Energy
Tuesday saw us not hold one, but two hardware-themed events. We were sponsored by Blender Design, Propellerhead and GridAKL.
Techstars Chat with Terry Gold
First, we heard from Terry Gold, Managing Director at Techstars Adelaide who shared insights around hardware companies and his own journey. Techstars runs one of the world's leading accelerators, and Dotterel, a previous speaker at Hardware Meetup AKL, went through their Asia Pacific programme, Techstars Adelaide, which is kicking off again in September 2018.
Speaker #1: Emily Melhuish - Electrical Engineer
Emily Melhuish is an Electrical Engineering graduate from the University of Auckland and a Software Intern at Rocket Lab, and she believes battery technology needs improving. She wanted to develop a better way to determine the percentage of battery charge left in the batteries of electric vehicles, so built a rig to help determine states of charge in a more effective manner. For her work, Emily won the prestigious GT Murray Award and Best Project in AI/Machine Learning at the University of Auckland.
Speaker #2: Richard Flay - Founder & Chief Scientific Advisor at Vortex Power Systems
Vortex Power Systems is developing a proprietary system to capture and convert waste heat at existing thermal power-stations to electricity. Vortex Power Systems’ solution is designed to operate in conjunction with existing thermal power plants and use the waste heat energy from generation held in their cooling water streams. The system is expected to generate a vortex from a base plate on the ground to extend high into the sky.
Speaker #2: Steve West - Founder & CEO of ChargeNet
Steve West founded ChargeNet in 2015, and its network of New Zealand-wide electric car charging stations has now grown to 63, with 10 under construction and 105 to be open by 2019. Their rapid DC chargers let any EV owner quickly recharge their vehicle, typically in 10 – 30 minutes. ChargeNet has won multiple awards including Innovation in Energy at the 2017 Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards.
Sponsors
Blender Design
Blender Design helps hardware companies gear up for manufacture, in particular assisting with industrial & mechanical design, prototyping services, design for manufacture (DFM) and over all improving the product development processes. Blender provides a full turn key solution, turning ideas into successful products.
Propellerhead
Propellerhead builds software for some of the largest ideas in Government, Commercial and Non-Profit institutions in New Zealand.
GridAKL
GridAKL is the amazing space we are lucky to call home; a space created to bring established innovative business and start-ups together into one humming technology precinct.
