Volts Ruggedized solar power for the hard places
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Apr 10, 2026 Lauren Flanagan, founder of Sesame Solar and maker of rugged mobile nanogrids, discusses portable power for disaster zones, remote operations, and military use. She describes solar-plus-battery containers with onboard hydrogen production and storage. Conversations cover when hydrogen backup is needed, automation for remote management, cost tradeoffs versus fuel logistics, and scaling manufacturing for real-world missions.
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One Person Can Deploy A Complete Nanogrid In 15 Minutes
- Sesame builds self-contained nanogrids in 10–28 foot boxes that one person can set up in 15 minutes.
- Boxes include deployable solar arrays, inverters, and LFP batteries to supply 8–10 kW and ~120–150 kWh depending on size.
Batteries Are The Primary Source With Hydrogen As Seamless Backup
- Nanogrids use a battery-first architecture with fuel cells and hydrogen as backup.
- Solar charges batteries; when voltage drops the onboard fuel cell using stored hydrogen seamlessly powers the battery system.
Metal Hydride Storage Solves Hydrogen Logistics And Safety
- Sesame adopted low‑pressure metal hydride storage to solve hydrogen transport and safety.
- Metal hydride stores H2 at <300 PSI as a solid powder in canisters, enabling safe air/sea/ground movement and long-term storage.