Systemex Energies and PNNL bundle their IP’s portfolio for the new generation of demand response

Montreal (Quebec), January 22, 2020 — Systemex Energies, a Canadian leader in modulating electrical consumption technologies, announced today that it has signed a license agreement with Battelle to further commercialize Systemex’s SOFTload^TM – a technological innovation which converts electric loads into grid assets for electric utilities – in North America and around the world. Battelle operates Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Our collaboration with PNNL is ongoing. Systemex Energies continues to work closely with PNNL to provide a market-ready technology for DR that system operators, utilities, aggregators and battery storage project owners to use.” (Simon Jasmin, P.Eng., Ph.D, Technologies Director at Systemex Energies)

This renewed agreement bundles both organization’s IP portfolios for the new generation of demand response that can assess the electric power grid conditions in real time and respond to by modulating electric loads’ power consumption based on grid frequency sensed to provide ancillary services in autonomous or dispatched scenarios.

Electric loads can then become “smart” and improve power grid reliability when faced with intermittent renewable energy sources (wind and solar) and cybersecurity threats, among other reasons. The technology was further adapted in collaboration with the Hydro-Québec’s Research Institute (IREQ) and is currently testing the SOFTload technology on their grid.

In a rapidly evolving U.S. market with a favorable mix of wholesale and distribution participants, a fast-growing renewable and storage mix (hybrids) and an evolving grid architecture becoming more decentralized and more dynamic, the combination of this shared IP portfolio will cover most commercial activities in North America. It will provide both primary frequency response as required by the new U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) rulings, and «stacked services» based on providing multi-services such as frequency response on top of ancillary services.

“This technology has the power to make the North American grid more resilient and reliable by providing a unique, patented contingency solution.” (Peter C. Christensen, deputy director for Licensing – Technology Deployment & Outreach at PNNL)

It is estimated (Brattle Group, June 2019) that the potential of the U.S. market will reach nearly 200GW in 2030 and will, at that time, generate values in excess of $ 15 billion per year. To achieve this, new autonomous demand response technologies should be deployed in conjunction with favorable policies, new technical standards, as well as a favorable regulatory frameworks.

About Systemex Energies

Systemex Energies is a Canadian company founded in 2010 with the purpose of investing and developing technologies by building a significant intellectual property (IP) portfolio. The company has developed two technology platforms, SOFTload ^TM A Demand Response/ Frequency Response technology by load modulation, and HPC^{3 TM}  high performance cooling by direct immersion cooling technologies through wide collaboration with research partnership that include leading universities, research institutes and industries in related fields as well as government bodies.

About PNNL
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory draws on signature capabilities in chemistry, Earth sciences, and data analytics to advance scientific discovery and create solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges in energy resiliency and national security. Founded in 1965, PNNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit PNNL’s News Center. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.