Okra Solar, a tech company that helps communities in developing countries get access to electricity through its IoT (Internet of Things) based Solar Smart Grids, has just secured a round of investment from electricity giant Schneider Electric and also GGG (a conglomerate of Japanese power giants Tepco and Chubo Power). This funding shows in challenging times with COVID-19 looming, corporates are looking for new ways to be profitable — what better way than by bringing power and development to the 900 Million people who still don’t have electricity.
The Australian technology startup has recently released two new products — the Okra Edamame IoT Pod and the Okra Harvest software platform. Together, they enable energy utilities to rapidly energise off-grid communities using solar smart grids. We will use this additional funding to continue our expansion into key South-East Asian markets whilst prospecting pilot projects in Nigeria in Q4 of this year.
Okra Distributed Micro-Grid
Okra’s modular DC smart-grids enable households to receive 24/7 electricity for half of the operating costs of traditional AC minigrids. Its modular node-to-node distribution architecture and IoT to remotely control and monitor, enables unparalleled reliability for end-users and grid operators.
Okra’s plug & play IoT controller, aka. the Okra “Pod”, uses machine learning and remote monitoring to ensure power is efficiently distributed throughout a network of solar households. Its cloud software provides grid owners with real-time data so they know when and how networks should be scaled.
Okra Solar works with local utilities to transform #offgrid communities into energy abundant #microgrid economies. Connecting households together using smart distribution techniques makes energy more reliable and up to 10x cheaper than grid extension or AC micro-grids.
