Businesses and developers often face difficult learning state when installing clean energy technologies such as solar energy installation and EV charger. To get the appropriate deal, they have to undergo a complex bidding process that involves requesting proposals, evaluating dialects and eventually contracting with a provider.
Now the startup station A, established by a pair of alumni and their colleagues of MIT, is streamlining the process of deploying clean energy. The company has developed a market for clean energy to calculate returns on clean energy projects to real estate owners and businesses, creating a detailed project list, collecting bids and analyzing properties to select a provider. Helps in
This platform helps real estate owners and businesses adopt clean energy technologies such as solar panels, batteries and EV charger at minimum possible prices in places with the highest capacity to reduce energy costs and emissions.
“We do a lot to simplify the adoption of clean energy,” Mansos Saraatsis SMERARES “describes the15, who co-established Station A with Kevin Berkete MBA ’14. “Imagine if you were trying to buy an airplane ticket and your travel agent used only one carrier. It will be more expensive, and you will not be able to reach some places. Our customers want them to have many options and know about the track record of whom they are working with. ”
Station A has already partnered with some of the largest real estate companies in the country to reduce the carbon footprint of its buildings, some of which have thousands of assets. The company is also working with grocery chains, warehouses and other businesses to accelerate clean energy change.
Sararatsis, who works as a product head of station A, says, “Our platform addresses to convert addresses into building footprints and their power cost, available encouragement and where they can expect the highest ROI, to understand a lot of AIs and Machine uses learning. ” “This will usually require tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars counseling time, and we can do it very quickly without any money.”
Foundation of foundation
As a graduate student in the Architecture Department of MIT, Saraatsis studied environmental design modeling, using data from sources such as satellite imagery to understand how community consumes energy and propose the most effective potential clean energy solutions. Are. He says the classrooms with Professor Christoff Renhart and Kent Larsen were particularly opening eyes.
“My ability to create a thermal energy model and follow the use of electricity in a building began in MIT,” says Saratssis.
While living at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Berkemeer served as the President of the MIT Energy Club. He was also a research assistant in MIT Energy Initiative as part of the Future of Solar Report and a teacher for the course 15.366 (Climate and Energy Ventures). He says that the classrooms were creative in entrepreneurship with Professor Bill Olet of Practice and stability with senior lecturer Jason J. Before his studies at MIT, Berkete had a widespread experience of developing solar and storage projects and selling clean energy products to commercial customers. Finally co-founders did not meet each other at MIT, but after graduation they started working together in Utility NRG Energy.
Berketeer, who is now the CEO now Station A.C. said, “As a co-founder, we saw the opportunity to change the approach to clean energy of businesses.” “Station A was born with a common belief that data and transparency could unlock the full capacity of clean energy technologies for all.”
In NRG, the founders created software to help customers identify dekbonization opportunities without sending analysts on sites for individual audits.
“If they work with a large grocery chain or a large retailer, we will use ownership analysis to evaluate that portfolio and recommends for things like solar projects, energy efficiency and demand response Will give positive returns within the year. ” Sararatsis explains.
These equipment was a major success within the company. In 2018, the pair decided to spread technology in Station A, along with co-founder Jeremy Lucas and Sam Sateer.
The founders began to work with energy companies, but soon focused their focus on real estate owners with huge portfolio and long -term leasing contracts. Many customers have hundreds or thousands of addresses to evaluate. Using the address only, the station A can provide detailed financial returns estimates for clean energy investment.
In 2020, the company focused its attention from selling access to its analytics to setting up markets for clean energy transactions, helping businesses run a competitive bidding process for clean energy projects. After the project is established, Station A can also evaluate whether it is achieving its expected performance and can track financial returns.
“When I talk to the people outside the industry, they say, ‘Wait, it is not already present?'” Saysis says. “This is a kind of madness, but the industry is still in a very early stages, and no bidding process has been able to find a way to run transparent and massive.”
From campus to the world
Today, about 2,500 clean energy developers are active on the station A platform. Apart from businesses such as HP, Nestle and Goldman Sachs, many large real estate investment trusts also use its services. If Station A was a developer, Sararatsis says it would now be in the top 10 in the case of annual solar deployment.
The founders credited their time in MIT for helping them move forward.
Saraatsis says, “Many of these relationships originated within the MIT network, whether we are through the people found in Sloan or through the association with MIT.” “Most of this business is about reputation, and we have really established a good reputation.”
Since its inception, Station A MIT has been sponsoring classes in the Sustainability Lab, where Saraatsis researched as a student. Since they are working to increase the offer of station A, founders say that they use the skills received every day as students.
Saratsis says, “Everything we do in relation to building analysis is inspired by something that I did when I was in MIT.”
“Station A is just starting,” says Berkemeer. “Adopting clean energy is not just about technology – it is about making the process uninterrupted and accessible. The same thing inspires us every day, and we are excited to lead this change. ”
