For years, the promise of an all-electric home has shimmered on the horizon, a beacon of cleaner living and energy independence.
Yet, for countless homeowners and particularly apartment dwellers, that promise has remained frustratingly out of reach, ensnared by the tangled web of costly electrical upgrades.
The mere thought of ripping out drywall, rerunning wires, and overhauling an entire electrical panel has been enough to deter even the most eco-conscious among us, turning a noble ambition into an intimidating construction project.
But what if the path to an electrified kitchen wasn’t a demolition derby, but a simple appliance swap?
Enter Copper, a startup born from the innovative mind of Sam Calisch, an MIT alumnus with a clear vision for accelerating our energy transition.
Calisch, SM ’14, PhD ’19, and his team have unveiled a battery-equipped kitchen range that plugs into any standard 120-volt wall outlet.
This seemingly minor tweak to an everyday appliance is, in fact, a seismic shift in the electrification landscape, removing one of the most significant barriers to entry.
No more electricians, no more permits, no more dust and disruption – just the effortless exchange of an old gas stove for a sleek, modern induction range.
At the heart of Copper’s innovation lies a sophisticated lithium iron phosphate battery, discreetly integrated into the induction range.
This battery intelligently charges itself when electricity is cheapest and cleanest, often during off-peak hours or when renewable energy sources are abundant.
Then, when the dinner bell rings and power demand spikes, it seamlessly delivers the necessary energy for cooking, circumventing the need for a heavy-duty electrical connection.
“We’re making ‘going electric’ like an appliance swap instead of a construction project,” Calisch explains, highlighting the profound simplicity that unlocks electrification for millions.
This is particularly transformative for the dense urban fabric of apartment buildings, where rewiring hundreds of units is not just expensive, but often logistically impossible.
Copper has already shipped approximately 1,000 of these ranges, with a landmark agreement in place for at least 10,000 units with the New York City Housing Authority – a testament to its scalable potential.
But Copper’s vision extends far beyond the individual kitchen.
The true genius of their approach lies in its systemic impact.
Picture a network of thousands of these appliances, each a small but mighty energy reservoir.
Copper is already demonstrating this capability, having piloted a program in California where its home batteries contributed clean power back to the grid during periods of surging demand, effectively preventing the need to fire up polluting gas-powered plants.
“We can manage the fleet of batteries to help provide firm power and help grids deliver more clean electricity,” Calisch asserts, revealing a future where our homes are not just passive consumers but active, resilient participants in the energy network.
The revenue generated from these grid services, in turn, helps to further drive down the cost of electrification, creating a virtuous cycle.
Calisch’s journey to founding Copper is as compelling as the technology itself.
His career has been singularly focused on climate solutions, beginning at the clean technology incubator Otherlab and continuing through his graduate studies at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms.
His multidisciplinary background, encompassing software, mechanical, and electrical engineering, equipped him with the holistic perspective needed to tackle complex challenges.
After his PhD, he even co-founded Rewiring America, a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for electrification, where his work influenced the Inflation Reduction Act.
He recognized the exponential decline in lithium-ion battery costs – a staggering 97 percent reduction since their commercial debut – and the convergence of manufacturing around an “electric tech stack.”
Copper, for Calisch, is a strategic play to both deploy batteries and foster a robust supply chain, all while making electrification tangible and accessible.
The choice of the kitchen range as Copper’s initial product is no accident.
It represents one of the highest peak power draws in the home, and flattening that peak offers significant benefits.
Moreover, the kitchen range holds a unique place in our homes and hearts – a focal point for gathering, cooking, and daily life.
People take pride in their ranges, far more than, say, a water heater.
Beyond the grid benefits, Copper’s 30-inch induction range offers a superior cooking experience, heating faster and more precisely than its gas counterparts.
And in a world increasingly prone to power outages, the integrated 5-kilowatt-hour battery ensures that dinner can still be made, even when the lights go out.
“It’s a new notion of climate impact that isn’t about turning down thermostats and suffering for the planet, it’s about adopting new technologies that are better,” Calisch passionately states, reframing climate action as an enhancement of life, not a sacrifice.
Looking ahead, Calisch envisions a future where distributed batteries are indispensable for a resilient energy system, drawing an analogy to the internet’s reliance on local storage and caching to boost throughput.
Copper recently secured $28 million to scale its production and is actively pursuing licensing agreements with other appliance manufacturers, aiming to accelerate the electric transition across the industry.
“We are not an appliance company; we’re an energy company,” Calisch declares, underscoring the broader mission.
His MIT education, he reflects, provided him with both the technical fluency to engage with diverse engineering teams and an “expansive view of infrastructure,” seeing homes not just as electricity consumers, but as dynamic participants in a vast, interconnected energy ecosystem.
Copper isn’t just selling stoves; it’s laying the groundwork for a more resilient, cleaner, and fundamentally better way of living.
By removing the friction from home electrification, it’s inviting millions to join a silent revolution, one kitchen at a time, proving that the path to a sustainable future can indeed be paved with everyday convenience.
