas, share your perspective and help us spread the story. Follow on Instagram: @goingcleanpod Follow on TikTok: @goingcleanpod Check out the website: https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness.com/ Contact the team: goingcleanisdirtybusiness@gmail.com Follow, subscribe and share this episode. The bigger this community becomes, the harder this story is to ignore. 00:00 Introduction 01:42 Discovery at VITO 05:12 The Promise of Fuel Cells 11:06 A Deal Unravels 15:22 The Frantic Scramble 21:38 Auction and Intervention 25:12 The Reality of Ownership The true story of limitless clean power, and why we still don’t have it. Maverick TV director turned hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Nick Abson (and same guy who brought us Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’) - resurfaces after years underground - to tell his unbelievable story, in conversation with filmmaker Harry Otto Brünjes; having been locked in an against-all-odds battle to liberate clean energy, after the tech was stolen by Russians. JOIN THE MISSION at https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    30 min
  4. A Moving Time

    Episode 4

    A Moving Time

    What happens when two engineers, a pile of fuel cell machinery and a condemned Belgian nuclear site collide with one week to move a factory, no money and a challenge to build a vehicle from the wreckage? Nick Abson finds himself deep inside Belgium’s VITO site, where a sudden shutdown leaves a full fuel cell factory stranded mid operation. Nick is given one week to move the entire facility and in response, he challenges the remaining staff to do something even more outrageous: resurrect the company and build a working fuel cell vehicle. But how? What starts as an emergency evacuation turns into an audacious rebuild attempt: not just saving equipment, but trying to turn it into something tangible before everything disappears entirely. Key takeaways - What it looked like when the world’s only industrial fuel cell production line was dismantled piece by piece under pressure - How Elenco went from cutting edge ESA contractor to a system collapsing overnight - The surreal reality of relocating a live industrial plant covered in carbon dust into a half ruined building - The role of the lost European Space Agency contract in triggering the rapid unravelling of the entire operation - Why building a fuel cell vehicle became both a technical goal and a survival strategy for keeping the project alive This isn't just a podcast. It's an investigation into the clean energy revolution we almost had and the future we can still build. Got a question, theory, lead or story to share? Join the conversation, challenge the ideas, share your perspective and help us spread the story. Follow on Instagram: @goingcleanpod Follow on TikTok: @goingcleanpod Check out the website: https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness.com/ Contact the team: goingcleanisdirtybusiness@gmail.com New episodes drop every other Wednesday. Follow, subscribe and join the conversation wherever you're listening. The bigger this community becomes, the harder this story is to ignore. 00:00 Introduction 02:10 The Evacuation 04:02 Engineering under Pressure 10:52 Building the Team & Vision 12:35 Pivoting from TV to Tech 14:04 The Need for a Demonstration 15:35 Partnering with Pasquali 20:04 The State of EVs in the 90s 25:38 The Battle Against the Status Quo 28:35 A Look Back at Nick's Roots The true story of limitless clean power, and why we still don’t have it. Maverick TV director turned hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Nick Abson (and same guy who brought us Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’) - resurfaces after years underground - to tell his unbelievable story, in conversation with filmmaker Harry Otto Brünjes; having been locked in an against-all-odds battle to liberate clean energy, after the tech was stolen by Russians. JOIN THE MISSION at https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min
  5. Season 1 Trailer

    Season 1 Trailer

    Season 1 Trailer

    You know those stories that just won't let you go? The true story of limitless clean power, and why we still don’t have it. Maverick TV director turned hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Nick Abson (and same guy who brought us Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’) - resurfaces after years underground - to tell his unbelievable story, in conversation with filmmaker Harry Otto Brünjes; having been locked in an against-all-odds battle to liberate clean energy, after the tech was stolen by Russians. JOIN THE MISSION at https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 min

Trailer

About

The true story of limitless clean power, and why we still don’t have it. Maverick TV director turned hydrogen fuel cell pioneer Nick Abson (and same guy who brought us Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’) - resurfaces after years underground - to tell his unbelievable story, in conversation with filmmaker Harry Otto Brünjes; having been locked in an against-all-odds battle to liberate clean energy, after the tech was stolen by Russians. A limited narrative video podcast. 6 episodes per season, in 3 seasons. UNBELIEVABLE. UNSCRIPTED. UNFOLDING. Follow along the journey at @goingcleanpod on Instagram and TikTok JOIN THE MISSION at https://www.goingcleanisdirtybusiness... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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