Date Added: 25.11.19

From AI fuelled energy usage prediction to advanced battery storage technologies, these days energy start-ups can seem a lot more like technology firms. As an industry that has historically been slow on the uptake of new technologies, we’ve now got innovation coming out of our ears!

We’re now in the middle of a technology boom where emerging companies are adopting a tech first outlook which has become more attractive to today’s digitally savvy consumers. The market was previously dominated almost entirely by the Big 6 energy providers with very little change taking place, one market disruption after another has meant that start-ups are now driving that change upwards and influencing larger companies to follow suit. Since start-ups began taking new age tech and applying it to the energy industry, we’ve made huge strides towards better sustainability and improved customer service to boot.

So, while technology is the driving force behind the shift we’re seeing across the energy and utilities sector, is it going to be enough to take us to where we want to go? The unfortunate statistic about most start-ups going bump in the first two years in in fact, very accurate. We’ve seen several bright and promising energy start-ups with the all-singing all-dancing tech fall almost as quickly as they set up. Take Australian company, Matter Solar for instance – it’s safe to say that having the fancy equipment is still only half the battle.

To carve out a niche in the current energy landscape, newly emerging companies need to strike the right balance between having a slick back office operational process, great customer service and cutting-edge technology that sets them aside from the competition. So, let’s look at some of the biggest trends driven by new age technologies and the energy start-ups that are pioneering them.

The power of data

Potentially one of the biggest step ups in energy history has to be in the way we use data. The sheer quantity of data produced in the industry is greater than almost any other, and with smart meters for instance, the data is being fed back to energy companies at a faster rate than ever before – in some cases up to every 10 seconds!

Thanks to these advancements, the price of energy also changes every half hour which generates new data each time. So without adopting newer and more effective technologies, companies will start to get lost in the quantity of data they have on their hands. You’ve also got to have the right team on board to be able to interpret and make the most of all that valuable insight into how energy is being consumed.

Only effective analytics can harness the data and turn it into actionable insight, which is why energy start-ups such as Bulb, Verv and Limejump who have utilised these innovative analytics from day one are growing at such a rapid rate and providing an excellent service to boot.

Artificial intelligence

AI in the energy and utilities sector is still a relatively new thing and has been focused predominantly on customer relations. However, there are systems using artificial intelligence to take the data generated by households to determine the energy consumption and associated cost of each household appliance.

This leads to greater awareness of not only an overall monthly energy spend but forces us to look more closely at the way we live and use energy. In some ways, start-ups that make use of AI are championing an even bigger cultural change in society’s approach to energy as a whole – something that could impact our environment for the better.

The link between technology focused energy start-ups and sustainability is becoming increasingly clear and seems to be driving broader awareness around energy usage on a consumer level.

Energy storage

Solar power is on the rise, researchers have even predicted that solar panels will eventually be built into roof panels as standard in the not so distant future. In years gone by, one of the major downsides to solar power which seriously hampered its accessibility was the inability to store the energy you’d generated from your panels.

We’ve seen some incredible advancements in battery storage technology over the past few years thanks to innovators like Social Energy. Only a few years ago, those who utilised solar energy for their homes had to use or lose the energy they’d generated, with many having to sell their remaining energy back to the grid.

Thanks to improvements to battery storage, households can now not only generate their own power, but they can actually store it for later use – thus making the whole renewable energy offering a much more attractive one for your average customer. Now, thanks to newly emerged companies like Spirit Energy and Bryt Energy, anyone can make the switch to powering their lives through storable, solar energy.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the energy Data, BI & Analytics world and how you can prepare for the changes from a recruitment perspective, please get in touch with me Lily Moore on 0121 633 30 30.