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Aleisha Cerny: Winning $100K at StartupFest and the Future of Fuel Cells

On July 10, I watched Serenity Power, a clean energy startup developing next-generation Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) technology win $100,000 at the Startupfest in Montreal.  After long months of preparation with the BBVA team, we sat down with Aleisha Reese Cerny, CEO and co-founder, to reflect on the win and dive deeper into her journey as a co-founder of a company that could quite possibly be the next big thing in the Clean-tech industry. 

Congratulations on winning the $100K Black Entrepreneur Investment Prize at StartupFest, that’s an incredible milestone! What was the experience like? 

Initially, I was overwhelmed and nervous. I was so nervous to pitch, even though I pitch every day on Zoom, but this was in person.  I observed the competition for a couple of hours and then dove into pitching.  During the first one, I saw Tomi Oyende (Operations Manager at BBVA) recording me and seeing her cheer me on calmed my nerves. By the fifth pitch, you know you get used to it. You get more confident in how you speak and the message you want to pass across.” 

I remember we just arrived at the Rep Matters cocktail event the next evening and then I got a first email that said, ‘you've just been shortlisted for the Top 10 of the $100,000 Student Entrepreneur Investment Prize’. I was like ‘Oh my god, I'm gonna be in the top 10 which means I might have to go on stage and so far I'd only spoken to an audience twice before. I felt in over my head,  so I thought I better go home and prepare. Then me and Tomi were talking and I got another email for the Best of Fest Investment Prize and Tomi was about to cry, she grabbed me and she was like, ‘Oh my god. I'm so proud of you’. The email said, 'you have to come to a private cocktail hour tonight in 30 minutes' and I thought “Oh no, I just want to go home and prepare so that I don't stumble on my words on stage!” and then finally we get the third email announcing that I had been shortlisted for the top 10 for Black Entrepreneurs Prize and it’s funny, that was the last email we got.

That's the one Tomi mentioned from the get go, the one that resonated the most for me, based on what I’d experienced during this journey, and that was the last one. The next day, I ended up making it into the Top 3 for all three prizes, and that’s when I was on stage pitching 3 more times and answering the final Q&A’s from the investors and judges.

From left to right: Aleisha Reese Cerny (Co-founder of Serenity Power), Ben Oguntimehin (Founder of WiDrive) and Henry Madubuobi (Founder of Wosler) at the finals for the $100k Black Entrepreneur Investment Prize.

What went through your mind when your name was announced as the winner, did you expect to win? 

When they announced my name I thought, odd, but also I was shocked because I didn’t  know how it  was going to go. I knew it was such a tough decision for the judges to make and you know they vote on this, one vote not in my favor could change everything so I had no expectations. I tried my best, it was for three different competitions, but it could go either way. Then when they announced my name with Henry's. It felt amazing because Tomi introduced Henry to me the first day and randomly we took a picture together. We all got dinner so we got to know each other and it felt so right, like it was supposed to happen. 

Aleisha Reese Cerny and Henry Madubuobi (StartupFest 2024 Black Entrepreneur Investment Prize Winners) on the first day of Startupfest.

How was the startup founded?  

Since 2018, I’ve been studying fuel cell technology, and got an internship to do research during my undergrad. I wanted to continue learning, so I started my masters in January 2021 and that same semester was in a fuel cell course at University of Toronto, where I met Yvonne Liu, our COO and Yifei Yan (PH.D) who's our CTO. It was an online Zoom class, and every time it would end, it was just us left to ask questions. Yifei was helping me with my research on testing my hydrogen fuel cells, and so we got to know each other well, and then Yvonne was working with Yifei separately; we were both working on different research. Fast forward to 2023, I get a phone call from Yvonne, and she's like 'Hey, do you want to start a company?’'

Aleisha Reese Cerny working at a University of Toronto lab.

What sets Serenity Power apart?

What sets us apart is that the conventional systems that have been developed are a lot more complex and heavy. They're like two and a half meters high and for a 300 kilowatt system which is a standard power size, the total weight is about 15,000 kg. Each unit takes up a parking spot, and for 300 kW, imagine 8 parking spots. With ours, we are making that much simpler so we don't need the same equipment or processing that conventional systems require which really helps to shrink down the size and weight so ours will be much more compact and lightweight, which unlocks the applications for portable and mobile power. 

Where do you see the future of transportation energy going in the next 10–15 years? 

Solid oxide fuel cells could be great for transportation in the future, but I think that for an effective clean energy transition to work, it's going to be about working together and it's gonna look like a mix of different technologies -not just one solution.

For example, vehicles using batteries have been improved to be light enough for passenger vehicles, but for heavy-duty trucks batteries can't work because of the longer charging times. These trucks haul 80,000 pounds of goods, and to climb hills, you’d need an enormous number of batteries, which are heavy. So, an alternative like fuel cells, whether that’s hydrogen or an SOFC, could be a viable solution due to the longer range, faster refuelling, and avoidance of massive battery packs. 

But then again hydrogen fuel cells require pure hydrogen and in Canada, we only have one public station in Toronto and four stations in BC. There are existing natural gas lines and infrastructure ready to go in North America. For example, in the USA, they have around  1600 natural gas refuelling stations. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells could be great for transportation in the future, but I think that for things to work, it's to be working together. It's gonna be a mix of different technologies and it's not going to be one single solution.

What’s Next for Serenity Power?

Right now, our head is purely in the bushes of building the technology... We needed funding to make our minimum viable product (MVP) to show partners, customers, and investors. We have around $300,000 secured and need around $800,000. It’s been two years since this idea started, with seven months of really good growth and momentum. If we want to see this technology out there soon, we have to make moves, and we have to do what's best for the company. Right now, that's moving to Alberta, where clean tech is growing, and where the customers, funding, and partnerships are. We're excited, and we know that if we just continue on this path that we will be able to accelerate and have the technology hopefully ready by Summer 2026 for our pilots.

What would you say to people who aspire to be in your shoes? 

I would tell them you just have to keep going. That’s the advice I got from so many folks I spoke to when I was trying to learn more about how to actually do this . When they ask me how I am and I say I’m not doing well, I’m on a roller coaster, they say 'Just keep going, don’t think about it. There’s so much out of your control, but there’s so much power in what we can do every day'. One day, it happens, like Startupfest, that culmination of what you’ve been working on. If you give up, you’ll never get to see it. The journey’s hard enough, but it can be easier if you’re around like-minded folks. Sometimes we all feel crazy for doing this, so having others who are just as crazy helps. That’s why organisations like BBVA, RepMatters, and Startupfest, that bring those people together, are game changers.

Aleisha’s passion and pure, genuine drive to make this vision a reality are remarkable to witness. She gives many thanks to the BBVA team especiallly CEO, Dipo Alli, for inviting her as a delegate for this fest, supporting and challenging her to put up a fight for Serenity Power.

She concludes the interview with a widely known African quote, “If you want to build fast, do it alone; if you want to build strong, do it together”.

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