University Technology Park at IIT

In a time when the world is on the constant lookout for efficient and renewable energy sources, Jay Marhoefer’s clean energy technology enterprise, Intelligent Generation, (IG) comes as a blessing. Aptly named for its one of a kind, intelligent energy management concept, this start up is considered the poster child of the Smart Grid Innovation Center. What makes IG so different in its purpose, is that it successfully addresses two of the most challenging issues with solar energy – cost and reliability. IG prides itself on its one of a kind software technology – a perfect combination of solar energy and battery storage designed to convert both, residential, and commercial buildings into virtual power plants. When aggregated, these power plants will store high-value sources of clean energy, which can be tapped into at a later time, thus lowering costs for large commercial communities and residencies. As Founder and CEO of Intelligent Generation, Jay Marhoefer is at the forefront of this clean initiative that has the potential to make clean tech history.

Intelligent Generation moved to IIT’s University Technology Park in October 2010, and since then, there’s been no looking back. According to Mr. Marhoefer, who incidentally, is an IIT Alumnus from the Kent College of Law, IG was ‘fortunate to land at the Technology Park. “It was perfectly suited for our purposes,” he says. “For our research, we needed to simulate the consumption of electricity within a home, and this space was ideal." In addition, Mr. Marhoefer felt that the University Technology Park provided access to a number of technical resources, including but not limited to IIT students and researchers, grants, symbiotic relationships with neighboring tenant companies, and a superb, incredibly responsive management team. What’s more, the location seemed perfect and was well connected by CTA and Metra trains.