Why scientific innovation often fails to become adoption, and how better product thinking can change that.

The climate tech world is booming with breakthroughs.

From carbon capture to soil carbon monitoring, the pace of innovation is staggering. According to PwC, climate tech investment reached over $70 billion between 2020 and 2022, with thousands of new ventures emerging across mobility, energy, food systems, and more.

But here’s the paradox: even the most groundbreaking solutions often fail to scale. Not because the science is wrong; but because the product isn’t right.

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The Science Is Brilliant. The Product? Not Always.

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We’ve seen it repeatedly.

Startups are founded by brilliant engineers or climate scientists who deeply understand the problem. Their models work. Their technology is solid. But when it comes time to bring it to market?

Confused users. Friction-filled onboarding. Dashboards no one understands.

Take carbon accounting tools as an example. While the backend models may be highly accurate, users often abandon these tools due to confusing flows, unclear value props, or overly complex reporting interfaces.

In fact, a study by Forrester found that poor UX leads to 70% of digital transformation failures. And in climate tech, that failure isn’t just a lost customer; it’s lost impact.

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Why This Happens: The Translation Gap

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The root problem is that scientists build for accuracy, not usability. They focus on fidelity to the model, not friction in the flow.

That’s where product translation matters.

Think of it like this:

Science = precision

Product = usability

Translation = adoption

When product teams fail to bridge this gap, the end-user — whether that’s a facility manager, a city planner, or a sustainability analyst; ends up lost in the weeds.

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Who Are the Translators?

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To make this work, climate tech teams need translators:

• Product managers who ask “what problem are we solving, really?”
• UX designers who simplify complex workflows
• Engineers who are comfortable abstracting scientific detail into usable features

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These aren’t optional hires; they’re essential. Especially in an industry where urgency and usability go hand-in-hand.

As David J. Hayes, former Special Assistant to the U.S. President for Climate Policy, recently said:

“The most promising climate tech won’t matter if it doesn’t reach the people who need it; fast.”

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From lab to laptop: Making Tech Usable

We recently worked with OptimiseAI, a startup using machine learning to help commercial buildings optimise energy usage. Their backend tech was rock-solid, but early users struggled with adoption.

Through rapid UX testing and simplified dashboards, we helped reduce onboarding time by 40%, and increased daily active usage by over 60% in the first month.

It’s not magic; it’s translation.

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The Bottom Line: Speed = Adoption = Impact

Here’s what every climate founder should remember:

• Tech without adoption is shelfware
• Adoption requires usability
• Usability is a product design issue, not a marketing fix

If you’re not investing in product thinking early, you’re not just delaying growth — you’re slowing down your climate impact.

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Takeaways for climate tech founders:

• Don’t wait to bring in product thinkers; involve them from day one
• Make scientific complexity invisible to the user
• Use real-world testing, not assumptions, to shape your interface
• Remember: the simpler the tool, the faster the adoption

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Want to see what this looks like?

Check out how we partnered with OptimiseAI, or book a chat with one of our product leads to explore how we turn deep tech into everyday tools.

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