For our August Spotlight Series blog, we had a chat with Hub Member Ren Kang, co-founder and Head of Operations and Research at Mixergy Ltd. An electrical engineer by training with research interests in renewable energies, he carried out a PhD at Oxford University where he co-founded Mixergy, with the ambition to develop smart, energy-efficient thermal storage systems to help accelerate our transition to Net Zero. Next year will mark their 10th anniversary, and they are still going strong!
In your own words, what is Mixergy?
Climate change is a pressing issue. To achieve UK’s government’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, significant changes need to be made to our energy infrastructure, including moving away from gas, installing more renewables, and having more energy storage solutions to increase the grid flexibility and resilience.
Mixergy develops internet connected, smart thermal storage systems that can accelerate our transition to Net Zero. Our products not only work more efficiently with current domestic appliances such as gas boilers, but they are also better integrated with other renewable products such as heat pumps and photovoltaic panels to enable the installation of more renewable energy generation.
Engineering is all about solving problems. What problem is your innovation solving and what makes it ground-breaking?
Domestic heating and hot water account for more than half of energy consumption in the home. More than half of UK households have thermal storage systems, either in the form of a hot water cylinder or thermal storage tank. The majority of these systems are oversized, controlled simply via a thermostat or timer, leading to unnecessary energy waste.
As the world is transitioning to Net Zero, we are also facing the challenges of fluctuating energy generation brought by renewables such as wind and solar. This leads to vulnerability in the grid, which and can be addressed by providing energy storage capability within our electricity network.
We came up with a product that solves both problems: a smart energy storage system that is more efficient than current market-leading products. It is also internet connected to provide energy storage flexibility service to National Grid.
What was the moment that made you think “I can turn this into a commercial opportunity”?
Mixergy started from a pitch competition called Climate-KIC, in which my co-founder, Pete Armstrong, and I participated when we were both PhD students in the same research group. We pitched the idea of turning domestic thermal stores into a 'smart heat battery' to provide grid flexibility (like a virtual power plant, storing any surplus energy generated for use when demand for energy is high) to enable more renewable energy installations. While there were a lot of discussions about virtual power plants back then, the concept of using domestic hot water and heating storage systems to provide grid flexibility was still new. We won the pitch, and that is where our journey began.
Wading into unknown territory can be unsettling – what were you most excited by and what was most challenging for you when starting out?
Much of engineering research is about applying scientific principles to solve real-world problems. I was excited to work with a group of brilliant people who both inspired and challenged each other. However, while having great ideas is one thing, turning an idea into a product with the right value proposition for the market is another. Thankfully, at the start of Mixergy, we had great support from accelerator and government funding programmes to develop the commercial proposition.
What has been the best part about your entrepreneurial journey?
My entrepreneurial journey is filled with inspiring moments, challenges, stress (every now and then), and of course rewards! I also had enormous support from the family and friends which is key to my entrepreneurial journey.
What impact has the Shott Scale Up Accelerator programme had on your business so far? What are the most valuable lessons you’ve learnt?
Simply talking to like-minded entrepreneurs and hearing from their experiences is invaluable. Additionally, the workshops and training courses funded by the Shott Scale Up Accelerator helped me develop essential leadership skills required to lead the team effectively. The one-on-one meetings with my mentor, Academy Fellow John Leggate CBE, have been very insightful from both personal and entrepreneurial perspectives.
And finally, have you got any tips for potential applicants?
I am sure you have a great idea and product, but having a solid plan to bring this product to the market is equally important. It is a great programme that offers you various resources and opportunities, so think about what you'd like to have specifically and how this programme could help you on your entrepreneurial journey.
Quick fire
Who is your role model? My father. He is an academic but also closely connected to industry. He sowed the seeds of inspiration for entrepreneurship in me at an early age.
Tell us a random fact not many people know about you. Tried to be a vegetarian but not successful.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Watching travel Vlogs on YouTube.
When I was a child, I wanted to be… A scientist (more cliché) or a basketball player.
I am currently binging House of Cards on Netflix/Prime.
Best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Act decisively (rightfully) and apologise for it later.
Conversely, what has been the worst piece of advice? One thing at a time. It is right most of time, but as an entrepreneur you have to be multitasking.
I don’t understand why… People do not solve the problem if they see it.
If you were an investor, which Hub Member would you invest in? All teams are great. If I have to choose one based on my limited knowledge, it would be Dr Richard Ahlfeld from Monolith AI.
Is there something you know now that you wish someone had told you when you started?
Focus on the product that is disruptive rather than those with minor improvements from incumbent technologies.
If you had to start all over again, would you do anything differently? If so, what?
The present is a present and I am grateful for where we are. We can, however, learn from past and use those experiences for future decision making.
The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub supports the UK’s brightest technology and engineering entrepreneurs to realise their potential.
We run four programmes for entrepreneurial engineers at different career stages. Each one offers equity-free funding, an extended programme of mentorship and coaching, and a lifetime of support through connection to an exceptional community of engineers and innovators.
The Enterprise Hub focuses on supporting individuals and fostering their potential in the long term, taking nothing in return. This sets us apart from the usual ‘accelerator’ model. The Enterprise Hub’s programmes last between 6 and 12 months, and all programmes give entrepreneurs lifelong access to an unrivalled community of mentors and alumni.
Our goal is to encourage creativity and innovation in engineering for the benefit of all. By fostering lasting, exceptional connections between talent and expertise, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of innovation that can deliver on this ambition.
The Enterprise Hub was formally launched in April 2013. Since then, we have supported over 350 researchers, recent graduates and SME leaders to start up and scale up businesses that can give practical application to their inventions. We’ve awarded over £11 million in grant funding, and our Hub Members have gone on to raise over £1.3 billion in additional funding.