Gridware, a spring 2020 CITRIS Foundry venture, has raised $55 million in a series B funding round led by Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management firm.
The startup, which makes sensors to evaluate electrical grid integrity and monitor power line hazards, plans to expand its coverage into Europe, starting with the United Kingdom.
Ofgem, Great Britain’s energy regulator, is working on a £80 billion network upgrade as it sees both a huge increase in renewable power sources and soaring demand from data centers. Ofgem’s promised upgrades will increase network expenses, but costs will be offset by more efficient operations.
“Historically, it’s been really hard to drive down costs in operations, but that is what we are doing. In some cases we have been able to reduce outages by 70 percent, whether that means preventing failures in advance or getting the lights back on faster after a storm,” Tim Barat, chief executive of Gridware, said.