Hardly anyone is aware that municipal companies work incessantly for this constant supply. To keep this going and to strengthen the municipal energy industry, these companies are increasingly looking for startups with new ideas for the supply landscape. The start-up companies often bring with them an unprecedented level of expertise in digital matters – an advantage from which energy providers can draw.
Go new ways together
The energy industry is a wide field and includes everything from electricity, gas, water to district heating everything that flows through sockets, faucets and pipes. The municipal utility companies alone produce 84 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year.1 It is only logical for start-ups to network with large companies, launch pilot projects and thus reach a large customer base.
In order to help startups and the municipalities to come together for new projects, Kommunalkredit has for some time been offering a digital platform called KommunalDigital. Here, startups can present their ideas and find companies looking for new solutions.
Exciting startups bring new impulses
KommunalDigital has already discovered many startups from completely different areas of energy supply for themselves: the app provider Powerfox, for example, gives customers an overview of their energy consumption and at the same time provides tips for saving potential. The startup uses KommunalDigital to find important supporters such as energy suppliers and meter operators for their project.
The startup EnergieRevolte in turn wants nothing less than to revolutionize the electricity market. The subsidiary of Stadtwerke Düren shows how successful communal energy supply and founder spirit can be in common: via the startup, municipal utilities offer electricity in the prepaid tariff. The market demand from the customer is so great that the rollout throughout Germany is planned for this year.
Gridhound is also part of KommunalDigital. The startup uses machine learning to detect problems in the power grid in advance, thus ensuring optimal network operation. Important customers for Gridhound are, for example, distribution system operators – these can also be found on the platform.
Analog events for digital partnerships
Numerous events of the VKU also connect the digital partners on an analogue level. Startups and municipal utilities meet several times a year to exchange ideas, get to know new ideas and find important partners.
From 5 to 7 February, exhibitors will be presenting innovative products and solutions for the focus topics Smart City and Climate Solutions to more than 25,000 trade visitors at the industry meeting in the European energy industry at the beginning of February 2019. The VKU will also be there with an exciting program and bring together startups and municipal companies at the stand party on 5 February.