Wen-Yu Weng

Driving Circular Value and Prosperity in Critical Minerals, Energy & Infrastructure | Ellen MacArthur Foundation | Clean Energy Leader | Co-Founder & Trustee | Ex-Global 50 ESG Rising Star

United Kingdom

About

๐ŸŒŽ Wen-Yu Weng (she/her) is a strategic adviser and recognised leader in critical minerals, low-carbon energy, circular economy, infrastructure, climate, and nature, with over a decade of commercial and financial advisory experience. She specialises in the strategic, economic, financial, technical, and regulatory dimensions of the energy and digital transitions. Collaborating with stakeholders across the entire energy ecosystemโ€”from innovators and investors to governments and international organisationsโ€”she develops strategic solutions in renewable energy (particularly offshore and onshore wind), industrial decarbonisation, nature-based solutions, climate technology, energy ร— digital, and ESG integration. From a background of consulting, science, and policy, she works now at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, focussing on accelerating breakthrough circularity solutions through collaborative projects and agenda-changing research. ๐Ÿค Wen-Yu is passionate about mentoring and leading interdisciplinary teams to address critical strategic and risk interfaces in the energy transition, thereby enabling improved decision-making, collaboration, social impact, and investment. ๐Ÿ… Wen-Yuโ€™s expertise is sought by a diverse range of organisations, including start-ups, multinational corporations, industrial conglomerates, renewable operators, investors, governments, and charities. She has a proven track record of innovating strategies that foster sustainable growth, capture market value, and deliver positive social impact. Recognised for her leadership and expertise, Wen-Yu was named one of the inaugural โ€œ50 ESG Rising Starsโ€ globallyโ€”the only consultant to receive this honour in the first iteration. ๐€๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐‘๐จ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐›๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ŸŒฑ Outside of her current foundation and advisory work, Wen-Yu also serves as a Board Member for two organisations: Earthwatch Europe and Groundwork London. ๐ŸŽ“ Wen-Yu also has a deep commitment to education and social issues. She co-founded the Taiwan Debate Union, introducing competitive English debating and critical thinking to thousands of students in Taiwan. As the National Coach, she led Taiwanโ€™s national team to top-16 and top-8 rankings at the World Championships. In addition, she mentors young women in STEM, drawing on her experience as one of the youngest graduates of Mahidol University (Thailandโ€™s leading STEM university) at 19 years old, and as a former award-winning Science teacher. ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธWen-Yu is multilingual, possessing native/working-level fluency in English, Mandarin, and Thai.

Experience

  • Executive Lead - Critical Minerals (Energy Transition and Digital Transition) at Ellen MacArthur Foundation
    Jun 2025 - Present ยท 1 yr 2 mos

    Leading EMFโ€™s new Critical Minerals mission - catalysing circular, high-value, inclusive, human-positive, and profitable supply chains with breakthrough technologies, business models and policy mechanisms to drive the energy transition and the digital transition. Create prosperity and progress from circularity while keeping batteries charged, turbines turning, and data flowing. + As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, reporting directly to CEO + Trustee Board, playing my part in making sure EMF is an awesome and transformative place to be.

  • Board Trustee at Earthwatch Europe
    Dec 2023 - Present ยท 2 yrs 8 mos

  • Board Trustee at Groundwork London
    Jan 2024 - Present ยท 2 yrs 7 mos

  • Independent Speaker / Visiting Lecturer at Independent
    2020 - Present ยท 6 yrs 7 mos

    Since 2020, I have been providing independent services as a speaker, educator and lecturer to numerous organisations and groups, covering topics across commercial strategy, energy, infrastructure,digital, sustainability, circular economy, critical minerals, technology, and impact investing. I combine my industry and topical skillset with my background as a former teacher and my track record as a leader of an education non-profit to create accessible, interactive, and innovative sessions. I have worked with organisations, including but not limited to: London School of Economics and Political Science, Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, INSEAD, ESCP Business School, Mahidol University, National Taiwan University, Hong Kong University, and many others.

  • Co-Founder, Chair, and Head Coach at Taiwan Debate Union ๅฐ็ฃ่‹ฑ่ชž่พฏ่ซ–ๅ”ๆœƒ
    2014 - Present ยท 12 yrs 7 mos

    ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ญ ๐“๐š๐ข๐ฐ๐š๐งโ€™๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐ž๐›๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐๐†๐Ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐›๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐š๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐“๐š๐ข๐ฐ๐š๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐›๐š๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž. โ—ฆ Co-founded the Taiwan Debate Union, scaling it into Taiwan's largest debate & critical-thinking non-profit, ran predominantly by young professionals, university students and program alumni. โ—ฆ Designed widespread training programs and coached the Taiwan Debate Team Squad, achieving two top-8 and one top-16 finishes globally at the World Schools Debating Championships. โ—ฆ Forged partnerships with schools, government, NGOs, and other teams around the world. โ—ฆ Continuing to advocate to embed debate in education curricula and grow a self-sustaining talent pipeline.