Climate change has created a new class of sustainability-oriented businesses, and St. Paul-based Vessyll is one to watch. Launched in 2020, the startup is building battery energy storage products designed to help companies weather blackouts and save money on energy.
Founded by Zahra Hargens Iliff and Adam Iliff, Vessyll operates out of University Enterprise Labs in St. Paul, but so far, its customers are thousands of miles away in California. A native of St. Paul’s Merriam Park neighborhood, Hargens Iliff is no stranger to doing business across long distances. Her career in construction has seen her renovating and building homes in Chicago, Colorado, and even New Zealand. Her husband and co-founder Adam Iliff, a former Tesla employee, still regularly commutes to the San Francisco Bay Area for his job with solar energy developer OnSwitch.
The Iliffs launched their first home renovation business in the Chicago area in the early 2000s.
“This is beneficial to the bottom line for businesses that constantly have high-power demands.”
—Zahra Hargens Iliff
For Hargens Iliff, the problem of energy storage and blackouts—especially given the warming planet—got lodged in her consciousness and she “just couldn’t let it go.” Vessyll’s batteries are designed to provide an uninterrupted power supply in the face of weather events or other natural disasters.
Hargens Iliff acknowledges that blackouts aren’t quite as commonplace in the Midwest. “We have pretty stable power here,” she says. It’s a different story in California, where blackouts and brownouts have increased amid extreme events such as storms and wildfires. Sometimes, California utility companies will intentionally shut power off to conserve energy in the face of wildfires and other natural disasters. “It really is difficult to live like that,” she says.
Read more from this issue
Vessyll’s products can also be used to store energy when it’s cheaper, Hargens Iliff says, such as very early in the morning. “This is very beneficial to the bottom line for businesses that constantly have high-power demands,” such as climate-controlled storage facilities, warehouses, or data centers.
The Colusa Indian Community’s reservation and casino in northern California is Vessyll’s first customer. For now, the company’s storage product is being used primarily as a backup for the tribe’s data center, Hargens Iliff says. But depending on changing needs, it could one day be used to power other facilities on the site.
Vessyll got off the ground, in part, through its participation in a Twin Cities-based clean energy accelerator program called Grid Catalyst.
There are already energy storage systems in use by large-scale utility providers like Xcel. But Vessyll is specifically targeting mid-sized businesses and the residential market.
“We are meeting a need that does not currently exist in the market,” Hargens Iliff says.
Climate change has created a new class of sustainability-oriented businesses, and St. Paul-based Vessyll is one to watch. Launched in 2020, the startup is building battery energy storage products designed to help companies weather blackouts and save money on energy.
Founded by Zahra Hargens Iliff and Adam Iliff, Vessyll operates out of University Enterprise Labs in St. Paul, but so far, its customers are thousands of miles away in California. A native of St. Paul’s Merriam Park neighborhood, Hargens Iliff is no stranger to doing business across long distances. Her career in construction has seen her renovating and building homes in Chicago, Colorado, and even New Zealand. Her husband and co-founder Adam Iliff, a former Tesla employee, still regularly commutes to the San Francisco Bay Area for his job with solar energy developer OnSwitch.
The Iliffs launched their first home renovation business in the Chicago area in the early 2000s.
“This is beneficial to the bottom line for businesses that constantly have high-power demands.”
—Zahra Hargens Iliff
For Hargens Iliff, the problem of energy storage and blackouts—especially given the warming planet—got lodged in her consciousness and she “just couldn’t let it go.” Vessyll’s batteries are designed to provide an uninterrupted power supply in the face of weather events or other natural disasters.
Hargens Iliff acknowledges that blackouts aren’t quite as commonplace in the Midwest. “We have pretty stable power here,” she says. It’s a different story in California, where blackouts and brownouts have increased amid extreme events such as storms and wildfires. Sometimes, California utility companies will intentionally shut power off to conserve energy in the face of wildfires and other natural disasters. “It really is difficult to live like that,” she says.
Read more from this issue
Vessyll’s products can also be used to store energy when it’s cheaper, Hargens Iliff says, such as very early in the morning. “This is very beneficial to the bottom line for businesses that constantly have high-power demands,” such as climate-controlled storage facilities, warehouses, or data centers.
The Colusa Indian Community’s reservation and casino in northern California is Vessyll’s first customer. For now, the company’s storage product is being used primarily as a backup for the tribe’s data center, Hargens Iliff says. But depending on changing needs, it could one day be used to power other facilities on the site.
Vessyll got off the ground, in part, through its participation in a Twin Cities-based clean energy accelerator program called Grid Catalyst.
There are already energy storage systems in use by large-scale utility providers like Xcel. But Vessyll is specifically targeting mid-sized businesses and the residential market.
“We are meeting a need that does not currently exist in the market,” Hargens Iliff says.
Climate change has created a new class of sustainability-oriented businesses, and St. Paul-based Vessyll is one to watch. Launched in 2020, the startup is building battery energy storage products designed to help companies weather blackouts and save money on energy.
Founded by Zahra Hargens Iliff and Adam Iliff, Vessyll operates out of University Enterprise Labs in St. Paul, but so far, its customers are thousands of miles away in California. A native of St. Paul’s Merriam Park neighborhood, Hargens Iliff is no stranger to doing business across long distances. Her career in construction has seen her renovating and building homes in Chicago, Colorado, and even New Zealand. Her husband and co-founder Adam Iliff, a former Tesla employee, still regularly commutes to the San Francisco Bay Area for his job with solar energy developer OnSwitch.
The Iliffs launched their first home renovation business in the Chicago area in the early 2000s.
“This is beneficial to the bottom line for businesses that constantly have high-power demands.”
—Zahra Hargens Iliff
For Hargens Iliff, the problem of energy storage and blackouts—especially given the warming planet—got lodged in her consciousness and she “just couldn’t let it go.” Vessyll’s batteries are designed to provide an uninterrupted power supply in the face of weather events or other natural disasters.
Hargens Iliff acknowledges that blackouts aren’t quite as commonplace in the Midwest. “We have pretty stable power here,” she says. It’s a different story in California, where blackouts and brownouts have increased amid extreme events such as storms and wildfires. Sometimes, California utility companies will intentionally shut power off to conserve energy in the face of wildfires and other natural disasters. “It really is difficult to live like that,” she says.
Read more from this issue
Vessyll’s products can also be used to store energy when it’s cheaper, Hargens Iliff says, such as very early in the morning. “This is very beneficial to the bottom line for businesses that constantly have high-power demands,” such as climate-controlled storage facilities, warehouses, or data centers.
The Colusa Indian Community’s reservation and casino in northern California is Vessyll’s first customer. For now, the company’s storage product is being used primarily as a backup for the tribe’s data center, Hargens Iliff says. But depending on changing needs, it could one day be used to power other facilities on the site.
Vessyll got off the ground, in part, through its participation in a Twin Cities-based clean energy accelerator program called Grid Catalyst.
There are already energy storage systems in use by large-scale utility providers like Xcel. But Vessyll is specifically targeting mid-sized businesses and the residential market.
“We are meeting a need that does not currently exist in the market,” Hargens Iliff says.
Climate change has created a new class of sustainability-oriented businesses, and St. Paul-based Vessyll is one to watch. Launched in 2020, the startup is building battery energy storage products designed to help companies weather blackouts and save money on energy.
Founded by Zahra Hargens Iliff and Adam Iliff, Vessyll operates out of University Enterprise Labs in St. Paul, but so far, its customers are thousands of miles away in California. A native of St. Paul’s Merriam Park neighborhood, Hargens Iliff is no stranger to doing business across long distances. Her career in construction has seen her renovating and building homes in Chicago, Colorado, and even New Zealand. Her husband and co-founder Adam Iliff, a former Tesla employee, still regularly commutes to the San Francisco Bay Area for his job with solar energy developer OnSwitch.
The Iliffs launched their first home renovation business in the Chicago area in the early 2000s.
“This is beneficial to the bottom line for businesses that constantly have high-power demands.”
—Zahra Hargens Iliff
For Hargens Iliff, the problem of energy storage and blackouts—especially given the warming planet—got lodged in her consciousness and she “just couldn’t let it go.” Vessyll’s batteries are designed to provide an uninterrupted power supply in the face of weather events or other natural disasters.
Hargens Iliff acknowledges that blackouts aren’t quite as commonplace in the Midwest. “We have pretty stable power here,” she says. It’s a different story in California, where blackouts and brownouts have increased amid extreme events such as storms and wildfires. Sometimes, California utility companies will intentionally shut power off to conserve energy in the face of wildfires and other natural disasters. “It really is difficult to live like that,” she says.
Read more from this issue
Vessyll’s products can also be used to store energy when it’s cheaper, Hargens Iliff says, such as very early in the morning. “This is very beneficial to the bottom line for businesses that constantly have high-power demands,” such as climate-controlled storage facilities, warehouses, or data centers.
The Colusa Indian Community’s reservation and casino in northern California is Vessyll’s first customer. For now, the company’s storage product is being used primarily as a backup for the tribe’s data center, Hargens Iliff says. But depending on changing needs, it could one day be used to power other facilities on the site.
Vessyll got off the ground, in part, through its participation in a Twin Cities-based clean energy accelerator program called Grid Catalyst.
There are already energy storage systems in use by large-scale utility providers like Xcel. But Vessyll is specifically targeting mid-sized businesses and the residential market.
“We are meeting a need that does not currently exist in the market,” Hargens Iliff says.
