Inc. 2017 30 Under 30

The founders of Modern Electron are on a mission to change how electricity is generated and distributed. The Seattle-based startup is betting that a modern reinvention of the power grid, based on technology protected by 14 patents (with 20 more pending), will democratize the energy landscape.

“We live in a world that expects a constant supply of electricity, and this demand for power is becoming increasingly mobilized and off-grid,” says 27-year-old co-founder and CTO Max Mankin. “Yet power plants haven’t evolved in over 100 years to meet this changing demand.”

Modern Electron’s solutions stem from cutting-edge developments in manufacturing and engineering. Investors find the vision compelling enough to have funded Modern Electron with $10.4 million in venture capital. Describing the company’s inventions, Mankin said, “These devices can be mass-manufactured at much lower cost than competing generators on the market, because they leverage the same supply chains as semiconductor chips. This type of device will become ubiquitous given its low cost and how well it scales to low power levels like those used in homes or neighborhoods.”