Technology

PG&E 2024 Innovation Summit to Showcase Novel Climate-Tech Solutions, Additional Speakers Confirmed

Published

3 months ago

October 21, 2024

Leaders from Eaton, GE Vernova, NVIDIA Added to High-Powered Speaker Lineup

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Artificial intelligence for nuclear power generation, carbon-sequestering biochar, long-duration energy storage, submetering and managed charging for electric vehicles, real-time fault detection sensors, a prescribed-burn machine, advanced drones for system inspections, and new undergrounding systems are among the novel solutions and technologies that will be on display November 13 during Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) 2024 Innovation Summit presented in collaboration with DISTRIBUTECH® in San Jose.

“We are proud to work with leading companies advancing energy-focused AI applications, and fire-tech and climate-tech solutions to drive impact across our system with minimal impact to customer bills,” said Quinn Nakayama, Senior Director, Grid Research Innovation and Development, PG&E. “We see the potential for innovation to address emerging challenges across our operations, and we recognize the tremendous opportunity that innovation offers to transform our energy system to deliver for our people, the planet and the prosperity of California for generations to come. Other utilities’ challenges of tomorrow are PG&E’s realities of today, so I look forward to engaging at the summit to share ideas, and–in the spirit of mutual aid and support–I strongly encourage my utility peers across the country to join us in-person on November 13 in San Jose.”

Several industry leaders were recently added to the 2024 Innovation Summit’s high-powered speaker lineup including:

Sean Moser, Senior Vice President & Chief Product Officer of GE Vernova’s Grid Softwaret team and Igor Stamenkovic, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Electrical Services and Systems Division, Eaton will join Joe Bentley, Senior Vice President, Electric Engineering, PG&E for a discussion on the future of electric planning.

Marc Spieler, Senior Managing Director, Global Energy Industry, NVIDIA and Trey Lauderdale, Founder and CEO, Atomic Canyon will join Maureen Zawalick, Vice President, Business and Technical Services, PG&E for a conversation on the role of AI in the nuclear industry.

For the full agenda and speaker lineup, and to register for in-person or virtual attendance visit: Summary – 2024 PG&E Innovation Summit presented by DISTRIBUTECH (cvent.com)

The immersive technology showcase for in-person summit attendees will feature demonstrations by PG&E and peer utilities Avangrid, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison. The showcase will include the following organizations and technologies that PG&E and peer utilities are exploring and deploying to enhance operations, improve customer service, and address changing environmental conditions:

Blue Grit Robotics is pioneering a first-of-its-kind utility undergrounding system that dramatically reduces the cost, complexity, and invasiveness of traditional methods. By harnessing advanced robotics and AI, Blue Grit Robotics is transforming the way utilities are installed underground, making the process safer, more efficient, and minimally disruptive. PG&E identified Blue Grit Robotics through its 2023 R&D Pitch Fest following the inaugural Innovation Summit.

BurnBot builds and operates systems that scale fuel treatment to prevent destructive wildfires. Composed of a team of firefighters, scientists, engineers, prescribed fire practitioners, and forestry professionals, BurnBot is addressing wildfire challenges and risks with its system of technologies that amplify workforce capacity to conduct safe, efficient, and ecological fuels treatment from mastication to prescribed fire. BurnBot recently launched its next-generation controlled burn machine (RX2) that delivers prescribed fire in a way that’s clean and creates very minimal smoke and is 10X faster than what can currently be done by arming boots on the ground and amplifying them with tools and technology, while reducing the risk of escape fire with a minimal impact on the environment. PG&E hosted the first public test of the RX2 in September 2024.

Earth Foundries is a California based, certified woman-owned and certified benefit corporation tackling California’s catastrophic wildfire threat by lowering the cost and carbon footprint of forest remediation. Earth Foundries’ innovative and sustainable Slash Attack™ mobile pyrolysis service converts unmerchantable forest material from forest health and hazardous fuels reduction projects into carbon-sequestering biochar on-site and at-scale. PG&E first tested a pyrolysis machine—also known as a “Carbonizer”–in late 2022 and is working with Earth Foundries to deploy one in Lake County through the Hometown Wildfire Safety Collaborative, a partnership with fire protection associations, safety organizations and environmental sustainability groups to advance wildfire resilience in Lake County.

Form Energy is an American technology company developing a breakthrough, multi-day energy storage system to enable the electric grid to run on clean, reliable, and affordable energy, every day of the year. Form Energy‘s first commercial product is an iron-air battery capable of storing and dispatching energy for 100 hours at system costs competitive with traditional power plants. Form was founded in 2017 with a unified mission: to reshape the global electric system by creating a new class of low-cost, multi-day energy storage systems. The company has already begun trial production of its iron-air batteries from its factory in West Virginia and is preparing to deploy its first commercial projects throughout the U.S. in 2025 and beyond, including a system adjacent to a PG&E electric substation in Northern California.

Gridware is transforming electrical grid management with its advanced sensor technology and innovative smart-pole platform. Focused on enhancing safety, resilience, and reliability, Gridware’s pole-mounted sensors (Gridscopes) monitor power lines in real-time, detecting potential hazards like equipment malfunctions and vegetation encroachment—even during outages. Operators now have access to critical information on when, where, and what faults occur in real time when they need it most. PG&E has deployed 10,000 Gridscopes on 1,000 miles of circuits enabled with Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings. To date, the Gridscopes have prevented five ignitions and provided operationally useful information during 167 events by identifying outage causes and hazards in real-time to dispatch operators.

IND Technology (IND.T) is an Australian and New York-based company specializing in AI-driven predictive analytics to optimize the performance of industrial and energy assets. Their Early Fault Detection (EFD) system represents a major leap forward in this field, monitoring radio-frequency signals on powerlines 24/7 to detect and locate a wide range of incipient faults before they escalate into power outages or wildfires. Working with PG&E, IND.T has successfully demonstrated how this predictive maintenance technology can remotely identify and diagnose electrical asset failures. The EFD system is particularly noteworthy for its precision—it can pinpoint issues within 30 feet, leveraging the combination of smart sensors, radio-frequency signals, and advanced data analytics. This proactive approach not only boosts the reliability of energy infrastructure but also helps utilities optimize maintenance costs by preventing failures and reducing downtime. EFD technology is now widely deployed across North America, serving as a critical tool for utilities to enhance climate resilience and improve operational efficiency.

Itron, a global grid edge intelligence leader, is innovating news ways for utilities and cities to manage energy and water. The company will demonstrate one of its distributed intelligence applications, running on Itron’s Riva electric endpoint, that manages electric vehicle (EV) charging loads in real-time to allow consumers to safely operate Level 2 EV chargers without needing to upgrade their electrical service or compromise reliability within the local grid.

RainIons has developed a game changing, low-cost patented catalytic technology to remove CO2, NOX and other pollutants at the source of hydrocarbon exhaust. RainIons’ coating technology can be applied and scaled from small engines to large utilities, power generation, industrial applications, low/no-energy Direct Air Capture technology and further.

Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy management and automation, committed to providing innovative solutions for a sustainable and efficient energy future. Its advanced technologies empower utilities to optimize grid operations, integrate renewable energy sources, and enhance grid resilience. Through its Digital Grid solutions, Schneider Electric aims to drive the transformation of power distribution, enabling a smarter, greener, and more reliable energy ecosystem for communities and businesses alike. PG&E is working with Schneider Electric to enable a cloud-based Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) to maximize the value of electric vehicles, solar and batteries as flexible grid resources.

Skydio is the leading U.S. manufacturer of autonomous drones, revolutionizing the way utility companies inspect and maintain critical infrastructure. Powered by advanced AI and machine learning, Skydio drone solutions provide a safer, faster, and more efficient alternative to manual inspections, delivering high-resolution data from hard-to-reach areas. With a proven track record in transforming operations for major utilities, Skydio’s drone solutions enable predictive, condition-based maintenance, helping companies like PG&E enhance safety, reduce costs, and improve the reliability of their electrical grid. PG&E has integrated Skydio’s Dock technology at more than a dozen electric substations to augment current inspection programs and manual drone operations.

Treeswift empowers utilities with AI-augmented vegetation management that reduces risk and improves reliability across transmission and distribution systems. Treeswift’s backpack and vehicle-mounted sensors seamlessly integrate into existing patrols to gather imagery and LiDAR data. Treeswift’s AI translates this data into actionable analytics and 360° field context for encroachment, strike potential, and failure risk via its software platform for vegetation management experts, arborists, and tree crews. PG&E identified Treeswift through its 2023 Pitch Fest.

WeaveGrid is a leading EV Management System (EVMS) provider whose software enables grid-integrated electric vehicle charging. The company’s software platform optimizes EV charging to align with periods of high renewable energy availability and ensure ongoing electric grid reliability and resiliency, while keeping preferences and controls at a driver’s fingertips. WeaveGrid’s approach supports broad participation in managed charging programs and reduces the costs of serving EV loads through distribution-integrated smart charging orchestration (DISCO). WeaveGrid partners with utilities, charging providers, and automakers to accelerate the transition to sustainable transportation. PG&E and WeaveGrid have collaborated on managed charging programs including evPulse and EV Charge Manager.

Visit www.pge.com/innovation for information about PG&E’s Innovation Summit 2024 and to learn more about PG&E’s efforts to accelerate energy R&D.

About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than sixteen million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news

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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Technology

Deye’s Micro Hybrid ESS: A New Era of Compact, Efficient Power

Published

26 minutes ago

January 13, 2025

Suitable for on-grid, off-grid and portable use96.5% DC-AC conversion efficiency1000W rated power AC charge/discharge1600W high-power PV input4ms on-grid/off-grid switch

NINGBO, China, Jan. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — At Deye, we believe in redefining the way customers experience energy—whether customers are seeking reliable backup power for their home or exploring the great outdoors. Today, we’re proud to introduce the Deye Micro Hybrid Energy Storage System, AE-F(S)2.0-2H2, a game-changing innovation that brings intelligent, flexible, and portable energy solutions to customers’ fingertips.

The Deye Micro Hybrid ESS is an all-in-one system that combines an energy storage micro-inverter, battery modules, and a Battery Management System (BMS) into one compact unit. Designed with the modern lifestyle in mind, this system offers seamless integration with customers’ home and outdoor activities, offering intelligent monitoring and power management 24/7 via Lora smart communication and an easy-to-use APP monitoring interface. With 6,000 cycle life, the system is designed for a 10-year service life, and also comes with a 5-year warranty for added assurance.

1. Plug-and-Play Simplicity

With its minimalist design, the Micro Hybrid ESS is a true plug-and-play solution. It offers multiple output ports, meeting the diverse energy needs of various devices simultaneously, whether at home or in the great outdoors. Equipped with two MPPTs and a high PV power input of 1600W, it can be paired with over 99% of photovoltaic panels on the market, offering maximum flexibility.

2. High-Performance, Low Noise

The Micro Hybrid ESS is engineered for high performance. Featuring a 2kWh LFP battery, the system can expand up to 10kWh for extended power supply. Whether users need emergency backup at home or are camping off the grid, this system guarantees ultra-low noise during use thanks to its fanless design, making it the perfect companion for both residential and outdoor settings.

3. A Greener Future in Every Mode

The Deye Micro Hybrid ESS is designed for smart energy management with three intuitive modes:

Green Power Mode: Uses solar energy first to power your home, then charges the battery with any leftover. If more power is needed, the battery supplements the shortfall and sells excess power to the grid under the guarantee of the set SOC, thereby minimizing reliance on purchased electricity.TOU(Time-of-Use) Mode: Allows you to optimize energy consumption based on time-of-use pricing, buying electricity during off-peak hours and using or selling it back during peak hours.Full Charge Mode: Acts as a backup power source during emergencies, ensuring your home stays powered during outages or extreme weather events.

4. Empower Existing Systems to New Heights

The Micro Hybrid ESS features a unique AC coupling function that easily upgrades existing balcony micro-inverter systems. It could ensure no energy waste from the exsiting systems while meeting power needs during nighttime or outages.

It also supports Deye Smart loT System for further enhancement. When quipped with Deye Wireless Smart CT for Zero Export, this system could enhance its percentage of self-consumption. And if equipped with Deye Smart Plug, the system could realize 24-hour time-zone intelligent control of whole-house power equipment on and off.

5. Compact, Powerful, and Versatile: Ideal for Every Lifestyle

The Deye Micro Hybrid ESS is designed with flexibility in mind. Whether you’re someone seeking a reliable home backup power solution or simply an outdoor enthusiast, an RV traveler, this system is built to meet your needs. Its compact size—occupying less than 1/4 square meter—makes it an ideal solution for small apartments or spaces where every inch matters. With an IP65 rating and capable of operating in extreme temperatures from -10°C to 50°C, it’s ready to perform in all weather conditions.

The Deye Micro Hybrid Energy Storage System is not just about today; it’s about tomorrow. Technology may not give meaning to people’s life in a direct way, but this Deye new innovation could empower people to explore the distant places they long for. With green energy by customers’ side and electricity at their command, let the Deye AE-FS2.0-2H2 Micro Hybrid Energy Storage System be customers’ charging station for every step of their journey.

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SOURCE Deye

Technology

NYP Launches New Studio Devoted To Cutting-Edge New Media Technologies

Published

26 minutes ago

January 13, 2025

The facility features industry-grade virtual production, preparing learners for an industry estimated to grow 14.7 per cent each year and be worth US$10.07 billion globally by 2032.

SINGAPORE, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) unveiled its BeyondReality Studio, a one-stop playground of emerging immersive media technologies.

Virtual Production is an exciting and rapidly evolving field that combines traditional filmmaking techniques with cutting-edge digital technology. It involves the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), augmented reality (AR), motion capture, and other technologies to create realistic environments and effects on virtual sets.

What you can expect in a virtual production studio:

LED Volume Walls: These replace traditional green screens, allowing real-time visualisation of virtual sets. This technology was notably used in “The Mandalorian”.Camera Tracking System: Allows the virtual environment to synchronise dynamically with the camera movements to achieve a realistic and immersive experience.Unreal Engine: A powerful real-time 3D creation platform that enables photorealistic rendering and real-time adjustments.

The global virtual production market is projected to reach US$10.07 billion by 2032[1]. This growth is driven by the increasing demand for high-quality visual effects in movies, TV shows, and commercials, as well as the rising adoption of virtual production technologies in the gaming industry. Major players like Disney, Epic Games, and ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) are heavily investing in virtual production. Disney, for instance, has extensively used LED video walls for in-house shoots, significantly reducing the need for on-location filming.

The Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, Japan, and South Korea, is also seeing rapid growth due to rising investments in the entertainment industry.

NYP’s investment in this state-of-the-art facility underscores its commitment to preparing students for the future. The BeyondReality Studio will provide students with unparalleled opportunities to develop skills in CGI, augmented reality, motion capture, and more, ensuring they are well-equipped to meet the demands of the entertainment and gaming industries.

The 2,500-square-feet virtual production facility features 24 professional motion capture cameras for high precision full-body performance capture, a large curved green screen cyclorama for greater versatility and illusion of depth, and an LED volume wall and floor for the most authentic replications of virtual environments.

The studio prepares students for the future of media production, offering opportunities to work with Extended Reality (XR), Virtual Production (VP), Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Metaverse and Web 3.0, as well as Generative AI.

The studio boasts numerous firsts in Singapore’s visual and audio production scene:

NYP is the first and only Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) in Singapore to feature advanced LED volume technology. These skills have also been identified as emerging skills in the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) refreshed Skills Framework for Media.The BeyondReality Studio is the only studio in Singapore that features a unique 3-in-1 setup of motion capture, green screen, and LED volume virtual production all under one roof. NYP will be the first polytechnic to receive the official certification of a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 Surround Audio Studio – to supplement the audio productions in the BeyondReality Studio – ensuring that soundtracks produced within the studio can be accurately reproduced worldwide, at the highest quality.

The studio also references Hollywood-standards, while ensuring space optimisation and creating conducive learning experiences. The studio’s LED volume wall is optimised for mid-to-close shots, making it an ideal training environment and the perfect size suitable for local productions. This allows industry partners to explore and experiment with innovative technologies and streamline production workflows.

Mr Albert Lim, Director at NYP’s School of Design & Media, said: “We are focused on equipping our students with more than just qualifications – we want to prepare them with the emerging skills required for them to stay at the forefront of media production, whether for further studies or career growth. With our new BeyondReality Studio, our students will learn what it takes to create their very own next-gen immersive masterpiece.”

Students across different disciplines in NYP will also get to work together on real-life virtual production projects. School of Business Management students can manage production shoots through set operations, scripting, and scheduling, while School of Design & Media students create virtual assets and integrate them into live environments using tools like Unreal Engine – an industry-leading 3D creation software. This collaborative approach equips our learners with relevant experience in working across teams on large-scale projects.

Final-year Diploma in Animation, Games & Visual Effects student, Choy Yu Feng, will be getting hands-on with the new facility in his final semester. “Virtual production is really up and coming, it will be very useful for me when I graduate with experience in these new technologies and some skills under my belt. I think it will help me stand out,” he said.

Creative media professionals can also take on a plethora of courses – from short courses to specialist diplomas – to upskill and reskill themselves in emerging immersive media technologies.

The BeyondReality Studio will be officially opened by Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Tan Kiat How, on 24 Jan 2025.

-END-

About Nanyang Polytechnic

Established as an institution of higher learning in 1992, Nanyang Polytechnic’s (NYP) academic schools offer quality education and training through 37 full-time diploma courses and common entry programmes. NYP also has a full suite of Continuing Education and Training (CET) options for lifelong learning, ranging from specialist and advanced diplomas to SkillsFuture-supported modules and courses. NYP’s Asian Culinary Institute Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies are CET institutes set up in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to champion and transform Singapore’s F&B and retail sectors, respectively. A third NYP CET institute – the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning – also set up in collaboration with SSG, will spearhead the development of progressive workplace learning strategies and programmes for companies here.

[1] Source: Fortune Business Insights, “Virtual Production Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis,” https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/virtual-production-market-107105

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SOURCE Nanyang Polytechnic

Technology

GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT Delivers 406 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Sanitation Vehicles

Published

26 minutes ago

January 13, 2025

BAODING, China, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On January 10th, the first batch of 406 hydrogen fuel cell sanitation vehicles equipped with GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT’s hydrogen power system were officially delivered to customers, marking the successful implementation of GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT’s first “hundred-unit level” hydrogen sanitation vehicle demonstration application scenario in Baoding, China.

This batch of hydrogen sanitation vehicles includes three main models: hydrogen sweeping and washing vehicles, hydrogen cleaning vehicles, and hydrogen high-pressure flushing vehicles. They were jointly developed by GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT in collaboration with three well-known Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturers – Changzheng, Yutong, and Dongfeng. All vehicles are equipped with GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT’s self-developed commercial vehicle fuel cell system and hydrogen storage system. Compared to electric sanitation vehicles, they have significant advantages such as faster fuel replenishment and better adaptability to high and low-temperature environments. It only takes 5-8 minutes to complete hydrogen refueling, and a single refueling allows for continuous operation of over 10 hours.

This delivery is another large-scale, mass-application demonstration scenario of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles implemented by GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT in China, following the world’s first hundred-unit level 49-ton hydrogen heavy-duty truck demonstration application scenario. These vehicles will act as “mobile air purifiers” to support the low-carbon circular development model of “waste-free city + green hydrogen”, and create a benchmark for the application of hydrogen sanitation vehicles in China.

At present, the number of hydrogen energy vehicles equipped by GWM HYDROGEN-FTXT that have been launched in the Chinese market has reached the thousand-unit level.

Follow the website of FTXT for more information: http ://en.ftxt-e.com/

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SOURCE FTXT