An innovator on the mission to scale recharging infrastructure for EVs: Power Hero

One of the main reasons electric vehicles have gained massive traction is their promise of a cleaner environment. This cannot be fully realized if it puts a massive strain on the power grid, increasing investment in non-renewable resources to meet the energy demands. That’s why there is a rising need for renewable energy for EV charging. By making use of renewable energy to power EV charging infrastructure, we can eliminate the strain on the grid and environment; concurrently.

Globally, there are various companies delivering excellent renewable solutions for EV charging, but Power Hero stands out from the rest. Power Hero is a California-based clean-energy company developing hardware and software solutions to help scale recharging infrastructure for electric vehicles. At Power Hero, the team is passionate about clean energy and making it possible for everyone to own an electric vehicle. Electric Vehicle growth is greatly held back by the inability to grow the charging grid. Power Hero is determined to prove that its Peer-to-Peer economy-sharing platform can solve this capacity problem.

In conversation with Esmond Goei, Co-Founder and CEO of Power Hero

Q. As a journalist, I find Power Hero™ quite striking. From the emotional branding standpoint, it has that appeal. How did you come up with the brand name? And please brief us about the history so far.

It’s a combination of events. As early as 2015 or late, I was considering an EV, so like the engineer that I am, I tend to research whatever strikes my fancy. I was also flying quite a bit then between Canada and USA, so I thought I would rent one to try on one of my trips, but none of the car rentals carried any EV. So, I switched my attention to charging. The first issue, my apartment building didn’t have any EV charging, so I knew I would have to rely on public charging. The landscape for that was bleak. I had a hard time finding chargers, and when I found them, it was either unavailable because it was out of commission, used, or blocked. Another key influence happened when I was out with my son, and we needed to charge our phones at a coffee shop, and of course, all the outlets were taken. My son said something like, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could rent an outlet when we go to these cafes.” That comment germinated into a patent application in 2015 for a reservable power outlet anywhere and everywhere for whatever electronic device that needed charging—that included outlets in peoples’ garages, coffee shops, libraries, cinemas, etc. I think we used the term “host” in reference to these locations, but eventually, we started thinking of these hosts who help give you a charge when you’re in need as a ‘hero’. Hence, we want to be your Power Hero. The Covid pandemic affected us; we had to slow down our operations and adjust to the new realities, so we delayed our product launch. But things have a way of turning around in unexpected ways. We got better educated about the market and the needs, and we had time to think and come up with better ideas and solutions and filed more patents.

Q. ‘We are passionate about clean energy and making it possible for everyone to own an electric vehicle.’ Splendid. Would you like to elaborate on this a bit more? 

We can’t do it all, so we’re looking for partners where we can be part of each other’s solution so that EV drivers get the whole solution. We also don’t need to eat each other’s lunch. We don’t need to adopt the burger chain formula of building where the competition builds across the street. We should follow the banks that let any bank users get cash at any bank’s ATM, so we think every EV charging network should make it easy for users of other charging networks to use another network for a fee. We really need to collaborate to save this planet. We want to collaborate because we have patents in networking home chargers, EV charging reservations, and patents pending in mobile stations, V2G, etc.

Q. Who would you like to collaborate with?

I like what EVGO is doing with their solar-powered DCFC stations, and I think there could be tremendous synergy between us. Our private Hosts could act as spokes that point to their DCFC stations, and our mobile stations could use their DCFC stations as a recharging center. ChargePoint has an impressive team, and we would love to see our Cameo become part of their solution as their “safety net.” Blink sees the value of providing a complete product portfolio, so obviously, there is a lot of potential to collaborate where we could act as the spokes to their hubs, and maybe they might ditch their gasoline-powered mobile charger for our mobile charger design. We’re trying to talk with all of them.

Q. What new endeavors is your company currently undertaking?

We’re busy working on completing a pilot install of our vision.

Q. What do you think are the biggest challenges your industry will face in the next five years?

I think it will be tough to keep building charging stations that takes forever to make money or put blinkers on the need for collaboration. It’s not good for any of us and it’s not good for Earth. 

Q. What plans for transformation are you pursuing to remain relevant now and in the future?

The EV galaxy is just beginning to expand. Although the race is not necessarily to the swift, our environment can’t wait so we’re working to do a pilot of a complete ecosystem with several partners. We think that might get DOE’s attention to replicate our pilot across America.

Q. What is your final message to The Silicon Review readers and to your current and future customers and partners?

We all need to do our part to save our planet, where you have a voice speak, where you can cause change make it happen, if you can partner with us, let’s talk.

“Our team has a proven startup track record with an expertise in clean energy and connected IoT products. Our combined experience brings legacy partnerships with fortune 500 companies that are eager to help them grow and innovate.”

Meet the leader behind the success of Power Hero

Esmond Goei’s career spans over 30 years in the high tech and media industries. He is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Power Hero Corp. and previously co-founded, turned around, and/or invested in numerous emerging-market technology companies in America, Canada, Singapore and the Asia Pacific region. Before becoming an entrepreneur Mr. Goei managed or co-managed four venture capital funds around the world from Silicon Valley, California, to Singapore. Mr. Goei is the author and recipient of 5 U.S. patents.

Get in touch:

https://www.powerhero.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/powerhero/