Turning charging and energy infrastructure into investment-grade strategy.
Sea Horse Advisory helps founders, CEOs, and investors in e-mobility and energy make sharper commercial decisions — pairing deep engineering insight with the techno-economic modelling, market intelligence, and investor-grade thinking that stand up to scrutiny.
Working across the road-transport transition.
Electrifying road transport reshapes every layer of the value chain — the operators running the fleets, the manufacturers building the vehicles, and the logistics players setting the pace. Sea Horse Advisory works on the commercial and technical questions that connect them.
Representative organisations across each segment — illustrative of the markets I work in, not a client list.
From the grid to the depot to the boardroom.
Nearly a decade inside the businesses electrifying road transport — on the network side, the manufacturer side, and the operator side of the table.
- Led product strategy for energy management and battery storage across UK, German and US charging networks
- Integrated on-site storage and solar into high-power charging “gigahub” depots
- Built the commercial case for grid-smart, storage-backed charging
- Helped open the UK electric-bus charging market from the ground up
- Delivered depot charging infrastructure for fleet operators
- Partnered with operators, OEMs and local authorities on fleet transition
- Built the total-cost-of-ownership models behind $1.2bn+ of investment
- Quantified the lifetime economics of electric vehicles against diesel
- Shaped product and go-to-market strategy with the numbers to back it
- Advising the CEO on commercial and product strategy
- Market and competitive intelligence across UK and Europe
- Business-case, CaaS pricing and techno-economic modelling
- Brought the distribution-network view to large-scale EV charging
- Assessed grid capacity and connection strategy for charging sites
- Applied smart charging to manage network demand
Engineering depth, boardroom clarity.
I'm Sikai Huang — a strategic advisor with more than eight years across electric-vehicle OEMs, charging infrastructure, and energy utilities in the UK, Europe, and the US. I've built the financial and technical models behind some of the sector's most ambitious electrification businesses: from the total-cost-of-ownership frameworks that helped unlock over $1.2bn of investment at Arrival, to the energy-management and battery-storage product strategy I led across global markets at bp.
My background is unusual by design. A PhD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering (University of Strathclyde), grounded in published research on EVs, demand response, and power networks, combined with business and finance education at Harvard Business School Online (CORe) and Imperial College Business School. That blend lets me move fluently between the engineering detail and the investment case — most recently as strategic advisor to the CEO of a leading global EV charging technology OEM.
- Founder & PrincipalSea Horse Advisory2025–
- Product Manager, EMS & BESSbp2023–25
- Head of Strategic & TCO AnalysisArrival2020–22
- EV Bus Charging Market Dev.SSE Enterprise2018–20
Support shaped around the decision in front of you.
Every engagement starts from a real question — one a board, an investor, or a founder is wrestling with. These are the ones I'm asked most.
Business case & investment modelling
Structured, scenario-driven models that underpin major product and capital decisions — and hold up under board and investor due diligence.
- Does this product line actually make money at scale?
- What utilisation do we need to hit target returns?
- Will the model survive investor due diligence?
BESS & PV techno-economic analysis
Technical and economic viability for battery storage and solar — sizing, dispatch, revenue stacking, and network savings — to find where the value really sits.
- How should we size storage and solar for this site?
- Is the value in arbitrage, capacity, or network savings?
- What dispatch strategy maximises the return?
Total cost of ownership (TCO)
Drawing on TCO tooling built to unlock over $1.2bn of investment, I quantify the true lifetime economics of vehicles, charging assets, and energy systems.
- What does this fleet or asset really cost over its life?
- How do we prove the switch to electric pays back?
- Which assumptions move the answer the most?
Pricing & commercial models
Charging-as-a-Service pricing and SaaS-based recurring revenue — designed and stress-tested to protect margin without losing the deal.
- How should we price Charging-as-a-Service?
- Can we add recurring SaaS revenue to a hardware product?
- What pricing protects margin and still wins?
Market & competitive intelligence
Clear, decision-ready intelligence on markets, competitors, and emerging technology — so leaders can move with conviction instead of guesswork.
- Who are we really competing with, and how do we win?
- Is this market worth entering, and on what terms?
- What are competitors about to do next?
Investor theses & memos
The investor-facing narrative that turns technical strategy into a fundable story — theses, memos, and board material that land.
- How do we tell this story to investors?
- What's the one-page thesis for this opportunity?
- Does our narrative stand up to scrutiny?
From a focused challenge to an ongoing seat at the table.
Engagements flex to the decision and the stage you're at — a single sharp piece of work, a second pair of expert eyes, or a standing advisory relationship.
A sharp, scoped piece of work
One model, one market, one decision. A fast, self-contained deliverable — a business case, a TCO model, a market scan — when you need a defensible answer quickly.
Stress-test before you commit
A second pair of expert eyes on a business case, pricing model, or strategy — pressure-testing the assumptions and surfacing the risks before capital or credibility is on the line.
A fractional strategy lead
A retained relationship, acting as a strategy partner to a founder or leadership team — in the room for the decisions that matter, month to month.
Common questions.
What kind of engagements do you take on?
Who do you usually work with?
What makes your approach different?
Do you work on a project or retainer basis?
Which markets and technologies do you cover?
How do we get started?
Have a decision you need to get right?
Tell me the challenge you're working through. If Sea Horse Advisory is the right fit, we'll find a way to help — and if it isn't, I'll say so.
sikai.huang@seahorseadvisory.com