Lauren Flanagan, Sesame Solar co-founder and CEO, selected for Business Insider’s Climate Action 30 list
Lauren Flanagan, CEO and co-founder of Sesame Solar, has been honored on Business Insider's inaugural Climate Action 30 list, which spotlights 30 global pioneers actively combating climate change through innovation, policy influence, and research.
Flanagan's notable contribution includes her pivotal role in transitioning emergency power solutions from traditional diesel generators to Sesame Solar’s Nanogrids, enhancing global community resilience against natural disasters with swift, sustainable energy solutions. For further details on the Climate Action 30 list, you can visit Business Insider's dedicated page: Climate Action 30: Top global leaders working toward climate solutions.
Flanagan, a Silicon Valley veteran who collaborated with Steve Jobs during the early stages of the software startup scene, now leads Sesame Solar. Her company innovates by creating Renewable Mobile Nanogrids that harness solar energy and green hydrogen batteries for emergency power. These Nanogrids are crucial in reducing dependency on diesel-powered generators during environmental emergencies such as hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires.
Discussing her mission, Flanagan explained to Insider,
"The status quo is sending in diesel generators or fossil-fuel-powered emergency offices, medical centers, or communication centers. And that only contributes to more environmental damage and helps create the conditions of climate change that caused the extreme weather in the first place."
Her solution addresses the root of the problem by eliminating the need for fossil fuels in disaster response scenarios.
Sesame Solar’s impact was particularly felt in the Caribbean, where island nations frequently face severe meteorological challenges. Following the destruction wrought by hurricanes Maria and Ida on Dominica, Sesame Solar rapidly deployed Nanogrids that significantly aided recovery efforts. These units were set up in just 15 minutes at a temporary hospital, providing essential services such as purifying 130 gallons of rainwater daily, powering sanitation facilities, and refrigerating critical medical supplies like insulin.
In June, the company introduced a new generation of Nanogrids equipped with green hydrogen for backup power. Flanagan is committed to a future where emergency relief is entirely devoid of fossil fuels, emphasizing the urgency of her mission,
“Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and devastating as a result of climate change. If we want to reverse this trajectory, we need to stop relying on fossil fuels to help us recover from these events, which are causing these natural disasters in the first place.”
