AutoGrid Announces $85M in Funding to Accelerate Deployment of Virtual Power Plants
October 18, 2021 -- AutoGrid Systems recently announced a sizable new round of funding to accelerate energy transition through adoption of electric vehicles, battery storage and renewables generation. SE Ventures, the $500 million venture capital fund based in California, established by industrial major Schneider Electric led the Series D-2 round. Other major funding came from new investors, which included Moore Strategic Ventures, SolarEdge Technologies, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, and GS Futures. Additional investors contributing are: National Grid Partners, Shell Ventures, and Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures.
The funding reinforces AutoGrid’s leadership in acting as a catalyst to accelerate transition to new energy and combat climate change due to human activities. Funding will be used for general corporate purposes to advance global brand expansion and implementation of the technology roadmap. A portion of the funding is also set to be used to purchase equity back from certain existing shareholders.
“In order to successfully reduce our carbon footprint we need to face the harsh reality of our existing infrastructure,” said James McIntyre, senior managing director and COO of Moore Strategic Ventures. “By enabling the complex interplay between utilities, renewable sources of energy, and end consumers, AutoGrid will allow for the rapid adoption of green technologies such as electric vehicles and rooftop solar.”
AutoGrid has pioneered the science of flexibility management which turns the traditional centralized fossil fuel-dependent energy system inside out, giving power back to consumers in their ability to fight climate change by facilitating faster deployment of renewable energy, batteries and electric vehicles.
Lisa Lambert, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at National Grid and president and founder of National Grid Partners, added: “AutoGrid has proven its ability to deploy new capabilities at a global scale. We invested because they have one of the best utility-focused AI teams in Silicon Valley and a broad platform to help utilities enable a smarter energy future.”
AutoGrid’s AI-powered Virtual Power Plant Platform technology is designed to enable immediate climate action by offering a sustainable, resilient and cost-effective alternative to legacy peaker plants. The AutoGrid Flex platform utilizes the spare capacity from batteries, electric vehicles and flexible load to smooth out short-term imbalances in demand and supply while providing economic incentives to the asset owner. Unlike traditional centralized peaker plants which can be disrupted during extreme weather events such as hurricanes, snow storms, fires, or earthquakes, the VPPs consisting of distributed batteries, microgrids and electric vehicles are inherently more resilient and continue to function even in extreme weather conditions.
“Over the last decade, AutoGrid has shown that distributed energy resources can provide the flexibility and efficiency needed for a more resilient and decarbonized grid,” said Brandon Middaugh, director, Climate Innovation Fund at Microsoft. “Our investment in AutoGrid is an opportunity to scale this innovation globally to help create a more livable planet for everyone.”
The new funding will be used to expand AutoGrid Flex™ platform’s capabilities and accelerate deployment at a global scale. AutoGrid will complement its investment in technology platform to build out a world-class services organization to offer a “one-stop-shop” for the optimization and monetization of energy assets for independent power producers, energy-as-a-service companies, electricity retailers and new energy project developers. To this end, AutoGrid has established a 24×7 Networks Operation Center and plans to offer full market participation services in all the major ISOs across the United States in preparation for the impending changes related to FERC Order 2222 which allows direct participation of distributed energy resources into wholesale energy markets.
Source: AutoGrid
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