Global energy demand is growing and will continue to do so as populations increase and people increasingly seek a better quality of life. Energy has been vital to some significant progress in improving lives, and the World Bank has highlighted the crucial role it plays in eradicating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity.[1]
As demand increases, the future of energy distribution and the efficiency with which this is done has particularly fascinated me. As an investor in both the energy and technology sectors, the idea of an ‘internet of energy’ has particularly captured my interest.
The Internet of Energy (IoE)refers to the upgrading and automating of infrastructure and usage for energy producers and manufacturers. This would allow energy production to become more efficient and cleaner, with the least amount of waste. A leading aim of IoE is to create a power grid that works as a single ecosystem. Analysis of consumer usage would be used to optimise the grid, so it operates more efficiently, reliably and with sustainable resources.
The biggest hurdle to this is the overwhelming amount of data and time it takes to analyse it all. However, as AI capability increases and cutting-edge IT technology like cloud computing is on the rise, these could be the solution.
IoE would also allow consumers like myself to increase the efficiency of our energy usage, for instance with devices that have smart forecasting systems using weather forecasts, expected traffic flows and other information to predict future energy demand. Alternatively, with appliances such as a washing machine that only powers on when there’s sufficient energy from solar power in the grid. Not only would this save consumers money, but it would also reduce renewable energy waste. Wastage is currently a significant problem; for example, in 2016, China wasted enough renewable energy to power the entire city of Beijing for a whole year.
As the world moves to cloud-based platforms, one interesting challenge will be ensuring the energy that feeds the increasing numbers of servers, backups and server coolers is from renewable or sustainable sources so as not to counteract the positive environmental effects of this move.
It is clear that IoE is the future, and I am excited to see the possibilities it will create.
[1] (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/04/18/access-energy-sustainable-development-goal-7)
Nicole Junkermann is an international entrepreneur and investor, and the founder of NJF Holdings, an international investment company with interests in venture capital, private equity, and real estate. Through NJF’s venture capital arm (NJF Capital), Nicole oversees a portfolio similar in size to a small venture fund across Europe and the US, including in healthcare, fintech, and deep tech.
