Pasadena, California and Austin, Texas -- July 9, 2020 / Yotta Energy Press Release -- In an effort to support innovative technologies that tackle some of the most pressing challenges our society currently faces, on July 8, 2020, the Caltech Rocket Fund announced seven awardees for the 2020 award. The Rocket Fund Award launched in 2015 with the goal of helping “young companies grow their businesses through a supportive community of collaborators providing educational and financial support.” Since its inception, $830K in awards have been made to 19 companies which has led to $11.6 million in Seed funding and $23.3 million in Series A funding.
Despite a competitive applicant pool, Yotta Energy (Yotta) was one of seven companies selected for the Rocket Fund Award. Upon hearing the news, Yotta Director of Research and Strategy, Jennifer G. Gallegos was ecstatic and said that, “Winning the Rocket Fund Award means a lot to us as a growing company. This award couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Yotta will use the award to conduct a technology demonstration at the Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC) in Fremont, CA to further validate its unique PV-Coupled™ architecture. Yotta will also use a portion of the award for initial phases of UL certification testing. Yotta CEO Omeed Badkoobeh noted that this is “exactly the type of positive momentum we need. It helps us to move along our UL certification process and demonstrate a pilot at a reputable institution. We are thrilled with the Rocket Fund announcement.”
Yotta Energy (Yotta) is a renewable energy startup headquartered in Austin, Texas. Yotta has developed PV-Coupled™ architecture, a smart energy storage solution designed to effortlessly scale with rooftop solar PV projects. At about the size of a briefcase, Yotta's patented energy storage solution can fit under any industry standard solar module. Yotta's technology features advanced thermal management to maintain an optimal working temperature even under extreme outdoor conditions. Yotta's solution is also designed to UL 9540, making it one of the safest energy storage options available for urban environments. As an integrated software plus hardware solution, Yotta's unique PV-Coupled™ architecture also helps address grid outages by enhancing grid resilience and reliability. In a nutshell, Yotta is building the grid of the future.
Learn more about Yotta Energy.
Caltech's Rocket Fund is a member supported granting pool that helps academic and garage innovators turn their technologies into commercial realities through financial support and entrepreneurial mentoring and education. The Rocket Fund offers $25,000 - $75,000 in non-equity grants for cleantech and sustainability startups.The competition process provides opportunities to work with utilities and access further funding. Applicants may leverage relationships with IN2 Wells Fargo, Shell GameChanger and the Electric Power Research Institute and double or triple the value of the awards as well as secure voucher funding covering lab testing facilities and technical expertise. The fund operates as an exclusive program of the Resnick Sustainability Institute at Caltech, which fosters transformational advances in sustainability through science and technology research and education. In September 2019 philanthropists and entrepreneurs Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of The Wonderful Company, announced a $750 million pledge to Caltech to support cutting-edge research into the most pressing challenges in environmental sustainability.
Learn more about the Caltech Rocked Fund Award.