Can SG run on virtual power plants? This startup thinks so

After selling his first startup Saleswhale in 2022, Gabriel Lim is ready for his next act.

Founded by Lim in 2024, Blue Whale Energy touts itself as Singapore’s first battery-powered virtual power plant (VPP). The company tells Tech in Asia that it just raised US$2 million of seed funding in a round led by Singapore-based VC firms including Forge Ventures.

Deeptech-focused VC UntroD Capital Asia, seed investor Monk’s Hill Ventures, and Japanese gas and water supply construction firm Yamada Shokai Holding also participated in the round.

Blue Whale Energy installs sodium-ion batteries that can be recharged from clients’ existing rooftop solar panels, as pictured above. / Photo credit: Blue Whale Energy

A VPP is a network of distributed energy resources – like rooftop solar panels or, in the case of Blue Whale, battery systems installed in commercial and industrial buildings – that are integrated to work as a single power generator. To ensure these resources operate seamlessly together, the network is controlled by software.

As the world transitions to cleaner energy, VPPs – which often run on renewables – have become a notable alternative power source. In the US and Canada, VPPs rose to prominence as ancillary sources of their power grids during peak hours.

See also: Who’s really solving AI’s data center energy crisis in Asia?

Power grids usually resort to traditional energy sources like coal to meet high demand. For instance, about 95% of Singapore’s electricity supply comes from gas power plants.

That said, the city-state is implementing policies to transition to renewable energy sources. Blue Whale was recently named as one of the first pilot participants of the country’s VPP Regulatory Sandbox, which will run for two years.

Nanyang Technological University and SP Group, Singapore’s grid operator, are also part of the sandbox.

Battery-operated VPP

Blue Whale manufactures its own battery system, made with sodium-ion, in partnership with US-based battery maker Unigrid. Lim admits that sodium-ion batteries are 1.5x more expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts, but he believes they’re “safer” as they are less prone to thermal heating.

“We install our batteries on rooftops. The last thing we want to happen is for them to catch on fire,” Lim tells Tech in Asia.

These batteries are connected to Blue Whale’s proprietary energy management system and market integration software, which would allow the startup to charge and discharge any stored power by the batteries on demand.

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