Saab (for which Boston-Power is the sole provider of battery systems).
Now the company is pushing into the electric utility market, addressing ways to store energy from renewable sources, for example. It’s too early to give more details on that, but Lampe-Onnerud says, “we do have customers.” She adds that there are “some visionary leaders inside the energy storage space that are connected to the grid utility market that are capable and eager to try new things.”
The company is on a 10-year growth plan that includes ambitious goals to tackle very different market sectors and geographies, including Asia. It could be a daunting task. But Lampe-Onnerud, a former postdoctoral researcher at MIT, seems to have a clear head for history and international relations as well as technology and business.
“If we go back to the oil crisis in the ’70s, I remember that. I am now a lucky recipient of all the money and resources put into renewables,” she says. On the topic of selling the company’s technology in Asia, she points out that every country is different culturally, but adds, “You can come in with a level of humility and curiosity that enables you to do deals.”
As part of today’s funding announcement, Oak Investment Partners’ Bandel Carano has become chairman of Boston-Power’s board, succeeding Tony Evnin from Venrock, who remains on the board. And joining the board is Oak Investment Partners’ Allan Kwan, who is based in Beijing. Kwan has a lot of expertise in both U.S. and China business operations, including executive experience at Motorola (in its paging products division in greater China) and at Yahoo International (after its $1.7 billion investment in Alibaba.com). That might bode well for Boston-Power’s chances in Asia, and beyond.
