Following the start of grid interconnection in September 2023, the 25MW/100MWh EVx GESS in Rudong achieved full interconnection after the completion of the final 4km 35kV overhead power line to a remote end substation, as planned with local state grid authorities.

Upon final provincial and state approvals for the start of commercial operation to the state grid, the Rudong EVx will be the world’s first commercial, utility-scale non-pumped hydro gravity energy storage system.

The announcement comes alongside the announcement of new EVx projects between Energy Vault and partners China Tianying and Atlas Renewable on three projects, which commenced in 2023, including:

• 17MW/68MWh EVx GESS deployment in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, being built adjacent to a renewable energy generation site and a national grid interconnection site;
• 50MW/200MWh EVx located in Ziuquan City, Jinta County, Gansu Province;
• 25 MW/100 MWh EVx located in Huailai Cunrui Town, Zhangjiakou County, Hebei Province

The latter two projects were previously announced alongside four other deployments in China and are being built adjacent to renewable energy generation and national grid interconnection sites.

Upon completion, the systems will augment and support the ongoing balancing of China’s national energy grid through the storage and delivery of renewable energy.

“I am pleased to see the increased market adoption of Energy Vault’s gravity energy storage technology in China, the world’s largest energy storage market supported by the new project groundbreaking announcements and other milestones within China’s national energy policy framework for energy storage,” said Robert Piconi, chairman and chief executive officer of Energy Vault, in a release.

Have you read:
ABB and Gravitricity partner on gravity energy storage systems
First grid-scale gravity energy storage system commissioned to Chinese grid

China & gravity energy storage pilots

The Rudong and Zhangye City EVx systems were recently selected and announced formally as part of a list of projects with the classification of “new energy storage pilot demonstration projects” by China’s National Energy Administration (NEA).

Projects selected as demonstration pilots receive increased management oversight by provincial-level energy authorities, supporting progress on construction, data reporting, compliance and safety measures, among other issues of focus.

According to Energy Vault, this highlights the substantial surge in demand for renewable energy sources and emphasises the role of gravity energy storage in China’s path to decarbonisation.

China’s energy policies now require renewable energy plants to integrate storage of 20% of their nameplate generation capacity, with at least a two to four-hour duration.

These energy storage durations are expected to increase over time as more renewable energy generation becomes a larger percentage of grid power.

Andrea Pedretti, Energy Vault’s chief technology officer, said: “Having just spent the last few days in Rudong at the EVx site, I continue to be impressed with the local technical, R&D and construction expertise brought by China Tianying and their partners.

“Coupled with their internal and local manufacturing capabilities for all of the mechanical systems, we have a great partner to rapidly deploy our EVx and broader gravity energy storage technology in China.”

With the announcements, Energy Vault’s partners, CNTY and Atlas Renewable, now have nine EVx GESS deployments underway in China totalling 3.7GWh, each of which will generate future project revenue royalties for Energy Vault.

To enable the integration, PowerPod is to use the community run blockchain from peaq as the layer 1 backbone.

PowerPod’s initiative is founded on the lack of available EV charging infrastructure, reportedly putting off around one-third of prospective buyers, according to the company.

To fill this gap, PowerPod is proposing to tap the thousands of private chargers already installed by existing EV owners to open them up for other drivers and for which they also would be rewarded.

Have you read?
Digital identities for ‘trust’ in Germany’s energy system
Researchers tackle the biggest problems facing electric vehicles

PowerPod reports currently building a platform and an app to enable the interactions and also is working on a range of hardware devices, including a smart charger adapter, a charger and a travel adapter for charging from regular sockets.

These devices will be outfitted with the peaq self-sovereign identities to enable them to connect with the blockchain, which also is to be leveraged for storage of charging session data, transactions handling and the token-based reward scheme for users.

“The DePIN model is perfect for unleashing the full capacity of the electric vehicle industry,” says Ting, Singapore-based co-founder at PowerPod.

“Through leveraging Web3, PowerPod empowers people globally to contribute to a more sustainable future while also capitalising on existing charging infrastructure. The DePIN-focused functionalities and economic framework offered by peaq will expedite our development and deployment significantly.”

The peaq layer-1 blockchain is aimed to enable anyone to build dApps (decentralised applications) and DePINs that can leverage real world assets to create what amounts to an ‘economy of things’.

Use cases to date out of more than 50 suggested by peaq include car sharing, location mapping and community wifi hotspot implementation with users listed on the website including Bosch, Airbus and NT among others.

Till Wendler, co-founder of peaq, says the smart mobility industry has been displaying a lot of excitement about Web3.

“It’s thrilling to see PowerPod use the DePIN model to close a vital gap for the electric vehicle market while also giving individuals more ownership in its hardware backbone. We are certain that PowerPod will bring new value and opportunities for the entire ecosystem.”

As part of their commitment to green development and reducing energy consumption in China’s aluminium industry, Chalco initiated a digital demonstration project for their Zhongrun Aluminium Factory.

They retained SAMI to apply digital twin technology throughout the design, construction, operations and maintenance of the plant.

The data and multiple disciplines spread across 52 sub-projects presented data integration and coordination issues. To accurately link 300GB of design and construction data with a 3D model to manage the facility, SAMI needed open modelling technology and a connected data environment.

SAMI selected Bentley applications to develop an enterprise digital factory management platform and build the aluminium industry’s first plant-wide digital twin. Bentley’s integrated applications reduced modeling time by 15%, saving more than 200 workdays.

Digitised factory operations reduced annual management costs by CNY 6 million (approximately €775,684; $820,000), unpredictable equipment failures by 40% and environmental emissions by 5%.

Have you read:
TwinEU to create European electricity grid digital twin
Aspern smart city grid to be modelled with digital twin

When the project started, what were some of the challenges it wanted to address?

The design time for the project was very short, we’d need six months and there were many units, 52 of them, as well as 15 areas of specialisation that we needed to synergise.

This brought into question the first issue we had to address – how do we use this digital technology to design a complete factory model?

Additionally, the construction time for the project, 18 months, was very short, especially in China. This was the second challenge – how do we improve construction efficiency and quality with digital twin technology?

The third challenge came as a result of how, being such a huge project with so many production units, there was a lot of documents and immense amounts of data.

Which brought the questions – how do we integrate these data and the models and create a digital outcome for the owner, so that the property owner can check this for operations and maintenance later.

What were some of the systems that were implemented during the project and what were their results?

We used all of Bentley’s professional modules, software that was customised to resolve specific issues we may have had. The 3D design is useful in that it can involve all the disciplines.

We have our own database with data that is automatically generated so when we do the modelling it is fully attributed.

Thirdly, we have a dedicated engineering designer use the Bentley power PID software, which we use to match codes to assets, this programme’s code is like a person’s ID. This code is not created by a human but rather by the Bentley software, because the amount of data that needs to be coded is incredibly big.

During construction, we made use of software to control our progress very precisely.

With the 3D modelling, we conduct reviews and inspections and optimise our design solutions. This is done to reduce space used, which will be needed later during upgrades. This efficiency allows for more space for operations, equipment and maintenance.

With digital technology, we developed an unmanned system for hidden facilities inspection, including an underground pipeline, which allows us to very quickly identify which part of the pipeline might have issues.

We integrated with VR technology to provide training for emergency response and emergency evacuation. The VR proved a very intuitive way of doing these tasks, which can otherwise take more manpower and time than necessary.

Lastly, we have a digital twin of the full factory model where we can quickly look at the factory, the main facilities, the status of energy consumption, the environment’s status and the positioning of people and vehicles. The company’s ERP (enterprise resource planning) can also be inputted into this as well.

What do you see as the future of digital twins in the sector?

To completely remove the necessity of having human beings physically be in the factory to operate.

This could be done through a display console and terminal where we can read and access key data of the factory. And in the future, as AR technologies evolve, this could also allow for more precise forecasting of production, allowing for us to more accurately control conditions and materials to make sure that my output is consistent.

This is a big future goal – full remotely controlled operations. Right now, in the key areas, it can already be done.

What do you think would be a timeline for making that happen?

Let’s look at it this way: To get from traditional 2D designs and drawings to 3D, it took us three years.

From 3D to digital construction and deliverables, we took approximately five years.

But getting to the next stage, where property owners of the plant can take this tech and use it, where everything can be remotely controlled, it still depends on the development of artificial intelligence.

I’d like to say five years but it depends.

But, like I said before, in key areas, it can already be done. It can be done in terms of equipment, where we can already do unmanned, remotely controlled inspections to observe a lot of key information about the factory and its operations.

And this alone has already disrupted our traditional ways of factory management.

Shenyang’s Liu and his team won the award within the power and process generation category during the Bentley Year in Infrastructure and Going Digital Awards 2023, hosted in Singapore.

Other categories included transmission & distribution, bridge & tunnels, subsurface modelling & analysis, surveying & modelling, water & wastewater, structural engineering, roads & highways, rail & transit, construction, enterprise engineer and facilities, campuses & cities.

The shift from estimated billing to prepaid meters has not only gained the trust of water utility customers but has also led to a range of positive outcomes for both consumers and service providers.

One of the key drivers in the adoption of prepaid water meter billing has been the customer demand for transparency and control over their water consumption.

Many customers who were not yet connected to the traditional billing system have actively requested prepaid meters, as they prefer the ability to pay for the water they consume.

This shift has empowered customers to monitor and manage their water usage, leading to conscious efforts to reduce or completely eliminate wastage in their households.

With the ability to track their consumption in real-time, customers have become more mindful of their water usage, thereby contributing to the conservation of water resources.

In addition to empowering consumers, the transition to prepaid water meter billing has also proved to be beneficial for water utility companies.

By encouraging efficient water use among customers, utility companies have seen a reduction in overall water wastage, ultimately conserving water resources.

This has enabled these companies to serve more customers while experiencing an increase in revenues.

The ability to accurately measure and charge for water consumption has not only improved the financial performance of water utility companies but has also allowed them to better allocate resources to serve their expanding customer base.

While the advantages of prepaid water meter billing are evident, the scale-up of smart water meters in operations has been hindered by financial limitations faced by water utility companies.

Despite the demand from customers, the paucity of funds has posed a challenge to the widespread implementation of this innovative billing system.

As a result, water utility companies are looking to manufacturers of smart water meters to develop strategic marketing options that can facilitate the penetration of these meters into market.

Read more news from LAISON

LAISON makes strides in this regard. LAISON has catered to the preferences and requirements of water utility customers by offering convenient vending options, including online payments.

This has made it possible for customers to purchase water at their convenience, enhancing their overall experience with the metering system.

Moreover, LAISON has provided strong technical support to water utility companies, ensuring proactive problem-solving and maintenance, which has further solidified the trust between the utility companies and their customers.

In light of the demand for prepaid water meter billing and the potential for widespread adoption, manufacturers like LAISON have the opportunity to play a pivotal role in driving the market for smart water meters.

Through strategic marketing initiatives and continued innovation, these manufacturers can contribute to the realization of a more efficient and sustainable water management system in the country.

As the demand for prepaid water meter billing continues to grow and gain traction among customers, it is essential for water utility companies and manufacturers to collaborate in overcoming the financial constraints that impede the widespread adoption of smart water meters.

By leveraging the benefits of prepaid metering systems and addressing the funding limitations, both parties can work towards realizing a more efficient, transparent, and customer-centric water billing infrastructure across the nation.

In conclusion, the migration from estimated billing to prepaid water meter billing systems has ushered in a positive transformation in the water utility sector.

Customers have embraced the control and transparency offered by prepaid meters, leading to a conscious effort to conserve water and eliminate wastage.

Water utility companies have benefited from improved revenues and resources, as they strive to meet the increasing demands of their customer base.

With strategic collaborations and innovative marketing approaches, manufacturers like LAISON have the opportunity to further facilitate the widespread adoption of smart water meters, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and efficient water management ecosystem.

Through the recommendations, the NDRC calls on the establishment of a technical standard system for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) interaction by 2025, by when charging peak and time-of-use electricity prices should be fully implemented.

The specific reform recommendations include:

1. Promote research on core technologies of V2G interaction, by:

• Increasing efforts to research key technologies for power batteries
• Developing a reliable, flexible and low energy consumption V2G interaction system architecture and bidirectional charging and discharging equipment
• Researching key technologies for grid-friendly charging and battery stations, as well as technologies for accurate prediction and aggregated control of distributed V2G interaction
• Strengthening research on key technologies for V2G interaction information exchange and information security.

2. Accelerate the establishment of a V2G interaction standard system, by:

• Developing and revising national and industry standards related to V2G interaction
• Formulating and revising key technical standards for charging and discharging equipment and technical specifications, vehicle-pile communications, grid-connected operation, two-way metering, charging and discharging safety protection, information security and other key technical standards in two-way charging and discharging scenarios by the end of 2025
• Improving the standard supporting testing and certification system while promoting the implementation of intelligent and orderly charging standard requirements in vehicle production access and charging pile production, installation and acceptance.

3. Optimise supporting electricity prices and market mechanisms, by:

• Encouraging the formulation of independent peak-valley time-of-use electricity price policies for charging facilities with strong load guiding capabilities
• Fully applying residential peak-valley time-of-use electricity prices for charging by the end of 2025
• Studying and exploring the pricing mechanism for the discharge of EVs and charging stations to the power grid.
• Establishing and improving V2G interactive resource aggregation to participate in demand side management and market transaction mechanisms
• Encouraging bidirectional charging and discharging facilities to participate in pilot demonstrations of the power market through resource aggregation.

Have you read:
Power sector measures key for smart charging in emerging economies states IEA
Sweden’s Polestar launches vehicle to grid and virtual power plant projects

4. Carry out demonstrations of two-way charging and discharging models that integrate new energy vehicles, by

• Encouraging power grid enterprises to jointly carry out two-way charging and discharging pilot projects with charging companies, vehicle companies, etc. in residential communities.

5. Improve the interaction level of battery charging and swapping facilities, by:

• Promoting intelligent and orderly charging facilities
• Establishing and improving the smart and orderly charging management system and process for residential communities while clarifying the responsibilities and rights of power grid companies, third-party platform companies, new energy vehicle users and other parties
• Encouraging power grid enterprises to cooperate with charging operators to establish an efficient interaction mechanism
• Exploring and studying power access capacity assessment methods and related standards and specifications for different types of intelligent and orderly charging and swapping facilities
• Encouraging charging operators to build integrated PV, storage and charging stations according to local conditions to promote the integrated development of transportation and energy.

6. Systematically strengthen support capabilities of power grid enterprises, by:

• Incorporating V2G interaction into power demand side management
• Supporting power grid enterprises to carry out V2G interactive management in combination with new power load management systems
• Improving power grid demand side management and power regulation platform functions to provide basic support and technical services for V2G interactive aggregation transactions
• Accelerating the improvement of V2G interactive supporting grid connection, metering, protection control and information exchange requirements and technical specifications
• Optimising power grid clearing and settlement mechanisms and supporting V2G interactive load aggregators to directly participate in the clearing and settlement of the power market.

According to research from the International Energy Agency, in 2022, China accounted for 60% of global electric car sales, maintaining its dominance in the sector.

They add that more than half of the electric cars on roads worldwide are now in China, with the country already exceeding its 2025 target for new energy vehicle sales.

And with the increase in EV uptake, demand will continue to rise similarly on the power grid, necessitating better integrated V2G planning.

Through the announcement, the NDRC stated they will work alongside the country’s National Energy Administration and relevant departments to implement the above reform recommendations.

Electricity demand is growing fast, while new charging loads, as well as distributed energy resources, are making the grid more complex. The resulting bidirectional power flows and fluctuating demand patterns require more real-time visibility for LV networks.

New generation smart meters are essential for improving the visibility of the LV network, as they act as distributed intelligent sensors providing real-time data on energy consumption, enabling remote monitoring of network performance and integration of renewable energy sources.

The newest additions to Gridspertise’s portfolio, the Globy smart meter and the LV Grid Monitoring and Control suite, are the perfect allies to meet these challenges.

What differentiates the Globy from other Gridspertise smart meters?

Globy is a flexible device that not only helps DSOs to tackle the challenges of LV grids with bi-directional energy measurement, advanced management of technical parameters, power quality measurement and load shedding functionalities but is also adaptable to different contexts and communication protocols – hence its name.

It allows DSOs to switch or adapt the communication technology directly in the field, choosing the most appropriate from a range of protocols (including G3 Hybrid PLC and RF Mesh, Cellular LTE-M and NB-IoT). In this way, Globy can improve coverage and connectivity also in rural areas with weak signals.

This smart meter is interoperable according to DLMS international standards, so it can work with third party vendor solutions and integrate backwards with existing installations, breaking down technology constraints related to proprietary frameworks and vendor-specific ecosystems.

Our offer is completed by a Head-End System (HES) and Meter Data Management System (MDMS), as well as a range of services and activities with a Metering as a Service approach.

Globy is just the latest addition to our portfolio, but it testifies to our decades of expertise in grid digitalization, recently demonstrated by the milestone of delivering 100 million smart meters.

What are the main features of the new solution for LV Grid Monitoring and Control?

The new solution consists of a suite of hardware and software solutions for LV grid monitoring and control.

It includes a new smaller version of Gridspertise’s iconic Quantum Edge® device, which integrates in one single solution several use cases related to the MV/LV distribution substation. Its virtualisation technology allows it to act as an interoperable meter data concentrator, an RTU and a virtual router.

The solution integrates several merging units to monitor the status of the transformer and LV feeders, as well as other environmental parameters.

It can be integrated with our Low-Voltage Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (LV SCADA) platform that improves visibility on the real-time status of the LV grid and enables remote control functions without field intervention.

It also offers real-time data and measurements from the different components of the LV grid, and its connection to GIS helps DSOs to design a geographic map of the MV and LV networks.

Running operations in the field helps reduce paper-based management, while increasing efficiency.

What are the energy scenarios in which Globy and Low Voltage Grid Monitoring and Control can be applied and how do they fit into Gridspertise’s strategy?

Historically, the topology for distribution grids has not often been completely known – in particular, the segment from the secondary substation to its downstream LV network. Now, DSOs’ interest has shifted from high and medium voltage monitoring towards real-time visibility for LV networks, to improve grid reliability and quality of service while reducing overall costs. 

These solutions are suited for areas with a higher presence of renewables, a trend happening worldwide and in Europe especially in Germany, the south of Europe and the Nordics. Our presence in this area will grow, also thanks to the recent acquisition of Aidon.

About Ilaria Sabatello

Ilaria Sabatello is Head of Marketing at Gridspertise, responsible for market and competitive analysis, solutions portfolio strategy, as well as marketing and go-to-market strategy at global level. She has a proven track record in strategic marketing, communications, B2B / B2C product management and innovation, developed during a 15-year long journey at Enel Group, one of the leading Utilities worldwide.

About Gridspertise
Set up in 2021 and jointly controlled by Enel and CVC, Gridspertise offers grid intelligent devices, end-to-end cloud-edge platform solutions and services to accelerate the digital transformation of electricity distribution grids. Its portfolio easily integrates with DSOs’ existing infrastructure, combining intelligent and automated grid devices with ready-to-use modular applications, running at central level and on the edge.

Automating renewable energy certificate transactions – EDF demonstrates proof-of-concept

EDF, working together with renewable energy certificate (REC) solution provider REDEX and Web3 specialist Rekursive Labs, has developed a proof-of-concept that has the potential to revolutionise the REC market by streamlining its efficiency, transparency and verification.

The solution, which utilises Hedera’s open-source distributed ledger technology platform, enables end consumers to retire small quantities of RECs in real time, indicative that they care about how the power they consume is being produced.

Specifically, the proof-of-concept used EDF’s MASERA Microgrid demonstrator in Singapore to demonstrate the automatic redemption of tokenised RECs at electric vehicle charging stations.

Have you read?
eFORT project to enhance European grid resilience
Now is the time to get serious about Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

The initiative involved collecting data from multiple sources, including solar panels, generators and energy storage systems, to calculate the rate of green energy production into the grid. This data was then matched in near-real time with the energy consumed by electric vehicle chargers to ensure that the certified green energy usage perfectly matched the actual consumption at the charging stations, down to the watt-hour.

In addition, EDF provided the possibility for the customer to adjust the amount of energy to be certified for each individual charging session.

Edouard Lavillonniere, Managing Director at EDF Lab Asia Pacific said: “Our commitment to sustainability aligns perfectly with the vision of a greener future enabled by distributed ledger technology. We are shaping a future where renewable energy adoption is streamlined, transparent and accessible to all.”

As a concept RECs are simple as an instrument to trace power consumption to renewable energy sources and as such offer the most convenient and practical way for companies to achieve Scope 2 neutrality. This is driving the number of RECs issued and retired to more than double year on year in a market estimated at $19 billion globally.

EDF and its partners now intend to further refine the solution, develop new use cases and offer automated REC services to other producers and consumers of renewable energy globally.

Matching energy consumption to accelerate decarbonisation

The concept of matching energy consumption with clean energy on a real time or at least near real time basis is discussed in a new study from Eurelectric and power purchase agreement (PPA) specialist Pexapark, which describes it as “one of the most impactful ways for corporates to accelerate the energy systems’ decarbonisation”.

Such 24/7 hourly matching yields multiple benefits from increasing corporate sustainability claims’ transparency, thanks to more granular carbon accounting, to incentivising investments in renewables and storage technologies, to decarbonising and digitalising the power grid, states the study.

Large energy consumers typically report their carbon emissions based on their annual energy consumption. However, the respective RECs, often from projects located far from the consumption, do not account for the actual energy source physically consumed at a specific time and may instead come from a grid mix that includes fossil fuel-generated electricity.

With 24/7 hourly matching, a given volume of electricity demand is matched with an equivalent volume of carbon-free energy generated and injected on the same grid and at the same time.

Marianne Karu, Business and Communication Director at Eurelectric, describes 24/7 as the next level in corporates’ commitments to decarbonisation.

“Most importantly, it is a powerful driver of innovation and investments into clean, renewable and storage technologies as well as an opportunity to better hedge consumers wishing to reduce their exposure to volatile spot energy markets.”

The study was undertaken to investigate the hedging implications on a corporate’s energy sourcing strategy with a 24/7 PPA compared with a conventional PPA, with its closer matching of supply and demand.

Looking at two different case studies in Germany and Finland with combinations of technologies, Eurelectric and Pexapark found that higher hourly matching provides greater absolute hedging benefits. In Finland particularly, an electricity consumer using 10MW of baseload power in 2022 could have saved over €14 million with a 90% hourly matched PPA.

The study also found that during periods of high prices, the benefits of hedging are much higher than hedging costs and that hybrid wind and solar portfolios are able to achieve higher levels of hourly matching – up to 75% – while maintaining a consistent hedging benefit.

Thus the existing clean and renewable technologies are already enough for corporates to embark on the 24/7 PPA journey.

This year, Enlit Asia 2023 was even more exceptional as it was held in partnership with the 78th Indonesia National Electricity Day.

It was a 3-day event which consisted of CEO Dialogue, Energy Leaders Forum, Power Grid & Power Generation Summit Streams, Hydrogen & Ammonia Symposium, and more. The event provided opportunities for delegates to keep up to date with industry developments, explore a wide range of products & technologies, and network and interact with key players in the power and energy sector.

For the STS Association, Enlit Asia 2023 was more than just an event; it was a valuable platform to connect with a diverse spectrum of industry players. Most importantly, it was a rare chance to meet our international members face-to-face.

Read more news from STS Association

This year we also introduced a new interactive stand that facilitated many conversations with existing and prospective members. The interactive elements enhanced the overall experience for visitors and gave us the opportunity to showcase our innovative service offering, making our stand a hub of engagement.

We would like to thank everyone that visited our stand and special shoutout to the organizers for a such a seamlessly organized event with incredible service excellence. From polite and service-oriented people to efficient service providers always ready to assist and solve any challenge.

For more information about the STS Smart Metering, please visit our website at www.sts.org.za

Written by STSA

The Standard Transfer Specification (STS) has become recognized as the only globally accepted open standard for prepayment systems, ensuring interoperability between system components from different manufacturers of prepayment systems.

Hangzhou, China – 17 November, 2023. The delegation, comprising key representatives from the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association, engaged in insightful discussions with LAISON’s leadership, fostering a deeper understanding of mutual goals and aspirations.

The seminar served as a platform for LAISON to introduce tailor-made solutions for the Vietnamese market. Highlighting innovations such as the PARISE LoRa STS Prepaid Smart Water Meter Solution, PARISE IoT Online STS Prepaid Smart Water Meter Solution, and Ultrasonic Smart Water Meters, LAISON showcased its commitment to addressing key concerns in the water sector. The company’s offerings aim to mitigate Non-Revenue Water (NRW), enhance revenue streams, and optimize operational efficiency.

The seminar also featured a presentation of LAISON’s hardware and software solutions, including the HDMS system, accompanied by real-world case studies that provided attendees with a comprehensive understanding of the products. The Vietnamese water utility representatives expressed keen interest, signaling a potential avenue for future collaborations.

“As a provider of smart water metering solutions, LAISON remains dedicated to continuous innovation, riding the global wave of smart metering trends,” stated Clark Dai, Deputy Manager at LAISON. “This successful seminar not only deepens our understanding of the Vietnamese market but also paves the way for mutually beneficial partnerships, helping us expand our global footprint and elevate our brand recognition.”

Read more news from LAISON

The seminar aligns with LAISON’s core philosophy of riding the global tide in smart metering. It is expected to facilitate further exploration of the Vietnamese market, tapping into its unique demands and opportunities.

Japanese tech major Hitachi received the order from Transmission and Distribution IT & OT Systems LLC for a complete set of their load dispatching system, otherwise known as the System.

The System is being deployed by nine of ten domestic Japanese grid operators in the Transmission and Distribution IT & OT Systems LLC, a joint venture established in September 2023 by 10 domestic power transmission and distribution companies in the country.

The System will standardise a load dispatching system for each area under the jurisdiction of the joint venture’s member operators, excluding the Okinawa area.

Transmission and Distribution IT & OT Systems currently consists of:

• Hokkaido Electric Power Network
• Tohoku Electric Power Network
• TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) Power Grid
• Chubu Electric Power Grid
• Hokuriku Electric Power Transmission & Distribution Company
• Kansai Transmission and Distribution
• Chugoku Electric Power Transmission & Distribution Company
• Shikoku Electric Power Transmission & Distribution Company
• Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution
• The Okinawa Electric Power Company, which will not be deploying the System

Have you read:
Octopus Energy gamifies load reduction with Octoplus rewards scheme
US energy aggregators tout milestones in helping utilities achieve flexible load

The System will perform a wide-area Load Frequency Control (LFC) function that will be introduced for the first time in Japan, as well as optimisation calculations for nationwide generator start-stop planning and supply and demand control.

Hitachi will build the system by utilising its experience in Japan alongside Hitachi Energy’s package, Network Manager.

Until now, Japan’s load dispatching system, which serves to balance demand and supply, had been developed by the transmission and distribution companies in each area.

In announcing the contract, Hitachi cites how, as grid operations continue to become more complex, there is a need to develop a platform that is scalable, flexible and transparent for future regulation changes and can be commonly used by all operators to achieve improved resilience and social cost reduction.

Against this, the nine power companies decided to standardise their systems, contracting Hitachi.

“Hitachi has continuously contributed to stable operations of social infrastructures in various fields by amalgamating its IT, OT and products. In this project, we aim to realise a national scale power interchange system by synergising the capabilities of Hitachi’s BUs (business units) and Hitachi Energy, which have abundant experience in Japanese and global markets, respectively,” said Keiji Kojima, president & CEO, Hitachi, Ltd.

In announcing their selection, Hitachi also cites their record of developing systems for electric power companies in Japan, including the current load dispatching system.

Said Claudio Facchin, senior vice president and executive officer of Hitachi, Ltd. and CEO of Hitachi Energy:

“The establishment of a new operating model led by our customer Transmission and Distribution IT & OT Systems LLC in Japan is a path-breaking effort leveraging digitalisation to foster an ecosystem of transparency, collaboration and economic rationality while maintaining the agility to adapt to future energy system dynamics.

“As electricity increasingly becomes the backbone of the entire energy system and with Hitachi as a strategic partner over its lifecycle, Japan’s power transmission and distribution system will safeguard energy security while addressing some of the social and environmental needs of the country.”

The compact battery containers, which will support the ultra-fast-charge EVs at three Shell service stations, feed the remaining electricity into the public power grid during periods of low use.

A consortium around Eigen Energy and Rolls-Royce’s business unit Power Systems designed and built the battery storage units to meet special safety precautions due to their proximity to the refuelling station within the city.

The e-filling stations each have a power capability of 180KW and are the fastest publicly available at service stations in Singapore, states Rolls Royce in a release.

With the help of the battery containers, electricity from photovoltaic (PV) systems is integrated into the energy system, which will also serve to offset peak electricity loads.

Have you read:
Singapore tests vehicle-to-grid technology
Electric vehicles balance the grid in UK for first time
‘We need to think smart and fast’ to future-proof the grid

In announcing the battery pack supply, Rolls Royce states the potential of e-mobility to cause local grid constraints: if several vehicles charge in parallel at a fast-charging point, the demand for electrical energy increases rapidly and at short notice.

Using an advanced control system, the mtu EnergetIQ, mtu battery storage systems can help prevent temporary load peaks with the corresponding high electricity costs.

According to the manufacturer, the control system recognises when the energy is needed for charging or when it can be fed into the grid, and also manages the influx of power from regenerative energies such as PV.

Rolls-Royce has already supplied mtu EnergyPacks for around ten e-charging projects globally.

This includes energy company Verbund in Austria, Stadtwerke Münster, which uses them to power its e-bus fleet and project development company Abowind.

According to Wood Mackenzie, the BESS integrator market had grown increasingly competitive in 2022, with the top five global system integrators accounting for 62% of overall BESS shipments (MWh).

Sungrow dominated the market with 16% of global market share rankings by shipment (MWh), jointly followed by Fluence (14%) and Tesla (14%), Huawei (9%) and BYD (9%).

Kevin Shang, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said: “As major policy developments propel the battery energy storage systems market, the BESS integrator industry is becoming increasingly competitive. While existing system integrators are striving to increase market share, the fast-growing energy storage market has also attracted many new entrants to this space.

“A common feature behind the leading BESS integrators is that their global presence allows them to access a larger customer base and unlock additional revenue streams. In addition, many BESS integrators have been seeking to enhance the vertical integration of their supply chain.”

Commenting on the supply chain, Shang added: “While global battery supply eased in 2023, after experiencing supply tightness the previous year, the limited supply of transformers has become the new bottleneck of the energy storage supply chain.

“The industry is struggling with short supply and price spikes of transformers, with a minimum lead time of more than one year for transformers of all sizes. This has a direct impact on system integrators as transformers are integral for grid connection.”

Have you read:
Shell-backed Koorangie battery project completes financing
Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors hybridised in project ViSynC

North America leading the way

The North American BESS integrator market was found by Wood Mackenzie’s research to be highly concentrated, with the top five players holding 81% of the region’s market share in 2022. Tesla led the region with 25% market share rankings by shipment.

According to Shang, “as the world’s most vertically integrated energy storage provider, Tesla has a key advantage. Importantly, by integrating hardware, software and added services, Tesla can deliver continued improvements and new features to clients quickly.”

Following Fluence (at 22%), Chinese company Sungrow held its third position with a 13% market share in the North American market in 2022. This high ranking is largely attributed to the company’s cost competitiveness and advanced liquid-cooling products.

Asia Pacific

China led the Asia Pacific BESS integrator market, with an 86% market share in 2022.

According to Shan, China’s integrator market is becoming increasingly competitive, “squeezed heavily by both upstream and downstream supply chain participants.

“Possessing manufacturing capacity on key components, like cell, PCS (power conversion system), BMS (battery management system and EMS (energy management system), tends to be a necessity rather than a plus as bid requirements for energy storage projects become more detailed and stringent.”

Facing the trend of energy storage product homogenisation, price has become the most significant distinction and key winning bid factor in the region.

Shang added: “The price war among system integrators has started in China. We’ve observed an increasing number of players willing to sacrifice profits in exchange for market share, dragging down the profitability of the whole industry.

“However, we forecast that aggressive bid strategies with little margin will not be sustained. Intensifying market competition will make it difficult for companies with low profitability and no clear competitiveness to survive over the coming years.”

Additionally, according to Wood Mackenzie, in the European market, dominant integrators include Fluence (19%), Nidec (18%) and BYD (17%).

Wood Mackenzie’s BESS Integrator market share rankings are based on the number of BESS shipments in MWh in 2022. Only shipments with revenue recognised in the reporting year are counted towards the market share.

Wood Mackenzie’s primary data collection comes from annual BESS integrator surveys, public filings, project databases and discussions with system integrators, EPC providers and project developers. Where necessary, market-based estimates are made.

Held in partnership with the 78th Indonesia National Electricity Day (INED), Enlit Asia 2023 is the leading regional event that brings together the entire power and energy value chain on one platform.

Read more news from the STS Association

If you joined us at Enlit Asia, thank you!

We want to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who took the time to visit our team onsite. Your presence and engagement made a significant impact on our experience at the event.

Follow us on all STS Association Social Platforms to stay informed of other activities that we will be embarking on during the year. LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Energy sector digital identity app spins off for global use

A digital identity application that was developed by the Belgian TSO Elia Group and Energy Web has been adopted by the OpenWallet Foundation as a new project.

The application, which is based on ‘self-sovereign identity’ technology, was developed to securely transfer identity information between different parties to enable flexibility for the grid.

For this secure and efficient methods are required to safely integrate assets such as heat pumps and electric vehicles into the system and allow them to interact with the grid in a trusted manner.

Have you read?
Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors hybridised in project ViSynC
Site visit: NTUA Electric Energy Systems Laboratory

Extensive information exchange needs to take place, with data relating to personal details, technical specifications, contracts and charging tariffs being swapped between individuals, assets and companies.

The application can be seamlessly integrated into digital wallets, which are set to become commonplace and making it easily adoptable by a wide range of companies. For example, the European Union aims to provide all citizens with access to a digital ID solution with a personal digital wallet by 2030.

The OpenWallet Foundation, a Linux Foundation project, is aimed at setting best practices for digital wallet technology and driving its global adoption.

With the adoption of the application by the OpenWallet Foundation it is available to become more widely used by companies as they design digital wallets.

John Henderson, Senior Solution Architect at Energy Web, says the collaboration represents a significant step toward revolutionising the digital wallet landscape.

“By officially accepting this project, the OpenWallet Foundation is empowering the future of secure and interoperable digital wallets. Together, we’re advancing technology that will not only benefit the energy sector but also drive innovation beyond its boundaries, setting the stage for a more interconnected and secure digital world.”

An intelligent power solution for China’s high energy physics platform

ABB has reported the delivery and start of commissioning of a complete large scale power monitoring and control solution for the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) project in Beijing – a first of its kind in China that is set to become a core facility for scientific research at the atomic level in that country and beyond.

The power system includes 138 panels of UniGear ZS1 MV switchgear, 318 panels of MNS3.0 LV switchgear and ABB’s Ability Monitoring and Control ZEE600 platform.

The solution is aimed to provide comprehensive power monitoring, control and data management for 11 distribution rooms in the facility, optimising the reliability of the power supply and the distribution system.

It also should help users in load management and energy efficiency on the demand side, greatly reducing the manpower hours required for daily operation and maintenance.

ABB anticipates completing the commissioning of the power distribution system by the end of 2023, while the facility is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025.

James Zhao, senior vice president of ABB China, said the company was proud to provide intelligent power management technology “for China’s cutting-edge large scientific installations. We will integrate our digital and low-carbon technologies into the products and solutions, providing strong, safe and reliable distribution infrastructure to support China as it explores cutting-edge of scientific research.”

Hydrogen-powered superyacht unveiled

The Italian architecture company Mask Architects has unveiled what is claimed the world’s first superyacht with power from onboard produced hydrogen from sea water.

The 85m ONYX H2-BO 85 combines hydrogen production through electrolysis with hydroelectric turbines to provide sustainable power generation for short distance or low speed sailing and anchoring.

The integration of a hydrogen production system fuelled by hydroelectric turbines marks a transformative moment for the yachting industry, the company states.

The hydroelectric turbines are stated to outperform conventional generators in terms of energy efficiency and form part of a clean energy approach that enables the ONYX H2-BO 85 to generate and store hydrogen onboard, eliminate the need for large fuel reserves and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Mask Architects notes that energy is required to power the electrolysis process and recommends integrating a renewable energy source, such as solar panels or wind turbines, into the yacht’s power system to make the process more sustainable.

The company adds that the vessel seamlessly fuses luxury and sustainability with an interior exemplifying modern elegance and featuring bespoke design solutions to cater to the most discerning tastes.

“Renowned interior designers have painstakingly curated every detail, combining sumptuous materials, cutting-edge technology, and sustainable elements to create an ambiance that is both inviting and eco-conscious.”

Don’t miss out on the most important energy transition conversations.

Join Enlit Europe in Paris.

Register now

The two have awarded a grant, under the EMA-SIT Exploiting Distributed Generation (EDGE) programme, to a consortium led by Singapore-based mobility solutions developer Strides, to develop and test-bed Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology to provide grid services.

This will be Singapore’s largest V2G test-bed conducted with 15 commercial vans and 10 V2G-enabled EV chargers.

Starting November 2023, Strides will begin the pilot project in the Punggol region. Strides will also develop a fleet management system to track the status of EVs and optimise the fleet schedules to enable them to provide grid services.

Findings from the test bed will provide insights into the technological, commercial and regulatory feasibility of V2G in Singapore.

Vehicle-to-grid tech

V2G technology allows EVs to be transformed into dynamic assets by harnessing electricity stored in the vehicle’s battery.

V2G not only enables dynamic charging of EVs in response to grid conditions but can also discharge electricity back to the grid when needed. This bidirectional flow of electricity may help alleviate supply tightness and improve power system stability by better balancing electricity demand and supply.

On the V2G test bed, Ngiam Shih Chun, chief executive of EMA, said: “With its ability to facilitate bidirectional transfer of electricity, V2G technology has untapped potential that can support the grid in new ways.

“If successful, the test-bed will enable Singapore to increase the use of innovative technologies to intelligently manage electricity demand and unlock the potential of large-scale V2G adoption in future.”

Have you read:
India to get its first V2G system
Self-consumption V2G system launched for Chinese national park

Driven by the growth of electricity-intensive sectors such as digital economy, advanced manufacturing, high-tech farming and vehicle electrification, system peak demand in Singapore is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of up to 6.5% from 2023 to 2028, states the SIT.

By leveraging V2G technology, EVs could potentially be tapped on to manage the increased peak electricity demand.

Associate professor Susanna Leong, vice president of applied research at SIT, said: “As Singapore’s University of Applied Learning, SIT is focused on nurturing next-generation technologies to address the challenges in energy and sustainability, and to drive the efficient and innovative use of clean energy.

“Collaborating with the industry on translational research and through the EDGE programme, we aim to leverage SIT’s microgrid capabilities to test new technologies and solutions with Strides, while providing SIT students with the opportunity to work with industry partners.”

Launched in 2019, the S$20 million ($14.6 million) EDGE programme by EMA and SIT focuses on developing innovative power engineering projects and building capabilities that would support Singapore’s transition to a more sustainable future.

Under this partnership, companies and researchers from all Institutes of Higher Learning have the opportunity to participate in grant calls and develop new technologies and capabilities to build a more sustainable, reliable and resilient energy system.

For those of us in the distribution and transmission landscape, there is no doubt as to the importance of substations.

They are so important, in fact, that when Bentley Systems hosted their awards show in Singapore, all of the finalist projects in the T&D category were those of substations digitalisation.

Specifically, each used Bentley’s digital tech to bolster efficiencies and improve workflows.

Here is their work:

Winner: PowerChina Hubei Electric Engineering

Full Lifecycle Digital Application on Xianning Chibi 500kV Substation Project 

Winning the transmission and distribution category this year was the Xianning Chibi 500kV substation, a key project in Hubei, Central China, aimed to meet Xianning’s power load growth demand.

Run by engineering firm PowerChina Hubei Engineering, the project had to tackle complex topography challenges, requiring a compact layout and compounded by a short construction period.

Faced with coordinating multiple engineering disciplines, PowerChina realised that traditional workflows were insufficient to timeously deliver the project within budget. Aiming to achieve full lifecycle digitisation, they needed integrated 3D/4D modelling and digital twin technology.

The firm selected Bentley’s applications to establish a collaborative digital design environment, 4D visual construction methodology and a full 3D substation digital twin.

The integrated technology solution reduced the project footprint by 0.97ha, minimising farmland impact and saving CNY282.84 million (approximately €36.5 million; $38.7 million) in costs.

Have you read:
TenneT invests €1.9bn in substations construction and modernisation
Enel’s primary substations set for ‘sustainable’ facelift

Working in a coordinated design and construction management platform, the team avoided more than 50 reworks, reducing the construction period by 30 days.

The digital twin facilitates real-time asset insight and smart substation management, states PowerChina, setting a benchmark for digitisation of the State Grid.

Presenting on the project was PowerChina’s Xinyang Ye: “The Chibi 500kW substation is a perfect blend of nature, culture and industry, and the use of Bentley’s digital solution in this project has been recognised and praised by industry experts.

“The project adopts ProjectWise for collaborative design, which reduces design time by 30 days, tracking time by 35 days and saves design cost of about CNY130,000 (approximately €17,097; $17,769).

“The use of the refined model and digital twin technology guided the construction progress perfectly.”

Local history and a unique design challenge

According to Ye, an interesting aspect from the project, and a design challenge they had to overcome, was taking inspiration from the area’s history. Namely that of the Three Kingdoms Period in China and the Chibi war.

“This substation deploys the design concept of Three Kingdom culture (…) the walls of the sites, areas of the substation; there are a lot of Chinese cultural elements that are incorporated as part of the design.

“We incorporated elements like the total designs of iconic drawings on certain parts of the substation and we tried to integrate the overall layout of the natural environment and the substation.”

Part of the challenge for this, added Ye, was to “have the workers understand the very precise details in a design; we integrated through the use of VR and AR to make these designs more understandable for the workers so that they’re able to implement the construction.

“And because we were working on very tight timelines we incorporated the very precise model with smart identification or intelligent education so that the owner can better oversee the progress.”

Finalist: Elia

Digital transformation and connected ITwins in smart substation design 

Aligned with their mission to optimise grid reliability and quality and ensure sustainable power, Belgian national electricity transmission operator Elia has been exploring digital technology and workflows for infrastructure development and asset management.

Their project, presented by IsaLink CAD/EDM/GID/IT trainer and consultant Nicolas Tobbackx, focuses on transitioning an otherwise obsolete drawing file management system and engineering processes to a centralised digital platform and smart digital workflows.

According to Tobbackx, their main goals were to integrate these workflows into a ‘rule-based workflow’ whereby having “a single version of the truth across operations allows for significant efficiencies.

Other challenges Elia has been facing includes aspects such as:

• Working from home, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic when “using a VPN was very slow in ‘chatty’ applications”;
• Safety distance within substations – “it’s very important to have secure distances between your phases because it can be very, very dangerous”;
• Community relations for a country like Belgium, which is “very dense; not everybody wants to have aerial lines in their back garden”; and
• IT security and compatibility, where although it’s very important to have heightened security and standards, “new security implies newer versions and compatibility issues”

To oversee these issues and coordinate their workflow processes, Elia needed an integrated technology management and digital twin solution that included reference file support (BS 1192) and intelligent connections, as well as improved hand-off with third parties.

Elia selected ProjectWise as their file management system, aiming to optimise accessibility and traceability for more efficient planning management, estimated to save up to €150,000 (approximately $159,000) per year.

According to Tobbackx, ProjectWise enabled the project to run more than two million documents over 2Tb used by more than 700 users.

Two key outcomes that were very important to note, he adds, were lightning calculation and geolocation.

With the OpenUtilities Substation, the physical layout of the substation can be generated in 3D, using a catalogue of equipment objects that “snap together”, according to Bentley, at predefined hook points.

This enables built-in 3D tools to design the grounding grid and lighting protection, also allowing for analysis of cable sag, clearances and clashes – “lightning calculation was a big win for us (…) and very important was geolocation. I cannot say this enough.”

Namely, having a digital representation of infrastructure assets visible on a gas insulated switch (GIS) viewer, part of the infrastructure digital twin from Bentley, was of big use for the project team – “it’s so important to have everything geolocated.”

Also of interest:
Project IVI proofs safe and efficient substation automation
The role of a TSO in the energy transition: RTE in Hauts-de-France

Finalist: Qinghai Kexin Power Design Institute

110kV Transmission and Transformation Project in Deerwen, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China 

Covering 3.8ha in Qinghai, China, Deerwen’s 110kV substation will relieve long-term power shortages in six towns, improving living conditions and promoting economic development.

Located in a high-altitude, mountainous area with complex terrain, the multidiscipline project presented site, technical and coordination challenges.

The project team realised that they needed an integrated design and Building Information Modelling solution to optimise project delivery.

The team selected Bentley’s open applications, facilitating collaborative design workflows and real-time rendering in the hopes of achieving a refined, coordinated design of the substation and facilities amid the natural surroundings.

Stated Guangren Li from Qinghai Kexin Electric Power Design Institute: “In order to reduce the project cost and protect the ecological environment, according to the environmental characteristics of the extremely cold and high altitude areas traversed by the transmission line, the project implements the concept of environmental protection design and reduced the amount of earthwork excavation by about 70%.

“The construction of Deerwen (…) is conducive to strengthening the power grid structure Guoluo Tibetan area, meeting the clean energy heating and electricity demands and living standards of farmers and herdsmen and has good social benefits.”

The team identified and resolved 657 collisions and shortened the design period by 40 days, improving design quality and construction efficiency by 35%.

Developing a precise design saved 30% in material quantities and avoided resource waste to reduce the project’s carbon footprint.

The 3D models and digitised data also provide the basis for intelligent digital plant operations and maintenance.

According to Li, the use of Bentley’s 3D software also helped:

• The team find over 50 design anomalies
  
• Reduce design time to one month and design error rate by 90%
  
• Improve design quality and speed up the design schedule
  
• Save human resources and time, including 200 person-days of design modification work, 100 person-days of review work and 100 person-days of on-site error handling work”
  
• CNY200,000 (approximately €25,806; $27,342) in design costs.

Organised by Bentley Systems, a US-based global software company, the annual Year in Infrastructure and Going Digital Awards is open to all Bentley software users and brings together projects from across the industry to showcase their innovations. This year’s edition was convened in the highly digitalised country of Singapore.

Transmission and distribution was but one of 12 categories, the others included bridge and tunnels, process and power generation, subsurface modelling and analysis, surveying and modelling, water and wastewater, structural engineering, roads and highways, rail and transit, construction, enterprise engineer and facilities and campuses and cities.

A total of 31 mtu emergency gensets and a complete mtu EnergetIQ control system will be provided to the hyperscale data centre located near Osaka.

According to Rolls-Royce, this is one of the largest data centres in Japan with a designed capacity of 45.9MW.

The fully redundant mtu EnergetIQ Manager monitors both incoming grid connections and the status of all generators within the plant.

Should a grid failure occur, the emergency diesel generators are started, regulating the supply of electricity to consumers and ensuring that the load is transferred back to the grid.

The generators are stopped when the grid is stable again.

Have you read?
Rolls-Royce shows mtu fuel cell system is black-start capable
Copper Labs receives patent for outage detection for AMR meters

Thus far, Rolls-Royce Solutions Japan has installed and commissioned eight of the 31 container gensets, which are based on 20-cylinder mtu Series 4000 engines.

The remaining emergency generators will be added gradually as the data centre’s capacity increases.

The mtu containers compactly contain the diesel engine with a generator, a switchgear and include the mtu EnergetIQ control and monitoring system.

According to Mordor Intelligence, Japan is one of the fastest growing digital content delivery markets in Asia, driven by the increasing use of mobile devices and the adoption of cloud technologies.

Rolls-Royce has supplied a total capacity of approximately 5GWe of emergency generators to the global data center market.

The floating and stacked Energy Storage System (ESS) was deployed at shipbuilding and repairing company Seatrium Limited’s (Seatrium) Floating Living Lab (FLL) and will commence operations by Q1 2024.

Integrated with a Smart Energy Management System, supported by artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to enhance efficiency and energy dispatch, Seatrium says the ESS will be crucial in helping the country meet its limited land capacity.

Singapore, an island and city-state, is the smallest country in Southeast Asia.

With a deployment footprint of up to 40% less than land-based ESS, the storage system will be a key component of an integrated floating energy solution for Singapore.

Have you read:
Siemens Energy combines synchronous condenser and battery tech to stabilise Irish grid
bp to deploy AI for battery to grid flexibility

The ESS has a maximum storage capacity of 7.5MWh and can meet the electricity needs of more than 600 four-room HDB (Housing and Development Board) households for one day, in a single discharge.

An ESS functions as a large-scale battery that stores energy during off-peak periods and dispenses it at other times when there is high electricity demand.

The fast response nature of ESS also allows it to actively manage mismatches in electricity supply and demand and helps regulate second-by-second fluctuations in the power grid.

As such, ESS can manage the intermittent nature of solar power which fluctuates throughout the day due to rain and cloud cover in Singapore‘s tropical climate.

It is capable of supporting locations with intermittent power supplies or being activated for rapid deployment in remote islands affected by power disruptions.

The project was awarded to a consortium led by Univers (formerly Envision Digital International Pte Ltd), part of the S$10 million (US$7.3 million) partnership between EMA (Energy Market Authority) and Seatrium to develop innovative energy solutions in the marine sector, which was announced in April 2020.

On the storage system’s deployment, Ngiam Shih Chun, chief executive of EMA, said: “Given Singapore’s limited land area, we need innovative solutions for our energy infrastructure such as Seatrium’s floating solution for energy storage. I thank our industry partners for their commitment in developing sustainable energy solutions.”

Added Chris Ong, chief executive officer of Seatrium: “We are proud to be at the forefront of developing innovative energy solutions in the offshore, marine and energy industries.

“The deployment of Singapore’s first floating and stacked ESS at Seatrium’s FLL is testament to our commitment towards leveraging technology and innovation to optimise energy efficiency and reduce our operational footprint.”

AI – the energy challenge

As artificial intelligence is finding use in an ever-growing variety of applications concerns are emerging – alongside those of its civilisation destruction potential – of its energy consumption.

In a new article, Dutch doctoral candidate Alex de Vries suggests that whereas data centre electricity consumption has been relatively stable in recent years, at around 1% of the global electricity consumption, the rapid expansion of AI in the past two years – not least with the emergence of ChatGPT in late 2022 – could lead to a surge with the computational resources necessary to develop and maintain such AI models and applications.

De Vries comments that much of the focus on AI energy consumption has focused on the ‘training’ phase, which is when AI models are fed the datasets from which they ‘learn’ and which has been considered the most energy intensive.

Have you read?
What’s on the technology radar for Europe’s DSOs?
Energy Transitions Podcast: Africa’s frontrunner in the SF6-free race

However, the ‘inference’ phase, when the models are deployed and generate outputs based on new data, also can be significant and potentially significantly higher.

As an example, he investigates that if Google were to integrate generative AI into every search, the energy consumption per search could increase by 10 times and in a worst-case scenario annually could total up to 29.2TWh, which is similar to a country such as Ireland.

De Vries notes that the exact future of AI-related electricity consumption remains difficult to predict but scenarios suggest tempering both overly optimistic and overly pessimistic expectations.

He also suggests that while developers should focus on optimising AI, they also should critically consider the necessity of using AI in the first place, as it is unlikely that all applications will benefit from AI or that the benefits will always outweigh the costs.

A digital currency for clean energy trading in Japan

Japanese digital currency business DeCurret in partnership with the telco company Internet Initiative Japan have announced their intention to launch what may be a first with a digital currency for trading on the country’s Electric Power Exchange.

IIJ is joining the JEPX as a non-fossil value trading member and plans to start offering a service to procure clean energy certificates.

From July 2024, the service will utilise the DeCurret’s network to convert environmental values into digital tokens and start settlement using the digital currency, tentatively named ‘DCJPY’.

Currently, in Japan environmental value transactions are generally handled by issuing analogue certificates and managing transaction information in centralised systems. With DeCurret’s DCJPY network the issuance, transfer, etc. of such certificates would be enabled as digital assets, with automated settlement through programmed transactions using digital currency and smart contracts.

In the future, the companies intend to promote the distribution of a series of environmental value transactions on the blockchain with the participation of electricity retailers, power generation companies and environmental value exchanges.

Seiichiro Hamada, Executive Officer and deputy General Manager of the Innovation Promotion Division of Kansai Electric Power, says the company is working to promote carbon neutrality through the use of digital currency.

“Digital currency has great potential for trading environmental values, and the fact that this first social implementation is the settlement of non-fossil certificates at IIJ’s data centre is a major driving force for the future.”

Generating clean electricity with chicken feathers

With all the chickens consumed around the world, some 40Mt of feathers are believed to be incinerated annually, with the adverse environmental effects that result including the emissions of CO2 and other gases such as sulphur dioxide.

But that may become something of the past, with new research from ETH Zurich and Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) demonstrating that a simple and environmentally friendly process can be used to extract the protein keratin from the feathers and convert it into ultra-fine fibres known as amyloid fibrils. These keratin fibrils can then go on to be used in the membrane of a fuel cell.

In conventional fuel cells, the membranes have so far been made using chemicals, which are expensive and don’t break down in the environment. The ‘chicken feather’ keratin membrane, on the other hand, is environmentally compatible and with the abundance of such keratin is already up to three times cheaper.

“[This] latest development closes a cycle,” says Raffaele Mezzenga, Professor of Food and Soft Materials at ETH Zurich.

“We’re taking a substance that releases CO2 and toxic gases when burned and used it in a different setting: with our new technology it not only replaces toxic substances but also prevents the release of CO2, decreasing the overall carbon footprint cycle.”

The next step for the researchers is to investigate the stability and durability of the keratin membrane and to improve it if necessary. A joint patent has been filed and the search is on for investors to develop the technology further and bring it to market.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to initiate the discussions on the potential new businesses.

These discussions aim to harness the strengths of both companies in response to the expected growth in the EV market.

The collaboration seeks to explore opportunities for enhancing the value provided to customers through their EV and EV battery ventures.

One of the potential businesses being discussed is that of smart charging and V2G, which would help EV users optimise their electricity costs by offering access to smart charging, V2G services and renewable power, which uses advanced control technologies for the energy management system.

Have you read:
India to get its first V2G system
Self-consumption V2G system launched for Chinese national park

The other is that of a battery lifetime management business, which intends to optimise the life span of batteries intended for use in Honda mini-EV models, slated for sale in Japan in 2024.

It plans to achieve this through a battery-monitoring system, ensuring that each battery serves its purpose efficiently, transitioning from powering EVs to stationary energy storage.

Stated Toshihiro Mibe, global CEO of Honda: “Preparing for the era of full-fledged popularisation of EVs, Honda will not only sell EVs, but take a proactive approach to energy management, where EV batteries will be utilised as an energy source, and we are also focusing on resource circulation, including the reuse and repurposing of EV batteries, which contain various rare resources.”

Katsuya Nakanishi, president & CEO of Mitsubishi Corporation, added: “We understand that the convergence of different sectors such as mobility, energy, services and data is an irreversible trend.

“Examples can be seen all over the world, as companies seek to go carbon neutral (…) MC is aiming to develop its own new business models that balance electrification and decarbonisation, to create new cross-industry services, and otherwise reinventing ourselves in keeping with the times.”

The collaboration will initially oversee the management of 3 million electricity customers in Japan, with the potential to incorporate an additional 10 million gas accounts at a later stage.

With the announcement, Tokyo Gas becomes the first company in Japan to license the Kraken platform, enabling the supplier to build and deploy green energy products faster, and provide more flexibility for its team to deal with customers efficiently.

Kraken’s platform also supports Tokyo Gas in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the use of renewable energy. Tokyo Gas has ambitious plans to generate 6 million kilowatts (kW) of power from renewable sources by 2030, made feasible through advanced engineering and technology such as Kraken.

Have you read:
‘Utilities aren’t selling energy anymore, they’re in customer service’: Kraken Global Director
Why French utility EDF chose Kraken
Kaluza and Mitsubishi to launch Japan’s first smart charging service

Kraken integrates various aspects of the energy system, from customer billing to the flexible management of renewable energy sources and other energy-related devices. It is also enhancing services for utilities like water and broadband.

The collaboration builds on the successful introduction of Kraken in Japan in December 2020 when Tokyo Gas and Octopus Energy launched energy retailer TG Octopus Energy.

With previous agreements in place with companies like E.ON, EDF Energy, and Origin Energy, the Kraken platform now has the potential to oversee 40-50 million energy, water and broadband accounts worldwide.

This development marks a significant step toward the company’s goal of managing 100 million customer accounts through Kraken by 2027.

Commenting on the announcement was Octopus Energy founder Greg Jackson: “Japan is the largest competitive energy market in the world – and no company is more respected than Tokyo Gas.

“Combined with Japan’s stringent requirements for customer service and the need to decarbonise rapidly, it’s a huge privilege for Kraken to be chosen. Deepening our partnership with Tokyo Gas will help drive cleaner energy faster and cheaper in the UK and around the world.”

100 million smart meters and counting …

Since the early 2000s and Enel’s leading role in the development and manufacture and large scale rollout of a first generation of smart meters, the technology and its subsequent evolutions has been incorporated in 100 million smart meters.

Those smart meters have been deployed in Italy, Spain, Romania, Republic of San Marino, Malta, Brazil, Peru and Chile.

Making the announcement, Robert Denda, CEO of Gridspertise, who coordinated Endesa’s rollout of the technology in Spain and has led its subsequent development from effectively a communicating digital counter to an intelligent grid sensor, described it as “a key milestone in our journey towards the new era of sustainable and reliable smart grids”.

Have you read?
Linux Foundation introduces significant software releases
Transforming a factory for the e-mobility future

It also comes coincident with the second anniversary of Gridspertise, Enel’s grid technology subsidiary, jointly owned with CVC Capital Partners, which has established itself as a key supplier of a growing portfolio of technologies for DSOs for the digitalisation of the grid.

As a reflection of this Gridspertise is introducing what it describes as a new flexible and future-proof smart meter into its portfolio, with the facility to exchange or adapt the communication technology directly in the field.

Depending on customer needs and location, it allows choosing the most appropriate solution among several communication protocols, including hybrid PLC and RF, cellular LTE and cellular NB-IoT.

Look out for its introduction at Enlit Europe 2023 in Paris from 28-30 November.

New era for smart meter data in Japan

Restrictions on the use of metering data by third party corporates have been dropped in Japan, the publication Nikkei Asia has reported.

Until now only utilities have had access to the data from the smart meters, of which there are approximately 80 million in operation in Japan – but now other companies may use the data for a fee to enable them to develop solutions for example for decarbonisation or another that Nikkei Asia highlights, monitoring of the elderly.

The publication reports that around 20 corporate groups are poised to introduce services.

Among examples quoted is Daiwa House Asset Management with plans to calculate carbon dioxide emissions based on electricity use by residents of about 240 properties owned by the group.

Another is Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions looking to help companies adjust their power usage with demand management.

A third is Tokyo-based startup Girasol Energy intending to monitor for broken solar panels remotely by comparing actual output with anticipated output based on sunlight and other data.

Among the quality of life services, Mitsubishi Corp. and the utility Chubu Electric Power are teaming up on a service that detects abnormalities in the routines of elderly relatives in real time, with potential to generate 1 billion yen ($6.7 million) in annual revenue in three years.

The first data provided will be from the service area of Tokyo Electric Power, with expansion nationwide by 2024. The data will be day old initially, but real-time data is expected to become available in 2025.

Kaifa goes OSGP and Sigfox

Kaifa, the electronics and metering solution provider, is expanding its offerings on two fronts with the choice of the OSGP architecture for its intelligent smart metering and the Sigfox 0G technology for advanced water metering solutions.

In selecting the OSGP, Kaifa believes that interoperability standards are needed to guarantee innovation in terms of adopting new technologies and open standards as they become available, a statement reads.

“The digital era brings new opportunities, and Kaifa is ready to take advantage of this with a key focus on the sustainable innovation in energy management.”

In joining the OSGP Alliance, Kaifa intends to work with other industry stakeholders to provide solutions and services to create more value for their customers and society.

The Sigfox 0G technology opportunity, which includes bringing to the market the Sigfox 0G and LoRa dual-mode hybrid solution, is through a partnership with Sigfox owner UnaBiz and is expected to see the development of solutions that are “not only accurate and reliable but also cost-competitive, scalable and environmentally friendly to the water metering sector”, the company states.

The two companies have collaborated previously and most recently on the rollout of 120,000 smart water meters powered by Sigfox 0G technology by Brazilian partner network WND Brazil for the water and sewerage services supplier Iguá Saneamento.

This year, Enlit Asia 2023 is set to be even more exceptional as it is held in partnership with the 78th Indonesia National Electricity Day (INED).

The 3-day event consists of CEO Dialogue, Energy Leaders Forum, Power Grid & Power Generation Summit Streams, Hydrogen & Ammonia Symposium and more. The event will provide opportunities for delegates to keep up to date with industry developments, Explore a wide range of products & technologies, networking and interaction with key players in the power and energy sector.

For the STS Association, Enlit Asia 2023 is more than just an event; it’s a valuable platform to connect with a diverse spectrum of industry players. Most importantly, it’s a rare chance to meet our international members face-to-face.

As the STSA continually strives to progress and innovate, this event offers us a unique opportunity to gauge the evolving needs of STS (Standard Transfer Specification) technology users.

Delegates will have an opportunity to meet our representatives and participate in our interactive stand, gaining access to a myriad of information available online, pertaining to membership information and easy-to-follow training programmes that were formulated to give existing members updates and for new and potential members and opportunity to gain greater insights into the STS Simple >Trusted > Secure offerings.

We’re eagerly anticipating your visit to the STSA at Stand No. 105. Our team is excited to meet you in person. See you there.

For more information about the STS Smart Metering, please visit our website at www.sts.org.za

Read more news from STS Association

Written by STSA

The Standard Transfer Specification (STS) has become recognized as the only globally accepted open standard for prepayment systems, ensuring interoperability between system components from different manufacturers of prepayment systems.

The utility, which provides electricity to more than 13 million industrial, commercial and residential customers, is concerned about grid stability due to decommissioned traditional fossil fuel plants and increased levels of renewable energy coming online.

TPC will make use of Reactive’s GridMetrix platform to gain insights into the issue, hoping to reduce costs and manage risks more effectively.

Traditionally, fossil fuel plants have provided grid stability, but with more wind and solar power coming online due to Taiwan’s ambitious goals of reaching net zero by 2050, TPC identified a significant and increasing risk of low grid inertia.

Reactive’s tech will be used to manage non-synchronous resources without inertia, aiming to prevent system instability and supply disruptions.

Specifically, TPC chose the GridMetrix inertia measurement service to measure, visualise, forecast and control inertia across its network and provide critical system stability data and insights as the network goes through a period of significant change.

Have you read:
Enel X deploys ‘world first’ battery swapping VPP in Taiwan
Taiwan Power orders AMI system with 450k more smart meters

The project will utilise a 60MW/96MWh DongShan battery energy storage system (BESS), currently under construction in northern Taiwan, to provide the required modulation signal to be detected by Reactive’s measurement devices.

According to Reactive Technologies, GridMetrix enhances visibility from transmission infrastructure to non-synchronous generation and demand-side loads, allowing operators to measure hidden inertia in the distribution grid, which accounts for up to 30% of total system inertia.

Commenting on the agreement in a release was Dr. Wu Chin-Chung, vice president of Taiwan Power Company: “Along with the Taiwan government’s aggressive goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the decreased system inertia derived from the high penetration rate of renewable energy is a significant challenge to Taipower.

“Thanks to Reactive Technologies’ inertia measurements, we can now look forward to obtaining the real-time forecast data we need to closely monitor and maintain system stability while connecting more renewables to the power grid.”

Also on the radar is a partnership between ABB and Export Development Canada to make debt financing of up to $2.9 billion available to ABB clean tech customers in Canada and abroad, as well as Series A financing of RMB400 million ($54.7 million) for Shanghai Electric Energy Storage Technology.

AI-based network modelling

Neara, an infrastructure modelling platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create 3D, network-wide models for engineering-grade simulations and analytics, has received a new bout of funding to develop its platform.

The platform enables utility operators to design networks, enhance wildfire and vegetation management programmes and bring renewable projects online faster using their existing infrastructure.

The Sydney, Australia-based company has received a AU$10 million ($6.4 million) capital raise extension and a novel case study to double existing line capacity for renewable energy.

This increases the total Series B funding for Neara to AU$24 million ($15.3 million).

Neara will use the new investment to accelerate expansion of its AI platform in US and European markets and develop its new System of Enablement functionality.

System of Enablement

According to the company, the new model removes many of the constraints that prevent renewable generation from connecting to the grid, particularly regarding network availability and accessibility.

Neara chief commercial officer Jack Curtis commented on the platform, which he states enables utilities to make system-wide decisions:

“Our System of Enablement delivers one unified model to resolve critical macro issues, from designing stronger grids to mitigating damage caused by catastrophic weather events, as well as bringing renewable energy online faster using existing network infrastructure.”

Using the investment for its growth, Neara will offer “enterprise-grade, 3D network modelling technology”, they state in a release, that uses AI and machine learning to aggregate broad spectrums of data sources into one digital simulation environment.

Have you read:
bp to deploy AI for battery to grid flexibility
IEA net zero update reiterates need for rapid grid expansion

The System of Enablement will also enable insights into how existing electricity network infrastructure can be optimised to remove renewable integration constraints associated with network availability and accessibility.

Utilities can use the model to simulate how their assets will respond in the real world under any condition, based on hundreds of network and environmental variables.

These models aim to help eliminate network monitoring blind spots in stress-testing grid resilience and improve severe weather response while reducing reliance on manual field surveys.

A growing investment agenda

Neara’s financing round featured participation by Prosus Ventures and was supported by Neara’s existing investors, Skip Capital and Square Peg Capital.

The investment marks a first for Prosus Ventures in the utilities domain, traditionally investing in tech growth opportunities in fields such as logistics, fintech, health, blockchain and more.

The round comes as severe weather and wildfires continue to cause significant stress on power grids across the globe, in some cases causing blackouts

This is resulting in greater investments into power grids and networks. For example, the National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR research stimulation programme announced in August is giving research into weather-proof smart grids a $375,000 boost.

$2.9bn debt financing for ABB customer clean tech projects

Electrification and automation tech developer ABB has announced a partnership with Export Development Canada (EDC), whereby financial and insurance support will be doled out to ABB customers across the globe.

The $2.9 billion partnership between the Swedish-Swiss tech major and the financial Crown corporation will see projects from ABB customers have access to new debt financing.

The partnership seeks to encourage investments in sustainable technologies and initiatives in Canada and worldwide in the areas of electrification and automation.

EDC will offer ABB customers financial and insurance solutions, with a maximum limit of $2.9 billion, to support strategic projects in clean technologies, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies and future resource sectors.

Particular emphasis will be placed on strategic investments in growth-oriented technologies and solutions, including green hydrogen production, sustainable transportation solutions and the transition from fossil-based activities to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the terms of the three-year partnership, commercial financing will be extended on a project-by-project basis.

This partnership aims to stimulate both global and local investments, although collaboration with innovative Canadian start-ups is also an essential component.

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
$18m to commercialise wood chips-based EV batteries
Shell to reportedly sell sonnen

$54.7 million for Shanghai energy storage business

Shanghai Electric Energy Storage Technology has secured RMB400 million ($54.7 million) in Series A financing to enhance its energy storage business.

Key areas of focus include research and development of new systems, improvement of the industrial supply chain structure and construction of 100 Mbps stacks for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) energy storage systems.

The company, a subsidiary of Chinese power generation and electrical equipment manufacturing company Shanghai Electric, develops kW- and MW-level flow battery energy storage products for use in grid-side energy storage, distributed smart microgrids, energy power generation and grid connection and other fields.

The company has to date successfully developed 5kW/25kW/32kW/65kW series stacks and delivered more than 50 vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) energy storage projects.

The financing will also support corporate governance enhancements, talent development and the strengthening of research and innovation capabilities for the company.

Looking ahead, Shanghai Electric Energy Storage has plans to launch a Series B financing campaign in 2024.

Upon completion of the Series A, the post-investment valuation of Shanghai Electric Energy Storage is forecast to surpass RMB2.2 billion ($300.9 million).

With the grid becoming more of an investment target, what other initiatives have you seen gaining capital attraction? Let me know.

And make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances for the latest in finance and investment news coming from the energy sector.

I will also be in Singapore from October 11 to 12 attending the Bentley Year in Infrastructure awards. Will I see you there?

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

Follow me on LinkedIn

Accenture invests in space data for all

Utilities and others in the energy sector are increasingly turning to data secured in space to advance operations such as infrastructure development and vegetation management.

Accenture’s venture arm Accenture Ventures is supporting this with a lead investment in a $50 million Series B round in the Spanish space start up Open Cosmos, which builds and operates space missions that provide access to high quality satellite data and insights on a global scale.

The companies intend to help clients track and analyse data found in space in order to help solve business challenges found on Earth, particularly related to sustainability.

Have you read?
First African SF6-free switchgear installed in South Africa
Energy Transitions Podcast: The green promise of next-gen fuel cells

“Accenture sees a future where every company is able to tap into the vast potential of data captured in space in order to push past the boundaries of the possible and find new sources of innovation,” commented Tom Lounibos, managing director of Accenture Ventures.

“Although access to this data has traditionally been limited and costly, Open Cosmos removes these barriers with satellites that launch quickly and simply, providing fast access to data on climate changes, energy, resources, navigation and more.”

One of Open Cosmos’s future satellites is MANTIS, which is funded through the UK Space Agency and in partnership with ESA and intended to produce high-resolution imagery to monitor energy infrastructure among other activities.

Long-term demo of building integrated Perovskite PV glass in Japan

The next frontier for distributed clean energy is building integrated PV and other technologies such as low emissivity windows that can support the energy use and efficiency of buildings.

The potential to use the window itself for PV opens up a large amount of potential generation area but conventional silicon-based solar cells give rise to transparency issues, making them most suitable for surfaces such as skylights or greenhouses.

Panasonic asserts they have solved this issue with Perovskite solar cells – and have now launched a 15-month demonstration of their Perovskite PV glass at the newly constructed model house ‘Future Co-Creation FINECOURT III’ in the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town, about 50km south of Tokyo.

In Panasonic’s design, intended “to harmonise with the design of various architectural structures as ‘power-generating glass’”, the Perovskite PV layer is formed directly on the glass.

The company boasts a 17.9% conversion efficiency for the technology, close to that of conventional silicon modules, and the world’s highest level for a Perovskite module of more than 800cm2 in size.

The company also claims that with its inkjet coating method and laser processing technology, flexibility is possible in size, transparency and design to enable customisation to specific requirements.

The Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town has been developed on the site of a former Panasonic plant in Fujisawa City. Its aim is to enable co-creation among residents, companies, local governments, universities and other organisations of new services to solve social and other topical issues.

Sydney university students to build a tokamak fusion device

Students at the University of New South Wales in Sydney have been set with the task of designing and building a tokamak, which will then be housed on the campus.

The initiative, led by nuclear engineer Dr Patrick Burr with support from the University’s Digital Grid Future Institute and industry partners Tokamak Energy and HB-11 Energy, is focused on creating a fusion-capable machine, addressing the engineering challenges of sustaining the extreme temperature and pressure conditions required for fusion for extended periods.

There is no intention actually to attempt to fuse hydrogen once it is built.

“We want to excite the next generation of innovators and make them realise how they can make a big change in the world,” says Burr.

“The students involved in this project will have to develop solutions to big engineering challenges, work closely with industry partners, and push the boundaries of what is possible with fusion energy.

“They will have to master skills that are also highly sought after in other industries, like safety-critical infrastructure, transportation, outer space, and of course conventional nuclear technologies.”

The goal is to have a working device operating within two to three years.

This will potentially be followed by other devices that could achieve fusion using different methods, such as high-power lasers.

“Europe will do whatever it takes to keep its competitive edge.”

So said von der Leyen during her 2023 State of the European Union (SOTEU) address, announcing the EVs inquiry as one of two inititiatives to do just that, the other being a support package for the Union’s wind sector.

State of the EU

Referring to the importance of the European Green Deal at the start of her term in 2019, von der Leyen led her State of the Union address with the importance of the energy sector in enhancing Europe’s position as a competitive global player.

“Four years ago, the European Green Deal was our answer to the call of history and this summer, the hottest ever on record, was a stark reminder of that.”

Referencing the extreme wildfires and flooding experienced this year in Greece and Spain, as well as chaotic extreme weather in Bulgaria and other member states, von der Leyen emphasised how, although much has been done towards net zero, “our work is far from over.

“This is the reality of a boiling planet. The European Green Deal was born out of this necessity to protect our planet, but it was also designed as an opportunity to preserve our future prosperity.”

EV inquiry

This initiative, placing Europe again on the map against global energy competition majors such as the US and China, has been in the works through 2023 via tabled policies such as the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act.

However, although placing Europe on the map as a leading energy player will be key, von der Leyen also cautioned against isolating competitors:

“Our industries and technology companies like competition. They know that global competition is good for business and that it creates and protects jobs here in Europe. But competition is only good as long as it is fair.”

Have you read:
Are Europe’s distribution grids ready for heavy-duty EVs?
US boosts EV value chain with $15.5bn

Hence, the investigation into imported electric vehicles (EVs):

“Take the EV sector. It is a crucial industry for the clean economy with a huge potential in Europe, but global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars; their prices kept artificially low by huge state subsidies.

“This is distorting our market and as we do not accept this distortion from the inside of our market, we do not accept this from the outside.

“I can announce today that the Commission is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles coming from China (…) Europe is open to competition, but not for a race to the bottom.”

This, adds von der Leyen, is part of a strategy to “de-risk, not decouple” trade practices in the EU, a way to boost the Union’s competitiveness while retaining beneficial relations.

According to Reuters reportage, one of many reactions to the announcement of the EVs inquiry was from Sigrid De Vries, head of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), who commented on how “China’s apparent advantage and cost-competitive imports are already impacting European auto makers’ domestic market share, with a massive surge in electric vehicle imports in recent years.

“Von der Leyen’s announcement is a positive signal that the European Commission is recognising the increasingly asymmetric situation our industry is faced with, and is giving urgent consideration to distorted competition in our sector.”

Also commenting was Germany’s VDA Automotive Industry Assocation, which cautioned how “damage must be causally quantifiable and the community interest must be taken into account. Possible backlash from China must also be taken into account.

“One thing is clear: an anti-subsidy investigation alone will not help to solve the existing challenges with regard to the competitiveness of the European landscape. Policymakers in Brussels and Berlin must create the framework conditions to ensure that the transformation succeeds.”

The other initiative is focused on the wind sector, which has been “facing a unique mix of challenges and this is why we will put forward a European wind power package, working closely with industry and member states.”

The package, according to von der Leyen, will go towards fast-tracking permitting, improving the Union’s auction systems, boosting skills and supply chains and enabling eased access to finance.

Bitcoin mining energy consumption revised down

The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, one of the key resources in this area, has had its first major revision since its launch in 2019, leading to a reduction, albeit relatively small, in consumption.

For example, for 2021 where the largest discrepancy occurs, the earlier estimate of 104TWh is revised downward by 15TWh to 89TWh.

For 2023 the estimated anticipated consumption based on the year-to-mid-August is 70.4TWh, rather than 75.7TWh of the earlier model.

Have you read?
Four ways AI could bring us closer to net zero
Site visit: France’s first EV battery gigafactory

The Cambridge team attribute the change to the modelling of the Bitcoin mining hardware and technology, taking into account both the increased efficiency and power of the evolving application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

With the progressive reduction in chip size, there has been a corresponding reduction in power needed to transmit data.

However, this now appears to have slowed and steadied as the advances have approached the physical limits of semiconductor technology, with smaller chip manufacture becoming more challenging and expensive.

The Cambridge team expresses confidence in their estimates and regards each update as a progressive step toward enhancing their reliability, but the team acknowledges that Bitcoin’s actual electricity consumption remains elusive and can only be approximated.

Moreover, while electricity consumption is a crucial element in determining Bitcoin’s environmental footprint, it is one and the energy sources used in mining are just as important. Further research is planned to focus on developing a more nuanced perspective of Bitcoin’s electricity mix and more closely examining the climate risks and opportunities associated with cryptocurrency mining.

Samsung to add generative AI to home appliances

Samsung has been reported as planning to add a generative AI feature to its home appliances in the next year.

Yoo Mi-young, head of the software development team of Samsung’s digital appliances division, was reported speaking at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin: “Generative AI technologies will be applied to voice, vision and display” to enable the household electronic products to have a better understanding of what consumers do and want and to be able to respond accordingly.

It will enable the gadgets to communicate with users in a more conversational manner, and to better respond to their questions based on past exchanges and in context.

They will also be able to provide recipes and dietary suggestions based on for example the food ingredients stored in the refrigerator.

Yoo Mi-young was also quoted as reporting the development of an energy-efficient chip to process the increasing amounts of data of smart appliances, with features such as generative AI.

Hydrogen-powered van doubles the range of EV counterparts

Canadian hydrogen company First Hydrogen has reported that its hydrogen fuel cell powered light van supplied to GB fleet management provider Rivus has achieved an “unbeatable range”, easily more than doubling the upwards range to 240km of other modern light commercial electric vehicles.

The vehicle was trialed with Rivus for just over 4 weeks, and covered over 1,100km in that time. Tests were completed on diverse routes, providing data on how the vehicle operates under different conditions including urban city centre driving and extra urban routes covering both low-speed city centre roads and motorways.

The tests also covered the van both empty and loaded to 90% of its maximum weight capacity, reflecting the way vans will be used in the real world.

The vehicle was found to be not heavily affected by the speed or the payload, and performed well under the different load cycles compared to the electric counterparts, which can experience reductions in range by approximately 10%.

“The main benefit of the vehicle is the refuelling times are quicker than battery electric vehicles charge times. And of course, unlike internal combustion engines, hydrogen vehicles produce zero emissions,” Gemma Horne, Warranty Controller at Rivus, commented.

This is according to findings from data and analytics company GlobalData, which projects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.54% for the market from now to 2027.

According to the company’s report Switchgears for Power Transmission, Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis by Technology, Installed Capacity, Generation, Key Players and Forecast, 2022–2027, while the market has been seen growth across regions, market drivers are context-specific.

For example, states the report, within the growing economies of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East (EMEA) regions, the market’s growth is being propelled by the increasing demand for electricity, with capacity addition in the generation and transmission sectors.

On the other hand, in the Americas and Europe, the report finds the replacement of ageing grid infrastructure, the shift to renewable energy, grid reliability issues, improved policy and investment decisions, as well as technology innovations as key factors.

Have you read:
Liechtenstein to convert MV switchgear to Clean Air  
ABB opens climatic test chamber for energised MV switchgear
London Power Tunnels substation to be SF6-free

EMEA

Overall, states GlobalData, the EMEA region was found to be the leader in the market in 2022, with a share of 44.60% and a forecast to grow to 48.24% by 2027, higher than the growth expected in all other regions.

According to GlobalData, the high voltage (HV) switchgear market in the EMEA region was estimated to be $11.16 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $14.63 billion, registering a CAGR of 5.03% over 2023-27.

An additional driver, states the research, was an observed economic boom for Middle Eastern countries, leading to an increased demand for power.

Commenting on the report’s findings was GlobalData senior power analyst Bhavana Sri Pullagura, who stated how “the growing demand for electricity is giving rise to the need for new power plants, particularly those modes of generation that have minimal impact on the environment.”

With this, stated Pullagura, countries have started looking towards eliminating barriers to deployment of renewable technologies and gas-based generation.

“The falling capital cost and low gas prices also resulted in increased development of renewables and gas power plants. This contributed to the growth of the switchgear market, which is expected to continue as countries seek to increase the share of renewables and gas in their generation mix.”

Asia-Pacific

According to the report, in 2022, Asia-Pacific’s market value stood at $10.77 billion, accounting for a share of 43.05% in the global HV switchgear market. The HV switchgear market in the Americas is expected to reach $3.11 billion by 2027, as the grid requires upgrades to replace aging assets and to accommodate the increasing sources of renewable energy.

China, one of the fastest-growing economies with the largest fleet of transmission substations, topped the report’s global HV switchgear market in 2022 with a value of $7.73 billion, accounting for a 30.0% share. The country is expected to continue its leadership during the forecast period, reaching $9.19 billion in 2027.

Read more:
Replacing F-gases in switchgear: a revolution in the making
SF₆-free AirSeT MV innovation by Schneider Electric

Bhavana Sri added: “The need to build transmission infrastructure to deliver power from renewable sources in remote regions, the increasing domestic demand for electricity, large-scale renewable energy deployment, the projected growth in the gross domestic product and rural electrification initiatives are some of the major factors aiding the growth of its HV switchgear market in China.

“The country is the world leader in ultra-high-voltage transmission, having made considerable investments in the development of transmission systems of voltage level of 765kv and above.”

The other major countries in the Asia-Pacific gas-insulated switchgear market, states GlobalData’s research, include India and Japan. India ranks third after China and the US in the global HV switchgear market, with a value of $1.15 billion in 2022 and a share of 4.60%.

“GlobalData believes that policies established to address environmental challenges and capitalise on market opportunities offered by technologies would notably impact the switchgear market by the end of the forecast period,” states Bhavana Sri.

The retrofit, which encompasses electricity, gas and water meters, is aimed to enable remote meter reading in the diverse environments around the capital Jakarta.

There the meters are in locations including inside private apartments, residential areas, industrial water utilities and shopping malls, which has resulted in meter reading being both challenging and expensive.

Chen Deyu, CEO at Sindcon, says ST Microelectronics’ STM32WLE5 LoRaWAN wireless microcontroller was selected “for its high integration benefits to our customers and because it enhances performance, size, security and power consumption.”

Have you read?
Wien Energie to deploy LoRaWAN network in Vienna
Indonesia’s New Energy Paradigm Digital Series

The STM32WLE5 wireless MCU is a sub-GHz wireless microcontroller featuring an Arm Cortex-M4 core operating at 48MHz.

The MCU contains 256kb of Flash memory, 64kb of SRAM, LoRa modulation, and AES 256-bit encryption.

With the STM32WLE5, Sindcon’s retrofitted meters contain an advanced battery management system that can support accurate remote readings for up to 10 years.

The project is Sindcon’s first deployment in Indonesia using the STM32WLE5CC wireless MCU and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Sindcon is involved in several LoRaWAN smart meter installations in Indonesia.

Over the past five years, the company has installed more than 1,000 LoRaWAN smart gas meters for restaurants and other commercial customers in more than 20 shopping malls in the country.

A recently reported new customer is Indonesia KFC, which has adopted Sindcon’s gas meter technology.

In another project, Sindcon has partnered with IoT solution provider IoT Kreasi Indonesia on prepaid gas metering in Jakarta for the country’s state-owned gas transmission and distribution company PGN Group – believed to be a first in Southeast Asia.

In the first phase, some 2,000 LoRaWAN prepaid gas meters have been deployed in collaboration with Chint, whose G1.6 model gas meter has been re-engineered to offer prepayment and LoRaWAN wireless data transmission.

Sindcon also has partnered with IoT Kreasi Indonesia on Semtech LoRa and LoRaWAN based smart electricity and water meter deployments in multi-tenant residential buildings.