Ireland-based blockchain startup Solo Energy has appointed former Tesla EMEA Vice President Ben Hill as its Commercial and Technical Advisor.

Hill will help “Solo Energy in achieving its vision of a 100% renewable energy future by making solar and wind power more viable through the creation of virtual power plants”, it adds.

He was hired due to his vast experience in solar, battery storage and electric vehicle technology. As Tesla VP in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region, he founded and ran Tesla Energy.

Ben Hill’s background

His background also includes leadership roles in solar and energy businesses around the world, including heading up Trina Solar’s global commercial operations and running BP’s European Solar business.

“We are delighted that Ben has agreed to be a part of Solo Energy’s journey,” Solo Energy CEO and co-founder Mark Hamilton says. “Our company goal is to lay the building blocks for a 100% renewable world, and Ben’s experience encompassing both energy and battery technology will be invaluable in achieving this goal.”

Hill says he’s “incredibly excited to be working with Solo Energy. The team have a strong vision for the future, and its peer to peer trading concept using the latest blockchain technology is cutting edge”.

He adds that “in helping Solo Energy bring its business model to reality, I’m fulfilling my own ambitions to push forward the sustainable and renewable energy revolution. By making reliable low carbon, low cost, sustainable energy accessible to homes across the UK and Europe, we believe we will change the face of energy generation forever.”

Solo Energy has established its first energy supplier partner, Our Power, and lays claim to various successful pilot projects. It will also “fund the roll-out of battery storage units that will make up the first virtual power plants through an asset-backed Security Token Offering (STO) at the end of September”.

Solo Energy’s mission and STO

Solo Energy says it believes in a 100% renewable energy future powered by a distributed battery-based energy storage network.

“To achieve this, Solo Energy is deploying its FlexiGrid technology, a cloud-based aggregation platform that turns intermittent renewable generation into a smart, stable energy system.”

The system uses blockchain to determine where excess energy can be stored for later use when it’s needed by physically balancing local supply and demand while executing blockchain-based peer-to-peer trades.