instagrid was founded in 2018 by two experienced senior managers having a decade of battery experience in consumer, traction, and stationary applications. instagrid engineers, designs, and supplies the world’s most advanced portable 230V AC battery power supplies. Combining a proprietary power converter technology and the latest lithium-ion cells, unprecedented power levels of more than 3.600 Watts can be provided by a compact one-handed portable unit.
instagrid is a finalist for the 2020 ees AWARD.
ees International: Thank you very much for this interview and congratulations to being a finalist for the ees AWARD!
Instagrid is specialized in portable power supply - what challenges in the energy storage sector do you want to address with your specific product portfolio?
We believe that we need powerful battery solutions to enable the transition to sustainable energy, to stop burning fossil fuels to meet our electricity needs. Battery technology has been concentrating on cell technology in the past and there have been large advancements. However, despite cell technology enhancement the energy storage sector has not seen much significant developments towards an innovative approach to fundamentally improve the overall power electronics and software and that is where instagrid is focused.
With the first instagrid product we provide professionals with grid-like power at their mobile workplaces, e.g. construction workers or craftsmen and also in professional landscaping, event technology or first responders – everyone that depends on mobile power to do their work. We receive daily requests with applications that we didn’t even think of. Our portable power pack is entirely tailored for professional use and the only true replacement of the stationary electric grid in the market – it can power anything that runs on 230V mains power and still can be carried with one hand. At the same time our device is robust, waterproof, silent and delivers enough energy for the entire workday.
Based on our scalable hardware platform we are going to roll out more product and services for portable and stationary power in the near future.
ees International: Let's hear a special success story from a current project.
We will start comprehensive testing of the instagrid portable battery system in autumn 2020 across Europe. This project is supported by the EU LIFE funding program and done in partnership with selected European cities and construction companies. The tests are run in 8 countries and conducted with 17 different companies, both large contractors as well as specialized small companies, operating within different specializations within construction industry. The aim of the project is to actively reduce local emissions in the cities and on construction sites as well as to modernize them. Having such a wide interest from the construction industry towards our product is incredibly exciting for a startup.
ees International: What does the nomination for the ees AWARD mean for your company?
As a young company that was only founded in 2018 it is a great honor to be nominated among some of the largest players in energy storage and a proof that we are on a good path in becoming a relevant player in the energy sector. Being nominated for an award by the largest fair on batteries and energy storage in Europe is also a great opportunity to receive recognition across and beyond the community.
ees International: Which markets and industries do you supply today? And what are your future plans?
We are starting with the mobile power sector by supplying professionals in the construction, event, film, garden and outdoor industry.
In 2021 we are planning to expand our product portfolio, utilizing our established core technology, and develop inexpensive battery systems to enable rapid integration of renewables. These have become more cost efficient than fossil fuels in recent years but there are still many off-grid applications that are powered by gasoline or diesel. The main reason for this lies in the simple and universal transport of these highly standardized products in almost any vessel – and this remains a major challenge for green energy.
Especially in regions without reliable and robust electric grid, solar energy can often be harvested at low cost. The possibility of handling and transporting relevant quantities of green energy, e.g. carried by hand or on a motorbike, that then also can be traded in a simple way will lead to many new opportunities. The same is true for standardization: our batteries supply standard mains voltage that can then be supplied to countless appliances no matter how and where the energy was generated.
ees International: Instagrid is a young company. What have you learnt from the day you were founded until today?
We could possibly already fill an entire book with our experiences. As an enthusiastic founder you tend to underestimate some efforts and so we had to learn that for everything that requires a custom contract, be it venture capital investments or delivery contracts with large OEM partners, you have to plan with a significant amount of time. On the positive side we are thrilled to prove that it is possible to build a scalable hardware business and that early involvement of customers leads to a strong product-market fit and an incredible pull from the client side in no time.
Thank you very much for the interview, Dr. Sebastian Berning and Dr. Andreas Sedlmayr!
The interview partners:
Dr. Sebastian Berning, Co-Founder
Dr. Andreas Sedlmayr, Co-Founder
instagrid
