Equigy signs long-term agreement with Capgemini to develop a more sustainable and efficient energy system across Europe

Paris, June 13, 2024 – Capgemini today announced the signing of a long-term agreement with Equigy to develop a new decentralized energy system to manage more effectively the supply and demand of electricity across Europe. The crowd balancing platform[1] (CBP) is a standardized and trusted data aggregator interface for small, flexible, and more efficiently distributed energy resources[2] that support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Equigy is a pan-European platform launched by six leading European Transmission Systems Operators (TSOs) — Austrian Power Grid, TenneT Germany, TenneT Netherlands, Terna, TransnetBW, and Swissgrid. Renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, are intermittent and variable in nature, which can put pressure on grid stability. Equigy has addressed this challenge by creating greater flexibility through the seamless participation of small-scale distributed energy resources such as electric vehicles or household batteries.

The agreement will leverage Capgemini’s deep expertise in the energy and utilities sector as well as its business and technology transformation capabilities, to build a platform that will reduce reliance on traditional centralized power plants. This will help minimize the need for expensive peak generation capacity, paving the way for a more flexible, sustainable, and efficient energy system across Europe.

Martin van ‘t Verlaat, Chief Technology Officer at Equigy, said, “At Equigy, we are committed to fostering collaboration and innovation in the energy sector to accelerate the energy transition towards a more sustainable future. Collaborating with a leading business and technology transformation partner like Capgemini will enable us to develop a state-of-the-art platform that empowers stakeholders to participate in grid balancing and strengthens trust and transparency.”

This new agreement will support TSOs and bring a range of benefits to stakeholders across Europe that include improved energy efficiency and new revenue opportunities for energy consumers and renewable energy asset owners. By promoting cross-border cooperation, digital innovation, and sustainable energy practices, it also aligns with the European objectives[3] to drive energy transition and boost economic growth.

“Capgemini’s long-term collaboration with Equigy will help fuel the platform’s growth and accelerate its European leadership in flexibility markets. By leveraging Capgemini’s deep expertise in energy and utilities and our wider ecosystem of key partners, coupled with our end-to-end capabilities in strategy, data and AI and technology developments, we will work hand-in-hand with Equigy to achieve its business goals. Together, we will help drive the transition towards a sustainable energy system in Europe,” said James Forrest, Global Energy Transition & Utilities Industry Leader at Capgemini.

[1] A trusted data platform that enables aggregators to seamlessly participate with smaller flexibility devices in electricity balancing markets across Europe while allowing the market to operate within grid limits.

[2] Distributed energy resources (DERs) are small-scale energy resources usually situated near sites of electricity use, such as rooftop solar panels and battery storage. The most common examples are photovoltaic (PV) systems, electric vehicles (EVs) and charge points, batteries and heat pumps.

[3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/summary/chapter/energy.html?root_default=SUM_1_CODED%3D18&locale=en