Fronius wins Smart Grids Pioneer Award once again

Smart Grids Week is an international event that has been gaining importance since it first started. Numerous technology and energy companies, grid operators and representatives from the fields of research and administration use this opportunity to learn about the latest trends and developments in the energy sector, as well as to network with other industry representatives.

On the Thursday, the Fronius Management Board was represented by Elisabeth Strauß. Her keynote speech addressed the Fronius vision of '24 hours of sun' (an energy future consisting entirely of renewables), which has been the central focus for Fronius since the beginning of the year.

Petra Ledermüller (Services Management SE) and Gerald Aigner (Innovation Management R&D) represented Fronius at the Smart Service Innovation Day, the motto of which was “From data to innovative energy service in just one day”. In groups with other participants, potential energy services were identified for a wide range of target groups and requirements and a draft of their possible implementation – including a cost-benefit comparison – was produced.

During the accompanying Business Model Contest, the group with Fronius members came up with an impressive idea and was chosen as one of two winners. The task was as follows: “Develop a solution that helps homeowners to coordinate their energy production, consumption and mobility in the best way possible”. The team devised an extremely innovative approach, which stated that in times of constantly falling or even non-existent feed-in tariffs, surplus PV energy should no longer simply be fed into the grid. Instead, surplus energy from PV systems should be used to power public transport and/or car sharing operations. This green energy would then be converted into green kilometres.

The prize included the coveted Smart Grids Pioneer Award and the chance to attend the CEM7 meeting, which will be held in the US. The annual meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial is one of the most important industry platforms for the strengthening of international cooperation in energy policy and the implementation of important climate protection projects.

The rest of the event days during the Smart Grids Week featured technical lectures and presentations on the topics of energy efficiency, intelligent grids and current industry trends regarding these topics.

Michael Schubert flew the flag for Fronius, capturing the interest of the audience with his presentation on Fronius Utility Business Services, while various Fronius inverters on display rounded off the company’s strong presence at the Smart Grids Week.

*Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology in Austria