(2023-12-13) Making Energy Programmable

Matt Mandel (USV): Making Energy Programmable... We’ve previously written about the storage gap... The push to build out storage capacity is just one example of how the edges of the grid are manipulating energy in increasingly complex ways. (Smart Grid)

Originally, the grid was designed to have energy flow unidirectionally: from centralized power plants to end-customers

energy systems are evolving into a more multi-directional network

it’s been occurring on legacy infrastructure ill-equipped for the complex demands of a more decentralized energy future

New software is one key component of new energy systems at the edge. Over the last hundred years, we’ve built out massive physical energy networks, but we’ve been slow to add a software layer on top. Our portfolio companies Leap Energy, David Energy, and Ostrom are leading the charge in building those software networks to coordinate how and when devices send, receive, and use electrons

However, software is only as good as the hardware it runs on.

Transformers, the functional interface between the grid and the edge, are bulky boxes that step voltage down by simply running it through two copper coils. They are analogue systems that inflexibly transform voltage at a fixed ratio. Circuit panels similarly sit at a powerful juncture as the control center for electricity in the home.

One way to make these systems programmable is to incorporate power electronics technology....