Arpit Dwivedi: Enabling a Future of Clean Energy

Ladderworks is a publishing platform of diverse picture books and online curriculum with the mission to empower over a million kids to become social entrepreneurs. Our current series features interviews by our interplanetary journalist Spiffy with inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders, and Changemakers who are advancing the UN SDGs.

Spiffy here with the scoop on the entrepreneurial leaders of Planet Earth. As the only interplanetary journalist stationed on this blue planet, I’m thrilled to present this galactic exclusive with Arpit Dwivedi, the founder and chief executive officer of Cache Energy. Let’s learn what’s happening at Cache Energy and how Arpit is making a positive impact in the world.

Spiffy: Welcome, Arpit! Tell me, what challenge are you addressing through Cache Energy?

Arpit: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! The major hurdle between today and a clean energy future is our ability to store energy cheaply, and in large amounts. This is because sun and wind are not always present. Existing solutions do not scale and are expensive. This is known as long duration energy storage problem. Our technology scales to store and supply energy continuously for months in a cheap non-toxic "solid fuel". Once charged, it retains energy with zero loss in time, and can also be transported from one place to another where energy is needed.

Spiffy: That’s exciting! What motivates you to do it?

Arpit: Without exaggeration, energy runs the world. Access to energy also lies at the core of socio-economic problems our society faces. There is no low energy consuming, rich country. We are amidst exciting times as we are transitioning to sourcing energy from sun and wind which is free for all. If we can learn to store energy cheaply, we can make clean energy accessible to everyone, everywhere. This would set a level playing field with regard to a resource, which is essential for any and every aspect of life.

Spiffy: What is the impact of your work?

Arpit: We are working very hard to enable a future where clean energy is accessible and affordable for everyone, everywhere. Every technology has a starting niche, be it a certain geography or application, where it starts and then takes some time for mass adoption. I call it trickle down time. I believe Cache's technology trickle down timeline will be very short, given the nature of what we are building.

Spiffy: Tell me about a recent organization milestone or initiative. What impact does it make on your audience or community?

Arpit: We recently raised an oversubscribed $4.5 million seed round. We were also winners of the Department of Energy’s Energy Innovation Prize. We were selected to several world class accelerators such as Third Derivative, Launch Alaska, and Joules. Finally, we are about to make our first pilot live.

Spiffy: Congratulations! Is there anything else you would love to tell our audience?

Arpit: As a society we are getting a second chance to build energy infrastructure. The first time we built it, was around fossil fuels. It's my strong desire that we build an infrastructure that is equitable, something that can be deployed everywhere. It's important that we learn from earlier fossil fuel infrastructure. While it's impractical to think that a technology can be deployed in its exact form everywhere, it is crucial to bring energy equability in to the equation,  while making decisions around new technologies.

Spiffy: Thanks for speaking with me today, Arpit—it’s been an honor!

Arpit Dwivedi is the founder and chief executive officer at Cache Energy, an Illinois based energy storage startup. He is a repeat entrepreneur and holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, working on energy storage. Cache is developing long duration energy storage technology that is safely installed anywhere, and transported everywhere. (Nominated by Unshackled Ventures. First published on the Ladderworks website on October 02, 2023.)

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of Ladderworks LLC.

© 2023 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Shikha Tandon. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. For the Ladderworks digital curriculum to help K-3 kids advance the UN SDGs, visit Spiffy's Launchpad: Creative Entrepreneurship Workshops for K-3 Kids and their caregivers here.