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In This Episode:
How Powin went from a family business manufacturing a wide range of products to a leading provider of BESS
Solving supply chain challenges and the future of partnership with the US and China on batteries
What the future of energy looks like and the important role that BESS plays
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What’s up, everyone!
Today, we have a great episode with Danny Lu from Powin. Powin is one of the leading providers of battery energy storage systems, with 8 GWh of systems built and 9 in the pipeline. They are an absolute powerhouse.
Battery storage is a critical part of the future of a renewable energy grid. Powin is doing its part to make it possible.
As the Trump admin pushes for more drilling and a seemingly anti-clean energy policy (despite that not being the definition of abundance) we are seeing the value of battery storage. Prior to tariffs, building a speaker plant would be more expensive and take longer than building energy storage systems to manage grid flexibility issues. (It’s tbd what the situation will be with huge Chinese tariffs).
Powin has years of experience working in this space to solve supply chain issues and is always improving its business to adapt to whatever battery chemistry is most feasible and affordable for its clients.
Given all this, it was great to speak with someone who can help us understand where the market is going and what the key challenges and opportunities are that lie ahead.
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📝 Show Notes:
Topics
Free Preview:
00:00 Cold Open & Intro to Our Guest
04:00 Origins & Evolutions of Powin
08:10 What They Do
10:00 Creating the Market and Finding Their First Customers
12:00 Check Out Goodwin for all Your Legal Support Needs
13:00 Stepping Into a Leadership Role Out of University
16:55 Check out ErthTech Talent for your Hiring Needs
18:10 From Permit to Commissioning in Months
19:10 What an IPP/Utility Wants — Single Point of Blame
23:00 The Evolution of Battery Chemistry for BESS vs EV
24:30 Become a Paid Supporter of CleanTechies
25:30 Powin’s Current Scale
26:50 Storage Project Market Projections Considering Tariffs
31:30 AI & Data Centers | BESS vs Peaker Plants
39:00 Manufacturing in the US? (teaser clip & paywall)
Full Version:
00:00 Cold Open & Intro to Our Guest
03:10 Origins & Evolutions of Powin
07:40 What They Do
09:10 Creating the Market and Finding Their First Customers
12:10 Stepping Into a Leadership Role Out of University
15:00 From Permit to Commissioning in Months
16:50 What an IPP/Utility Wants — Single Point of Blame
18:50 The Evolution of Battery Chemistry for BESS vs EV
22:40 Powin’s Current Scale
23:50 Storage Project Market Projections Considering Tariffs
27:00 Tariff Concerns
28:25 AI & Data Centers | BESS vs Peaker Plants
31:20 Supply Chain & Procurement Lessons (Becoming a Trusted Player)
35:50 Aligning with Bigger Partners
36:00 Domestic Battery Manufacturing
37:50 Chinese Co’s Investing in the US
40:00 US-China Collaboration
44:00 Peaker Plants vs. Energy Storage
46:40 Exploring Alternative Energy Storage Technologies
49:40 The Benefits of Vertical Integration
52:30 Commoditization of the Hardware
54:17 Biggest Lessons from Mistakes
Links
Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.
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