Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the energy industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked sector coupling solutions.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Sector Coupling Solutions out of 231
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2 093 000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 231 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 energy startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 226 sector coupling solutions, get in touch.
Energenious provides Sector-Coupled Energy Optimization
Sector coupling greatly increases the complexity of local grid networks due to their dependence on multiple energy sources. And with the focus on energy transition, a number of these sources are renewable and require constant monitoring to ensure load balancing. Therefore, each addition and creation process on a local grid needs planning and optimization to provide constant uninterrupted power to the end-users. This is why startups and scaleups are developing solutions that aid utility companies and grid owners manage sector-coupled energy.
Energenious is a German startup that provides software solutions for planning and optimizing sector-coupled energy. MicrogridCreator is the startup’s cloud-based microgrid simulation and optimization engine that assists developers and end-users plan, design and optimize complex sector-coupled decentralized energy systems. MicrogridCreator integrates combined heat and power (CHP), power-to-heat (P2H), and power-to-gas (P2G) units into the system and utilizes the resulting synergy to increase the efficiency of the energy system, as well as runs independently of end-user devices. The software also aids decision-making in the energy transition by considering cost as an optimization target while deciding on the share of renewable energy.
Caldera develops Heat Batteries
Air conditioning makes up a large part of the annual energy consumption of a household. Traditional heating systems in a home rely on heat from burning fossil fuels or wood. But with the increasing focus on climate change, there is an urgent need to reduce the use of fossil fuels. So energy startups and scaleups are developing sector coupling systems that utilize electricity for heating purposes. These solutions also facilitate the energy transition of heating systems.
Caldera is a British startup that develops heat storage systems for households. Warmstone is the startup’s patented thermal storage system that combines recycled and natural materials with electrical elements to generate heat and discharge it through a heat exchanger to produce hot water. Warmstone has a high insulating capacity that minimizes losses, making it suitable for coupling with variable renewable sources like wind energy and providing balancing services to the grid. The solution is easy to install without any need for retrofitting radiator or piping systems.
PositiveEnergy offers Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure
With rapid electrification, there is an increasing requirement of electrical energy on-demand. This is more evident in the case of electric vehicle charging infrastructure which needs to be accessible throughout the road network. But the lower energy economy of EVs and lack of charging stations make electric vehicle owners use range extender kits that run on petrol. This defeats the purpose of electrification as vehicle owners still depend on fossil fuels for energy. This is why startups and scaleups are developing EV infrastructure solutions that allow the low-cost setup of charging stations to improve the sector coupling of the mobility sector.
PositiveEnergy is a US-based startup that develops EV infrastructure and energy storage solutions. The startup’s EV infrastructure solutions cater to the needs of the passenger, commercial, and fleet vehicle markets. PositiveEnergy’s solutions are fully configurable to meet the specific needs of each project and offer a built-in remote monitoring system that makes it easy to deploy and manage. The startup also provides the ability to pick and choose hardware from a range of approved suppliers which optimizes capital investment.
Genr8 makes Blockchain-based Smart Meters
The implementation of sector coupling in a renewable energy economy requires efficient monitoring of energy transactions that takes place in the system. The carbon credits associated with each renewable energy source are important for generators and consumers to have a clear track of their transactions. Therefore, startups and scaleups are utilizing blockchain to develop digital ledgers that track and record all energy transactions in the grid.
Genr8 is a UAE-based startup developing a smart meter that supports bi-directional transfer and monitoring of renewable energy exchange and uses blockchain for the digitization of renewable energy transactions. Their platform’s peer-to-peer system allows users to sell their harvested renewable energy in exchange for Genr tokens. These tokens are convertible into cryptocurrency or tradable for other assets. This facilitates seamless and fraudulent-free energy transactions that protect end-users from overcharging for renewable energy.
Nilsson Energy develops Power-to-Hydrogen (P2H) Electrolysis Units
Hydrogen is an abundant and clean source of energy that provides the energy sector with a solution for carbon emission and reliability. But the conventional hydrogen production method using steam reformation of biomass requires high energy inputs and produces greenhouse gases as byproducts. This is why startups are developing solutions that utilize renewable energy for generating green hydrogen using electrolysis. These solutions avoid the need for biomass processing and couples renewable energy with hydrogen generation.
Nilsson Energy is a Swedish startup that develops power-to-hydrogen solutions. RE8760 is the startup’s plug-and-play electrolysis unit that generates green hydrogen by utilizing renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. This enables the long-term storage of excess energy in the form of hydrogen which is convertible to heat and electricity via fuel cell technology, thereby allowing peak shaving and functioning as a backup power source in periods of low production. RE8760 further increases the reliability of renewable energy sources and has the ability to use any water supply available to generate hydrogen.
Discover more Energy Startups
Energy startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on smart meters, electrification, renewables as well as decentralization. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing the energy industry, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more energy technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free Energy Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
