Energy Open Piazza consortium secures funding for smart energy systems innovation

The Energy Open Piazza consortium has secured £1.4M in funding from the Power Forward Challenge, a joint initiative organized by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), aimed at supporting innovators from Canada and the UK to come together to deliver high-quality projects that explore the cutting edge of smart grid innovation.

The consortium is made of nine organisations, led by UNIT9, and is formed with the specific intent of assembling all the elements required to adopt a transformative energy solution in the built environment.

UCL Energy institute provides energy market modelling and local regulations analysis within the consortium. 

UCL Energy Institute Associate Professor Dr Catalina Spataru, said: 

“At UCL we are delighted to be collaborating with our consortium partners of the Energy Open Piazza and contribute to the software platform and energy market model, which will facilitate innovative transformation and information sharing across elements of the value chain”.

Other partner organisations are University of Sheffield Energy institute, Energy Systems Catapult, Skanska, and Avison Young in the UK, as well as Boost Energy Ventures, Utilismart Corp, and Integrated Environmental Solutions in Canada.

Energy Open Piazza aims to establish open processes for energy data exchange with respect to medium scale-built environment installations. In particular, large physical building plans and existing sites to identify how energy storage solutions affect ROI.

As we move into an increasingly electrified world, from grid based generation to vehicle charging stations, demand will grow for capacity. Energy Open Piazza is focused on ensuring the investments made in these new technologies are aligned with performance expectations.