It is no longer a secret, nor a great insight, that we are in a revolutionary era in terms of the energy industry. Many technologies , greener and cheaper are implemented , a lot of assets we uses are being electrified (EV’s , heating solution) and more and energy , in general becomes more of commodity than an production resource.

With that development, new challenges and limitations arise and create risks for industrial, commercial, and residential uses and processes. Our current power grids weren’t designed for the challenges they have today - from EV’s to renewables, climate change and urbanization, so the grid needs to be upgraded constantly.

To support grid distribution limitations, there is a need to improve and create more solutions in the field of distribution and energy storage. Energy storage is essential for the transition to a decarbonized economy based on renewable energy sources, and energy distribution needs to be smarter and more resilient.

Due to the fast implementation of EV’s, there will be a need to support the EV’s needs in terms of charging and electricity. As of today, most of the needs are local, and can be resolved through local applications such as microgrid or even home battery charging stations.

In terms of distribution, we should expect development in the low voltage network controls. In leveraging the power of distributed intelligence, which features continuous insight analytics, and control, utility companies can redefine what is possible with low-voltage network management.

Today, energy distribution systems are used as a hub through a single source, power station, that can be either coal, gas, nuclear, hydro, solar or wind. That energy is then distributed through a high-voltage grid before being converted to low-voltage at the consumer end using substations. In the future, while we continue to have the large-scale energy system, we will see an increase in power generated at the edge of the network through micro power stations, solar, wind and all forms of renewables. This will be complemented with battery technologies to store when needed. To implement this change requires a new grid distribution and operational system for the major utility companies.

According to the following report, Over the period between 2017-2021, transmission and distribution and reliability-focused pipeline investments have increased, and outages have declined slightly. Annual spending on high voltage transmission lines grew from $15.6 billion in 2012 to $21.9 billion in 2017, while annual spending on distribution systems — the “last mile” of the electricity network — grew 54% over the past two decades. Utilities are taking proactive steps to strengthen the electric grid through resilience measures. However, weather remains an increasing threat. Among 638 transmission outage events reported from 2014 to 2018, severe weather was cited as the predominant cause. Additionally, distribution infrastructure struggles with reliability, with 92% of all outages occurring along these segments. In the coming years, additional transmission and distribution infrastructure, smart planning, and improved reliability are needed to accommodate the changing energy landscape, as delivery becomes distributed, and renewables grow[.]{dir=“rtl”}

Batteries expected to be used for short-term storage while thermal and mechanical storage will be used for industrial heat and electricity for mid-term storage and electrolyzes will turn excess power from renewables will turn excess power from renewables into green hydrogen that can be stored long term and turned into electricity or transferred to other sectors of the economy as needed.

These are the 3 trends who impacts the energy value chain:

  1. Renewables – technology around renewables is becoming more efficient in terms of solar panels, wind farms, heat pumps, safe nuclear, and more. Availability across the whole value chain – from large utilities to business and consumers- is critical, and this can enable self-generation and provide additional energy back to the grid when surplus is generated.

  2. Batteries

  3. Digitalization/Modernization – Transformation of the energy sector through virtualization will require robust, scalable, and reliable communications infrastructure to enable monitoring and control leveraging the power. For instance, AI can enable energy systems to make intelligent decisions about where, how, and when they consume power in real-time. Edge compute platforms can extract, store, and utilize data at scales, supported by AI accelerators and automated processes , to schedule , manage , and automate the use of renewable energy.