Enabling Grid Flexibility: The Role of Demand Response and Energy Storage in the Future of Energy
A Closer Look at How Flexibility Technologies Are Reshaping the Energy Landscape What happens when the grid can no longer keep up with the energy we need? When consumption patterns outpace infrastructure upgrades, and clean energy risks being wasted due to inflexibility? These are no longer hypothetical questions but they reflect the emerging pressure points […]
Shaping the Future of Energy: Free Electrons Master Module 2025 Recap from Hong Kong
This July, the Free Electrons community came together once again – this time for the Master Module hosted by CLP. After months of building connections, the Top 15 startups selected from this year’s Bootcamp reunited with utility partners for four intensive days focused on deepening collaboration, accelerating pilot discussions and aligning on shared goals for […]
Safeguarding the Energy Future: Cybersecurity at the Core of a Resilient Grid
From Reactive Measures to Proactive Strategies The energy sector’s digital transformation has brought about unprecedented efficiencies and capabilities. However, this evolution has also introduced complex cybersecurity challenges. Recent incidents such as the investigation into a potential cyberattack contributing to Spain and Portugal’s massive blackout in April 2025, underscore the sector’s vulnerability and critical importance of […]
Beyond Electric Vehicles: How E-Mobility and Electrification are Shaping a Sustainable Future
A Closer Look into the Tangible Aspects of E-Mobility and Electrification in the Energy Sector As the world grapples with the dual challenge of combating climate change and reducing fossil fuel reliance, e-mobility and electrification are emerging as critical drivers of the next generation of energy innovation. While electric vehicles (EVs) are the most visible […]
Scaling through Partnerships with Secure Meters
Secure Meters, a global leader in energy management solutions, has been driving innovation across the energy sector. In 2021, the company strengthened its portfolio by merging with Adaptricity, a Swiss-based pioneer in grid planning and analytics software. This collaboration combined Secure Meters’ hardware expertise with Adaptricity’s software capabilities, paving the way for advanced energy solutions. […]
What Makes Free Electrons Unique?
Free Electrons: The Global Nexus for Energy Innovation In an industry as demanding as energy, innovation is not a luxury, it is a necessity. True innovation emerges when bold ideas are connected to the right partners, scaled rapidly, and create a ripple effect that transforms industries. This is where Free Electrons excels. To date, the […]
Debunking the Myth: Am I Ready?
For startups, the question of readiness often creates hesitation when exploring growth opportunities. Concerns about product maturity, limited resources, competition, and participation can prevent startups from seizing valuable chances. The Free Electrons program is designed to help you overcome these barriers and accelerate your development in the global energy landscape. Common barriers that startups […]
Beyond Cost Savings: How Energy Efficiency is Shaping a Sustainable Future
A Closer Look into the Tangible Impacts of EME in the Energy Sector Energy management efficiency (EME) has become a central theme in the energy sector due to the convergence of several global challenges such as climate change, rising energy demand, resource scarcity, the need for energy security, and, most importantly, the need for sustainable […]
Accelerating Innovation with Global Energy Leaders
Powering Innovation Through Global Synergy In an ever-evolving energy sector, the push for innovation has never been more critical. The need to transition toward sustainable energy solutions requires not only fresh ideas but also the ability to scale and implement them on a global level. However, for startups that aim to disrupt the energy landscape, […]
Pioneering cyber-peer-to-peer grids to fight energy poverty
In an era marked by the urgent need to combat climate change and minimize its impact while navigating global events, the challenge of transitioning to sustainable energy solutions has taken center stage, shaping the way we produce, distribute, and consume energy. The future of energy began in Bangladesh, with the potential to bring sustainable and […]
Wrapping up with the best energy – Free Electrons 2022 Finale
Reaching the final event of each Free Electrons edition is always a very intense and rewarding experience. After two years of purely online meetings and events, this year’s startups and utilities gathered in São Paulo for an intense week filled with both work and play. Collaborating towards the Future of Energy: a continuous work This […]
The Grand Finale 2022 – Meet the Host: EDP
It’s already October, which means that this year’s edition of Free Electrons is approaching its final event. 2022 has brought both new energy and new challenges to the global energy industry, and this year the world’s most promising startups partner with some of the largest utilities to design the future of energy. EDP is present […]
EDP Ventures Spain invests 200,000 Euros in Asturian startup Plexigrid
Plexigrid is an Asturian startup created in 2020 by one of the founders of the LEMUR (Laboratory for Electrical Energy Management Unified Research) research group at the University of Oviedo, located on the Gijón Campus, Pablo Arboleya. Plexigrid develops software for the energy sector that allows real-time graphical representation of the electricity distribution network. It […]
EDP has partnered with Chargetrip
EDP has partnered with Chargetrip to develop a routing engine that calculates the best route to a user’s destination, with the optimal charging stations in between. A solution that makes possible, for EV owners, the better planification of their trips. This pilot-project is one of the many partnerships from the 2020’s edition of the Free Electrons program.
Free Electrons supports our communities
Module 1 is here. While we are incredibly excited for the connections, discussions, and innovative concepts we will be exploring through virtual Free Electrons, it would be amiss for us not to take a moment to acknowledge the transformative global events that society has endured in 2020. The world’s circumstances at an environmental and humanitarian […]
Collaborating in Research and Education
Free Electrons has been the focus of a large-scale research project led by Steve Comello (Stanford Graduate School of Business) and Ann-Kristin Zobel (formerly ETH Zurich, now University of St.Gallen) for several years. Now – in addition to providing a rich set of insights at the intersection of open innovation and the energy industry – […]
EDP invests €6 million in GridBeyond to grow in new markets
Investment in a leading company in demand side response services reinforces EDP’s commitment to lead the energy transition and drive international expansion. EDP reinforces its international expansion plans by investing 6 million euros in GridBeyond, a company that operates in the UK and Irish markets and leads the way in offering ancillary services to business […]
Free Electrons impact grows with more Pilots/Deals between Utilities & Startups
ME SOLshare wins Free Electrons 2018 ‘Best Energy Startup’ Award Free Electrons, the global energy accelerator program that connects the world’s most promising startups with leading utilities around the world, has wrapped up the 2018 program with an impressive total of 43 pilots, in less than 7 months. The total value of new contracts for […]
