Apr 30 2013
GridKey, the Low Voltage substation monitoring system, has won the UK Energy Innovation award for the ‘Best Smart Grid Technology’.
A collaboration between Sentec and Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company, GridKey was recognised by the judging panel, made up of senior representatives from the energy industry, for a series of innovations with benefits including the speed and ease of installation, elimination of calibration and maintenance and the quality and variety of data it provides.
L-R Paul Beck, Selex ES, Robert Davis, CEO of EA Technology who presented the award, and Mark England, Sentec.
The low voltage network today is facing significant challenges due to increased demand and renewable generation. GridKey’s system has been designed to provide a unique low cost, accurate and retrofittable continuous monitoring solution which allows the network operators to have visibility of their LV network. The system will enable evidence based decisions, maximise the use of the existing network and reduce the need for reinforcement to support the incorporation of low carbon technologies into the grid.
Crucially, GridKey can be retrofitted without supply interruption for customers and helps reduce network maintenance costs and prevent unplanned outages. GridKey has been trialled with five of the six DNOs in the UK and is currently being evaluated by several European utilities.
Mark England, CEO of Sentec, who gave the acceptance speech on behalf of the GridKey collaboration commented, “We are delighted to have won ‘Best Smart Grid Technology’, it is a fitting accolade for the GridKey system and for the team, an innovative partnership of two very different organisations, who have worked hard together to create a product delivering real benefits for network management. This is a further endorsement of how powerful GridKey is at fulfilling its role to enable a fully monitored and truly Smart Grid from the LV network to the home.
Paul Beck, VP Smart Energy at Selex ES, added “The GridKey team has worked closely with network operators to provide a system that best meets their needs, and this accolade demonstrates that we have succeeded in our aims.”
Organised by the Energy Innovation Centre, the awards celebrate ground-breaking pioneers working to develop the next generation of energy products and services to benefit the wider industry, customers and the environment. The award for best Smart Grid Technology was sponsored by EA Technology and presented by its CEO, Robert Davis, at a gala dinner on Thursday 25 April 2013 at The Radisson Edwardian in Manchester.
GridKey also won two awards at the Rushlight awards for cleantech businesses earlier in the year.
About Gridkey
Gridkey is a collaboration between Sentec, the smart grid and metering specialists and Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company, experts in the design, development, manufacture and integration of a wide range of sensor and data exploitation systems.