Season 3 - Ep. 4 | How the Barely Possible Can Overcome the Barely Solvable with First Mode’s Chris Voorhees

Chris Voorhees built his career on solving massive challenges on Earth and in space. He’s Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer of First Mode, a creative engineering company developing carbon reduction and clean energy solutions for heavy industry. Before that, he was an award-winning NASA engineer with integral roles on three Mars rover projects – Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. We talk with Chris about his fearless approach to problems, how he builds teams and culture, and how creativity and curiosity have enabled him to find solutions to the nearly unsolvable, from outer space to sustainability. It’s 30 minutes that will shift your thinking in how you approach problem solving and how you define “impossible.”

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these other Redefiners episodes:

• Daring to Build a More Sustainable World with Kate Brandt and Sophia Mendelsohn

• Feeding the World and Protecting the Planet with Yara International CEO Svein Tore Holsether

• Trust Your Gut: AXA’s Thomas Buberl Talks Transformation and Reinvention

Chris Voorhees 
Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer of First Mode 

Chris Voorhees is Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer of First Mode, a carbon reduction company developing creative, clean energy solutions for heavy industry’s toughest problems.

Chris has decades of experience in the implementation of robotic systems for the exploration of deep space. His notable experience includes work as a mobility systems engineer for NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers and lead mechanical engineer for NASA's Curiosity rover. For his efforts, Chris received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement and Exceptional Engineering Achievement medals.

Since First Mode’s founding in 2018 in solving significant problems on Earth, including the urgent issues of sustainability and clean technology development. Under Chris’ direction as CEO and President, company engineers in Seattle designed and built the world’s first and world’s largest proof-of-concept hydrogen fuel cell powerplant to replace a diesel engine in an ultra-class haul truck. The truck launched in May 2022 and continues to be operated at Anglo American’s Mogalakwena platinum group metals mine site in South Africa.

Today, Chris oversees First Mode’s global product and technology development, with the company now focusing on the decarbonization of entire mine haul truck fleets to completely eliminate the use of diesel and speed the clean energy transition.