A postcard from New Orleans: Harrison Grubbs, our Director of Strategic Partnerships, is attending the annual DistribuTech Conference and Exhibition this week. The conference gathers the latest disruptive and innovative energy technology products and experts in one place to network, collaborate and share best practices. In between sessions, Harrison has shared a sneak peek for the rest of us here at KSV.
A few focal points:
- The need to optimize current infrastructure with better, smarter parts, such as monitoring systems, sensors, drones, remote access and mobile capabilities
- Making internal utility operations more efficient and effective via software for monitoring and optimizing grids, buildings and even field crews
- A continued focus on the future; EVs and renewables are a relatively small component of this conference, but there are many examples of the underlying infrastructure that will help support the future of energy and utilities alike
Another thing he’s noticed? DTECH features the technology that will allow for future customer programs and education. What many of these companies need is an innovative marketing strategy to help effectively communicate these complex ideas to current and potential customers—we can help with this!
With these illuminating ideas from #DTECH2019 buzzing around in our brains, we’ve decided to share four additional moments of energy disruption and innovation that are inspiring us right now:
- In the keynote session that launched this year’s DistribuTech, executives from Entergy and ComEd clarified the importance for utilities to become more than just electricity providers.
- Vijay Swarup, the Vice President of Research and Development at ExxonMobil, shared this insight: “We have to focus on both today’s and tomorrow’s energy needs, on time horizons of five years from now, then 10, 20 and 40 years, because of the long-term energy transition.”
- Copenhagen has announced a plan to become the first carbon-neutral capital in the world by 2025. Here is how they plan to reach that goal.
- The Internet of Things (IoT) is a true disruptor and has infiltrated just about every industry, including the energy sector. Check out the Top 10 IoT Segments of 2018.
Pictured above: Just a small sample of the crowd at this year's DistribuTech Conference!
Are you at DTECH this week? If so, which innovative ideas are you bringing home with you? We’d love to hear all about them.