Vertiv partners with Upside Energy

Vertiv has formed a partnership with energy software specialist Upside Energy. By utilising Upside Energy’s cloud-based Flexibility Platform, Vertiv will enable their current and future UK customers with uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), to provide unutilised energy to the UK electricity grid. By extending battery storage beyond its typical use, UPS owners will be able to generate value and make savings on their energy bill.

 

Upside Energy’s cloud-based advanced algorithmic platform has the capability to provide demand response and orchestrate over 100,000 devices or systems running in parallel in real-time. The platform software will continuously and remotely monitor the UPS of Vertiv’s UK customers who opt in, utilising battery storage to provide flexibility to the grid while the UPS primary function as emergency backup power remains unaltered. In turn, the UK electricity grid can run more efficiently, particularly at peak times when it is running short of capacity.

 

Businesses usually invest in UPS solutions as emergency backup for critical systems, but this new distributed energy model makes UPS more attractive for potential customers as these systems can now be used also to generate value. Moreover, with energy consumption by data centres set to increase more than three times over the next 10 years, the partnership with Upside Energy will give Vertiv customers the opportunity to play an important role in preserving the energy availability and resilience of the grid.

 

The constant monitoring and management provided by the Virtual Energy Store™, powered by Upside Energy, also enables customers to track how their batteries are being used and whether they are functioning properly. The monitoring capability also minimises the risk that the batteries might get depleted while sitting idle and waiting to be called upon in a potential emergency.

 

Emiliano Cevenini, vice president of commercial and industrial vertical markets for Vertiv in Europe, Middle East and Africa, commented: “At Vertiv, we are committed to delivering best-in-class mission critical technologies while also finding new ways to utilise our solutions for innovative and alternative applications. In today’s world, it is vital for organisations to optimise their energy consumption and costs – while we are not energy producers, we can definitely help companies leverage UPS battery storage and cut energy costs.”

 

“Our partnership with Upside Energy, a company with deep knowledge of the UK energy market and a modern cloud-based approach, allows our customers to manage their battery storage more efficiently and get more value from their UPS in an eco-friendly way. We look forward to building on this partnership and connecting more of our fleet of UPS over the next few years.”

 

Devrim Celal, CEO of Upside Energy added: “We’re delighted to be working with Vertiv – a company of this calibre is a key ally to address the growing demands of the energy market and create a revolution in the storage and distribution of energy. Vertiv is well-known for its power supply and management technology, making them the right partner to further establish our Virtual Energy Store™ in which we manage the redistribution of energy. This partnership will ensure Vertiv’s UK customers are getting the greatest return on their investment, while at the same time helping to build the smart energy network of the future.”

 

“The proliferation of distributed energy resources and a growing percentage of intermittent renewables in the grid is driving the requirement for more grid energy storage. Technology solutions that can support grid interactivity and resource integration, such as the Virtual Energy Store, should help meet some of that need, “ said Pritil Gunjan, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “Importantly it also provides an opportunity for data centres and other infrastructure operators to make the important shift from being relatively passive consumers of energy to energy prosumers.”