Tod Hynes ’98 returned to campus to speak with science classes about his work in renewable energy. Tod is the founder and president of XL Hybrids, Inc. and a part-time lecturer at M.I.T. His company developed a hybrid system that is installed in commercial fleet vehicles, reducing fuel cost and optimizing performance.
Tod discussed his various energy-related entrepreneurship endeavors since graduating from M.I.T., and he explained to students the business side of “going green.”
“Your product has to be an equal or a better solution, and it has to make economic sense,” says Tod.
Tod spent time answering students’ questions about sustainability and his career, including his previous work in wind power development at Citizens Energy, which took him around the country. He also told students that the “best skill [he] gained at Milton was the ability to challenge assumptions.”
Prior to joining Citizens Energy, Tod was co-founder of Strategic Energy Systems, a distributed power generation consulting and engineering services firm. He was also co-chair of the energy committee for CERC, the organization that “greened” the 2004 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. He was on the steering committee of the Boston Climate Action Network from 2003 to 2008. At M.I.T., he teaches Energy Ventures and co-founded the M.I.T. Clean Energy Prize.
