Gridspertise and STMicroelectronics Collaborate to Enhance Smart Meter Technology
Gridspertise and STMicroelectronics have announced a new phase in their collaboration on smart meter technology. They have a long history of working together, with Gridspertise having already deployed over 65 million smart meters using ST’s power-line communication (PLC) technology. The two companies are now working to extend the use of their near real-time, cyber-secure communication channel (Chain 2) to new metering solutions, to further enhance the smart grid system and improve energy efficiency. This new phase of collaboration aligns with Gridspertise’s mission to support the digital transformation of electricity grids and improve the overall energy system.
Gridspertise and STMicroelectronics have a long-standing collaboration on smart-meter technologies that started in the early 2000s with Enel, one of Gridspertise’s shareholders. Over 65 million Gridspertise smart meters in Spain, Eastern Europe, and Latin America use power-line communication (PLC) technologies provided by ST. The latest PLC system-on-chip from ST has been integrated in Gridspertise smart meters for Italy to create a near real-time and cyber-secure communication channel for in-home devices, known as Chain 2 technology. Now, the two companies are working to expand Chain 2 to other areas in the Gridspertise portfolio, including the U.S. and other regions.
In summary, the collaboration between Gridspertise and STMicroelectronics has resulted in the implementation of the Chain 2 technology, which improves energy awareness and enables new services for end customers through home automation. This technology promotes a more active role for all players in the energy market and supports the growth of distributed renewable energy sources. Chain 2 allows for personalized energy usage recommendations based on real-time data, and collects real-time data on home appliance consumption to optimize energy usage.
This latest step in the collaboration between Gridspertise and ST perfectly suits Gridspertise’smission to deliver a new era of sustainable and reliable smart grids, which is extremely timely in the current U.S. context, where new federal policies have unleashed a wave of investment in the energy transition and grid modernization. Together, ST and Gridspertise are unlocking the penetration of new flexible and distributed sustainable energy sources and the active participation of end customers through increasingly digitalized grids.
