Which companies will we all be talking about next year? Which ones will be out in front, leading the smart grid charge? Nominate your picks for the 11 smart grid companies you think should be on our radar in 2011.
All you have to do to nominate a company for the SGN 11 is enter it in the TalkBack form below or send an email tonominations@smartgridnews.com. Be sure to include the name of the company and a quick explanation why you think it will be a 2011 Smart Grid superstar. But hurry: Nominations must be received by midnight on Jan. 5 to be considered.
Our SGN 10 revisited
How did the companies you chose as last year's most promising fare? From the quick updates below, it looks like our savvy readers did a pretty stellar job of picking "watch worthy" companies.
Ambient: Ambient started out in smart grid communications but has moved into the fast-growing area of grid applications. In December 2010, it, announced the latest release of AmbientNMS, an open and intelligent IP communications platform for smart grid applications. Wall Street Equity Research says Ambient sales have been strong recently, noting that their products have boosted third quarter profits to nearly $2 million versus a net loss the year before.
Beacon Power: This fall the flywheel maker signed a $2.8 million contract with ARPA-E to develop a highly advanced long-duration flywheel for renewable energy integration. That's on the heels of an August award of a $43 million DOE loan guarantee that is helping finance the company's 20 MW flywheel plant in Stephentown, N.Y. Even so, the company dodged a bullet earlier this month when NASDAQ ruled against de-listing Beacon. The company's stock (BCON) has been trading below the $1 threshold since October, 2008. Beacon now has until March to comply with NASDAQ rules.
Consert: In July this Raleigh, N.C.-based smart grid technology provider got a $17.7 million funding round from GE, Verizon and others to support strategic marketing, sales and enhancements to its smart grid software. The company was also a winner in GE's $200 million ecoimagination Challenge. At first glance, you might think that Consert is just another player in the overcrowded home energy management sector. But its partnerships with GE and Verizon and its ambitions to play in the growing virtual power plant market may help it separate from the pack.
GRIDiant: I wrote about GRIDiant's smart grid optimization when it launched its GRIDmaster suite back in March. In November, the Raleigh, N.C. company released another part of that suite, GRIDresponse enterprise grid optimization application, which maximizes the effectiveness of demand response programs while minimizing their impact on customers.
Powerit Solutions: Our readers weren't the only ones to see promise in this Seattle-based provider of energy management systems. This fall it ranked No. 71 on Deloitte's 2010 Technology Fast 500. The company attributes its 1812% revenue growth during the period 2005-2009 to its ability to cut customers' energy bills. The Seattle-based company, which uses technology originally developed in Sweden, lets industrial companies “pre-program” their responses to demand response requests from utilities, so power gets cut back in an intelligent, staged manner that minimizes repercussions while still qualifying for demand response payments.
REGEN Energy: We haven't heard a lot about this Toronto-based company this year, although there are reports it's been talking to California utilities about using swarm logic to intelligently manage EV charging. Based on past briefings by the company, I believe this may be clever technology that is still searching for the right problem to solve.
SmartSynch: No shortage of news about this Jackson, Mississippi smart grid infrastructure company, from partnerships with Sprint and Verizon, SmartSynch’s successful pilots with Duke Energy and formation of the GridRouter EcoSystem to push smart grid interoperability.
Tropos Networks: A quick scan of headlines will tell you this company has been a player this year. Just in the last couple of weeks alone we've seen utilities choosing Tropos' wireless mesh network and Elster announcing it will resell Tropos' networking products.
Viridity Energy: This Philadelphia company was involved in one of the year's more novel energy stories. Its energy management software is part of a smart grid pilot to store electricity generated by subway braking.The company was also selected to build and operate the power trading platform for the Tres Amigas Superstation and to collaborate with EDSA on a groundbreaking San Diego microgrid project.
VYCON: This flywheel technology company started the year with a $13.7 million round of funding to accelerate manufacturing of its energy storage systems. In August the Yorba Linda, CA company was named to the Inc. 500 list of the most entrepreneurial and fastest growing private companies in the U.S.
So now let's move on to 2011. Use the Talk Back comment form below to enter your nominations, or send an email to nominations@smartgridnews.com.
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