Electric Power Research Institute encourages startups to pitch innovative energy ideas for utilities
Through its Incubatenergy Labs program, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is opening an opportunity for startup companies to propose new solutions to issues facing electric power utilities.
Startups will be able to apply online and pitch proposals to a group of electric utilities throughout March 2021. The successful will then get to work with EPRI and utility experts to pursue a paid pilot research and demonstration project within a utility’s service area, demonstrating and scaling their creations appropriately. That project would take place next summer.
“This program will connect promising startups with the electric power industry backing they need to put some momentum behind their innovations,” Erik Steeb, leader of the Incubatenergy program, said. “And this program allows utilities to see for themselves how these innovations perform in a real-world environment without incurring the risk associated with deploying capital.”
The 2021 program will be focused on several specific areas: artificial intelligence, customer and community engagement, customer and community resilience, decarbonization and sustainability, digital utility, electrification, and the workforce of the future. However, if startups have solutions for other challenges, they can still submit applications for them.
The nonprofit EPRI is an organization dedicated to research and development in the generation, delivery, and use of electricity that can benefit the public. Its Incubatenergy program has drawn participation from across the country, with utilities like Ameren and, most recently, Fortis and Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which will join the program for the first time next year.
Applications will be accepted through Jan. 14, 2021.
