BOSTON, Mass. – Jul. 18, 2023 – Heila Technologies is thrilled to announce that Heila iQ™ has been honored with the prestigious Top Product of the Year Award in the Environment + Energy Leader Awards program. This accolade recognizes Heila iQ as an exemplary leader making great strides in energy or environmental management.
KOHLER, Wis. – Apr. 25, 2023 – Kohler Co. announces the evolution of its Power businesses to Kohler Energy, aligning with Kohler’s strategy of providing energy resilience to homes, businesses, and communities around the world.
KOHLER, Wis. – Jan. 26, 2023 – Kohler Co., founded in 1873, has forged a legacy of creating industry-transforming innovations for kitchen and bath spaces, energy resiliency products, luxury hospitality experiences, and major championship golf. Creativity and leading-edge design are the heart and soul of the KOHLER brand ethos and mission of gracious living.
KOHLER, Wis. – Jan. 12, 2023 – Robert Swan, OBE (Order of the British Empire), arrived safely at Geographic South Pole on Jan. 10, 2023, successfully completing his 2023 Undaunted Expedition across the Antarctic landmass to the Geographic South Pole relying solely on renewable energy sources sponsored by Kohler. Listen to an audio report from Swan and the Undaunted team directly from the Geographic South Pole.
KOHLER, Wis. – Dec. 8, 2022 – Kohler announces a partnership with Robert Swan, OBE (Order of the British Empire), on his 2023 Undaunted Expedition that will take him across the Antarctic landmass to the Geographic South Pole relying solely on renewable energy sources. Swan characterizes himself as a modern-day explorer and is the only human to have walked to both the North and South Poles. He has dedicated his life’s work to the preservation of Antarctica and the planet through promoting renewable energy and sustainability to combat the effects of climate change through his 2041 Foundation. Swan embarks on his journey in December 2022 relying on KOHLER energy solutions, with the goal to reach the South Pole mid-January.
KOHLER, Wis. – September 12, 2022 – The Kohler Co. Board of Directors has elected President and Chief Executive Officer David Kohler to the additional role of Chair of the Board, following the passing of Executive Chairman Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. on Sept. 3 at age 83. The Board of Directors had previously undertaken a comprehensive succession planning process to ensure an orderly transition of leadership to guide the global, privately held organization.
KOHLER, Wis. – September 4, 2022 – Dynamic leader and Kohler Co. Executive Chairman Herbert Vollrath Kohler, Jr. passed away on September 3, 2022, in Kohler, Wisconsin. He was 83. His bold ideas and hands-on leadership transformed the plumbing products manufacturer founded by his grandfather into a global and diverse family of businesses synonymous with unmatched quality, creativity, and bold innovation. He literally put his beloved home state of Wisconsin on the map as a global golf destination culminating with the Ryder Cup in 2021.
Visit http://kohlerpower.com for further information
August 29, 2022
AltEnergyMag.com
KOHLER, Wis. – Aug. 29, 2022 – Kohler Power – through its Home Energy Management Systems division – and subsidiary Heila Technologies will join the RE+ (previously known as SPI Solar Power International) 2022 Trade Show highlighting the brands’ newest innovations within the solar energy space. This marks the first time that the two companies are both exhibiting at the same show since Heila was acquired by Kohler Co. in early 2022.
Hotel microgrids cut energy costs, meet demand from guests for sustainability
March 11, 2022
Lisa Cohn
Travelers are looking for accommodations that meet sustainability goals, and a hotel microgrid can help meet that demand with financial help from federal incentives and participation in energy markets.
Travelers have good reason to search for sustainable hotels. Because hotels operate 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and include refrigeration, they’re one of the highest energy and water consumers per square foot. The average guest room uses about $2,200 in energy costs annually.
Two hotel microgrid projects that aim to meet guests’ sustainability goals are Hotel Marcel, a net-zero hotel in New Haven, Connecticut, that began operating at the end of 2021, and a Marriott hotel in Costa Rica — Marriott Hacienda Belen — whose microgrid is a first for the Marriott chain in Latin America. It is expected to be operating in the next few weeks.
Kohler announces agreements to acquire Curtis Instruments to drive electrification efforts and Heila Technologies to expand its clean energy management offering
January 12, 2022
Editorial Staff
Kohler announces agreements to acquire Curtis Instruments to drive electrification efforts and Heila Technologies to expand its clean energy management offering. Curtis Instruments, headquartered in Mount Kisco, New York, is a leading electrification partner to OEMs across a broad range of markets including material handling, golf and recreational vehicles, mobile elevated work platforms, construction, agriculture, turfcare, marine and select on-road segments.
The transaction is announced just days following Kohler’s acquisition of Heila Technologies – a microgrid software controls company – and the creation of a separate Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) business unit focused on residential energy storage. These moves represent Kohler’s continued commitment to lead in diversified distributed energy solutions.
Heila Technologies has a novel approach to balancing solar, EVs, batteries and generators.
January 12, 2022
Jeff St. John
Can game-theory mathematics help keep the balance as solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles are linked together in microgrids? Kohler, the bathroom fixtures giant, is betting yes.
Kohler Power Group, the corporation’s quiet but globally active generator and energy services arm, has announced that it is acquiring Heila Technologies, a six-year-old Somerville, Mass.–based startup whose technology is currently managing two dozen microgrids across North America.
On-site gen-set maker Kohler acquiring Microgrid controls firm Heila
January 5, 2022
Rod Walton
Historic home generator firm Kohler Co. is making a bigger move into next-generation clean energy resources and microgrids with its acquisition of a startup Massachusetts distributed energy platform developer.
Wisconsin-based Kohler is buying Heila Technologies and folding it into the Power Group which includes engines, power generation and clean energy resources. Kohler has been manufacturing diesel and gas generators for the past 100 years to both industrial and residential customers.
Heila Technologies was founded six years ago in Somerville, Mass. It was created out of work originally done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Kohler Co buys distributed energy resources expert Heila
January 5, 2022
Ivan Shumkov
January 5 (Renewables Now) – Wisconsin-based Kohler Co, a manufacturer of a variety of products from plumbing and furniture to engines and generators, has taken over Heila Technologies in a drive to expand its clean energy management offering.
Based in Somerville, Massachusetts, Heila focuses on simplifying the integration and operation of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and microgrids. It offers a modular energy platform called Heila Edge, which, the firm says, makes it easy to connect and optimise solar arrays, batteries and other DERs.
Kohler Power Group acquiring Heila Technologies to expand DER focus
January 4, 2022
Chris Crowell
Another big name in engines and power generation is growing its renewable energy focus. Kohler Co. is acquiring Heila Technologies, which will become part of Kohler’s Power Group. Heila Technologies will operate as a standalone entity within the Kohler Power Group with Francisco Morocz, General Manager, reporting directly to Brian Melka, Group President – Power. Terms of the agreement are not disclosed.
“Heila Technologies is an ideal fit for Kohler as its hardware and software solutions can be integrated with our residential and industrial generators, energy storage systems, and Clarke Energy’s renewable energy services as we continue to expand and diversify our portfolio,” said Melka. “With this acquisition, we are leveraging our history of trusted expertise in power resiliency with newer clean energy technologies. Resilient energy control through DERs is a crucial part of the development of the energy sector’s infrastructure needs of the future.”
Kohler Co. Acquires Heila Technologies to Expand its Clean Energy Management Offering
January 4, 2022
KOHLER, Wis., Jan. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Kohler Co. continues its focus on providing power resiliency solutions by expanding its clean energy management offering with the acquisition of Heila Technologies. Heila will become part of Kohler’s Power Group – a global leader in engines, power generation and clean energy.
Heila Technologies was founded in 2015 as an MIT-born company in Somerville, Mass. and is dedicated to simplifying the integration and operation of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and microgrids. In its short history, Heila has successfully combined theoretical knowledge with practical industry experience to transform the energy industry from the ground up using DERs such as batteries, fuel cells, and solar arrays as the pillars of a new resilient, sustainable, and reliable grid for communities and businesses.
Trudie Wang of Heila Technologies: 5 Things We Must Do To Inspire The Next Generation About Sustainability And The Environment
November 11, 2021
Penny Baider
As part of my series about what we must do to inspire the next generation about sustainability and the environment, I had the pleasure of interviewing Trudie Wang.
Trudie Wang is the Vice President of Product at Heila Technologies. She has a BS degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkley, and completed MS and Ph.D. degrees at Stanford University with a focus on renewable energy and distributed optimization of DERs. Her primary focus in her role is on developing a product that will enable the sustainable and democratized use of resources to minimize humanity’s carbon footprint on this planet while ensuring the definition of distributed and renewable generation of energy does not discriminate based on class or category.
BOSTINNO’S 2021 INNO ON FIRE
11/11/2021
Sam Mintz
Heila Technologies: This MIT-born company, based in Greentown Labs, has had a big 12 months. Heila’s expertise is in the integration and operation of distributed energy resources (DERs), and its mission is to transform the energy industry. In the past year, Heila has raised a $3 million equity investment, doubled the size of its team, earned a $1 million NSF grant and landed on Guidehouse’s list of the Top 16 microgrid control companies, the only startup to receive that distinction.
Boston, MA – November 16, 2021 – Heila Technologies has been selected as The Cleanie Awards® Gold place winner for Startup Company of the Year. The Cleanie Awards is the leading awards program celebrating people and brands driving the clean energy economy. The program recognizes innovation excellence and business leadership. Individuals and organizations across many facets of the industry submitted nominations.
Jorge Elizondo was recently a guest on the audio and video podcast, Radio Entrepreneurs. In the interview, Jorge and hosts Jeffrey Davis and Jonathan Freedman discuss the story behind Heila and how the company is solving some of the biggest challenges that the electric grid faces today with its innovative approach to distributed energy control and optimization.
The microgrid will reduce CO2 emissions and electricity consumption at Auto Mercado’s Auto Deli production plant
(Boston, MA) – Heila Technologies, an energy technology leader responsible for controlling, aggregating and optimizing distributed energy resources (DERs), announced today that starting in November, Auto Mercado’s Auto Deli production plant in Heredia, Costa Rica will use solar energy to prepare their products. The site’s new microgrid will be comprised of more than 490 solar panels, an energy storage system and the Heila Edge® control and optimization platform.
(Boston, MA) – Heila Technologies, an energy technology leader responsible for controlling, aggregating, and optimizing distributed energy resources (DERs), partnered with SimpliPhi Power and New Partners Community Solar to deploy an energy storage system that provides cost-effective, reliable and sustainable energy at Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School.
Boston, MA – September 7, 2021 – Heila Technologies, an energy technology leader responsible for controlling, aggregating, and optimizing distributed energy resources (DERs), today announced Francisco Morocz, CEO and co-founder, has been named a winner in the 2021 Sustainability Awards program. The Sustainability Awards honor those who have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice.
Podcast 064: Jorge Elizondo – How computer science is radically simplifying the design and operation of microgrids.
8/17/2021
Bill Nussey
Jorge Elizondo, Heila’s co-founder and CTO, was a guest on The Free Energy Podcast with host, Bill Nussey. They discuss how Helia’s breakthrough technology is changing the way complex local energy systems are managed and operated, making each component smarter while making the whole system far more efficient and resilient.
Costa Rica’s Marriott Hacienda Belén Installs a Microgrid to Reduce CO2 Emissions, Electricity Consumption
07/13/2021
CPG Hospitality and Enjoy Group, owners of Costa Rica Marriott Hacienda Belén, today announced the hotel is installing a microgrid controlled, optimized, and managed by Heila Technologies, representing the first of the Marriott chain in Latin America to deploy the technology. The microgrid will allow the hotel to avoid 20.8 tons of CO2 per year, reduce electricity consumption, have energy coverage, and increase resilience against electrical outages.
A microgrid is an integrated, low-voltage energy generation and distribution system made of solar panels, storage batteries, energy inverters, and control software that manages the generation, storage, and distribution of the energy produced. Microgrids can be controlled as individual entities or operated in parallel to the public grid.
Costa Rica Hotel to Set Up Microgrid with Heila Technologies Controller
07/14/2021
Ethan Howland
The owners of a Marriott hotel in Costa Rica are installing a microgrid in a first for the Marriott chain in Latin America.
The solar plus storage microgrid at the Costa Rica Marriott Hacienda Belén will use control and optimization software made by Heila Technologies, the companies said July 13.
The project includes 250 kW of solar, a 360-kW/720-kWh battery storage system and a 1 MVA backup generator.
The microgrid will allow the hotel in La Ribera to avoid 21 tons of greenhouse gas a year, reduce electricity use and increase its resilience from electrical outages.
“Our goal with this initiative is to help the environment by reducing carbon emissions while also reducing electricity consumption,” said Daniel Grew, strategic sustainability adviser for CPG Hospitality, one of the hotel’s owners.
For Immediate Release
July 13, 2021
BOSTON, Massachusetts — CPG Hospitality and Enjoy Group, owners of Costa Rica Marriott Hacienda Belén, today announced the hotel is installing a microgrid controlled, optimized, and managed by Heila Technologies, representing the first of the Marriott chain in Latin America to deploy the technology. The microgrid will allow the hotel to avoid 20.8 tons of CO2 per year, reduce electricity consumption, have energy coverage, and increase resilience against electrical outages.
Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Program Funds Commercialization of Heila Edge® DER Control and Optimization Platform
For Immediate Release
May 18, 2021
SOMERVILLE, Massachusetts — Heila Technologies Inc. (Heila), a Boston-based distributed energy controls company, recently received an approximately $1 million grant as part of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program after receiving the Phase I SBIR award in 2019. The SBIR program aims to fund advanced research and development for cutting-edge scientific and engineering discoveries and bring them into the market at scale. The grant will support Heila’s efforts to commercialize their Heila Edge® platform.
One of 40 cleantech startups selected globally, Heila Technologies will present its Heila Edge®
platform to potential investors and other cleantech industry stakeholders.
For Immediate Release
March 12, 2021
SOMERVILLE, Massachusetts — Heila Technologies Inc. (Heila) has been selected to present its
Heila Edge ® platform to investors and industry representatives at the 2021 NREL Industry
Growth Forum (IGF), to be held virtually on April 20-22, 2021. The IGF, celebrating its 26th
anniversary, is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL). It is one of the nation’s premier events for cleantech entrepreneurs and
other industry experts. Heila was selected from a field of more than 150 entrepreneurs
following an extensive selection process.
The 21 Startups to Watch in Boston in 2021
BOSTINNO
December 15, 2020
Rowan Walrath
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes, we have to throw plans and predictions out the window.
Each year, we at BostInno look back at our coverage from the last 12 months — all the launches, funding rounds, new deals and partnerships, awards and more — and try to identify the startups that are on the precipice of something big. In 2020, the narrative was a bit different. Some startups had to scale back their plans and cut costs in March, but were able to bounce back by the fall. Some leaders moved up their public launches in the name of helping clients. Others pivoted their strategies to address this particular moment.
Whatever the individual story, there is still a common thread that runs through Boston-area entrepreneurs: All of them have proved to be resilient in the face of unprecedented challenges. So here we are, making predictions again, taking note of the startups that we expect big things from in the next 12 months and beyond.
These are BostInno’s 21 Startups to Watch in 2021.
Equity Investment from Tokyo Gas Group Completes $3 Million Seed Round
For Immediate Release
November 20, 2020
SOMERVILLE, Massachusetts – Heila Technologies, Inc. (Heila) announced today an investment by Acario Innovation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., which completes the $3.0 million seed funding round for its Heila EDGE® platform. In October, Heila announced investments from Table Rock Infrastructure Partners, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and private investors. The completed $3.0 million investment will allow Heila to become a key player in the distributed energy space by building on its existing modular controls and optimization product and developing partnerships with strategic partners such as Tokyo Gas.
We are happy to announce that Heila Technologies is part of Cleantech Group’s list of “50 to Watch” for 2020!
The 50 to Watch list comes at a crucial time in the fight against the ongoing climate crisis. The consequences of climate change are being felt now more than ever – and while governments and large corporations are standing by and acting too slowly, early-stage companies are leading the way toward change.
The 50 companies included in Cleantech Group’s list are tackling some of the most critical issues in environmental action, like carbon capture and regeneration, climate-positive buildings, or in Heila’s case, energy and power.
Announces $2.5 Million Equity Investment from Table Rock Infrastructure Partners, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and Additional Private Investors
For Immediate Release
October 21, 2020
SOMERVILLE, Massachusetts – Heila Technologies, Inc. (Heila) announced today that it has raised $2.5 million in seed funding for its Heila EDGE® platform, an end-to-end solution to integrate, operate and optimize groups of distributed energy resources (DER). Table Rock Infrastructure Partners, an equity firm focused on helping municipalities with critical infrastructure projects, is the lead investor. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), a state economic development agency dedicated to accelerating the growth of the Commonwealth’s clean energy sector, together with individuals, are supporting investors. The funding round will remain open for a short period of time for additional strategic investors.
Recent reports estimate that the global distributed energy industry is expected to reach $650 billion by 2028. The growth comes as users recognize that the grid will need to be more resilient to climate and cyber threats and be able to integrate clean energy and storage, all while providing reliable and cost-competitive power. This $2.5 million investment will allow Heila to become a key player in the distributed energy space by building on its existing modular controls and optimization product and developing partnerships with strategic equipment vendors, project developers and utilities.
We are pleased to announce that Heila Technologies has raised a $2.5M series seed investment in a round led by Table Rock Infrastructure Partners, and with participation from MassCEC and additional private investors. We are honored to have their support and will count on expertise as they have all shown a deep commitment to modernizing the grid and accelerating the widespread adoption of sustainable technologies.
Five years ago, we began an effort to change the way distributed energy resources (DERs) are deployed and used. Traditional top-down and centralized approaches to manage these assets are cumbersome, rigid, and expensive, and fail to provide the flexibility for their mass adoption. Seeking to simplify things, we developed a ground-up approach in which intelligence and decision making are placed right by the DERs themselves. This method enables DERs to act as “building blocks” that interact with each other and form larger energy systems over time – In a very similar way to how communities evolve.
Our first customer was the Stone Edge Farm microgrid, located in a vineyard deep in California’s wine country. We were tasked with controlling, coordinating, and optimizing a complex system of more than twenty diverse DERs (including solar arrays, batteries, turbines, fuel cells, large loads and more)… quite a challenge! Our ground-up approach proved to be successful in resolving the intricacies of each DER and flexible enough to manage systems of any shape and form.
These innovations resulted in the Heila EDGE® platform, which combines advances in edge-computing, control, optimization, and machine learning with a deep understanding of power and energy to seamlessly integrate, operate, and optimize groups of DERs. This was only possible thanks to the incredible work of the diverse team of ideators and doers that make up the Heila team.
Having deployed several landmark projects across the country, we now look towards the future. We are leveraging the seed round funding to target highly scalable markets with our ready to use, state-of-the-art, end-to-end solution. We are wasting no time in this effort, expanding the size of the Heila team threefold in just six months and doubling down on our commitment to provide our customers with an exceptional service.
Today – more than ever – we are convinced that intelligent fleets of distributed energy resources can play a critical role in reshaping how we as a society interact with energy. The future is bright and exciting, and we look forward to working with our investors and industry partners towards a cleaner, more resilient, and more equitable electric grid.
Thinking Outside the Grid: Heila Technologies Delivers ‘Virtual’ Microgrids for Sustainable and Resilient Energy
October 2, 2019
Reena Karasin
Our energy grid was built around centralization. But as renewable energy sources such as solar and wind gain traction, the grid needs to adapt to include an array of components.
“With the decrease in cost of elements such as solar panels and batteries, we, as a society, have begun a move toward a more decentralized structure of energy generation and storage,” explains Francisco Morocz, CEO and Co-founder of Heila Technologies.
That’s where microgrids come in. Microgrids are smaller networks that use local energy sources. They’re typically connected to the grid and can rely on its energy if necessary, but can also run independently in “island” mode.
For microgrids to work with the larger grid, communication is key, as utilities need to navigate peak times and potential disruptions to ensure electricity is always available.
Communication benefits both the microgrid and the utility company. A microgrid can rely on the larger grid for energy when it must, but at other times it can support the grid by setting the import or export of power according to the needs of the system.
BOSTINNO
July 24, 2020
By Jordan Frias
Presented with the problem of running renewable energy on a grid to power a California farm and vineyard, Jorge Elizondo developed a decentralized optimization strategy.
The strategy turned into a company that develops the hardware and software necessary to integrate renewables and batteries on a microgrid to produce sustainable and clean energy. Founded by Elizondo in 2015, Heila Technologies is now a fully fledged microgrid startup based in Somerville.
“There’s a lot of companies out there that do microgrids, but the proof is in the pudding,” said co-founder and development lead Albert Chan. “Until you actually have a microgrid up and you visit a microgrid and you talk to the technical team, you don’t really know if it works or not.”
Elizondo, a PhD graduate of MIT, and Chan, a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management, met in an energy club at the school along with CEO Francisco Morocz.
The three went on to win the MIT Clean Energy Prize and, with the school’s funding, launched the company.
“The ideas came from research at MIT, and the first bit of funding came from MIT when we won the Clean Energy Prize. So that funding really helped jumpstart the business,” Chan said.
June 26, 2020
Jorge Elizondo, engineer at Heila Technologies, leads the technical vision of enabling the grid of tomorrow by with renewable-based microgrids. Heila software powered Stone Edge Farm, a vineyard in Sonoma, California, during the devastating fires in 2017.
SimpiPhi Power
May 28, 2020
OXNARD, Calif., May 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — SimpliPhi Power, a leading U.S. manufacturer of safe, non-toxic, cobalt-free lithium ion energy storage systems, has partnered with Heila Technologies to deploy intelligent energy storage+solar systems at a demonstration project in Shreveport, Louisiana with the support of Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO), an American Electric Power (AEP) company.
“Behind-the-meter energy storage is a cost-effective way to help utilities and customers alike manage their electricity usage with the security of knowing they have access to stored energy that can be seamlessly integrated into the grid or islanded during power outages,” said SimpliPhi Power’s CEO Catherine Von Burg.
The demonstration project with Heila Technologies will aggregate distributed energy resources and empower SWEPCO to manage these assets as an optimized fleet. Under a single platform, SWEPCO will be able to leverage the storage+solar systems to correct power factor, perform peak shaving, and manage overall energy supply, all while improving customer resiliency. Building resiliency for utility customers using renewable power generation plus storage will be key as the Southeast United States continues to see an increase in extreme weather events due to the impacts of climate change.
Heila’s Senior Engineer and Co-Founder, Jorge Elizondo shared, “The Heila Platform is able to sense changes across all connected components and make the system holistically and automatically respond to the changing conditions of the electrical grid. With SimpliPhi, we have found a safe and high performing battery that is ready to be deployed at scale to make this vision a reality.”
Mathworks
Another company making strides at Greentown Labs is the energy company Heila Technologies. Heila joined Greentown Labs in 2016 and is focused on improving the efficiency of the electric grid through decentralized microgrid control technology. Their platform makes it easy to connect solar arrays, batteries, and other energy resources to self-managing microgrids. The system is designed to help customers grow resilient microgrids while decreasing the carbon footprint. Such as in the case of one of Heila’s first clients—the Stone Edge Farm Microgrid. This microgrid has been keeping the lights on during wildfire-driven grid disruptions every year since 2017.
Forbes
Feb 28, 2020
By Peter Asmus
Meeting the demand for electricity in 2020 is a global conundrum. The customer loads served by today’s alternating current (AC) power grid infrastructure built up over the past 100 years are more often than not natively direct current (DC) due to the proliferation of plug loads. These include computers and mobile devices as well as LED lighting and new and more efficient appliances. According to some estimates, as much as 80% of demand for electricity in residential and commercial and structures are natively DC.
…
The pilot project, developed by Emera Technologies in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories and Heila Technologies is a glimpse into what a future sustainable and resilient power system could look like. The Heila Technologies partnership is an open source microgrid control platform nurtured at the Stone Edge Farm in Sonoma County, California.
The Weekly Calistogan
February 26, 2020
By Tim Carl and Mackenzie Carl
When power went out in Northern California during PG&E’s series of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) last fall, thousands of households and businesses went dark. But a few kept their lights on – those with generators, and other sources of stored power, like the self-contained microgrid owned by Mac McQuown.
McQuown was ready for the moment the power went off. When it happened, he reached for his phone and pressed a few buttons. Seconds later, the lights sprang back to life.
Mathworks
The Basalt Vista housing project in Basalt, Colorado is eschewing natural gas to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels, making a bold statement about future energy use. Instead, using electricity, the development is focused on relying on renewable energy sources, expecting to be 70% renewable by 2021 and has plans to go even higher. The Heila controllers are a huge part of this effort and Heila is using the site as a pilot project to demonstrate how granular its control systems can be.
Business Wire
September 19, 2019
SimpliPhi Power, a California-based manufacturer of non-toxic, safe, residential, commercial and mobile energy storage systems and Heila Technologies have announced a partnership to deliver a dynamic platform that aggregates multiple customer-cited SimpliPhi battery systems into a ‘virtual’ power plant.
pv magazine
August 15, 2019
By William Driscoll
How Colorado’s Holy Cross Energy is working toward 70% clean energy in 2030 by piloting a household-scale virtual powerplant technology to integrate rooftop solar and storage using Heila EDGE.
Wicked Local Sommerville
January 11, 2019
As a proud recipient of the InnovateMass Award, Heila Technologies received $249,052 to support its peer-to-peer, distributed energy resources optimization framework for microgrid applications. Heila’s goal is to use this funding to help accelerate the adoption of clean energy at the grid’s edge by developing new control and optimization technologies.
June 20, 2018
Clean Technica
By Kyle Field
CleanTechnica spoke with Heila Technologies co-founder and CEO Francisco Morocz about Heila’s history, products and the direction of the company.
Microgrid Knowledge
May 7, 2018
Craig Wooster and Jorge Elizondo
In this presentation from the Microgrid 2018 Conference, Craig Wooster, project manager and general contractor for the Stone Edge Farm Microgrid Project, and Jorge Elizondo, co-founder of Heila Technologies, discuss this leading-edge Microgrid Project and the critical role of the Heila iq platform in its success.
Environment + Energy Leader
February 26, 2018
by Alyssa Danigelis
In this overview of the Stone Edge Farm Estate and Winery Microgrid, Mac McQuown discusses his vision for the Stone Edge Farm Microgrid, and the first true test of the microgrid: the 2017 Sonoma wildfires. It was through this test that Heila co-founder Jorge Elizondo further developed the vision for the company.
Microgrid Knowledge
October 27, 2017
By Lisa Cohn
The story of the Stone Edge Farm Microgrid and the 2017 Sonoma, California Wildfires that tested and confirmed the vision of the creators. This article gives the full story and highlights Heila’s significant role in keeping the islanded microgrid running.
Yale Climate Connections
March 17, 2017
By Eileen Mignoni
Heila Technologies’ Jorge Elizondo comments on the possibilities of making microgrids simpler and more affordable and adding more clean energy to the nation’s energy mix. Using a device like the Heila iQ eliminates the need for expert installation and customization.
United States Department of Energy
June 23, 2016
Heila Technologies won the 2016 Cleantech University Prize (Cleantech UP) National Competition in 2016. Heila won for its universal control hub that automatically monitors and manages disparate microgrids. In addition to the $50,000 award, they also received a voucher to access facilities and capabilities at the world-class National Labs.
MIT News
May 2, 2016
By Rob Matheson
The Heila Technologies team, made up of MIT students and alumni, won the MIT Clean Energy Prize (CEP) competition in 2016 for creating the “brain” for microgrids, making the systems more efficient and easier to own and operate. This prize was awarded early in Heila’s development, as they were working with the Stone Edge Farm Microgrid Project to pilot the Heila controller.