DER Task Force Going Permissionless with Cole Ashman,CEO and Founder of Pila Energy
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Jul 2, 2025 
Cole Ashman, Founder and CEO of Pila Energy, discusses the revolutionary concept of permissionless distributed energy resources (DERs), aiming to simplify energy installations. He shares his journey from Hurricane Katrina to working at Tesla, highlighting the push for resilience in energy solutions. The conversation dives into the benefits of permissionless battery systems, innovative energy management ideas, and the transformation of home energy use, including user-friendly designs and the significance of energy storage during outages.
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Katrina Inspired DER Passion
- Cole Ashman got his DER interest from Hurricane Katrina's power outage impacts and his time working with public schools in New York.
- His experience showed him the resilience need and how distributed energy can address real-world problems effectively.
Nature-Inspired Battery Design
- Pila's name honors the Voltaic Pile, the first electrochemical battery, inspired by electric eel's stacked disc-like organs.
- This nature-inspired modular battery design reflects Pila's approach to smaller, scalable, and flexible energy storage.
Outlet Batteries Slash Costs
- Plug-and-play, modular batteries plugged into outlets can achieve 30% cost reduction over traditional whole-home systems.
- This form factor reduces bespoke electrical and permitting costs, enabling faster, cheaper DER adoption.