DeepSummary
In this podcast episode, Matteo Jaramillo, the CEO and co-founder of Form Energy, discusses his journey from studying theology to working in the energy storage industry. He talks about the early days of battery storage when every sale and installation was a battle, and his time at Tesla, where he helped launch the Powerwall and Supercharger businesses.
Jaramillo then delves into Form Energy's mission to develop long-duration batteries that could provide storage services for days or even weeks, enabling a fully renewable power generation infrastructure. He explains the challenges and opportunities involved in creating a new type of battery that could replace baseload power, including natural gas.
The interview covers Jaramillo's upbringing, his decision to study economics at Harvard, and his early experiences in the energy storage industry. He also discusses Form Energy's funding, team building, and the importance of hiring the best talent to tackle the complex challenges they face.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Form Energy is developing long-duration batteries that could provide storage services for days or even weeks, enabling a fully renewable power generation infrastructure.
- Jaramillo highlights the importance of hiring the best talent and building a diverse team to tackle the complex challenges they face.
- Jaramillo shares insights from his early experiences in the energy storage industry, when every sale and installation was a struggle.
- Form Energy is investing heavily in software and analytics to quantify the value of their long-duration storage technology and engage with potential commercial partners.
- Jaramillo emphasizes the need to tap into diverse talent pools and recognizes the challenges in achieving diversity in the industry.
- Form Energy's vision is to scale up their long-duration battery technology and enable the retirement of fossil fuel-based power plants in favor of renewable energy sources.
- Jaramillo's journey from studying theology to working in energy storage highlights his commitment to addressing meaningful environmental challenges.
- Form Energy is taking a unique approach to developing their long-duration battery technology, rethinking the business model and avoiding pitfalls faced by others in the industry.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “The goal of the company is to really develop the kind of energy storage you need to enable the world to run entirely off of wind, water, or solar. In other words, to have a fully renewable power generation infrastructure.“ by Matteo Jaramillo
- “I grew up with super smart kids who just never made it for whatever reason, but they're out there. And I think collectively as a society, we have to do a much better job figuring out how to tap into that talent.“ by Matteo Jaramillo
- “In five years. The expectation is that we will be scaling up our product in the market, that projects will be getting developed using this battery and this, this bidirectional power plant, that we will be actively retiring thermal assets in favor of renewable assets.“ by Matteo Jaramillo
Entities
Company
Organization
Person
Episode Information
The Energy Gang
Wood Mackenzie
11/8/19
This week on Watt It Takes: how a would-be priest made it his mission to spread the gospel of battery storage.
In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Mateo Jaramillo, the CEO and co-founder of Form Energy.
Form is working on a new kind of long-duration battery. And Mateo has one of the longer-duration careers in the storage industry.
In the early 2000s, he deployed the first behind-the-meter systems in New York for demand response — seeing the grid services potential well before anyone else.
Mateo went on to start the stationary energy storage unit at Tesla, launching and building the powerwall business. He also helped launch the supercharger business.
Today, he’s working on a new electrochemical battery that could provide storage services for days, not just hours. The idea is to unlock baseload renewables.
The chemistry was spun out of work from MIT researchers. It’s being scaled by a group of engineers and entrepreneurs with deep technical experience — and like Mateo, the bumps and bruises that come from scaling an early market.
In this interview, Mateo talks about what it took to power through the early days of battery storage, when everything sale and installation was a battle. And he’ll talk about what it will take to create Form’s new storage tech to unlock even more renewable energy.
To learn more about future speakers and attending a live event, go to Powerhouse.fund and click on the events tab.
Listen to all of the episodes of Watt It Takes here.
Support for this podcast is brought to you by Sungrow. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.
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