Solv4x: Preparing for the Electric Future

This article was originally written by Tyler Klinkhammer for Foresight Canada, and published on April 20, 2023. Read the original article here.

CITM innovator Solv4x is revolutionizing electric vehicle charging grids with its AI platform Optify to efficiently predict energy load and costs, and deliver better savings.

Solv4x’s co-founders are using more than 30 years of combined experience to tackle one of the biggest challenges in the green transition: preparing our grid for the shift to electric vehicles.

While working for the California ISO (CAISO) – the organization that oversees the operation of California’s power grid – co-founder and CEO Rekha Sharma realized if the US were to shift from fossil fuels to electric vehicles overnight, the grid would need to produce four times its current output to keep up. Thus, the idea, and name, Solv4x was born.

“We need to make sure that the grid is clean, but also capable of handling the new assets that will consume energy,” Sharma said. “We must look at grid software solutions across all verticals. If we do not drive efficiency in charging and consumption in totality, we will not be able to be fully renewable.”

Their game-changing solution provides a B2B AI platform called Optify that simplifies and automates electric vehicle (EV) fleet charging by predicting dynamic energy prices and sources, and identifying the cheapest — and greenest — time to charge your fleet vehicles. The efficiencies created by using Solv4x’s AI platform offer fleet operators huge savings, all while reducing total emissions and lowering their carbon footprint.

 But this powerful innovation was not developed overnight. Sharma spent more than a decade working in the energy space, for companies such as Siemens and ABB, where she contributed to the construction of power plants and power systems.

Near the end of 2020, Sharma began her second Master’s degree after 12 years in the energy sector. By this point, she could see a crystal clear need for a platform that helped ease charging management across large fleets, which have the potential to overload the grid while driving higher consumption of non-renewable energy.

A participant in Foresight Canada’s Earth Tech 2023 cohort, Solv4x continues to develop into a venture with massive potential for impact in the energy transition.

Looking ahead, Sharma hopes to see Solv4x integrated into all fleets as the standard charging platform with a focus on the United States, where there are 200,000+ fleets comprised of more than 50 million vehicles that will eventually be converted to electric.  Their customer base is beginning to take notice:

“Our platform is starting to gain traction with several large partners that live in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), retail and manufacturing, and other last-mile delivery spaces. We are incredibly excited to continue to scale Solv4x and our Optify platform,” Sharma said.

Earth Tech is a six-month accelerator delivered in partnership between SI Canada and Foresight Canada that supports the commercialization of companies led by committed teams driven by environmental impact. The program supports early-stage companies to validate their solutions and business models, advance their technologies, raise funding, and create meaningful impact.

Ready to accelerate your venture? Apply to Foresight’s Acceleration programs, or contact us to learn more.

Earth Tech is made possible with the generous support of the RBC Foundation, Peter Gilgan Foundation, and Bullfrog Power.