In 2021, we realized, probably more than in any year before it, that the energy industry is facing huge disruption, but also enormous opportunities. To survive in the dramatically changing landscape, stakeholders in the industry (and across many intertwined industries) are having to shift focus, adapt business models and adopt new technologies. No challenge, however, is greater than the need to decarbonize.
You’ve probably heard us tout this statistic before but being responsible for three-quarters of global emissions, the energy industry is clearly in need of drastic change. Just think about that figure for a second, and consider the systemic transformation that must take place for an industry built on fossil fuels to switch its entire infrastructure, and adapt all processes, systems and relationships along the value chain towards clean energy.
In response, the energy industry has undergone more change in the last five years than in the previous century. But now to fulfil increasingly ambitious targets – such as those that have recently been announced by the new German government – we need to further accelerate this transformation.
Company impact in numbers
Enabling this shift to renewable energy sources was the driving force behind gridX’s entire foundation. Our founders Andreas Booke and David Balensiefen were inspired by their experiences in coal mines and realized that they could use their technical expertise to modernize an outdated industry and enable a truly impactful transformation. By making renewable energy more cost-efficient, reliable and scalable, our smart energy management solutions enable partners to install more clean energy assets like EV charging stations, heat pumps or solar panels, and engage in more or larger renewable energy projects due to lower costs. As an enabler, our specific impact is difficult to quantify, but when looking at overall emissions savings achieved in collaboration with our partners, the numbers make a real difference.
We had a look at a few of our statistics from 2021 to measure our company impact. We found that gridX-connected systems generated a total of 7139.6 MWh of clean energy. 3,912.9 MWh of this was consumed locally, the rest fed-in to the grid to be used by others. In the German electricity mix, there are 366kg of carbon emissions per MWh, meaning that 1,432 tons of CO2 were directly saved through local consumption and 2,613 tons saved across overall production. We can, of course, not take credit for this entire figure as we are reliant on sustainable partners to achieve such savings.
If you look at electric vehicle charging alone, as of December 1, gridX-connected chargers had used 2,323.6 MWh of electricity this year to date. That’s enough to provide a Tesla model 3 with a total of 46,460 full charges, which would allow it to drive around the earth over 264 times. Factoring in the German electricity mix, that amounts to CO2 savings of 1034 tons compared to an internal combustion engine (ICE) car.
While we are incredibly proud of these figures and achievements, we at gridX are also aware that sustainable impact is more than just a number. It is an entire mindset.
A sustainable approach
At gridX, we focus on increasing our impact by building long-lasting relationships with partners to ensure that they are not only constantly up to date with the most cutting-edge digital solutions, but also so that they can continually maximize CO2 emissions savings. We can’t achieve our mission alone, and therefore we need companies that are aligned with our vision to scale green energy projects, increase the reliability of energy systems and accelerate the adoption of clean, decentralized assets.
We are very proud of the projects we have implemented this year – we have enabled multiple sites to vastly expand their capacity for electric vehicle charging stations without having to undergo grid extensions, helped develop smart districts and energy communities that share and reduce energy, and enabled countless homes to maximize their self-sufficiency.
The other way we are able to constantly increase our impact is by recruiting the best talent from all over the world – welcoming people passionate about sustainability to our gridX family. This year we welcomed 37 new employees, who ensure that our algorithms have the highest quality code, that our products continually meet our clients’ needs and that our solutions enable as many partners as possible to develop clean energy applications.
In 2021, we are pleased to have expanded our repertoire of three nationalities to 16 – we’re looking forward to further developing and expanding next year.
Outlook for 2022
In the coming year, we have many exciting product launches, events and projects on the horizon. We can’t give too much away just yet, but you can look forward to making the development of energy applications even faster and simpler – with the click of just a few buttons – and we look forward to establishing a number of new exciting partnerships. This constant innovation and growth will be driven by our goal to further enable the energy transition and drastically reduce emissions to keep global warming to a minimum.
Thank you to all our partners, supporters and employees, who helped make 2021 so successful. We wish you all a happy and healthy festive season and we can’t wait to have an even greater impact with you in 2022.
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