AXIOM DevCo TEAM
AXIOM’s core team comprises three passionate sustainability professionals dedicated to fostering sustainability and innovation in agriculture and bio industry. Steve, Barron, and Sven have over twenty-five years’ combined experience in the bioeconomy. With many years’ experience in leadership roles in other industries, including nuclear power and the automotive industry, Steve and Sven bring a wealth of experience and knowledge from those other industries as well.
Founding members – Three biomass professionals engaged in entrepreneurial action to make a difference - Steve, Barron, and Sven.
Steven Schaar, President and COO
Dr. Hewetson continues to concentrate his focus on further advancing and accelerating technology breakthroughs to progress bio-derived alternatives for a wide variety of industrial applications.
Barron comes with extensive experience in Southeast Asia and European biocarbon markets, including 13"+ years’ of forestry products experience identifying, qualifying, building consensus for, and implementing enabling technologies and enterprise-wide systems that facilitate business processes and strategic innovation in the biomass to carbon sector.
Barron Hewetson, Chief Technology Officer
Steve has more than 25 years’ experience in operations, project development, program management and new product development from a broad range of industries. He has managed global new product programs and large capital growth expansion projects for John Deere Crop Harvesting, and operations for GE Oil & Gas as well as Ford Motor Company.
Steve recently led a $180MM Public/Private Partnership funded Wastewater Treatment Facility conversion to Renewable Natural Gas in Pasco, Washington.
Scott “Sven” Swenson, Business Development
Scott “Sven” Swenson is a licensed professional mechanical engineer from the University of Iowa. As a proud descendant of the first Minnesota settlers to continuously inhabit central Minnesota in the 1860’s, Sven feels an obligation to continue the Svendsen legacy of opening opportunities for others and then supporting them in their long term success.
Sven spent five years as a yardbird for the Nuclear Navy, including time working inside the Washington DC Beltway in Crystal City at NAVSEA Systems Command as a Liaison for Mare Island Naval Shipyard working on “interesting” projects, followed by a 28-year career supporting commercial nuclear power in ever increasing roles of responsibility and impact from both a utility and AE perspective.
Sven is CEO of Viking Energy Connection, dba ViKEN Sustainability. ViKEN was established in 2018 when Sven helped pivot Delta Energy Services LLC from a strictly nuclear sector, which Delta had proudly served since 1989. This move enabled Sven to work as a project manager at a biomass facility, providing an education in the biomass industry from the inside at a literal “boots on the ground” level. These working level insights provide for informed leadership decisions when dealing with biomass technologies and operational aspects. Delta received a Top Ten Biomass Services Provider award in 2022, and continues to support bioindustry with highly vetted technical contract personnel.
Sven is also a Certified Master Affiliate of In3 Capital Group, a climate friendly family office with billions of dollars of financing looking to back impactful projects that will make a positive difference.
Sven is also on the Board of Directors of several sustainability companies, including the bioeconomy non-profit Biotech Applied Research.
Along with the three founders, the AXIOM team proudly includes the full complement of the diverse group of professionals that make up the Sustainable ViKEN Energy Network.