Energias De Portugal says flex will be key, invests in GridBeyond

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Michael Phelan: Happy

GridBeyond has landed £9m funding in a round led by Energias De Portugal (EDP), one of the world’s biggest renewable energy companies.

The aggregator and flexible energy platform provider also secured backing from investors including Total’s Carbon Neutrality Ventures, Irish utility ESB and Act Venture Capital.

The firm, with offices in Dublin and Watford, said it will use the money to fund domestic and international expansion, with plans to double headcount within the next three years.

EDP Comercial chief executive, Vera Pinto Pereira, said the company invested to “gain experience in managing flexibility in distributed assets.”

Other utilities have taken a similar approach, investing in or acquiring aggregators – with Engie buying into Kiwi Power, Centrica buying Restore and Enel buying Enernoc in recent years.

Electrification, decentralisation and digitisation will make flexible technologies and demand-side response critical, EDP believes.

“The changing paradigm of our sector … leads to the adoption of new technologies that, with the appropriate regulatory framework, allow for a more dynamic portfolio that includes the market’s participation in demand response through flexibility services, something we anticipate will be key to the adequate equilibrium of the electric system in the near future,” added Pereira.

GridBeyond CEO Michael Phelan thanked the investors for backing his company and technology and said the firm “looks forward to implementing the next stages of our development and accelerating our business growth plans over the coming months”.

Interested in demand-side response? Download our free DSR report, with expert views from aggregators, energy suppliers, National Grid, distribution network operators and energy managers that provide flexibility from their assets.

Flexibility and DSR will also be key topics at The Energyst’s ‘Delivering Net Zero’ conference and exhibition, 22-23 April, Silverstone. It’s free to attend, register here.

Related stories:

Mark Davis swaps Total for GridBeyond

Haven Power and GridBeyond ink DSR deal, target I&C firms

GridBeyond strikes DSR deal with ENW’s commercial arm

Michael Phelan: Triad may go by 2022, but flexible firms will only benefit

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