More than two dozen companies from across the global energy value chain have launched the public-private Mercury Consortium, which aims to establish guidelines and best practices to accelerate the adoption and impact of clean energy technologies, such as EV chargers, heat pumps, solar panels, smart thermostats, and residential batteries.
The consortium will also focus on enabling utilities to leverage these technologies to make grids more resilient and efficient to operate, driving the transition to a sustainable energy future; as well as working to define common functional behaviors for low-carbon devices, ensuring they work “seamlessly” with the grid, regardless of brand, in an effort to improve consumer confidence in the energy transition.
The Mercury Consortium is open to electric utilities, manufacturers, technology providers, regulators, and others. Conceived by Kraken, the consortium will be managed by EPRI, an independent, non-profit R&D organization focused on advancing clean and reliable energy. Kraken said it drew inspiration from Ericsson’s role in the development of the Bluetooth connectivity standards, arguing that the energy sector needs its own universal standards for the adoption of clean energy technology.
“The need for rapid electrification is urgent, and requires the entire energy system to pull together in the same direction,” said Devrim Celal, chief marketing and flexibility officer at Kraken. “That’s why we’re uniting partners across the sector to develop universal standards—like Bluetooth for low-carbon tech— to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon tech and together build a sustainable energy future.”
In 2023, consumers throughout the world invested $184 billion in low-carbon technology, outpacing government spending two-fold, and by 2030, consumers are anticipated to purchase more than 200 million devices like EV chargers, solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps. The Mercury Consortium argues that, if managed inefficiently, this surge could drive peak electricity demand beyond grid capacity, requiring ‘extensive investment” in transmission.
The consortium maintains that the ability to exchange actionable information between two or more systems, also known as interoperability, could allow for new solutions to better manage the flow of energy from generation to consumption. However, there is no universal approach to interoperability in energy systems. Consumer devices that have the capability to operate with utilities’ requirements, integrate into energy systems, and participate in demand-response programs and markets could help the energy system be more responsive and flexible, the consortium argues.
“The ability for technologies to seamlessly integrate, effectively communicate, and undertake tasks is critical for a modern energy system,” said Arshad Mansoor, EPRI President and CEO. “Developing best practices to better integrate cutting-edge technologies could help increase the use of low-carbon energy, build a more sustainable future, and accelerate the pace of net-zero emissions by mid-century.”
The following organizations are founding members of the Mercury Consortium:
- Utilities: AusGrid, Con Edison, CPS Energy, E.ON Next, EDF Energy, Elia Group, Essential Energy, New York Power Authority, Octopus Energy, Pacific Gas & Electric, PPL Corporation, Southern California Edison, Tokyo Gas, UK Power Networks
- Manufacturers: Easee, Enphase Energy, Hypervault, Ideal Heating, Mobilize (Renault Group), myenergi, Solis (Ginlong Technologies)
- Technology Providers: Amazon Web Services, gridX, Kraken, Lunar Energy, Oracle, SolarEdge
- Regulatory & Associations: EPRI
Originally published in POWERGRID International.
