Five Questions for C1 Green Chemicals

After successfully founding and selling companies such as MyVideo, eDarling, and nebenan.de, Christian Vollmann (Diplom Business Administration 2002) could have easily retired to pursue his hobbies. Instead, the WHU alum chose to start all over in an industry in which he initially had little technical expertise. Together with his team at C1 Green Chemicals, he is developing processes to produce green methanol from CO₂, an essential chemical building block that has the potential to replace fossil-based feedstocks in a variety of industries—from logistics to aviation to chemical production—thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions. In this interview, the serial entrepreneur explains why he made the choice to pursue climate tech, discusses the importance of stable policy frameworks for innovation, and shares why he believes failure is an essential part of entrepreneurship.

Christian, you founded and later sold several successful companies. Why did you decide to start over from scratch?

People ask me that all the time. At first, I thought I might simply become an investor. But I quickly realized that wouldn’t be enough for me. The real inspiration for founding C1 Green Chemicals actually came from my oldest son. When he was ten years old, he asked me, “Dad, you told me that entrepreneurs solve problems. Why aren’t you solving climate change?”

Looking back, that was probably the most important question anyone ever asked me throughout the whole of my entrepreneurial career, because it stuck with me. I wracked my brain trying to come up with a good answer but ultimately couldn’t, so I started talking to scientists and engineers and eventually immersed myself in a completely new field.

How have you been able to succeed in this industry despite not specifically having a scientific background?

I quickly realized that the chemical industry had not been waiting for a digital entrepreneur to show up. But I also understood that I didn’t need to be the inventor. My role is to bring together people with different areas of expertise and turn scientific innovation into a successful business. That’s exactly how C1 came to life.

Our mission is to turn scientific breakthroughs into industrial application. Our team develops processes for producing green methanol. You can think of methanol as the smallest LEGO® brick of the carbon-based chemical industry, serving as a building block for fuels, plastics, adhesives, insulation materials, paints, coatings, and many other products. Our goal is to produce this fundamental raw material from CO₂ and from renewable resources in the future.

Ultimately, we want to make green methanol commercially viable and build a long-term innovation platform for sustainable chemistry. My dream is that, one day, I’ll be able to visit our website and see a live counter showing how many millions of tons of CO₂ have already been avoided with the help of our technology. That would be the greatest measure of success for me.

You’ve founded companies in very disparate industries—from entertainment and online dating to climate tech. What motivates you as an entrepreneur?

I’ve always wanted to build companies that solve real problems, while, of course, also creating successful businesses. Today, what motivates me even more is the opportunity to have a positive effect on society.

With nebenan.de, our goal was to strengthen local communities and facilitate social cohesion. That was my first venture with a clearly defined mission focused on societal benefit. At C1, I’m now working on one of the greatest challenges of our time, and for the first time, I truly feel I’ve found where I belong. This is where business success and societal impact go hand in hand.

C1 operates in a market that depends heavily on geopolitical developments and regulatory decisions. How does that affect your business?

Despite changing conditions, we’ve made tremendous progress over the past four years. Today, we employ more than 30 people, have filed multiple patents, and operate pilot plants in Berlin and Leuna. Our next step is to scale the technology for industrial production and eventually license it worldwide.

Of course, technologies like ours require stable policy frameworks. Industrial companies make investment decisions that span decades, so the biggest challenge isn’t necessarily individual political decisions; it’s that the rules and regulations are constantly changing.

That said, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from building companies, it’s that every industry comes with its own challenges. You can either complain about them or adapt. For example, when the maritime market was developing at a rate slower than expected, new opportunities emerged in the fields of aviation and road transportation.

What advice would you give students who want to become entrepreneurs?

You can plan endlessly, but at some point you simply have to get started. Entrepreneurship is all about trial and error. You don’t learn because everything works perfectly; you learn by experimenting, failing, and trying again.

Choosing the right co-founders is just as important. Building a start-up together is almost like a marriage. That’s why you shouldn’t focus only on someone’s résumé—you need to trust your instincts.

And finally, timing matters far more than most people realize. Even the best idea can come too early or too late, which brings me back to my first piece of advice: even in the face of uncertainty, be brave enough to get started.

Thank you for your time, and we wish you continued success.

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