The Founder Taking on Tesla: Meet Tama Toki of Aotea Energy

Aotea Energy embodies the resilience and self-sufficiency of the island it is named after.

Ara Ake is New Zealand’s Future Energy Centre, with a mission to drive impactful change by supporting energy innovators through commercialisation support.

Our partnership with Aotea Energy reflects this commitment, helping to accelerate the development of battery systems that optimise energy use and enable surplus energy to be shared within communities. By supporting Aotea Energy, Ara Ake showcases how New Zealand innovation is delivering real solutions to global challenges.

Aotea Energy is paving the way for local economic growth while developing energy solutions that reduce consumer costs, strengthen regional energy resilience, and enhance sustainability.

Tama Toki grew up on Aotea, where generating and storing electricity was a way of life. "Aotea has no utility for power, so everyone there is super self-sufficient," he says. That kind of upbringing does something to a person. It sparks ideas, turns problem-solving into second nature, and in Toki’s case, sets the foundation for something game-changing: Aotea Energy, named after the Māori name for Great Barrier Island, a place that has long embodied self-reliance and sustainability.

"We had to put in a big energy bank for our manufacturing, and we realised we were generating way more power than we needed," Toki explains. "That’s when we thought, why not share it with the community?" Toki believes communities should be able to share power as naturally as they support each other in daily life. When one house has excess solar energy, it can be shared with a neighbour instead of going to waste.

That idea led to Aotea Energy, a name that reflects its deep connection to Aotea, a place where people have always had to harness their own resources. The peer-to-peer energy-sharing system puts power directly in the hands of communities, just as the island itself has empowered generations of its residents to be self-sufficient. It’s not just about making electricity, it’s about making electricity work smarter.

"We started with ten homes on Aotea, building the whole tech stack ourselves," he says. "It’s the only way to get this right." A real-world experiment in how people could share and trade energy, using smart technology to predict demand, track weather patterns, and sell surplus power when it makes sense. Toki sees potential for this idea to expand far beyond Aotea. New Zealand already runs on about 82% renewable energy, and Toki sees a future where it could become the world’s first fully renewable economy. Next, Aotea Energy’s system will be introduced in Auckland.

While big names like Tesla pull together components from various suppliers, "If you buy a battery from China and an inverter from Japan, they often don’t talk to each other," says Toki. "So we decided to build the whole system ourselves, batteries, software, everything." It’s building everything, ensuring every component works together seamlessly. This hands-on approach ensures greater efficiency, cost savings, and a system tailored for real-world use.

"We want to prove the unit economics first," he says. "There’s no point in raising a huge round until we know this works at scale." While many startups chase rapid growth, he’s playing the long game. Aotea Energy is largely self-funded, with support from the Māori Renewable Housing Fund and Ara Ake. The priority is making sure everything works perfectly before going big.

This year marks a major milestone for Aotea Energy. Commercial installations are happening, Auckland homes are getting connected, and the blueprint for nationwide expansion is coming together.

Aotea Energy embodies the resilience and self-sufficiency of the island it is named after, proving that innovation can come from necessity. Aotea Energy is solving a real problem that has long been overlooked. With its technology, Aotea Energy has the potential to redefine how communities produce and consume electricity. With a clear vision and momentum building, Aotea Energy is on track to make a lasting impact on New Zealand's energy landscape.