Over the past two years, we’ve been focused on not only building sensational technology that supports the clean energy revolution, but building a world class team to bring our vision to life. Having advised and mentored hundreds of Australian entrepreneurs and Startups, it’s clear to me that the team and culture driving a business forwards is far and away the most important asset, and getting this right is critical. So when Jonas Dias, one of the Data Scientists here at Evergen wanted to write this piece, I was delighted (I’m also a car racing fan)! In fact, it is very much aligned to two of the Evergen values: “Pulling together” and “Enjoying the ride”… amazing to see how far we’ve come and how rapidly we are racing forwards. Ben Hutt, CEO and Managing Director at Evergen
If Evergen was a race car!
Chase on Energy Road
It was almost the end of his shift when the blurred dash crossed the speedometer. It beeped, blinking in red. “368 kWh per month,” he shouted, staring at the gauge. He noticed the coal in his hover HOG won’t match such speed. He grabbed the shiny silver radio and cried, “I need air support. Unidentified vehicle in Energy Road heading Greener county.”
The airship descended from the sky almost immediately, and the voice of the data scientist replicant spoke from the radio, “It is a race car. I got its registry in our psychohistory logs. Initiating chase.” When the aircraft accelerated up through the clouds, the policeman received a report on his dashboard. The chart showed how the race car progressed through Energy Road. It used to run at 160 kWh per month, yet two years ago it accelerated substantially.
“Do you have any predictions,” the policeman asked across the radio.
“At this rate, it’ll reach 17 MWh in one year — 34.5 MWh in five years,” the replicant answered. The dashboard changed, showing an updated chart.
“That’s impossible,” the man widened his eyes, “the car looked small.”
“And it’s preparing to go faster,” said the replicant.
The policeman touched the screen to access video streaming. The aircraft was getting closer, burning tons of coal. Dark grey traces were visible in the burning sky between their two suns.
“What is powering this goddamn car?” the policeman asked.
Another chart popped up on his screen — a battery showing at least eight areas transmitting energy to its motors.
“How does it manage all of this,” the policeman grumpily shouts.
He hears the replicant typing frantically. Then the distant voice comes through the radio, “it has an optimisation engine that makes energy consumption more efficient – 75.7% better.”
The policeman remained silent, gawking, the display making silly noises, still transmitting the chase.
“Can’t you just stop it?”, the policeman shouted.
“I’m at top speed,” the replicant answered. The policeman pressed the radio tightly, almost crushing it. After a few seconds, a new message, “wait, it’s noticed us. It’s stopping.”
With eyes widened, the policeman watched the video stream as it got closer to the race car. The leaf-shaped vehicle was glossy painted in blue and green, with some tiny parts in bright magenta. Its body was full of graphics —-brands from different manufacturers of solar panels, batteries and inverters. The replicant left the airship and walked warily toward the race car. With a mix of embarrassment and curiosity on his voice, he asked, “who are you?”
The mirrored cabin made an airy noise when it opened up like a blooming flower. However, no one was inside. A kind voice of an AI system answered, though, “Hello, I am Evergen.”
