VoltServer Adds a Data Layer to Electricity Distribution, Could Help Smart Grid Rollout
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Stephen Eaves, the chief executive of a new startup that promises to overlay data on electricity distribution, has spent years developing data management technologies.
Eaves' first company, the eponymous Eaves Devices, focused on energy systems in aerospace and defense - they converted the military's fleet of B2 bombers to use lithium ion batteries.
The second company he was involved in was developing modular array devices to install in central offices and cell towers and conducted early work on electric vehicle development.
His goal, Eaves says, was to "make electricity inherently safe."
VoltServer is the latest company from Eaves to pursue that goal. Eaves makes transmission safer by breaking electrical distribution into packets; those packets are sent down transmission lines to ensure that there are not faults. If there's a break in the line, the equipment stops transmitting energy.
[...] Already roughly 700 stadiums, large offices and indoor grow facilities have deployed the company's technology. And the traction was enough to attract the attention of Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs, which led a recent $7.4 million financing into the company. To date, the company has raised $18 million from a clutch of investors, including: Marker Hill Capital, Slater Technology Fund, Natural Resources Capital Management, Clean Energy Venture Group, Angel Street Capital and Coniston Capital.
[...] "Electricity powers our world, but the fundamental danger inherent in AC or DC electricity makes today's electrical systems expensive to install or change," said Sidewalk Labs chairman and chief executive, Dan Doctoroff in a statement. "[This technology] is a breakthrough, offering a less expensive, safer and more efficient way to distribute electricity that can make buildings more affordable and flexible. Over time, that can make cities more affordable, sustainable, and adaptable as our needs change."
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