Stabilizing Grids: Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition

Tell us more about how you are helping to solve the challenge of intermittent energy flows across grids.

The systems [grids use today] were built for traditional energy, which has a very linear flow from large power stations into homes and businesses. The big power stations, which are now being removed, had large spinning turbines which worked to keep output stable. It was like operating a steam train that would just run consistently through anything. When using renewable energy sources we are relying on weather like wind or sunshine, so the output is much more skittish and unstable.

To provide a solution for this instability, we have developed a system which I would liken to sonar. It measures the stability of a power grid in real time. Grid operators that have previously been reliant on estimating the flow and stability of renewable energy now have accurate data point, allowing them to make better decisions, and ultimately to use more renewable energy in a safer and more efficient way.

How important could deployment of this technology be in the reduction of carbon globally?

If our measurement system was to be applied globally it would allow more renewable energy to be used and we estimate that it would deliver over one gigaton of carbon savings annually.

The reality is that a power grid has to know how stable it is in order to use more renewable energy. Without this knowledge, grids often have to curtail their renewable energy and pull in energy from high carbon fuels to give them the stability they need. So while our service could be considered very niche, it really is quite critical to enable the renewable energy system and thus achieve global carbon reduction goals.

To give a real example of this, there was a point last year when the whole of the UK’s grid was offered 100% renewable energy. But they could not operate with solely renewable energy because they did not have our system running, which meant they did not have the ability to know if they could safely absorb the energy. So they had to pay gas producers to fire up and give them the stability they needed. If our system had been deployed at the time, they could have avoided that.

How aligned are your net zero ambitions with creating shareholder value?

I would say hugely aligned. The majority of our shareholders are focused to the net zero transition, as are our investors. In essence, the more of our service we can roll out, the closer we can get to relying on renewable energy globally and reaching carbon reduction goals. So our business aims and net zero transition are intimately linked; we cannot separate them. We are 100% signed up to supporting net zero and it's fully aligned with our investors and ultimately shareholder returns.

Your business purpose is clearly strongly aligned to you path to profit, but what are the challenges and constraints to growth that you grapple with?

We are driven to be an international business because of the nature of our customers. Typically there is only one or a few power grids per country. So maintaining growth, and fulfilling our global net zero ambitions, mandates that we expand internationally. This presents quite an organisational challenge, as we have to navigate setting up and operating in multiple countries while maintaining consistent and high quality service levels.

The power providers that we work with have a strong link to their country’s GDP, which means they need to maintain their outputs at all costs. We must ensure our service is highly reliable and accurate everywhere that we are across the world. When you factor in different cultures, different languages, different power systems and different time zones, providing this high level of consistency is a real challenge for us.

From a technical perspective, we have a cloud platform that we can operate all the services from globally, but this still leaves many other operational aspects to navigate. For example, when we go into a new territory we are often starting with a blank slate in terms of recruitment of the right person or team to bring on board. Recruiting internationally is always a challenge, but it is crucial to get this right because that presence in a market will ultimately define our success in that market. We have to ensure our international recruits are fully embedded into our organizational culture and mission, which can be challenging to achieve when we cannot physically bring everyone together.

So I think organizational complexity is one of the biggest challenges that we have to manage, but we have find a way to ensure execution and high quality throughout.

Next chapter: you've got new investors. The opportunity set is large. What keeps you up at night?

We have really strong confidence in our technology. We've got over 200 granted patents globally in 34 countries, and an exceptional engineering pedigree. So, I am not worrying about whether our services work or deliver what they are supposed to. What does concern me is supporting our customers, at scale, across many markets.

The customer type we have are very risk averse, but that can be a positive. If you do a good job, they will talk about it and share that as best practice with their contemporaries in other countries. However if you fail, that also goes ahead. So that is what I take most to heart. How do we ensure we don't fail? I think it’s about building strong relationships and having clear communication to make sure we deliver a very quality service consistently. It is imperative for me that we are able to build on each successive implementation and deliver the same quality regardless of where we are in the world.

Reactive Technologies is an energy tech company providing grid operators and renewable asset owners with market-leading and mission-critical technology solutions to accelerate the clean energy transition.