Munich, 11 June 2024 – Europe's leading smart energy company gridX introduces the ‘Ready for gridX’ label. The company is thus expanding its range of services and creating a framework for close collaboration with leading manufacturers (OEMs) in various European markets. The aim is to increase the interoperability of energy assets using gridX's own energy management solution. The ‘Ready for gridX’ label will also visibly adorn products with immediate effect. This is intended to show which OEMs cooperate bilaterally and actively with gridX for optimal end-to-end interoperability of energy assets in the context of energy management.
The first technology partner to join gridX is KOSTAL, a manufacturer of inverters and other devices. Further strategic technology partnerships are to follow soon.
Four focus areas for optimal service
“The energy transition requires as many integrated energy assets as possible and the smartest energy management – but connecting different types of devices from multiple OEMs is still time-consuming today. That's why we have now created ‘Ready for gridX’,” says Tobias Mitter, gridX Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer. In the future, the label will identify products and partners that are actively working with gridX, and its EMS, to ensure optimum interoperability of energy assets. To maximize the value of the label, Mitter and his team have defined four key aspects: simplifying commissioning via a plug-and-play approach; seamless interaction for highly complex energy market use cases; improved firmware and lifecycle management; and the establishment of close bilateral cooperation with OEMs to jointly design future-proof products. By working closely and actively with manufacturers, gridX wants to ensure that new assets are compatible with gridX's energy management solution, the IoT platform XENON and the IoT gateway gridBox, as soon as they are launched. A mutual partnership also ensures smooth operation for the maintenance of products that are already integrated, as firmware updates, for example, can be tested at an early stage and set up in such a way that they ensure smooth operation later on.
KOSTAL is the first partner
For Mitter, the fact that gridX is presenting KOSTAL as its first technology partner is a clear confirmation for the launch of the label: “KOSTAL is a leading German player in the energy technology market and is therefore also hugely important for the topic of smart energy management, both now and in the future,” says the Managing Director. The company is already widely represented with its PV and hybrid inverters from the PLENTICORE series with connected battery storage systems; KOSTAL hardware has long been the first choice in many private homes. Thanks to the close cooperation with gridX, KOSTAL customers will now also have access to smart home energy management across the board – and not just for selected products and new purchases, but also for retrofitting existing assets in the future. “We see great potential in retrofitting in Germany in particular, as many people have been using PV systems and inverters combined with batteries for local power generation and storage for years. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to connect these existing systems to XENON in individual cases,” explains Mitter. “The collaborations that will be concluded as part of ‘Ready for gridX’ will give even more users the opportunity to benefit from smart EMS solutions. We are looking forward to the retrofit challenge,” continues Mitter. For KOSTAL, on the other hand, the partnership with gridX also comes at an opportune time. Many energy installers and new energy services have long been working with the hardware from the Hagen-based manufacturer of power electronics for PV systems. The fact that the manufacturer is now deliberately opening up its own technology for connection to external smart energy management systems is a clear commitment to the user experience of KOSTAL customers.
Do you have any questions about ‘Ready for gridX’?
Visit our press Q&A at The Smarter E in Munich on 19 June at 1pm (stand B5.677) or find out more on our ‘Ready for gridX’ landing page.
gridX is Europe's leading smart energy company based in Aachen and Munich. With its IoT platform XENON, gridX enables manufacturer-independent monitoring and management of distributed energy resources. XENON allows partners to develop and scale energy management solutions faster than ever before. By partnering with gridX, Fastned is able to install more charging points at sites without the need for costly grid extensions, and the Viessmann Group is able to offer its customers intelligent and integrated home energy management systems.