Verizon Climate Resilience Prize, Winner #1 Announced

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Now in its second year, the Verizon Climate Resilience Prize is part of the company’s overall commitment to using its technology and other resources to help mitigate the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities. Based in Jackson, MI, Sesame Solar is one of four winners of this year’s prize, having demonstrated proven results with a tech-powered solution that is ready to scale. The company develops renewably powered mobile nanogrids that are fast to deploy, easy to use, and available anytime.

In 2023 alone, there have been nearly a dozen natural disasters costing communities $1 billion or more. When these severe weather events occur, power and communication channels are often knocked offline and access to clean water is limited or nonexistent for weeks.

Rising to meet these challenging climate events with off-grid power solutions, Sesame Solar is producing mobile nanogrids powered by solar, green hydrogen, and battery storage. Through their innovative, purpose-driven, fossil-fuel-free technology, Sesame Solar is helping communities become more climate resilient. Now, when disaster strikes — which is occurring three times more often than 50 years ago — communities can have access to grid-independent energy solutions for life-saving essential services such as communications, medical, emergency response operations, clean water, EV charging, and more.

Offering a solution that counteracts climate change, Sesame Solar is breaking the cycle of fossil fuel–powered generators (that further contribute to the problem) and replacing them with renewable, mobile energy solutions that are durable, easy to use, and flexible for a variety of use cases. Sesame Solar’s nanogrids can be set up by one person in fewer than 15 minutes and begin powering communities with clean, reliable, fossil-fuel-free energy, ensuring continuity and resilience amid climate-related extreme weather. The only resource needed onsite is sunshine.

In the past, communities needed to provide their own deionized water, but now Sesame Solar has developed and deployed additional technology to their nanogrids enabling them to make their own water, as well as their own hydrogen gas. Today, these nanogrids serve as a real-time, no-input, no-fossil-fuels, continuous-energy/resource generator.

The company is currently placing its mobile nanogrids in various suburbs outside of Houston, Texas. These underrepresented communities — which often suffer the most from Gulf Coast–related  storms, hurricanes, and floods — face many challenges in stabilizing and sustaining basic services after a high-impact climate event. Sesame Solar has its mobile nanogrids in approximately 30 communities, through the Black Resilience Network, as well as various frontline areas around the Houston metropolitan area. The company is also in early discussions with energy management groups that service Hawaii and California, among others.

In addition to receiving Verizon’s Climate Resilience Prize, Sesame Solar Inc. was recently named to Fast Company’s list of “The World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023.”

About the Climate Resilience Prize: The Climate Resilience Prize, which launched in 2021, is part of Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental, and social advancement. To learn more about Verizon’s ongoing efforts to support communities in need, please visit CitizenVerizon.com.

This article is sponsored by Verizon.