Meet Peak Power, the startup making energy storage smarter
Derek Lim Soo, seated, and Matthew Sachs, standing, are hoping to expand Peak Power internationally in the future.
Peak Power (external link, opens in new window) , which consists of duo Derek Lim Soo and Matthew Sachs, has a vision for the energy market of tomorrow. They’re combining predictive software and energy storage to reduce the strain felt by electrical utilities during peak times. Members of the Clean Energy Zone, Peak Power was founded in Toronto in 2015 and is looking to expand worldwide (external link, opens in new window) , having recently opened their first international office in New York.
I sat down with Lim Soo to find out more about the startup.
Q: What is Peak Power?
A: We’re based in energy storage software development. We develop software to optimize the operations of batteries. Our Synergy software (external link, opens in new window) sits on top of an existing battery and directs the battery when to store energy at times that will most economically benefit both the customer and the utility. Synergy is machine-learning software that we’ve developed ourselves.
Q: How did the company get started?
A: I got the company off the ground in March 2015. I’d been in the power industry for 13 years. My idea for the company came from the combination of an opportunity I’d never seen before, the intersection of AI and energy storage, and being ready to start my own company. Matt got on board in November of that year.
Q: What has it been like working with the Centre for Urban Energy?
A: Bala [Venkatesh] and Lalitha [Subramanian] have been great. They provide exposure to the government grants that are available and let us showcase the company by broadcasting our successes. When we have technical considerations and concerns we can go to a top-notch university and get help. CUE has been both a mentor and a partner in our project.
Q: Peak Power has recently received grants (external link, opens in new window) from the Ontario Centres of Excellence and Sustainable Development Technology Canada. How have these helped your company?
A: A large chunk of that funding comes undiluted, which means you don’t have to pay equity, and that’s huge for us. Undiluted funding is phenomenal. At the beginning, just getting any money is helpful, because it shows you’ve gone through a process and that someone had to vet you. Raising capital is the most difficult part of running a startup, so we’re very grateful.
Q: Where do you see the company five years down the road?
A: If all goes well, we should be all over the world as a software only company. We’ll be at the forefront in energy using machine learning. We’re going to eventually hire staff at our New York office, and are looking to expand into Massachusetts as well. The United States is a great place to be a Canadian cleantech company right now.
Kiki Cekota is a third-year Journalism student at Ryerson University.