Sustainable Energy
Elevator Pitch
Problem
- Addressing climate change requires a reliable supply of clean energy.
- (a) Gap between how much electricity we use and when it's available.
- (b) Lack of a connected system for storing excess energy.
- (c) Managing the flow of power (smart grids), and buying and selling it efficiently (energy trading).
- (d) Buying and selling it efficiently (energy trading).
- Centralised power grids, where energy travels long distances from large power plants, are inefficient for local needs because they lose energy and are not suitable to incorporate local supply.
- The current diversity of EV charging apps and payment systems creates a confusing and inconvenient experience for drivers. Charging EV's is not frictionless.
Solution
- Open networks foster interoperability, trust, and innovation in the energy ecosystem, enabling diverse players to collaborate and create solutions.
- Link together through a single communication language all the disparate elements of the green energy ecosystem. This will create a single interoperable market, which is efficient, cohesive, and enables energy market participants to seamlessly connect and transact, ultimately promoting green energy production.
Big Wins
- Unlocking massive flow and exchange of value: By enabling seamless data exchange and standardised communication, open networks create a platform for optimising energy consumption patterns, maximising, efficiency across the decentralised landscape.
- Smarter energy use: Real-time data analysis allows for better resource utilization, promoting smarter energy use for both consumers and providers, leading to cost savings, increased grid stability, and a more sustainable ecosystem.
- Collaboration and competition: Open networks foster collaboration among all stakeholders, driving innovation, healthy competition, and ultimately benefiting everyone involved.
- Scalable and adaptable: This framework provides a foundation for building diverse services like energy rentals, storage (warehousing), and charging infrastructure management, allowing for flexible and rapid development of solutions catering to various needs.
- Simplified access: Open networks enable easy discovery and access to services like EV charging, storage, and peer-to-peer trading through a common API, simplifying user experience and removing barriers to participation.
- Energy self-sufficiency: Open networks empower communities to become more self-sufficient and resilient by enabling microgrids and local energy production. Consumers can become "prosumers," contributing to a sustainable and distributed energy future.
- Streamlined EV charging (seamless discovery, booking and location): Open networks eliminate the need for multiple apps, streamlining the EV charging experience and boosting adoption while reducing range anxiety among users.
- Virtual energy warehouses: Aggregating distributed batteries creates a valuable resource for grid stabilisation and bi-directional energy trading, improving grid reliability, efficiency, and creating new market opportunities.
- Use cases such as smart grid management, storage optimization, and EV integration, are being explored and developed.
Implementation :
Milestones
- Pulse Energy, Sheru, Turno, and Kazam tested green energy use cases with FIDE over a Unified Energy Interface (UEI). Pulse and FIDE’s first use case was to discover electric vehicle (EV) charging stations operated by any charge point operators, with any consumer app, like a WhatsApp chatbot.
- EV charging start-ups have joined UEI to provide device - agnostic interfaces with national scalability (locating charging stations and tap innovatively into new green energy sources), with diverse payment options through Whatsapp, UPI, etc.
- Pulse Energy has entered into partnership with ChargeZone and 20 other charging providers to facilitate easy seamless payment.
- Sheru, on behalf of local distribution companies, coordinates demand for green energy electric vehicle stations with supply of idle stored green energy from homes with solar capacity.
Challenges
- Limited charging infrastructure and insufficient vehicle battery life continue to constrain the rate of growth of the electric vehicle market.
- Big green energy wins will require the expansion of UEI to other use cases and stakeholders.
Next Steps
- Scale up EV charging solution.
- Extend green energy use cases beyond EV charging.
Source: Preliminary research carried out by Cambridge University, JBS. Please note that use cases are evolving.
