KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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A Paola-based company is using artificial intelligence to transform how electrical grid infrastructure operates, with the potential to make the U.S. more energy self-sufficient and create thousands of local jobs.
Kodion Energy manufactures those green utility boxes you see outside homes and offices. Those are electrical transformers that connect buildings to the power grid.
CEO Joshua Okorie's company is doing something different as it puts AI technology into these critical pieces of infrastructure.
"The transformer is the most important infrastructure on the grid," Okorie said.
The company's transformers are equipped with AI-powered chips that can detect inefficiencies in energy systems before they cause power outages. The technology provides real-time data to both Kodion and users about how transformers are performing.
"Nobody really has good data on why this is happening, when it happens, and what it can do," Okorie said. "But, we're building a transformer that will give you the data."
Facility soldering technician Chance West works inside Kodion's Paola, Kansas, facility on the AI chips that serve as the transformer's "brain." These sophisticated components continuously monitor system performance.
"It will tell you everything you need to know, how that transformer is running, what you need to do to fix it," West said.
West admits that while he works in the business of electricity, he isn't a fan of electricity. His favorite part of Kodion's technology is its safety factors.
"It’s all hands-free," West said. "You have 12,000 kVA coming through a transformer; the last thing you want to do is get inside that transformer to have to do anything."
The technology allows users and Kodion to access comprehensive performance data in real time.
"You can see everything," Okorie said. "For us, this is transparent. We are openly showing the data to our customer. If our transmitter is failing, we want you to know it's failing. Right now, in other systems, there is no data; it just fails. We need to be able to have these data touch points."
Okorie, a Nigerian immigrant who grew up in an energy-deficient country, said his goal is to make the U.S. self-sufficient in energy systems. Much of the technology's influence is from engineers in his home country.
Amid the current trade war, Okorie is seeing greater demand for his product across the U.S., as the standard systems now used are imported from China, India, and Mexico.
The company's domestic manufacturing approach offers significant advantages over imported alternatives. While traditional transformer orders take 12 months to fulfill, Kodion delivers in four to six months and cuts out international shipping costs.
Kodion is under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to install transformer units on military bases on the West Coast.
Kodion is also building a system that will be on display at the Utility Expo trade show in Kentucky through one of its new partnerships with United Rentals.
To meet the growing demand, Kodion Energy, alongside the City of Paola, is working on a plan to build a 40,000-square-foot facility near its current location.
If all works as planned for Okorie, the goal is to break ground in October and, in nine months, open its new warehouse. He says it would bring 50 to 100 jobs in the area in its first week.
The demand is so high that Kodion is anticipating the creation of 2,000 jobs over the next decade and plans to move into a 100,000-square-foot facility.
"We’re gonna take off," West said. "It’s just a matter of time. I see it being a huge asset for this town."
Paola Mayor Leigh House sees the expansion as a perfect fit for the community.
"It's a business that we feel like could fit here. Fit what we're trying to do, fit our identity, and not change who Paola is, but make us better," House said.
Okorie believes the region is positioned for significant growth in the energy sector, especially with Panasonic's footprint just north of Kodion in De Soto, Kansas.
"To us, we want to bring in good-paying jobs," Okorie said. "Kansas east is shaping up to be an energy state. The Paola community has been so good to us and all of our partners. We really want to invest in this community. We are putting Paola on the map. The transmitters that are already energized in California have 'Paola, Kansas' on them, and I bet anyone who sees that had no idea where Paola was before."
Okorie says it has no plans to leave the Miami County area.
"Josh has been a great partner so far, and we’re looking forward to whatever the future holds," added House.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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