Strobe Power
Instant energy, everywhere
Idea in Climate Tech
Introduction
Strobe addresses the critical challenge of ensuring power supply resilience for commercial and industrial (C&I) businesses. Recognizing the alarming trend of rising power outages and the aging U.S. transmission and distribution infrastructure, Strobe developed SparkOS, a software platform that leverages digitalization and decentralization of energy storage to provide backup power co-located at businesses’ facilities.
Problem
New demands on our aging grid infrastructure have caused a 55% surge in outages over the past decade. This has forced C&I customers to turn to traditional forms of backup power, namely dirty diesel generators. Jay’s firsthand experience at Tesla revealed a major gap: residential battery systems are becoming increasingly popular but C&I sectors face economic barriers with current battery technologies. Utility-scale projects, although larger, don’t provide resiliency to individual businesses and often encounter delays due to interconnection queues, reducing their viability.
Opportunity
Strobe developed SparkOS, a software platform that helps businesses replace their diesel generators with grid-connected batteries. Batteries outperform traditional diesel generators with faster startup times, lower operational costs, reduced maintenance, and zero emissions. However, the initial cost barrier remains, with battery systems currently nearly twice as expensive as diesel generators. SparkOS reduces the total cost of ownership of battery systems by connecting them to the energy markets, not only providing backup power but also offering essential grid services and engaging in wholesale electricity markets. This dual functionality generates new revenue, narrowing the cost gap between battery systems and diesel generators to near parity, and facilitating the transition to cleaner power.