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Smart Energy Start-up Upside Energy Secures £5.5 Million Investment

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In its first major round of venture capital financing, Manchester-based Upside Energy attracted £5.5 million in order to grow its team and speed up the commercialisation and deployment of its cloud-based smart-grid platform.

Legal & General Capital, the principal investment arm of Legal & General Group, and SYSTEMIQ, an investment and advisory firm, co-led the investment.

Also providing capital are Modern Energy, Bulldog Innovation Group plus individual investors.

Solution to ease peak-time pressures

Upside Energy has developed a technology that connects and benefits both suppliers and users, while reducing carbon emissions.

While the market for renewable power such as wind and solar is growing, these come from multiple sources and are intermittent. This makes it harder for power stations to generate electricity consistently.

Upside Energy’s platform aggregates the energy stored in everyday connected devices, such as batteries and hot water tanks, to create a virtual energy store that can be drawn on as needed.

For National Grid – Upside Energy’s first customer – this means it can better balance electricity supply and demand from renewable sources.

Customers can also save on their energy costs or earn revenue if they avoid using electricity during peak times.

Funding and support

In addition to providing access to business connections and mentoring, Innovate UK has supported Upside Energy in multiple collaborative research and development projects.

This includes a total grant of £470,000 to develop a pilot for its core service and communication protocol, with partners Sharp Laboratories of Europe, Select Innovations (enLight), Tempus Energy and the University of Manchester.

It was also awarded an SBRI ‘first of a kind’ deployment contract for £43,000 to install home energy storage systems into 400 homes with an existing PV system.

Read more about how Innovate UK has supported Upside Energy.

Find out about how we support the energy sector.



Ongoing work

Upside Energy is currently involved in an Innovate UK-funded project.

It is part of a £2.9 million consortium to develop a physical and digital network to integrate systems that will enable the balancing of heating, cooling, electricity, and carbon, via a low-cost approach.

Other collaborators include Cranfield University, London South Bank University, Mixergy, Origen Power and Terra Firma Ground Investigation. ICAX is the lead.

Upside Energy founder Graham Oakes

Upside Energy founder Graham Oakes

Landmark Electricity Link Project For English Channel

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The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has issued a comprehensive decision for the IFA2 (Interconnexion France-Angleterre) project under the TEN-E Regulations, after it attained all of the required statutory consents in UK consenting regime.

The IFA2 interconnector is a 1,000mw high voltage direct current (HVDC) link, which will run from Normandy in France to Hampshire in England. The project is being carried out by National Grid IFA2 Ltd and RTE.

IFA2 map

MMO Senior Marine Licensing Manager Matthew Kinmond said:

This is the first comprehensive decision from the MMO under the TEN-E Regulations and the first in the UK for a cross-border and multiple consenting regime interconnector project. It represents a major milestone for the IFA2 project.

Dave Luetchford Head of IFA2 from National Grid said:

Enhancing Great Britain’s energy connection to France will bring a number of benefits, including increasing security of electricity supplies for both countries and providing opportunities for shared use of renewable energy.

Find out more about the IFA2 project

Find out more about TEN-E Regulations

Electrical Charger Fire In Bathroom Prompts Warning

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We all know the dangers of using electrical equipment in a bathroom, even with something like a mobile phone charger.

Tip : Shaving sockets are for shavers, nothing else….

One fire crew from Torquay and one from Paignton were sent to the property in Edmonds Walk after a neighbour called the fire service to report an alarm sounding and a smell of burning.

On arrival, the crews found a small fire involving an electrical charger in a bathroom. They used two breathing apparatus, a thermal imaging camera and small tools to deal with the incident.

Story and image via – http://www.devonlive.com

Wiring Matters Magazine Issue 68 November 2017

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Here we take a look at what is in Wiring Matters Magazine issue 68 (November 2017).

RCDs: everything an electrician should know

Electricians do the best they can every day they go to work – and we want to leave a job safer than when we found it. But what if despite our best efforts, we actually made things worse without realising it? This article seeks to answer this question!

Interview with Geoff Cronshaw

Wiring Matters interviews the IET’s Geoff Cronshaw on his role on JPEL/64.

Interview with Steven Devine

Wiring Matters interviews Steven Devine on his role as an author and a member of a JPEL/64 Sub-Committee.

Fighting the influx of counterfeit electrical goods

It’s that time of year again where thoughts turn away from grey skies and early, dark nights and on to the more festive moments that punctuate the winter ahead. And as ever, Christmas will see the usual spending on electronic goods, with buyers often pursuing the cheapest possible option.

To read the full articles visit – http://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/index.cfm

Cover for November 2017 issue of Wiring Matters

Every Home And Small Business Will Be Offered A Smart Meter By The End Of 2020

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Measures to ensure consumers continue to get the most out of their smart meters have been introduced to parliament in the Smart Meters Bill  (Wednesday 18 October).

Every home and small business in Great Britain will be offered a smart meter by the end of 2020, saving consumers billions of pounds over the course of this vital national infrastructure upgrade.

The Bill, first announced in the Queen’s Speech, will enable the government to continue to regulate the roll-out of smart meters up to completion at the end of 2020.

It will also help the government to act on the results of any findings made after 2020 that could improve the experience for consumers and small businesses.

The legislation will also ensure consumers are protected in the unlikely event that the company running the national smart meters communications infrastructure, currently the Smart Data and Communications Company, were to become insolvent.

This will bring the programme in line with other utilities such as water and energy network companies.

Energy Minister Richard Harrington said:

The roll-out of smart meters continues at pace with almost 7.7 million already operating in Great Britain and nearly 350,000 being installed every month, bringing an end to estimated bills and helping people to save energy and money.

Every home and small business will be offered a smart meter by the end of 2020. The Bill published today will ensure consumers continue to get the most from their smart meters once installed, during and beyond the roll-out.

Smart Meters Bill Q&A (PDF, 208KB, 5 pages)

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