Schneider Electric, a French multinational company providing energy and digital automation solutions for efficiency and sustainability, agreed to acquire AutoGrid, a provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered optimization solutions for distributed energy resources (DERs).
The acquisition is expected to help AutoGrid accelerate its growth and pace of product innovation.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q3 2022.
“Schneider Electric and AutoGrid have a shared vision for a more sustainable world through electrification, digitization, and decarbonization. With AutoGrid, we can deliver significant value to energy companies by delivering cutting-edge technologies to drive adoption of smart grids and reduction of carbon emissions,” said Nadège Petit, Chief Innovation Officer at Schneider Electric.
In October 2021, AutoGrid raised $85 million in funding from SE Ventures, the $500 million venture capital fund based in California, established by Schneider Electric. The funding was to accelerate the deployment of Virtual Power Plants (VPP).
The company’s AI-powered VPP platform technology enables immediate climate action by offering a sustainable, resilient, and cost-effective alternative to legacy peaker plants.
Unlike traditional centralized peaker plants, which can be disrupted during extreme weather events such as hurricanes, snowstorms, fires, or earthquakes, the VPPs consisting of distributed batteries, microgrids, and electric vehicles are inherently more resilient. They continue to function even in extreme weather conditions.
The AutoGrid Flex platform utilizes the spare capacity from batteries, electric vehicles, and flexible load to smooth out short-term imbalances in demand and supply while providing economic incentives to the asset owner.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2022 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid & Efficiency, in Q1 2022, there were three M&A transactions compared to two in Q4 2021 and six in Q1 2021.
