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.

Backed by Innovate UK, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and government teams in India, and delivered by Energy Systems Catapult in partnership with the Indian Institute for Science (IISc), ITES will support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to test, fund and fast-track their innovations to market that help decarbonise transport in India and the UK.

ITES will offer a ‘soft-landing’ for the SMEs, helping to safely develop, test and export solutions that help decarbonise transport. The collaboration will also help SMEs tackle scalability with go-to-market support and access to potential clients, funders and investment.

This first cohort of 20 UK-based SMEs includes teams in the fields of intelligent electricity system services, battery management, charging systems, energy storage, fleet optimisation, hydrogen and rail.

Have you read:
US boosts EV value chain with $15.5bn
Digital twin to decarbonise transport in UK

The different working areas and their respective SMEs include:

Intelligent electricity system Services

• Flock Energy, which uses machine learning to transform energy usage in factories and help them digitalise their operations. The company has developed proprietary algorithms that optimise energy consumption, improving efficiency and productivity.
  
• Terranow, which uses the potential of generative AI to unlock optimal efficiency in the generation and use of energy through focused solutions for forecasting, control and coordination.

Battery recycling and management

• Aceleron Energy, which develops advanced lithium batteries, aiming to accelerate the global shift to cleaner, more renewable energy and to drive sustainable battery technology.
  
• Faraday Battery Limited, which manufactures battery-packs up to 1MW scale for electric vehicles, including tractors, vans, buses and trucks. vehicle, it significantly reduces the lifecycle cost of the electric bus/truck.
  
• Nexmu, which focuses primarily on electric mobility and energy storage. The Nexmu team has integrated its battery management system and related capabilities in the electric powertrain into a single cloud-based platform.

Charging systems

• char.gy, which manufactures amd operatres charging infrastructure, funding, installing, operating and maintaining EV charge points for private landlords and local authorities for their residents who do not have off-street parking.
  
• Entrust Microgrid, chich specialises in smart microgrid systems that maximise user benefits from embedded solar PV, energy storage system, EV charger and other smart energy appliances, and provide the grid with flexibility.
  
• Petalite, which is a second-generation EV charging company that aims to solve the challenges impeding the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure.
  
• [ui!]uk urban integrated ltd, which is an IT consultancy advising local authorities, cities and metropolitan regions in their strategic planning and in the implementation and operation of smart city infrastructures and e-mobility solutions, such as charge point management systems and mobility service provider apps.
  
• Vertical Solar, which is a renewables developer aiming to bring to market new products that remove the traditional constraints associated with solar deployments.
  
• Voltempo, which develops ultra-high power EV charging hubs for heavy vehicle fleets and public service stations.

Energy storage and delivery

• Energineering LTD, which is a consultancy in the realm of industrial energy efficiency and project development. The last five years have seen the team concentrate on developing innovative energy storage solutions, including its patented MECHAPRES system, which uses a combination of reversible heat pumping and Composite Phase Change Material, latent thermal storage to support the needs of decentralised microgrids and DC EV Charging stations.
  
• LiNa Energy, which is developing and commercialising low-cost, solid-state sodium batteries as a safer, more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion. LiNa’s innovation is based on a novel sodium-metal-chloride planar cell, which they state unlocks the high power/energy density potential of established sodium battery chemistry.
  
• PowerUp, which provides an Energy as a Service model, replacing fossil fuel generators with battery PowerStations, using AI algorithms to predict battery behaviours and facilitate just-in-time swapping with renewable energy-charged replacements.

Also of interest:
India to get its first V2G system
India’s Tata selects UK for £4bn EV battery gigafactory

Fleet optimisation

• Flexible Power Systems, which aims to address the increased complexity, risks and cost arising from EV adoption.
  
  The company’s platform provides automated EV fleet and charger management for van, bus, truck or mixed fleets that integrates data from across the business for a view of fleet operations. Part of what this enables, states the company, is the management of power constraints to avoid expensive grid upgrades.

Rail

• Riding Sunbeams, which decarbonises rail traction networks through the development and connection of unsubsidised, direct-wire renewable energy supply.
  
  Riding Sunbeams is now working to develop and demonstrate the required technology to connect solar power and line-side energy storage to feed the Alternating-Current (AC), overhead line railways that make up most of the world’s electrified rail networks.

Hydrogen

• AqSorption, which builds renewable energy systems, concentrating on biogas and combined heat and power plants. Following a series of enhancements to its gasification technology, AqSorption has successfully adapted to move into production of hydrogen.
  
  
• Innervated Vehicle Engineering (IVe), which transforms diesel vans into hydrogen fuel cell vans, offering an alternative to diesel.
  
  
• JET Engineering Services, which works with and on behalf of customers to deliver solutions to technical engineering problems. Following a recent contract award to deliver a hydrogen production system on the subcontinent, and changing priorities in global markets, the company took a strategic decision to redirect its efforts into the green hydrogen sector, and has embarked on a programme to develop a range of projects and products to support this.
  
  
• Logan Energy, which specialises in the delivery of integrated engineering solutions incorporating hydrogen technologies for production through to refuelling.
  
  The team offers a full turnkey service, from project inception & feasibility, design development, manufacturing, installation, and operation and maintenance.
  
  Logan Energy has designed, built, and installed hydrogen production and refuelling stations, and are currently constructing further stations for buses, vans, passenger vehicles, and heavy-duty vehicles.

The 20 SMEs will have access to a range of acceleration support – from start-up mentoring and incubation services, to market research and real-world pilots with Indian businesses that help prove new products on the ground.

Paul Jordan, business leader for innovator support & international at Energy Systems Catapult, commented: “It’s a real pleasure to announce such a strong cohort of SMEs to join us at the start of this major innovation initiative between the UK and India.

“They represent some of the highest-priority innovations needed to tackle transport decarbonisation – from cutting-edge hydrogen, rail, and fleet solutions, to battery storage and management, and other technologies and services that can enable an electric vehicle-ready infrastructure.

“By helping these UK innovators to collaborate, commercialise and trial their solutions in the world’s fifth biggest economy, we hope to both turbocharge decarbonisation efforts and help unleash the economic potential that innovation offers.”

The Innovating for Transport and Energy Systems initiative was launched in May this year.

Installation is being coordinated under the JV’s smart meter national programme (SMNP), which is delivering smart meters to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, NDMC-Delhi and Telangana.

The aim of the SMNP is to improve the billing and collection efficiencies of distribution companies (DISCOMs) operating in the country.

According to EESL, the smart meters are connected through a web-based monitoring system to help reduce commercial losses.

The smart meters are further hoped to enhance revenues and serve as an important tool in the country’s power sector reform.

Power sector reforms

Earlier this year in June, India‘s Ministry of Power announced ₹664 billion ($8 billion) in incentives for power sector reform across the country’s States.

The incentives will be granted in the form of borrowing permissions, aiming to encourage each state to undertake reforms to enhance the efficiency and performance of the power sector.

The financing will be made available via the 2021 to 2022 union budget.

Additionally, states the Power Ministry, ₹1.4 trillion ($17.4 billion) has been earmarked as an incentive to States for undertaking the reforms in the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year.

Have you read:
5 million IoT enabled smart meters for India
INSTINCT 3.0 to drive competitive smart metering applications in India

To be eligible for the incentives, State governments must undertake a set of mandatory reforms and meet stipulated performance benchmarks.

The required reforms include:

• Reducing losses of public sector power distribution companies (DISCOMs) by the State Government
• Transparency in the reporting of financial affairs of the power sector, including payment of subsidies and recording of liabilities of Governments to DISCOMs and of DISCOMs to others
• Timely audits and rendition of financial and energy accounts
• Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements

The contract for the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) initiative with a value of Rs416.84 crore ($50.2 million) has been awarded to HPL Electric & Power.

The goal of the project, which is supported by funding from the World Bank, is to reduce losses and improve the revenue collection for the utility.

The proposal is that the smart meters will be deployed to high-value consumers in selected urban geographies, including Asansol and Kharagpur among others, by the end of 2026.

Have you read?
India pushes locally-made smart meter and EV tech
Why India’s start-ups are driving energy sector innovation

The meters also are expected to improve peak load management and help in better integration of distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar in the grid.

They also should support demand side management by providing consumers with access to their consumption data and hence encourage them to reduce their electricity consumption.

The project marks HPL Electric & Power’s further inroads and broader role in India’s meter market – of which the company claims a 20% market share – with its first as the ‘advanced metering infrastructure service provider’ (AMISP) with responsibility for delivering other smart metering infrastructure and services, alongside its traditional role as supplier to the AMISPs.

“This achievement not only highlights our readiness for change, but also emphasises our preparedness to seize the opportunities in India’s smart metering evolution,” said the company’s joint MD and Chief Financial Officer, Gautam Seth, in an investor call.

As a World Bank-supported project, it is supplementary to but broadly following the guidelines of the national rollout under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

Smart grid development

The smart meter rollout forms part of the smart grid component of the distribution grid modernisation.

Other elements include technology and capacity upgrades of the ICT systems and the deployment of distribution automation technologies and integration of communicable control devices with SCADA.

More broadly other aspects include the strengthening and augmentation of the distribution network in select districts and towns, with retrofits, new distribution and undergrounding of lines for storm protection, and the customary technical assistance for institutional development and capacity building.

The whole distribution grid modernisation is due for completion at the end of November 2026.

Also on the radar are robust earnings from an Indian company for their shunt resistors, which they claim to be the “backbone of smart metering technology and energy management systems” as well as a raised Series B funding round for Electric Vehicle (EV) services provider ev.energy, which they will use for global expansion and new EV data-driven services.

Acquisition to bolster smart metering expertise

IMServ Europe, a UK-based energy data collection and metering specialist, has acquired Power Data Associates, a specialist meter administrator providing unmetered services to electricity, gas and water utilities and non-domestic energy customers.

IMServ is calling the acquisition an augmentation of their existing proposition in energy data collection, advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) and smart metering.

According to the company, unmetered supplies metering systems will be required to upgrade to half-hourly settlement as part of a forthcoming market-wide half-hourly settlement (MHHS) rules.

IMServ has already identified MHHS as a key strategic priority and aims to ease the transition for every sector of the market.\

The acquisition of Power Data Associates is hoped to enable this goal and allow customers with both metered and unmetered requirements to meet their needs ‘under one roof.’

IMServ will be the only company to offer the full range of MHHS services across the metered and unmetered data services segment.

Power Data Associates will continue to operate as a standalone company, with all current employees and senior leadership retained.

Power Data Associates specialises in providing services to help customers manage their unmetered energy usage. Key unmetered applications include street lighting, telecommunications infrastructure and, increasingly, electric vehicle (EV) charge points.

IMServ on the other hand is one of the UK’s leading meter operators and data collectors, servicing over 25% of the UK’s electricity consumption through the monitoring of 80 billion units of energy data.

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
AMI provider acquires a narrowband communications solution
Funding for autonomous EV charging and GridBeyond’s acquisition of Veritone Energy

Robust earnings from smart meter shunt resistors

Indian manufacturer of bimetal/trimetal strips and shunt resistors Shivalik Bimetal Controls has announced robust financial performance for Q1 FY24.

The company reported operational revenue rise to Rs113.07 Crore ($13.7 million) signalling 15.74% YoY growth. According to CFO Rajeev Ranjan, this is “our highest quarterly number in history.”

The company is calling the financial growth reflective of the Indian and global shift towards electrification.

The Indian government’s RDSS scheme has been opening up significant revenue streams for smart metering projects in the aims of reducing aggregate transmission and commercial (AT&C) losses.

Stated the company’s chairman, S.S. Sandhu, “Our shunt resistors are part of the backbone of smart metering technology and energy management systems, providing the precision and reliability required for efficient energy usage.

“As India accelerates its smart meter deployment to achieve electrical energy security, we are proud to be a key player in providing critical components, contributing to the country’s electrification renaissance.”

Shivalik Bimetal Controls was founded in 1984 and is headquartered out of New Delhi. It manufactures and sells thermostatic bimetal/trimetal strips for switching components used in electrical, electronics, automotive, agricultural, medical, defence and industrial applications.

The rising demand for switchgear, battery management and smart metering systems, they state, conveys solid long-term prospects for their product lines.

Exclusive from the floors of EUSEW:
Creating data space with smart meter hubs
For Enedis collective self-consumption is key to energy sharing 

ev.energy enters grid services with successful financing

ev.energy, an EV charging software platform, has received a $33 million Series B raise, bringing total funded capital to $46M.

ev.energy connects EVs to grid networks, intelligently managing charging for more than 120,000 EVs daily by charging vehicles at grid-friendly times and connecting them to the company’s virtual power plant (VPP).

This latest funding round provides a pathway for ev.energy to access an additional 400 million energy customers by utilising their shareholders’ energy retail, fleet, vehicle and insurance networks.

The funding round was led by National Grid Partners (NGP) with support from Aviva Ventures, WEX Venture Capital and InMotion Ventures, with continued support from existing investors Energy Impact Partners (EIP), Future Energy Ventures (FEV) and ArcTern Ventures.

The funding will also enable ev.energy to expand its global operations while building on its growth across the US and UK.

Since 2018, ev.energy has won over 30 national, regional and municipal utility contracts while developing partnerships with charging brands and auto original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like the Volkswagen Group.

In announcing the funding, the company cites their offering of moving, storing and discharging energy for megawatts in flexible capacity as a crucial service in a time when utilities in the US and Europe tackle extreme weather conditions, placing significant strain on the electricity grid system.

Bobby Kandaswamy, Senior Director of Pathfinding & Incubation Investments at National Grid Partners, commented, “ev.energy’s approach to providing a convenient, compelling experience for drivers to charge at home and on the road during grid-friendly times is essential for grid operators.

“Combined with its V2G services, ev.energy positions utilities like National Grid as an accelerant to the clean energy transition.” As part of NGP’s investment, Kandaswamy has joined the ev.energy board of directors.

ev.energy will also use these partnerships to co-create services that leverage vehicle data, deliver smart charging and, in the future, more fully develop bi-directional charging.

WEX Venture Capital’s investment will support the expansion of ev.energy’s solution to bring managed charging to fleet vehicles.

For the latest finance and investment news coming out of the energy industry, make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances Weekly.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

Follow me on Linkedin

Substation automation is a method of using data from intelligent electronic devices to control and automate substations and controlling power systems devices through commands from remote users.

The overall demand for the tech, as forecast by Future Market Insights in Substation Automation Market Snapshot (2023 to 2033), will grow by a CAGR of 6.7% between now and 2032.

The key driver of this market, states the research company, is to reduce human intervention and improve the operating efficiency of the system. Increasing developments in SCADA and communication technologies, along with rising demand for renewable energy projects, are also determinants in the market’s growth.

Smart grid investments

The report outlines how heavy investments within the smart grid space have been developing, indicating the growing recognition of this tech as much needed. Namely, it will help reduce operational as well as maintenance costs, increase plant productivity and ensure high performance, reliability and safety of electrical power network performance.

For instance, in May 2018, they state, Natural Resource Canada announced an investment of $949,000 for a next-generation smart grid project.

The grid project focuses on promoting the adoption of renewable sources of energy and the implementation of technology to integrate new sources of clean energy without compromising the stability and reliability of existing grids.

Have you read:
Europe’s energy market reform backed by parliamentarians
Transgrid to tender battery projects as Australia is named market leader
Digital identities – building block for an automated energy system

Key market players

The North American substation automation market was forecast by the market report to accumulate the highest market share of 36.0% in 2022. On a geographic basis, North America is anticipated to be the largest market for substation automation, owing to the increasing popularity and adoption of advanced intelligent electronic device and communication technologies.

Factors such as increasing investment in energy infrastructure by different governments due to increasing urbanisation and higher energy demand is one of the major factors that is expected to boost this growth over the report’s forecast period.

In addition, increasing dependence on electricity, demand from the power system for advanced technology, requirements to reduce maintenance and operating costs and implementation of government incentives are primary drivers for the country’s market size.

In the Asia Pacific, the market is expected to accumulate a market share of 32.5% this year and is expected to continue to maintain the trend over the forecast period.

The Government of India in particular was found by the research to have launched several schemes to revive power distribution utilities and electrify villages, indicating a strong smart infrastructure vision for the country.

Such rural electrification and the presence of companies bringing in advancements in electrical equipment are expected to strengthen regional growth in the market for the Asia Pacific.

According to the report, in Europe, the market is expected to accumulate a share value of 30% this year. Specifically, the research lists increasing demand for smart grids and increasing adoption of renewable as resulting in major revenue-generating countries across the continent.

In a new white paper prepared in partnership with the Indian Energy Exchange and Australian blockchain pioneer Powerledger, the ISGF states that neither net or gross metering tariffs nor subsidies have led to the expected uptake of solar capacity, mainly due to low feed-in tariffs and unattractive yearly returns from the current market model.

In comparison, peer-to-peer (P2P) trading offers a financially attractive model for both prosumers as well as consumers in the domestic and C&I segment.

In addition, the distribution companies benefit when net metering customers switch to P2P, while the government subsidies, which are presently disbursed to install rooftop solar, can be avoided.

Have you read?
Blockchain a necessity for the distributed grid finds Global Smart Energy Federation
Why India’s start-ups are driving energy sector innovation

The white paper states that the significance of P2P energy trading in promoting rooftop solar has been recognised by the regulator of Uttar Pradesh, which has approved a new set of regulations to facilitate the seamless integration of rooftop solar with the grid.

This follows the implementation in 2020 of a blockchain-based P2P energy trading pilot in Uttar Pradesh by the ISGF and Powerledger, which has received overwhelming interest from multiple distribution companies across India keen to replicate similar projects in their respective regions.

Subsequently, other initiatives have been launched in Delhi and West Bengal among other states.

The white paper states that P2P and local energy markets create both the right market and price signals to boost the deployment of renewable energy assets, such as rooftop solar, to meet India’s national renewables targets of 2030 and beyond.

Some benefits highlighted that can be derived from P2P trading that have emerged from pilots in India include incentivising the deployment of rooftop solar, increasing the viability for net metering prosumers to switch to P2P and trade with C&I consumers and potentially offering higher revenue than gross metering to current subscribers.

Others are reducing the losses incurred by discoms through net metering, helping them to meet their renewable purchase obligation targets, reducing energy transfer on transmission corridors – and thereby deferring capex for the network – helping to remove subsidies for rooftop solar installations and addressing energy inequity by enabling consumers without rooftop solar to purchase green energy and be part of the renewable economy.

Moreover, the suitability of blockchain technology for both low-trust environments and high-information cost environments makes it ideal for the energy sector. With a secure and transparent record-keeping system supported by smart contracts, complex transactions can be automated, ensuring efficient and reliable energy transactions.

While most blockchain use cases are in finance, supply chain management, and identity management, it holds great promise for asset registries and energy trading platforms.

The Indian conglomerate announced the battery cell gigafactory in the UK, valued at over £4 billion ($5.2 billion), which will deliver electric mobility and renewable energy storage solutions for customers in UK and Europe.

The battery gigafactory will produce battery cells and packs for a variety of applications within the mobility and energy sectors. Tata Group will coordinate the venture through its fully-owned arm, Agratas Energy Storage Solutions.

The investment is being hailed as establishing a much-needed competitive green tech ecosystem in the UK at scale.

Have you read:
Volkswagen starts trading on German electricity market
Tata Power wins 1.86 million smart meter order

Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, commented on the multi-billion pound investment, which will “bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover.”

UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, added: “Tata group’s decision to build their new gigafactory here in the UK – their first outside of India – is a huge vote of confidence in Britain. This will be one of the largest ever investments in the UK automotive sector.

“It will not only create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons around the country, but it will also strengthen our lead in the global transition to electric vehicles, helping to grow our economy in clean industries of the future.”

Battery factory a saving grace for UK in the EV race

The EV battery factory announcement comes in as the UK has been experiencing a slow start to their EV industry.

Earlier this year in March, the British Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) issued a call to government to respond urgently to international movements in the EV sector.

The US’s inflation reduction act, for example, has been attracting immense investment from global players as a lucrative market for electric mobility.

According to the SMMT, the UK has significant potential from the progress already made by the domestic automotive sector and supply chain, although more has been needed to capitalise.

Smart Energy Finances: EV charging to exceed $300 billion globally by 2027

Commenting on Tata’s news, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, emphasized how the gigafactory marks “a shot in the arm for the UK automotive industry, our economy and British manufacturing jobs, demonstrating the country is open for business and electric vehicle production.

“It comes at a critical moment, with the global industry transitioning at pace to electrification, producing batteries in the UK is essential if we are to anchor wider vehicle production here for the long term. We must now build on this announcement by promoting the UK’s strengths overseas, ensuring we stay competitive amid fierce global pressures and do more to scale up our EV supply chain.”

The gigafactory hopes to utilise 100% clean power for its manufacturing processes alongside battery recycling technologies to recover and reuse original raw materials.

JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) and Tata Motors will be anchor customers, with supplies commencing from 2026.

GMR Smart Electricity Distribution Pvt Ltd (GSEDPL), a subsidiary of the GMR Group subsidiary GMR Power and Urban Infra Limited, has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the Indian Government to install and maintain almost 7.6 million prepaid smart meters.

The LOI will see GSEDPL implement the smart metering project in the Purvanchal (Varanasi, Azamgarh zone and Prayagraj, Mirzapur zone) and Dakshinanchal (Agra and Aligarh zone) areas of Uttar Pradesh for the respective distribution companies Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.

They will install, integrate and maintain 75.69 lakh (7.569 million) smart meters in the given areas under the LOI over the next 10 years.

The LOI was issued in conclusion to an e-tender for different areas of Uttar Pradesh; GSEDPL participated and emerged as a winner.

An advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project, the LOI extends to supply, installation, integration, commissioning and operation and maintenance of the smart meters.

Have you read:
India’s Genus launches $2bn smart meter funding platform
India to get its first V2G system

The project with a value of Rs75.93 billion (US$928 million) will be executed under the Indian Government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), which has two major components:

1. Financial support for prepaid smart and system metering, as well as upgrading distribution infrastructure
2. Training and capacity building alongside other enabling and supporting activities.

The smart meter rollout is expected to reduce AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial losses) in the designated areas and improve the operational and collection efficiencies of the two Uttar Pradesh discoms.

Additionally, as reported by Mint, the announcement saw the company’s shares spike by 20% and, on the technical front, their stock price rose 17% with the order and outperformed the sector by 16.1% in the past year.

The order is the latest from the country’s government, which has been greenlighting a slew of smart meter orders to enhance the electricity system.

The same week as the issuance of the LOI, Tata Power announced their win of an order for 1.86 million smart meters in eastern central India.

Also in Uttar Pradesh, earlier this year in April, smart metering company IntelliSmart won an order for 6.7 million smart meters, claiming the largest order of its kind the country had seen.

Updated 24 July 2023

The installation of the smart meters will be in the city of Raipur, the state’s capital, and surrounding areas.

The contract with a value of Rs17.4 billion ($212 million) also includes the operation and maintenance of the smart meters over a 10-year period.

“[The project] is a testament to our execution expertise in delivering high value and specialised projects which are aimed at transforming the power distribution domain,” said Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD of Tata Power, about the award.

Have you read?
India’s Genus launches $2bn smart meter funding platform
Why India’s start-ups are driving energy sector innovation

The project is being executed under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and is expected to improve the losses within the designated area and increase the revenue collection for state owned discom, which is responsible for providing electricity across the state of Chhattisgarh.

The award to Tata Power is one of three smart meter tenders covering different areas being made by CSPDCL, although the other two have so far not been publicised.

They nevertheless indicate the scale of awards which are required to meet India’s 250 million smart meter rollout by 2025/2026 target in India.

In order to accelerate projects and control their costs under the RDSS, they can be executed on a ‘totex’ basis, which looks at the total costs over the operating life with no distinction between capex and opex.

Other smart metering rollouts Tata Power is involved include a 750,000 unit deployment for its customers in Mumbai.

In other recent news Indian smart metering company Genus has partnered with Singapore based investor GIC to set up a jv funding platform with a $2 billion initial pipeline.

Genus Power & Infrastructures and Gem View Investment, an affiliate of wealth fund GIC, signed an agreement to set up a platform for Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) concessions.

GIC will hold the majority 74% stake in the platform with Genus holding the remaining 26%.

Genus will be the exclusive supplier to the platform for smart meters and associated services.

The agreement also includes a INR5.2 crore ($63.1 million) investment from GIC’s Chiswick Investment for 15% in the Indian smart metering company.

According to GIC in a press release announcing the JV, the agreement represents the largest transaction in India’s smart metering space.

Have you read:
IntelliSmart bags 6.7 million smart meter order in India – ‘largest of its kind’
India to get its first V2G system

Speaking on the development Jitendra Kumar Agarwal, joint managing director of Genus, in an interview with BQ Prime stated that the platform was created to fund the coming smart meter projects over the next three to five years.

“GIC comes as a financial partner and Genus comes as a technical and system integrator partner.”

When it comes to projects seeking funding, Agarwal states “the platform will have an exclusive arrangement with Genus Power as a system integrator (for AMISPs)…for manufacturing of meters, technical solutions and installation (etc.).”

The platform also is the prime bidder of the contracts to the state electricity boards.

The Government of India is implementing its National Smart Metering Project under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), with plans to install the 250 million meters by 2025 at an estimated investment of $30 billion.

With technical and commercial losses exceeding 15% for all major Indian utilities leading to high financial losses, smart metering projects under the RDSS scheme are hoped to reduce such losses, improve operational efficiency of DISCOMs and improve their financial sustainability.

AMISP concessions are awarded by the various state utilities under the RDSS with a concession life of up to 10 years. Concessionaires receive a monthly service charge during this period for installing and maintaining meters and the associated infrastructure.

With the JV, Genus will supplement its manufacturing and execution capability with access to new capital. Genus has also stated it will scale up smart meter deployment in the country in its bid to support energy security and transition through grid optimisation.

According to the Economic Times, Genus Power Shares hit the 20% upper circuit after the platform agreement.

The transactions are subject to the approval of Genus shareholders and fulfilment of customary closing conditions to the satisfaction of the GIC affiliates.

This is according to the WEF’s report Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2023, which finds that equity is being side-lined as countries continue shifting their focus to energy security.

States the report: “The window of opportunity for the energy transition is closing fast. The limited number of countries simultaneously advancing across all aspects of the energy triangle highlights the challenges that countries face in progressing along their energy transition pathways.”

The report, published in collaboration with Accenture, draws on the Energy Transition Index (ETI).

This year’s WEF report used an updated framework to benchmark 120 countries in the trilemma triangle of equity, energy security and environmental sustainability; as well as the readiness of the enabling environment for the energy transition.

Muqsit Ashraf, senior managing director and global strategy lead for Accenture, commented on the report’s findings: “The window of opportunity for reaching net-zero targets is closing and countries must move urgently to cleaner energy systems. Leveraging technology – both physical and digital, including data and AI – will be essential.

“By pushing the boundaries of disruptive technologies, like generative AI, countries and companies can realize what was previously thought impossible and simultaneously bolster not just sustainability but also better enable energy security and affordability.”

Have you read:
Decarbonisation barred by energy sector challenges – WEF
Electrical grid health key tool to decarbonise cities – WEF

ETI rankings

Over the past decade, states the report, global ETI scores have improved by 10%, supported by an increase of 19% in transition readiness scores, but only a 6% increase in system performance scores.

According to report, Nordic countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, continue to maintain their top ETI rankings, scoring highly on both system performance and transition readiness.

Despite their diverse energy system structures, states the report, the countries share common attributes. These include high levels of political commitment and stable regulatory frameworks, investments in research and development, increased renewable energy deployment and carbon pricing schemes to incentivise investments in low-carbon solutions.

A few countries, such as Kenya and Azerbaijan, jumped significantly in rank this year for making aggressive efforts and improving their regulatory environment and infrastructure.

Importantly, adds the report, in the last decade the world’s largest energy consumer, China, gained 43% – approximately double the global average – in its transition readiness scores, making its way into the top 20 as the only Asian country.

An equitable window is closing

However, only two countries – India and Singapore – were found to be making advances on all aspects of energy system performance. Broadly speaking, ETI scores have plateaued in the past three years; the WEF warns that this speed of transition is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement targets in an inclusive and secure way.

Geopolitical and macroeconomic volatilities that prompted the recent global energy crisis, they cite, have shifted countries’ focus to maintaining secure and stable energy supply at the expense of universal affordability and challenge progress observed in the past decade.

ETI scores declined for approximately 50% of the countries in the past year, which has disproportionately impacted vulnerable consumers, small businesses and developing economies, finds the report.

“The recent turbulence in energy markets has exposed how interconnected energy prices are with macroeconomic and social stability. This can, and has, put developing countries at risk of losing their momentum gained before the energy crisis on access to affordable, sustainable energy,” said Roberto Bocca, head of energy, materials and infrastructure for the World Economic Forum.

“It further demonstrates the importance of balancing improvements in energy security, sustainability and equity – at the same time – to enable an effective energy transition.”

High fuel prices, the report adds, have affected the cost-competitiveness of energy intensive industries, and the rising subsidy burden poses a risk to economic growth.

Additionally, low-income countries have been disproportionately affected, facing simultaneous challenges from fuel price inflation, food inflation and rising debt burden.

The WEF report states that, while performance on environmental sustainability has grown the fastest and countries are prioritizing energy security after lessons from the energy crisis, inclusiveness and equity considerations need to be addressed for a robust and resilient transition.

While the drive for smarter grids, initially led in North America and Europe, has expanded across the world, it has lagged in many emerging markets and developing economies as other challenges such as meeting growing demand with limited resources and ageing infrastructure have taken priority.

But a new report from IEA’s Digital Demand-Driven Electricity Networks Initiative (3DEN) suggests that digital technologies need a higher priority in these countries, with delays in their implementation having considerable costs.

According to the study, digital technologies could save $1.8 trillion of grid investment globally through 2050 by extending the lifetime of grids, while also helping to integrate renewables and minimise supply interruptions.

Have you read?
‘Network planning needs to be ahead of the curve’ – IEA
Smart grid drivers in Latin America

However, failing to upgrade and digitalise network infrastructure properly could cut the economic output in emerging and developing countries by almost $1.3 trillion as reduced productivity, lost sales and wasteful outlays on backup generation push up costs and put net-zero targets at risk.

“Power grids are among the unsung heroes of the energy transition, but they need massive investment,” says IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“While much attention goes to solar panels and electric vehicles, it is grids that connect everything together. By digitalising our grids, our power systems become more reliable and secure and our utilities can better manage the balance of electricity supply and demand. The longer we wait to upgrade and digitalise our grids, the more expensive it will get.”

Digitalisation of the grids

The report highlights the need for digitalisation of the grids as crucial for efficiency and decarbonisation and as one of the keys to the success of the clean energy transition.

For example, the IEA estimates that digitally enabled demand response could reduce the curtailment of variable renewable energy systems by more than 25% by 2030, thereby increasing system efficiency and reducing costs for customers.

Decarbonisation can be further supported through enhanced supply and demand forecasting, enabling integrated energy planning and providing better visibility and greater electricity demand flexibility.

Other roles for digitally enabled technologies highlighted include managing the growing penetration of distributed PV systems – countries such as Brazil, India and South Africa are seeing rapid uptake, for example – expanding clean energy access in remote communities and enabling better management of the growing demand due to end-use electrification.

The report notes that overall current global investment in grids is far short of what is required for net zero emissions by mid-century. Annual investment will need to more than double to around $750 billion by 2030, from around US$320 billion today, the IEA estimates.

Policies to support smart grid implementation

The IEA suggests five policy areas beyond targeted actions to facilitate investments to support smart grid implementation and continuous improvement in emerging markets and developing economy countries.

These are:
● Create a coherent vision of how digital grid technologies can help meet country priorities and modernise planning with updated policy and regulatory frameworks.
● Co-ordinate implementation across government departments, regulators and the digital and electricity industries.
● Facilitate rules and regulations that adequately value digital solutions and incentivise and de-risk digitalisation investments.
● Integrate resiliency and security across all electricity policy domains, including through long-term planning and for example climate strategies.
● Track, evaluate and disseminate digitalisation progress to ensure policy implementation and knowledge sharing.

According to people familiar with the announcement, the project marks the first V2G system deployed in the country, which has been seeing surging investment in the EV market.

Just two weeks ago, Siemens became one of the latest companies to tap into the Indian e-mobility market with a €4.3 million ($4.6 million) acquisition.

“There is a desperate need for energy storage solutions to cater to sudden peaks in demand, especially during summer when the need for cooling solutions [increase],” says Sheru marketing manager Kavin Aadithiyan, who is involved in the project.

“However, standalone energy storage solutions are expensive for power utilities to install and have long payback periods. Distributed V2G networks help with supporting the grid as it offsets the need for expensive capital upgrades.”

According to Aadithiyan, the country has been experiencing a major need for distributed energy storage solutions due to the influx of renewable energy sources coming online. “Over 92% of new installed power capacity in 2022 in the country was solar and wind power,” he said.

Have you read:
Does V2G pose a cyber threat to the grid?
Octopus Energy and National Grid demonstrate first V2G in Great Britain

India V2G: Unstable grid backdrop

A consequence of this – similar to the situation in the Netherlands, where grid connections sometimes have to be halted due to the lack of capacity on the grid – when combined with a lack of energy storage options, has been an unstable electrical grid.

According to the Indian publication Mercom, one of the latest signs that the country’s grid risked blackout came in December last year, when frequency oscillated between 50.55 to 49.41Hz, rather than the allowed 49.90 to 50.05hz.

And this, adds Aadithiyan, is where a V2G solution can help by supporting the grid through both solutions; energy storage to get through periods of high demand alongside a supply of renewable energy to add to the grid.

According to India Times, the system was announced in partnership with BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL). Shikar Sharma, Sheru’s chief operating officer, commented on how the V2G collaboration between Sheru and BRPL will ensure a “constant supply of renewable energy for round-the-clock power.

“Traditional standalone battery storage entails significant capital expenditure. However, [our] solution taps into the untapped battery capacity of electric vehicles, thus resolving the CAPEX challenge faced by BSES, while also generating income for EV and battery owners.”

Distributed and scalable

A distributed network, through the V2G system batteries will be brought online from idle EVs and used to create an energy storage network.

The company is working alongside New Delhi utilities and has entered partnerships with EV fleet owners and operators in other parts of the country.

The hope of these partnerships is to enable a scalable system, as the V2G market in India, which has otherwise been nascent, picks up.

“As we collaborate with more players, we bring online greater storage capacity while also increasing the geographical presence of the storage network across India.

“Our V2G network is not a short-term project [and] we expect to onboard a significant amount of electric vehicle battery capacity onto our network. And this would only be increasing as the electric vehicle fleet in India increases,” added Aadithiyan.

Also on the radar are announcements from Siemens Gamesa of a wind divestment and Siemens Limited, which is expanding its global portfolio via an Indian acquisition.

$49.5 million into Indian smart meter manufacturer

Smart meter maker Genus Power Infrastructures has received $49.5 million from the US International Development Finance Corporation, according to Times of India reportage.

The funding will be used to scale up their capacity to manufacture new smart meters, the company’s managing director Jitendra Kumar Agarwal told the Press Trust of India.

“Genus has partnered with the US International Development of Finance Corporation for an initial commitment of $49.5 million loan to scale up the deployment of electric smart meters across India, supporting energy security and transition through grid optimisation and efficiency.”

The announcement comes as the country has been making several moves to advance the digitalisation of its infrastructure, namely through smart metering initiatives and policy.

The government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in particular has seen several announcements of smart metering rollout, one such being IntelliSmart’s contract for 6.7  million smart meters, which they state to be the largest order to date the country has seen.

Said Agarwal:

“With this partnership…Genus is well poised to become a leading player in the AMISP (Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider) market. Smart metering projects under the RDSS will not only reduce technical and commercial losses exceeding 15% for all major Indian utilities leading to high financial losses, but also improve operations efficiency of DISCOMs and improve their financial health by providing results linked financial assistance.

Genus Power Infrastructures, which has operations in smart metering, smart city and smart grid technologies, forms part of the Kailash Group.

SSEN sustainability RCF

British utility SSEN Transmission has signed its first ever sustainability-linked Revolving Credit Facility (RCF), valued at £750 million ($926.4 million), which includes four key performance indicators:

• Reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions;
• Suppliers setting science-based emission reduction targets;
• CAPEX spend on connecting renewables; and
• Biodiversity net gain delivery commitments across major terrestrial projects.

The north of Scotland’s electricity transmission network, states the electric utility, has a major role to play in supporting the delivery of Scotland and the UK’s 2030 climate change targets.

SSEN Transmission has ambitious plans to invest more than £10 billion ($12.3 billion) in its network in the decade to 2030, to enable the delivery of more renewable energy to the UK grid. 

In 2019, SSEN Transmission was the UK’s first electricity networks company to have its GHG emissions target externally validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), in line with a 1.5°C global warming pathway.

Siemens Gamesa divests Windar

Grupo Daniel Alonso, owner of 68% of Spain-based wind tower manufacturer Windar Renovables, and Siemens Gamesa, which owns the remaining 32%, have reached an agreement to sell Windar to Bridgepoint, a British private investment company.

Details on the purchase price and structure have not been released.

“The sale of Siemens Gamesa’s stake in Windar is a natural decision for us, as part of our strategy to focus on our core business: wind turbine design, manufacturing including blades, installation and maintenance,” said Jochen Eickholt, Siemens Gamesa’s CEO.

Orlando Alonso will continue as President and CEO of Windar and will retain an indirect minority stake in the company.

The closing of the transaction is expected to take place before year end. Final transaction closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Earlier this year Siemens Energy, according to Wall Street Journal reportage, Siemens Energy, which owns a 97.79% stock in Siemens Gamesa, opened its first green bond of €1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to re-finance Siemens Gamesa debt.

Siemens Gamesa ended a challenging fiscal year 2022 with what they called “record backlog”. The company had to cut 2,900 jobs in a pitch to boost profitability, which included a Mistral strategy programme to restructure their operating model, a strategy which came into effect in January this year. 

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
Eni’s €2.2bn share buyback programme and grid smartening for investments
Italgas growth and smart electric meter market snapshot

Siemens taps Indian EV market

Siemens has confirmed the acquisition of Mass-Tech Controls’ EV division, aiming to expand the German giants’ range of e-mobility solutions in the country and expand its global portfolio.

Siemens Limited signed an agreement to acquire the division, which is engaged in design, engineering and manufacturing of a wide range of AC chargers, and 30 to 300kW capacity DC chargers for various end applications for EVs.

The cost of the acquisition is approximately €4.3 million ($4.6 million) on a cash free and debt free basis and subject to other adjustments agreed to between the parties.

While Siemens has been active globally in the e-mobility infrastructure space for more than a decade, this addition is hoped to complete Siemens India’s portfolio of e-mobility solutions and address the needs of the Indian market, which they state has unique requirements such as lower power rating and parallel charging.

“The fast-evolving e-mobility infrastructure market in India is important for Siemens due to its high growth potential. The enhanced portfolio will enable Siemens to meet market requirements such as homologation and local value-add with cost-competitive solutions. With this acquisition, we now have a strong platform to address our customers’ needs with locally designed and produced products,” said Markus Mildner, CEO of eMobility at Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

Closing of the acquisition is subject to fulfilment of condition precedents as agreed between the parties and receipt of requisite regulatory, statutory and other approvals.

Post the acquisition, the EV division of Mass-Tech Controls will be fully integrated into the e-Mobility Business Unit of the Smart Infrastructure Business, Siemens Limited.

Encouraged by the FAME-II policy of the Government of India and electric vehicle policies notified by various state governments, the electric vehicle market in India is in the midst of a transformation.

For the latest in finance and investment announcements coming out of the energy industry, make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances, our weekly column.

I will also be attending European Sustainable Energy Week – will I see you there?

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer, Smart Energy International

Follow me on LinkedIn

The order is being touted as the latest in the company’s robust pipeline of pending smart meter orders in the country, a strategy they are pushing as India continues to roll out state-led schemes for smart metering, such as the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

HPL’s strategic focus on the smart meter sector, they stated in a press release yesterday, is yielding positive results, with a noticeable upsurge in demand. HPL currently has an order book worth over INR1250 crores ($152.6 million).

“We are delighted with our ongoing success, driven by the strong demand for smart meters and our commitment to technological excellence,” said Gautam Seth, joint managing director of HPL.

The order is being touted by the company as in line with a modernisation and process automation vision, which involves the company upgrading its infrastructure to integrate advanced tech and automating key processes.

Have you read:
How does IoT work for smart metering?
Hydrogen – the next challenge in the metering business?

This guiding objective, they state, has resulted in higher productivity levels and a reduction in manual dependency.

“The implementation of government schemes has significantly helped the industry, and we are witnessing tangible results. Our robust pipeline of pending orders, combined with our R&D and process automation initiatives, positions us strongly for sustained growth and continued market leadershi,” added Seth.

Details on the order, such as sectors, ordering parties, smart meter types and amounts ordered have not yet been released. HPL and Electric coordinates metering solutions across domestic, commercial and industrial applications.

This marks the latest in Indian smart metering. Two weeks ago, Indian smart metering company IntelliSmart Infrastructure won an order of 6.7 million smart meters, marking the largest order to date in the country.

In that same week, companies Airtel and Secure Meters announced the deployment of 1.3 million NB-IoT enabled smart meters in the country, which marked the first of such tech being deployed with a 2G and 4G fall-back option to ensure continuous supply.

Under the agreement, the two companies intend to create a demand for green hydrogen in India with the exploration of potential business opportunities and the promotion of its adoption by customers.

The companies also intend to explore the opportunity of setting up hydrogen generation plants including the setting up of electrolysers to blend hydrogen into Indraprastha Gas’s existing pipeline networks suppling gas to households and industrial and commercial operations as well as compressed natural gas for vehicles.

Pawan Kumar, Director (Commercial) at Indraprastha Gas, says the company is in a continuous process of business diversification.

Have you read?
Demand response programme to manage peak load in India’s largest city
Energy Transitions Podcast: How to build a viable green hydrogen economy

“Recently, the government has released several incentives for production of green hydrogen, which will help to attain [its] commercial viability in future.”

Indraprastha Gas has previously piloted hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas in a project in Delhi with the Indian Oil Corporation.

With hydrogen nascent in the automobile sector, the company intends to explore its potential.

Green ammonia production from green hydrogen is another potential business opportunity that will be investigated.

Ashwani Dudeja, President and Director (Green Hydrogen and Ammonia) at ACME Group said the company would offer its experience and expertise, while Indraprastha Gas has a ready-made network to blend hydrogen.

“We will also cooperate on policy matters and help the industry and government to bring in enabling regulatory framework that facilitates and incentivizes the customers to provide long term offtake commitments for green hydrogen and green ammonia.”

Indraprastha Gas is headquartered in New Delhi and supplies natural gas to more than 2 million domestic households and almost 10,000 I&C operations there and in other areas in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The company also supplies compressed natural gas for more than 1.7 million vehicles.

The approximately $2 billion green hydrogen incentive scheme, which is yet to go into operation, is proposed to give producers initially around 10% of their costs.

Earlier in the year ACME Group entered an agreement with Japan’s heavy industry manufacturer IHI Corporation to explore the potential business opportunities of green hydrogen, including production, handling, transportation, distribution and power generation. Under the agreement, IHI also is able to participate as an investor or take offtake in one or more of ACME’s projects in Oman, India, the USA or Egypt.

The company’s new RH1NS200 is an LTE NB-IoT modem chipset that is designed to operate seamlessly on the networks of all major Indian telecommunications carriers.

The company is calling it an ideal solution to serve the Indian smart metering market, which some estimates put at roughly 250 million units over the next five years. The chipset aims to enable customers to build complete NB-IoT modules and satisfy “Make in India” requirements.

The new chipset also can be used in asset tracking, lighting, security and numerous other applications, states Renesas.

Sailesh Chittipeddi, Renesas’ executive vice president and general manager of their infrastructure business unit, commented on the chipset being designed specifically with the Indian market in mind: “Renesas recognies India’s enormous potential in terms of both market size and design talent and we are committed to taking part in future growth driven by the Digital India Act.

“This leading-edge NB-IoT solution is a prime example of tailoring our design and manufacturing strengths to meet the unique needs of this market.”

According to Sony, cellular IoT (both LTE-M and NB-IoT) present an ideal solution for smart meter connectivity due to its lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), high-efficiency and global reach, among others.

Have you read:
Airtel and Secure Meters to deploy 1.3 million NB-IoT smart meters in India
INSTINCT 3.0 to drive competitive smart metering applications in India

Renesas cites the RH1NS200 chipset’s offerings, which include 1uA power consumption in deep sleep mode and an integrated EAL5+ (Evaluation Assurance Level) Secure Element (SE), aiming to ensure the safety of end applications, particularly power and water metering systems.

According to ResearchAndMarkets, the global NB-IoT chipset market size is expected to reach $7.7 billion by 2028 with a 51.6% CAGR during their 2022 to 2028 forecast period.

Additional research from Persistence Market Research shows that, although the US and European regions are dominant in the market, from 2023 to 2033, the tech’s Indian market will grow by approximately 23%.

Indian smart metering company IntelliSmart Infrastructure has been awarded a contract by electric utility Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) to install 6.7 million prepaid smart meters in 14 districts of West Uttar Pradesh.

According to Intellismart, the project is the largest of its kind in India so far and marks the second smart metering project for IntelliSmart after Assam.

The project will take place in the districts of Amroha, Baghpat, Bijnor, Bulandshahar, GB Nagar, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Hapur, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Rampur, Saharanpur, Sambhal and Shamli.

Have you read:
Smart meters for the dynamic grid
Smart Energy Finances: Fulcrum exits smart metering as Badger Meter reports robust smart water demand

Speaking on the announcement, Anil Rawal, the company’s managing director and CEO, said, “We are cognizant that, being the largest of the smart metering projects tendered this far in the country, its timely delivery will be the benchmark for the success of the RDSS programme.

“This becomes our second smart metering project after Assam. At this juncture, when smart meter tenders are being rolled out by the states, this win reinforces the sector’s confidence in the capabilities of IntelliSmart to deliver large projects while ensuring cost advantages essential for the improvement of the operational and financial efficiency of the discoms.”

The project falls under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), which has two major components:

1. Financial support for prepaid smart and system metering, as well as upgrading distribution infrastructure
2. Training and capacity building alongside other enabling and supporting activities.

Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to distribution companies to upgrade infrastructure and smart metering systems, based on pre-qualifying criteria and reform benchmarks.

This marks the latest in Indian smart metering, a priority for the country due to its role in data communication across assets.

Earlier this week, companies Airtel and Secure Meters announced the deployment of 1.3 million NB-IoT enabled smart meters in India, which marked the first of such tech being deployed with a 2G and 4G fall-back option to ensure continuous supply.

The installation of smart meters will be accompanied by service cabling and auxiliaries, implemented in TOTEX (Capital Expenditure and Operational Expenditure) mode under the Design Build Finance Own Operate and Transfer (DBFOOT) arrangement, a project mode appointing one contractor to design, construct and arrange financial resources.

According to the IEA, this explosive growth means electric cars’ share of the overall car market has risen from around 4% in 2020 to 14% in 2022 and is set to increase further to 18% this year.

In a press statement on the report’s release, IEA executive director Fatih Birol commented: “Electric Vehicles (EVs) are one of the driving forces in the new global energy economy that is rapidly emerging – and they are bringing about a historic transformation of the car manufacturing industry worldwide.

“The trends we are witnessing have significant implications for global oil demand. The internal combustion engine has gone unrivalled for over a century, but electric vehicles are changing the status quo. By 2030, they will avoid the need for at least 5 million barrels a day of oil. Cars are just the first wave: electric buses and trucks will follow soon.”

Market concentrations

According to the report, the overwhelming majority of electric car sales to date are mainly concentrated in three markets – China, Europe and the United States.

China is the frontrunner, with 60% of global electric car sales taking place there in 2022. Today, more than half of all electric cars on the road worldwide are in China. Europe and the United States, the second and third largest markets, both saw strong growth with sales increasing 15% and 55% respectively in 2022.

Ambitious policy programmes in major economies, such as the Fit for 55 package in the European Union and the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, are forecast by the IEA to further increase market share for electric vehicles this decade and beyond. By 2030, the average share of electric cars in total sales across China, the EU and the United States is set to rise to around 60%.

During a press debriefing on today, Birol added how: “In the years to come, even with existing policies of today in the three top car markets – China, US and in Europe – 60% of all the cars sold will be electric. Developments outside these top markets are slower, but I know that India, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries are moving.”

These encouraging trends are also having positive knock-on effects on battery production and supply chains, the report finds.

It highlights that announced battery manufacturing projects would be more than enough to meet EV demand by 2030 in the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 report. However, manufacturing remains highly concentrated, with China dominating the battery and component trade – and increasing its share of global electric car exports to more than 35% last year.’

Domestic industry

Several economies have announced policies to foster domestic industries that will improve their competitiveness in the EV market in years to come.

The EU’s Net Zero Industry Act aims for nearly 90% of annual battery demand to be met by domestic battery manufacturers. Similarly, the US Inflation Reduction Act places emphasis on strengthening domestic supply chains for EVs, batteries and minerals.

According to the report, between August 2022, when the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, and March 2023, major EV and battery makers announced investments totalling at least $52 billion in EV supply chains in North America.

Despite a concentration of electric car sales and manufacturing in only a few big markets, there are promising signs in other regions. Electric car sales more than tripled in India and Indonesia last year, albeit from a low base and they more than doubled in Thailand.

The share of electric cars in total sales rose to 3% in Thailand and to 1.5% in India and Indonesia; a combination of effective policies and private sector investment is likely to increase these shares in the future, states the IEA. In India on the other hand, the government’s $3.2 billion incentive programme, which has attracted investments worth $8.3 billion, is expected to increase battery manufacturing and EV rollout substantially in the coming years.

In emerging and developing economies, the report states that the most dynamic area of electric mobility is two- or three-wheel vehicles, which outnumber cars. For example, over half of India’s three-wheeler registrations in 2022 were electric, demonstrating their growing popularity. In many developing economies, two- or three-wheelers offer an affordable way to get access to mobility, meaning their electrification is important to support sustainable development.

EV supply chains and battery production

According to their analysis, the increase in EV demand is concurrently driving demand for batteries and related critical minerals.

Automotive Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery demand was found to have increased by about 65% to 550GWh in 2022, from about 330GWh in 2021, primarily a result of growth in electric passenger car sales. In 2022, about 60% of lithium, 30% of cobalt and 10% of nickel demand was for EV batteries.

Only five years prior, these shares were around 15%, 10% and 2%, respectively. Reducing the need for critical materials will be important for supply chain sustainability, resilience and security, especially given recent price developments for battery material.

New alternatives to conventional lithium-ion are also on the rise, they state. The share of Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) chemistries reached its highest point ever, driven primarily by China: around 95% of the LFP batteries for electric LDVs (Light Duty Vehicles) went into vehicles produced in China.

Additionally, supply chains for (lithium-free) sodium-ion batteries are also being established, with over 100GWh of manufacturing capacity either currently operating or announced, almost all in China.

Although the EV supply chain is expanding, states the report, manufacturing remains highly concentrated in certain regions, with China being the main player in battery and EV component trade.

In 2022, 35% of exported electric cars came from China, compared with 25% in 2021. Europe is China’s largest trade partner for both electric cars and their batteries. In 2022, the share of electric cars manufactured in China and sold in the European market increased to 16%, up from about 11% in 2021.

The Indian telecom provider yesterday announced the partnership with smart metering company Secure Meters to deploy Narrow Band (NB-IoT) services that will power 1.3 million homes in Bihar through a smart meter solution.

According to Airtel, this will be the country’s first NB-IoT solution on a narrow band with a fall-back option that will work on 2G and 4G, aiming to ensure real-time connectivity and uninterrupted transfer of critical data.

NB-IoT is a low-power, wide area, radio network technology developed by 3GPP which enables a wide variety of IoT devices and services including smart meters.

Have you read:
INSTINCT 3.0 to drive competitive smart metering applications in India
Tata Power and Enel Group to deploy smart meter and automation tech in India
Looking into India’s rapid electrification and digitalisation

According to Airtel, their NB-IoT platform is future-ready and scalable to 5G. Their proposition also includes an advanced IoT platform ‘The Airtel IoT Hub’ which has been customised to suit the needs of Advance Metering Infrastructure Service Providers (AMISPs) and includes a Feasibility Tool to help AMISPs plan their meter deployments.

Other functionalities, states the telecom provider, include customer life cycle management and advanced analytics tools like diagnostics, live sessions check and real-time data usage among others.

Airtel touts its network as ready for pan India NB-IoT deployment and designed for superior coverage to address the specific needs of the IoT market.

Ananya Singhal, joint managing director of Secure Meters, said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with Airtel for the implementation of NB-IoT services in our smart meter rollout in North Bihar.

“With Airtel’s support, we were able to seamlessly connect and monitor our meters, resulting in greater efficiency and cost savings for Secure and for our customers in North Bihar…We highly recommend Airtel to anyone looking to implement NB-IoT services in their IoT solutions and look forward to a growing partnership.”

The agreement sees ADB and Tata Power’s distribution arm access non-convertible debentures – debt instruments not backed by collateral – of ₹1.5 billion ($18.2 million) to enhance Delhi’s power distribution through grid enhancements, as well as a $2 million grant to partially finance the purchase and integration of a pilot Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

For the capital city’s distribution upgrade, senior secured financing will be used to commission a new 66/11kV grid, enhance transformers, substations, feeder lines and switching stations, install smart meters and replace obsolete electrical equipment and meters.

According to TPDDL, the 10MWh BESS will be South Asia’s first grid-scale energy storage project at the distribution transformer level.

The system is hoped to enable electricity to be stored and delivered on demand, reducing grid instability and providing the flexibility to integrate intermittent solar and wind energy resources.

Have you read:
INSTINCT 3.0 to drive competitive smart metering applications in India
India plans to smarten its transmission system

The grant to finance the BESS is provided by Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Climate Innovation and Development Fund (CIDF) and administered by ADB.

“Power distribution is a crucial link in the electricity supply chain, and at times one of the most vulnerable. Mainstreaming a battery energy storage system at the distribution transformer level will better integrate renewable energy sources and contribute to a more disaster-resilient power distribution system for Delhi,” said ADB’s director general for private sector operations, Suzanne Gaboury.

Smart meters and energy storage for India’s energy transition

According to the New Delhi Municipal Council, smart meter deployments are an essential aspect of the government’s Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), launched in 2015 to ensure affordable and accessible power.

This announcement is the latest push from Tata Power to install smart tech in the country. TPDDL, which is a joint venture between Tata Power and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, serves 1.9 million customers in North Delhi.

Earlier this year in March, it was announced that TPDDL will be working closely with Enel Group’s Gridspertise to drive digitalisation and automation, one of two pilot projects between Gridspertise and Tata Power, the second being smart meter deployments.

The BESS is also being pushed by TPDDL as part of the country’s drive to integrate more storage systems, opening capacity for renewable energy sources to come online.

In 2022 India’s ministry of power targeted battery storage capacity of 4% total electricity consumption by 2030.

For this, the country would need a total storage capacity of 182GW hours by 2030.

ADB’s financing through CIDF for the pilot BESS will provide proof of concept and lessons learned by TPDDL to implement a planned additional 50MWh of BESS capacity.

Speaking on the distribution upgrade, namely the importance of the new battery system, was Tata Power CEO and managing director Praveer Sinha, who stated how such a system, “plays a crucial role in building a resilient grid and paves the way for a future-ready power distribution network.

“We thank ADB for administering this grant for the integration of the pilot BESS with TPDDL’s network. This will enable us in ensuring high-quality power supply for consumers and help integrate clean energy into the power supply mix.”

The third iteration of IntelliSmart’s annual series of Innovation, Challenge & Hackathon, INSTINCT 3.0 will focus on specific problems that have risen from on-ground operations of smart meter projects.

These include:

• Developing a reliable design solution that will enhance the ability of smart electricity meters to withstand electricity surges up to 10Kv in an operating environment,
• Creating a prototype of an energy exchange platform at a peer-to-peer level based on smart meter-enabled aggregated data and blockchain settlement, allowing consumers to sell energy,
• Demonstrating a solution in which the electricity smart meter acts as host/gateway for connecting and managing home appliances, and residential EV chargers, and has the footprint to connect other utility meters.

A prize of Rs1 million ($12,162) has been allotted for the winning ideas.

Have you read:
Smart Energy Finances: Adani’s smart metering subsidiary
Tata Power and Enel Group to deploy smart meter and automation tech in India
Energy Transitions Podcast: AMI – benefits & challenges of this technology for developing countries

INSTINCT 3.0 and past results

Considered Intellismart’s flagship initiative, INSTINCT aims to develop solutions that will play a pivotal role in India’s vision towards digitalisation of the power sector; more than 900 colleges, 2368 students, 81 startups, 184 professionals, and 145 incubation centres having registered and engaged with the programme’s past iterations.

IntelliSmart – a joint venture between India’s Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) – is currently working with some of the winners of past INSTINCT editions to jointly incubate ideas into working solutions with on-ground application capability.

One such notable idea being worked upon is the Smart NIC system, developed by Boltron, a smart metering and power distribution startup that won INSTINCT 2.0.

Considering the current limitations of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), the solution, with its ability to optimise end-to-end communication across radio frequency and cellular and ensure range, throughput and payload while maintaining security, is hoped to emerge as a game changer for AMI solutions providers and enhance the smart meter implementation process.

The launch of INSTINCT 3.0 was announced by Indian minister of power and new & renewable energy Shri R K Singh at the National Dialogue, Smart-Metered India for a Digitalised & People-centric Power Sector.

Anil Rawal, managing director and CEO of IntelliSmart, said, “It is our efforts to nurture innovation and give wings to potentially transformative ideas that have made INSTINCT a serious program, widely regarded by the innovation community of the country as the flagship hackathon.

“With INSTINCT, our goal remains simple – discovering and developing ground-breaking ideas into potent game-changing products and solutions that will play a pivotal role in the country’s vision towards digitalisation of the power sector.”

Submission deadline and registration for INSTINCT 3.0 is due April 22, 2023.

Also on this week’s finance radar are Accenture’s acquisition of Flutura, an India-based AI company, ABB’s investment in a direct current microgrid startup and Trane Technologies’ Series B investment into a company’s liquid cooling solution, aiming to bolster water cooling efficiencies for data centres.

SMS: smart metering and storage portfolios for profit gains

Scottish-based smart metering company SMS last week declared financial results for the year ended 31 December 2022.

According to the company’s statutory performance measures, announced last week in their annual results, SMS saw a 92% increase in profit before tax.

Specifically, their profit before tax at the end of 2022 was £16 million ($19.6 million), up from £8.3 million ($10.2 million) the year before.

The company, which installs and manages smart meters, energy data, grid-scale battery storage and other carbon reduction (CaRe) assets, has stated its smart metering and grid-scale battery portfolios as prime areas of growth.

Say Tim Mortlock, SMS chief executive officer: “The strong momentum in our meter and grid-scale batteries businesses provides us with confidence in our 2023 and longer term outlook – we will continue to deliver on our sustainable promises.”

Specifically, SMS stated confidence in their medium-term outlook, an expected progressive improvement in 2023’s smart meter installations and a hopeful pipeline expansion into other CaRe assets.

Over the course of 2022, SMS increased its smart metering portfolio by approximately 480,000 installations; up from 1.7 million in 2021 to 2.2 million in 2022.

Revenue generated from meter rental and data contracts, including those from 3rd party-managed meters, was up 13% at £97.1 million ($114 million) from £85.9 million ($105.2 million) in 2021.

From a strategic standpoint, the Group made investments in EV software company Clenergy EV and n3rgy Data, which provides digital services and data analysis – in the hopes of accelerating their capabilities in Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and energy data management.

They have stated commitment to developing a commercial asset base for behind-the-meter tech, such as solar and storage, domestic EV chargers and air sourced heat pumps, seeing long term market opportunities for each.

Smart Energy Finances: SMS smart meters lift dividends and €15.1bn EIB green financing

ABB invests in a DC microgrid startup

Automation company ABB is entering a strategic partnership with Direct Energy Partners (DEP), a start-up using digital technology to accelerate adoption of Direct Current (DC) microgrids.

The partnership involves a minority investment in Direct Energy Partners through ABB’s venture capital unit, ABB Technology Ventures (ATV).

Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

DEP focuses on local energy generation and distribution with scalable DC microgrids that aim to increase customer’s operational autonomy while reducing overall energy and operating costs.

The systems are touted by the startup as 10% more efficient than the industry standard and have a 30% lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

DEP’s DCIDE software platform streamlines the design and implementation of low-voltage DC microgrids. The digital development environment is aimed at enabling users to work solutions by matching designs automatically with real-world products available in its digital marketplace.

Smart Energy Finances: SVB’s collapse and its potential headwinds for cleantech startups

Megawatt-scale, low-voltage DC energy networks will play a key role in the energy transformation.

EVs, solar generation, wind farms, battery storage, hydrogen fuel cells, LED lighting, computing and consumer electronics all either generate or consume power as DC.

Distributing energy around factories, large buildings and sites using a DC microgrid will minimise the number of power conversion steps to provide higher energy efficiency, increased operational reliability and lower total cost of ownership.

Accenture acquires Flutura

IT company Accenture has agreed to acquire industrial Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Flutura, headquartered in Bangalore, India, to strengthen their industrial AI services for clients in energy, chemicals, metals, mining and pharma. Terms of this deal were not disclosed.

Flutura specialises in industrial data science services for manufacturers and other asset-intensive companies.

Its AI platform provides self-service solutions for advanced analytics, aiming to support process, asset management and reliability engineering teams to assess, predict and improve energy efficiency outcomes of production and manufacturing facilities.

Industrial engineers and data scientists can also quickly develop digital models of industrial assets on Flutura’s AI platform, which processes data from disparate IT and operations technology systems.

According to Senthil Ramani, senior managing director and Accenture Applied Intelligence lead for growth markets, the acquisition will enable their client companies – particularly in Australia, South-East Asia, Japan, Africa, India, Latin America and the Middle East – to “reduce emissions, energy consumption and lost output due to unplanned downtime of industrial assets.”

Have you read:
Italy’s Terna invests €11bn in Hypergrid project
Investing in green energy innovation in Rotterdam

Companies need strong AI capabilities to build a digital core and become more successful, according to research Accenture presented at the 2023 World Economic Forum in Davos. Another Accenture study found that most companies are not very AI-mature and have barely scratched the surface of the technology’s potential.

Last year, Accenture acquired data science company ALBERT in Japan. Other recent AI acquisitions include Analytics8 in Australia; Sentelis in France; Bridgei2i and Byte Prophecy in India; Pragsis Bidoop in Spain; Mudano in the UK; and Clarity Insights, End-to-End Analytics and Core Compete in the US.

R&D investment for data centre cooling

LiquidStack, which provides liquid immersion cooling for data centres, has received an investment from Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator.

Trane Technologies, through its strategic brand Trane, develops sustainable Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and is, according to LiquidStack, one of the data centre industry’s most prominent suppliers of mission-critical infrastructure.

The investment aims to support adoption of LiquidStack’s solutions and significantly reduce data center carbon footprint, water consumption, e-waste and environmental impact.

Two-phase immersion cooling drastically reduces data centre direct and indirect carbon footprint to the tune of over 1,500 tonnes per MW versus air cooling.

This translates into 40% reduction in mechanical equipment energy use vs. air cooling, 33% lower CAPEX, 32% lower TCO and up to 69% compaction of data centre white space.

Broader adoption of LiquidStack’s technology can also reduce water usage for powering and cooling data centres by over 300 billion liters per year.

LiquidStack will primarily use the new funding to ramp up manufacturing, including the opening of a facility in the US.

In addition to increasing manufacturing scale, the new facility will include research and development labs, factory acceptance testing and a service training centre to support the demand and adoption of LiquidStack’s immersion cooling technology in hyperscale, cloud, colocation and edge computing applications.

For this and more finance and investment announcements coming from the energy sector, make sure to follow our column, Smart Energy Finances Weekly.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief,
Content Producer, Smart Energy International

Follow me on LinkedIn

While the full report of the task force chaired by the chairman and managing director of the country’s national transmission utility Powergrid doesn’t appear to have been made publicly available, a statement refers to a “modern and smart power transmission system” with features such as real time monitoring and automation, better situational assessment, enhanced utilisation of the transmission capacity, self-healing capability and greater resilience against both cyber attacks and natural disasters.

The system also should be able to manage an increased share of renewable capacity in the power mix, to meet India’s renewable energy goals.

Underlying this will be centralised and data driven decision-making, the development of predictive maintenance with AI and machine learning and the use of drones and robotics for the construction and inspection of transmission assets.

Have you read?
India – 5 million smart meter milestone
Looking into India’s rapid electrification and digitalisation
Smart Energy Finances: India indicates renewed energy priority as NGEL tries paying back $1.1bn renewable debt

“A modern transmission grid is necessary to achieve the government’s vision of 24/7 reliable and affordable power and to meet sustainability goals,” said India’s minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, R. K. Singh, following the approval.

“A fully automated, digitally controlled, fast responsive grid which is resilient to cyber attacks and natural disasters is the need of the hour.”

The task force, which included representatives from the state transmission utilities, other ministries and research organisations among others, recommended a “bouquet of technological and digital solutions” which can be adopted to make the state transmission grids future ready, according to the statement.

These are broadly grouped under the categories of modernisation of the existing transmission system, the use of advanced technology in construction and supervision and operations and management; a smart and future-ready transmission system and up-skilling of the workforce.

These will start to be implemented and run over the next five years.

With the adoption of the recommendations, the Central Electricity Authority was charged with formulating the necessary standards and regulations for the adoption of the solutions identified – SCADA, FACTS, WAMS, PMUs, etc. – and setting benchmark performance levels for the country’s transmission network.

Tata Power, one of India’s largest integrated power companies, joined hands with the Italian multinational energy major to implement the pilots under an MoU.

Tata Power’s distribution arm, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd. (TPDDL), serving 1.9 million customers in North Delhi, will work closely with Enel Group affiliate Gridspertise, jointly controlled by Enel Grids and CVC Capital Partners, on project implementation.

The first pilot will focus on accelerating digitalisation and automation of secondary substations and see Tata Power joining the international co-creation programme of Gridpertise’s QEd – Quantum Edge Device.

The programme aims to virtualise grid functionalities and enable protection and control, automation, real-time fault detection and service restoration of the network.

The other project is aimed at deploying Gridpertises’ metering technology on a pilot basis in the Delhi power distribution network.

It focuses on testing and evaluating new hybrid smart metering technology featuring a dual communication channel, via hybrid Power Line Communication (PLC) and Radio Frequency (RF).

The metering tech is hoped to offer a robust, efficient and secure communication channel by auto-switching between PLC and RF channels depending on real-time field conditions.

Have you read:
A smart grid journey with Robert Denda of Gridspertise
GridVerse – Enel Grids’ approach to the metaverse

Dr Praveer Sinha, CEO & managing director of Tata Power, said: “Tata Power is committed to transform the Indian power distribution landscape through innovation and new-age solutions.

“Our association with Enel Group will help us accelerate digitalisation and automation of the distribution grid, including the implementation of the hybrid meter technology. We believe that these tech advancements will pave the way for sustainable and future-ready discoms in the country.”

Tata Power manages a distribution network of more than 0.4 million CKT km with 12 million customers across India via its discoms. It has also reached a milestone of installing 0.5 million smart meters.

Antonio Cammisecra, head of Enel Grids, said that the agreements announced during the India-Italy Business Roundtable result from years of close collaboration between the Enel Group and leading Indian power sector organisations.

“Enel Grids is proud to…support the country’s ambitious smart metering and digitalisation plans to modernise existing distribution grids, increasing performance and quality, as well to tap the incredible grid development opportunities in a country where demographic and economic growth are pushing electrification.”

Robert Denda, CEO of Gridspertise, added: “After opening Gridspertise’s offices in India, we are very proud to step up our collaboration with Tata Power Delhi Distribution on crucial areas such as smart metering and substation automation with our state-of-the-art proprietary edge computing technology.”

The MoU partnership was signed by Dr Robert Ronald Denda and Dr Praveer Sinha in New Delhi in the presence of other senior officials of both companies. The signing was done on the sidelines of the official visit of the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni.

The Centre of Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) – an R&D Institute operating under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology – transferred the smart metering and Electric Vehicle (EV) tech to private firms.

Developed under the ‘National Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET)’ programme, each technology was developed in the hopes of driving adoption of Indian-manufactured technologies within the country.

Transferred to Pragati Electrocom Private Limited, the smart metering tech is based on Indian standards, suitable for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and is compatible with smart grid communication technologies and supports Distributed Generation (DG).

And in terms of EVs, an AC Charger –  as per Bharat EV AC Charger (BEVC-AC001) specifications and AIS-138 standards – was developed and transferred to two firms, Electronic System and Vellore Electronics and Systems Private Limited.

Have you read:
Smart Energy Finances: India indicates renewed energy priority as NGEL tries paying back $1.1bn renewable debt
Looking into India’s rapid electrification and digitalisation

India-made

During a transference ceremony, Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma – secretary electronics and IT (MeitY), government of India – related the tech developments to Narendra’s campaign, which is hoped to boost Indian entrepreneurship across the country’s sectors.

Sharma stated, according to a government-issued press release, “India has moved from [an] importing nation to exporting nation…There is a huge market for the new and innovative devices and the advantage of this technology is efficiency, which will be a win-win situation for the developer…the industry and ultimately India.”

Modi’s Make in India is based on four pillars:

1. New Processes, aiming to de-license and de-regulate industry
2. New Infrastructure, aiming to develop industrial corridors and smart cities, strengthen existing infrastructure, support innovation and research and identify and develop industry skills for industry across the workforce
3. New Sectors: ‘Make in India’ identified 25 sectors in manufacturing, infrastructure and service activities and foreign direct investmetnt has been opened up
4. New Mindset, aiming to change how Government interacts with industry; Government will partner industry in economic development and will be a facilitator, rather than a regulator.

Sharma witnessed the transfer of the technologies to the private firms, which was attended by the additional secretary, MeitY, Shri Bhuvanesh Kumar, group coordinator, MeitY, Smt. Sunita Verma, officials from C-DAC, Thiruvananthapuram and other dignitaries.

The country’s G20 presidency announced enhanced focus on energy issues, providing immense investment opportunity for energy firms as NTPC Green Energy (NGEL) stated their intention of raising an immense loan of Rs9,000 crore ($1.1 billion) to repay debt obligations after 15 renewable businesses were acquired in April, 2022.

Also on the radar is a new study from Juniper Research, which has found that revenue from EV (Electric Vehicle) charging will exceed $300 billion globally by 2027.

And Elia Group, which consists of Belgian TSO Elia and Germany’s wing of TSO 50Hertz – has become one of several Belgian companies selected to be part of BEL ESG, a new stock market index directly linked to sustainability, launched by Euronext.

India’s G20 Presidency

According to reportage by ET EnergyWorld from the Economic Times, India’s G20 presidency has announced a renewed focus on renewables, hoping to spur much needed investment in the industry.

The announcement was made while inaugurating India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru, as Prime minister Modi mentioned how India’s energy demand has significantly increased and will reach 11% of the global demand as compared to 5% currently.

Renewable investment in the country will be vital for international net zero goals to be reached.

As mentioned by ET EnergyWorld, in India‘s 2023 budget, Rs35,000 crores ($4.2 billion) were allocated as priority capital investment toward the energy transition in line with the government’s stated 2070 net zero goals.

Have you read:
Ten ways India can achieve energy independence
Demand response programme to manage peak load in India’s largest city
Delta Electronics releases India-focused EV and automation solutions

$1.1 billion renewable debt for a past renewables acquisition

NTPC Green Energy (NGEL) plans to raise a loan of up to Rs9,000 crore for repaying debt obligations towards NTPC – a state-run power giant in India – against an acquisition of 15 renewable energy assets and their CAPEX from back in April, 2022.

According to the Press Trust of India (via Outlook India), a document released details the company’s intention.

“NGEL intends to raise fresh debt and repay outstanding liability of about Rs8,200 crore ($990.1 million) towards NTPC by 31 March 2023 along with applicable liability of interest cost. Additional funds to the tune of Rs800 crore ($96.6 million) would be required for additional debt liability based on the balance sheet as on the closing date and for balance CAPEX payments of projects which are yet to achieve full COD (Cash On Delivery),” said the official document.

Press Trust of India further reports that the document stated that the minimum amount of loan offered by banks shall be Rs1,000 crore ($120.7 million) and in multiples of Rs500 crore ($60.4 million) thereafter.

Also of interest:
From unicorn to Gigacorn: the climate finance startup with a ‘secret sauce’
Smart Energy Finances: Enel first to link EU taxonomy with SDGs through sustainability bond

EV charging to exceed $300 billion globally by 2027

Meanwhile, in the international scene, a new study from Juniper Research has found revenue from EV (Electric Vehicle) charging will exceed $300 billion globally by 2027; up from $66 billion in 2023.

The report, EV Charging: Key Opportunities, Regional Analysis & Market Forecasts 2023-2027, assessed leading EV charging vendors and evaluated them on a number of criteria, including depth and breadth of offerings, innovation and future prospects; providing extensive analysis of the competitive landscape in this dynamic market.

The Competitor Leaderboard ranked the three leading vendors as follows:

1. Siemens
2. ChargePoint
3. ABB

Research author Jordan Rookes explained further: “Siemens demonstrates an intricate knowledge of the market; targeting currently underserved segments, particularly public transport and fleets. Competing vendors must diversify their portfolio away from just home and public chargers and start targeting alternative high-growth market segments to maximise their market share.”

The research also predicts by 2027, the total number of plug-in vehicles will surpass 137 million globally; up from 49 million in 2023.

Elia joins sustainability stock market index

Over in Europe, Elia Group has become one of the Belgian companies selected to be part of BEL ESG, a new stock market index directly linked to sustainability, launched by Euronext, a pan-European stock exchange that offers trading and post-trade services.

The index is designed to meet an increasing market demand for improved visibility of sustainable investment tools. It will monitor 20 listed Brussels-based companies that adopt the best Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.

The index identifies and follows 20 BEL 20 and BEL Mid companies and states itself as a “sustainable version of the national blue-chip index” that will now also follow shares listed on the Brussels stock market.

Designed in partnership with ‘Sustainalytics’, a research and ratings institutions for ESG data, the index aims to help investors identify companies that show a strong commitment to sustainable development, combining economic performance with ESG considerations. The makeup of the index will be revised on a quarterly basis.

Elia Group correlates their integration into the new index with the implementation of ActNow, their sustainability programme focusing on five key dimensions in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely:

1. Decarbonising the electricity sector and business activities
2. Minimising environmental impact Group infrastructure
3. Improving health and safety conditions of employees and subcontractors
4. A committment to diversity, equality and inclusion
5. Attention to good governance to ensure long-term sustainable success

For the latest in the energy industry’s finance and investment scene, make sure to follow our column, Smart Energy Finances Weekly.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer, Smart Energy International

Follow me on LinkedIn

Delta, an energy management and industrial automation solutions developer headquartered in Taiwan, announced the two solutions as part of a portfolio during ELECRAMA 2023, India’s tradeshow for the electrical industry and power sector at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida.

The EV solution integrates Delta’s Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers, energy storage systems, solar PV inverters and EV Charging Infrastructure Management System to enable microgrids capable of providing clean and stable electricity to EVs.

The VP3000 series on the other hand is an automation solution with a power rating of up to 630kW that aims to enhance productivity and lower harmonic distortion (THDi) down to 35% in industrial motors used in HVAC, pumps, compressors and water supply applications.

Have you read:
Demand response programme to manage peak load in India’s largest city
EV stakeholder platform to ramp up India’s electric mobility ecosystem

During Delta’s press conference for the show, Benjamin Lin, president, Delta Electronics India, commented: “For two decades now, Delta India has built a unique track record in developing tailor-made solutions to suit the requirements and sustainable goals of our Indian customers…and the Green EV Charging Station launched today at ELECRAMA will help accelerate India’s e-mobility transition even further.

“The new VP3000 Series is an important addition to our broad Industrial Automation Solutions offering for a wide range of applications. Today, we are demonstrating how Delta’s solutions transform transportation, factories, buildings, telecom power sites and data centres into intelligent, connected and sustainable infrastructure.”

Delta cites the portfolio as their latest contribution to the ‘Make in India‘ initiative, an initiative by the country’s Government to create and encourage companies to develop, manufacture and assemble products made in India to incentivise investments into manufacturing.  

The new Demand Response Management Programme comes from the collaboration between India’s largest integrated power company alongside Virtual Power Plant (VPP) and Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) provider, Autogrid.

The programme aims to engage 55,000 residential consumers and 6,000 large Commercial and Industrial (C&I) customers in the country’s most populous city.

With the programme built on the AutoGrid Flex platform, consumers can earn incentives by choosing to curtail their load in response to signals relayed via text messages and email during times of critical need.

Because India’s predominant source of energy is thermal power, aggregating small adjustments by consumers can eliminate the need for costly and heavy-polluting plants.

The programme aims to achieve at least 75MW of peak capacity reduction within the first half-year of management, scaling up to 200MW by the summer of 2025.

Have you read:
EV stakeholder platform to ramp up India’s electric mobility ecosystem
Another 1 million smart meter modules for Madhya Pradesh

AI-enabled demand response

In addition to the Behavioural Demand Response (BDR) programme, Tata Power will stack on an Automated Demand Response (ADR) programme with direct load control assisted by customer participation with its in-house smart plug platform, EZ Home.

“An AI-enabled, demand energy response system has the potential to empower customers and make them join the energy transition journey. Tata Power is committed to making distributed energy resources mainstream and promoting a culture of hi-tech energy conservation,” said Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & managing director, Tata Power.

“India and Tata Power can reach ambitious sustainability goals by leveraging the flexible capacity available by adopting innovative approaches to leverage distributed energy resources,” added Amit Narayan, AutoGrid founder and CEO.

Over the last two decades, India has seen rapid growth in DERs, including solar, smart meters, Electric Vehicles (EVs) and EV charging infrastructure.

The country has a significant opportunity to harness demand-side flexibility, strengthen the grid and advance sustainability, but the lack of a singular, scalable programme has hindered progress in the past.

Additionally, according to Tata Power and AutoGrid, the lack of adequate regulatory approval prevents these resources from being utilised at the incredible scale the Indian market has to offer.

The two companies’ collaboration started in 2021 with Tata Power Delhi Distribution’s residential customers in Delhi.

Based on the success of this engagement, Tata Power expanded the initiative within the Delhi distribution region in 2022 and AutoGrid is now extending this programme across Tata Power’s distribution territories to include all segments.