As artificial intelligence consumes more and more energy, the market is seeking efficient and cost-effective sources of power. One of the leaders in this field is Petra Power.
Petra was established in 2017 and sells solid oxide fuel cells – which are ceramic devices that can convert fuels such as natural gas into electricity without the need for combustion. The company positions this as a more efficient and environmentally friendly method for powering data centers and large vehicles.
Petra The founder Aaron Goodman told TechCrunch that compared to traditional power sources, the company's products have significantly lower fuel costs and emissions. Moreover, due to their more compact and lightweight design, they occupy much less physical space.
Goodman says that efficiency and the resulting cost savings are precisely what make these fuel cells so attractive. "Combustion consumes fuel and produces explosions," he says, describing traditional power generation methods. "These explosions generate heat. Heat creates motion, motion drives an electromotive force, and ultimately electricity is produced. There are many steps in between, and there is significant loss at each step, so what is left in the end is a system with very low efficiency."
The fuel cells of Petra skipped most of the steps. “The function of a fuel cell is to directly extract electrons from the fuel, that is, to strip the electrons from the fuel in order to generate electricity,” he explained. “This only requires one step, with no loss, so at least in theory, their efficiency is much higher.”
Therefore, companies that use fuel cells are expected to save a significant amount on fuel costs, says Goodman.
Despite the product's innovation, the customer base of Petra is still in the formative stage. Goodman stated that the company is currently targeting two types of customers: data centers and the Department of Defense.
Goodman is reluctant to disclose the specific details of the agreement, but indicated that Petra is currently collaborating with neoclouds as well as other infrastructure providers that are a few steps downstream from large-scale cloud vendors. The company hopes to achieve the first deployment with these clients by 2028 at the earliest and to start full-scale production in 2029, Goodman said.
"Ultra-large cloud providers are our ideal customer profile, and we also often communicate with them, but so far, there is no confirmed cooperation," said Goodman. "We are still moving in that direction. Clearly, they are the largest consumers of electricity. We can have the greatest impact on them, so that is also the direction we hope to enter."
Another type of customer – the government – is also still in the process of being established. The company’s vision is that the fuel cells from Petra can provide auxiliary power for land vehicles, that is, to power the onboard equipment when the main engine is turned off. However, Goodman clarified that the products from Petra have not yet been actually deployed in vehicles in actual use. On the contrary, these fuel cells are still in the testing phase, and the government is deciding whether to proceed further with their implementation.
Petra Currently, the team size is not large, with about 15 people, but Goodman says that the company is growing. So far, Petra has received a contract worth nearly 9 million US dollars from the Department of Defense, and the company hopes to significantly expand this business in the coming years.
Petra Power has been selected for this year's TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200, which is one of the 200 startups chosen for this program. Next week, you can follow all the events at Moscone West in downtown, San Francisco.
