Ben Polito: Clean-technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Pika Energy
Photo / Jim Neuger
Ben Polito grew up in a house without electricity but now heads a growing start-up, Pika Energy, in Westbrook. He's standing next to a solar-ready smart battery manufactured by Pika.
Ben Polito grew up on a farm in the midcoast village of Five Islands with no electricity, and was raised using oil lamps, pumping water by hand and using generators for power tools. He is now a clean-technology entrepreneur based in Westbrook.
In 2010 Polito teamed up with his good friend and former Massachusetts Institute of Technology classmate Joshua Kaufman to found Pika Energy, a venture capital-backed start-up making products for buildings to collect, store and consume energy from solar and wind sources. Though the 18-employee company does not disclose revenues, Polito said it achieved in the first quarter what it did in all of last year.
Mainebiz: What inspired the idea for Pika Energy. Was it your upbringing?
Ben Polito: I was a handy kid, so I was doing electronics and welding and other hands-on activities, stuff that gets described under the 'maker' rubric, like every farm kid growing up. Then I went off and left the state to study mechanical engineering at M.I.T., where I had exposure to a lot of entrepreneurial activities. I started working for start-ups soon after graduating and migrated pretty quickly into the energy space.
MB: Did you start making wind turbines and then move to solar?
BP: It's more the case that we built the company with the underlying platform of electronic technology that we call the REbus DC Nanogrid, and the first application that we pursued was wind-solar hybrid technology. As market conditions have evolved, the solar side of the business has grown more quickly. The solar industry has grown to the point where it's created a whole new set of problems which need to be solved, which is where the energy storage side comes in when you reach a certain level. Maine is nowhere close to that, but in places like California and Hawaii, it becomes necessary to store energy to balance supply and demand.
MB: How does the Nanogrid fit into that balance?
BP: Our technology automatically manages the flow of power between and among different components — your appliances, the batteries that store energy from your solar energy system and your connection to the grid. If you're looking for a simple analogy, we like to say that REbus is like a USB for renewable energy. It allows you to plug and play solar and batteries and loads and connection to the grid. That's really critical because as the industry matures, soft costs become much more important. How easy is the technology to explain? How easy is it to convince the customer that you have the right solution? How easy is it to install and service — and is it connected to the internet?
MB: As you expand your workforce, how do you recruit people?
BP: We've had pretty good success recruiting people, from out of state even. It definitely is a challenge, it's a thinner market compared to Boston or the Bay Area, but the quality of life here is fantastic and the workforce quality is amazing. People are very dedicated, especially when you are mission-driven.
MB: What new markets or areas are ripe for growth?
BP: It is driven by the economics of given markets, and the improving cost dynamics of solar and energy storage. We're working closely with Panasonic Corp. to build a battery that's really revolutionary in the ease of installation. The beta program is beginning with select installers around the country, and we expect general availability before the end of the year.
MB: Will solar continue to develop?
BP: Absolutely. In many parts of the country, and in many parts of the world, it is hands-down the most cost-effective source of new electricity generation. The technology has really come a long way. I believe very strongly that this is the way we're going to be making our electricity and, further, it's the way we're going to be moving around. The model going forward is solar in our homes, in our businesses, in our communities, powering the grid and powering an increasing proportion of plug-in vehicles.
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