The power sector is laden with concerns like climate change and grid resilience to which companies need to invest in solutions to help monitor assets better while reducing the inclination towards fossil fuels, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s innovation landscape report, ‘Utilities 2.0: how digitization and decentralization are unlocking new possibilities in power‘, presents a compendium of tech-enabled innovation use cases across the power sector value chain.
Emerging technologies like 3D printing, AI, blockchain, IoT, and robotics are breaking paradigms in the sector with improved asset management, smart processes, and optimal power generation, transmission, and distribution as well as enriched customer experiences. They are enabling power companies to sustainably generate electricity while curbing expenses to make profits.
3D Printed Parts:
Additive manufacturing is gaining popularity in the power parts manufacturing business as it enables equipment manufacturers to build critical parts quickly at lower costs.
Heavy Lifting Drones:
Power firms are leveraging heavy lifting drones like quadcopters or hexacopters with high payload bearing capabilities to improve accessibility to remote sites while reducing operating costs.
Virtual Power Plants:
A virtual power plant (VPP) is a system of decentralized, medium-scale power generating units like solar parks, wind farms, and combined heat and power (CHP) units. Companies are implementing blockchain and IoT to offer flexible power generation and storage systems to consumers..
Intelligent Energy Storage:
Power companies are exploring various avenues to store energy smartly and cost-effectively without any location barriers.
Smart Contracts:
Power companies are using smart contracts to automatically conduct predetermined transaction procedures without the assistance of a third party while governing both electricity supply and payment autonomously between power suppliers or producers and consumers.
The innovations are tracked across multiple emerging technology themes to understand potential areas where and how innovations are happening.
