Top 10 Tech and Innovation Trends for the Energy Industry

StartUs Insight is an innovation intelligence company, headquartered in Vienna with 500+ corporate partners. It recently surveyed nearly 3,000 energy startups to better understand trends in the energy space for technology and innovation.

Top Energy Trends & Innovations in 2021

Renewables (37%) – Use of renewable energy (like solar, wind, bioenergy, hydro, geothermal) to produce electricity or fuels with fewer emissions.

Internet of Energy (IoE) (20%) – Smart grid which improves coordination and optimization in the macro-energy system

Blockchain (8%) – This technology unites all energy stakeholders under a single decentralized network; all transactions pass through a secure and immutable network, eliminating potential losses

Energy Storage (8%) – Enables stable pricing by managing demand from consumers. Helps in reducing the grid loads during peak times

Energy-as-a Service (EaaS) (8%) – Allows for the transitions from selling electricity to selling services; revolves around distributed energy resources that are monitored by a combination of AI and IoT

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) (6%) – Enable the generation of electricity or heat at the place of its consumption; implies the presence of many consumers who produce energy for their own needs, directing any surplus to a common network; eliminates the cost of energy transmission

Demand Side Management (DSM) (5%) – Refers to rationzlization of demand (combining demand management and energy efficiency) to ensure compliance with the capabiities of a power system

Quantum Computing (QC) (3%) – Focuses on developing new energy solutions, improving energy efficiency, and reducing the use of greenhouse gases

Vehicles-to-Grid (V2G) (3%) – A system in which EVs sell energy in response to demand by either returning electricity to the grid or cutting their charge rate (refuelling during weak demand periods); aid in reducing power outages

Power-to-X (PtX) (2%) – Technologies for electricity conversion, energy storage, and reconversion pathways; startups and emerging PtX technologies convert energy and carbon dioxide into new products and materials

Decarbonization and the transition towards increased use of low-carbon renewables, decentralization of electricity distribution, and digitization are issues being addressed by new global start-ups.

Abbreviations:

AI – artificial intelligence

MW – megawatt; 1 million watts

IoT – internet of things; network of people and devices which collect and share data

Sources:

ights.com/innovators-guide/top-10-energy-industry-trends-innovations-in-2021/