Worldwide
  • Ireland Irish Flag
  • Australia Australian Flag

Electricity Exchange’s Commercial Director Duncan O’Toole Discusses The Growth Of Electricity Exchange On Newstalk

An excerpt from Newstalk 106-108fm Breakfast business. The entire morning segment can be found here.

Asked to describe what Electricity Exchange does and why it is such a key player in making renewable energy as attainable as possible for Irish businesses, Duncan simply explained it as follows: “A large energy user that might have a backup generator out the backyard that’s never used unless the grid goes down, what we do is we control that backup generator and aggregate numerous sites around the country and have it available for the grid when they need it”. We do this by using assets that are already there and available, reducing the need to build new carbon intensive options to meet future energy demands.

In the interview Duncan referred back to the foundation of Electricity Exchange. He mentioned how the targets of both the company and industry have evolved over time due to their technological advancements noting “When we started out there was a requirement that we could react in fifteen seconds.. I think we measure now 32,000 times a second” with new monitoring technology IoTAS, developed and designed in house to become a market leader which is already gaining attention abroad

As we look ahead to future prospects and endeavors, growth is the key factor pushing forward the ambitions of the company. Electricity Exchange will be filling positions in software development, sales and marketing in the Limerick based office as focus turns to international opportunities. “We’re already getting calls from Australia, Japan all around Europe..the next step is to license our technologies to other customers” We hope to keep you updated on further news as we continue to grow and strive towards becoming a globally recognised provider of energy monitoring excellence

Transcript

Gavin

Now my first guest this morning is the co-founder of one of Irelands most exciting start-ups. It’s called Electricity Exchange and its changing the way that this country uses its power and joining me now to explain it all is Duncan O’Toole who is the co-founder of electricity exchange. Good morning Duncan.

Duncan

Hi Gavin, thanks very much for having me here.

Gavin

Now Duncan, correct me if I’m wrong here but what your company does is the following: You monitor power usage at businesses around the country and then if the grid has a shortage of power you can reduce the power used by a business or you can trigger a backup generator and that means there’s more power for the grid. That’s basically what you do.

Duncan

That’s it exactly. what we would have recognised many years ago when we started out, well I say many, five years ago, is that technology has kind of progressed so much now that there’s other ways to look at dealing with balancing the grid. So, if you take typically a large energy user that might have a backup generator in the back yard that’s never used unless the grid goes down, what we do is we come along, we control that backup generator and we aggregate numerous sites around the country and have it available for the grid when they need it

Gavin

Am I right in saying Duncan that, this gives renewable electricity a greater impact on the grid?

Duncan

Yeah exactly! So, I suppose trying to get that leap from “How can a generator at the back of a factory help us bring in renewables quite easy?”. One of the things we have in Ireland and any country around the world is what I call a renewable paradox. So, what that means is that the more renewable energy that you have on that is typically intermittent, so think of a wind farm or think of a solar panel, because that can always go at the drop a dime, that you need to have something backup to reserve just in case that happens. Typically, on a grid you would have this paradox whereby the more renewable generation you have the more thermal kind of dirty coal, oil, gas, thermal generator you’ll have in backup or reserve.

Gavin

In case the wind doesn’t blow, or the sun doesn’t shine or whatever you have?

Duncan

Precisely! Exactly yeah. Because you have that balancing act of, must have enough electricity to meet demand etcetera. So, what we do is we say well look, what you can do now with technology is that you can use assets that are already there without pouring an ounce of concrete or putting up any pylons and what we’ve done since we started in the market four years ago is that we have our own equivalent power plant and our power plant will be, won’t be built anywhere, what we’re doing is controlling loads all around the country and it would be the equivalent of Ardnacrusha power station.

Gavin

Okay now if you’re turning down the power at a particular business to try and free up a bit of space on the grid, how do you know that you’re not going to do that business any damage. And I’m thinking of say if it was say a meat factory or something and they’ve got meat in the freezer. If you come along and turn the freezer off, that could now destroy all their stock so how do you guard against that?

Duncan

Certainly, that certainly was a challenge when we started out was just explaining to people how technology works, how we could offer that in a safe way and we would be in most household name; production facilities in the country. We’re talking pharmaceutical we’re talking food and were at that level because our technology is such that we’ve got this trust with the client. But essentially how it works easily is, if it’s a generator well then were just turning on a generator that were not turning off load. If say it’s a cement mill it will only turn off a cement mill when the cement mill allows us to do that. So, we don’t work, we work in front of the control panel for the cement mill. So, what we do is that we don’t turn it off. We request it to be turned off and if it suits the production there then they’ll turn it off. Same with a fridge, if you were in a meat factory you won’t be able to open the door of the fridge if you’re an employee if the temperature is a certain degree, we can’t turn off. So, Monitoring equipment does all that now

Gavin

Okay, how do you make money than Duncan, what’s your revenue model?

Duncan

Yeah, so how we did that is. So, just going back to that the concept is a virtual power plant, what we have now is the equivalent of a thermal generating station without any pylons in the ground, any cement being poured and what we do then is we offer that to the grid. And the grid, it’s not so much they pay you to turn on they pay you to be available to turn on and what that does is it gives it more resilience. So, if they think, tomorrow’s going to be a windy day they’re going to allow more wind on the grid, but they can only do that if they have backup in case the wind doesn’t turn up and many times it’s to allow them allow more wind on the grid without having to turn on a dirty power station somewhere.

Gavin

Ah, so its Eirgrid is who pays you? The grid manager.

Duncan

Eirgrid is our client I suppose so we will have, it’s a strange setup. We sell to Eirgrid but our customers our other clients are then the large energy users the guys with backup generation and load.

Gavin

Now you have ambitious expansion plans Duncan, tell me a bit about them.

Duncan

Yeah, exactly. So, when we started out five years ago we recognised that the technology behind this was quite basic when you looked around the world and, this is one of the things that struck me was that the biggest provider of electrical power plants in the world at the time was turning off and on its customers through telephone calls. So, ringing them up and saying “c’mere turn on your generator, turn off your fridge.” and we recognised that obviously as a unique selling point for us, we could just come up with a technology to do that. So, when we started out there was a requirement that we could react in fifteen seconds and our first product we could react in one second but our latest product IoTAS which is an internet based platform, and hardware that we’ve built ourselves, took us four years to build, that would react in I think we measure now 32,000 times a second. So, what we’re getting to now is the next kind of, the future of demand side so the example I gave before was at 12 o’clock tomorrow will we have enough of this backup generation to allow more wind? But what happens if at 12 o’clock tomorrow the wind turns up but for a few milliseconds, it stops. What you need now is something that will react in milliseconds and that’s what our technology does.

Gavin

Okay.

Duncan

So, if you could think of anything that’s on a thermostat, anything that you know, what we call load that’s not needed for milliseconds that’s what well do, we’ll turn off and on for maby ninety seconds and that’s huge backup through the grid and that’s a very expensive service as something that we pass on to our clients then.

Gavin

I think you’re looking at expanding to a number of different foreign countries, Duncan what are your ultimate ambitions for this business? I mean do you want to become sort of a publicly listed giant of the industry. What are we looking at?

Duncan

Yeah, were a very ambitious company. We started off with just myself and Paddy Finn the co-founder five years ago. We have upwards of nearly thirty staff now. We’ll have that doubled by twelve months we expect. One of the things to know about virtual power plants and technology is that Ireland is a great petri dish for the rest of the world because Ireland if you imagine is one of the least interconnected countries, physically interconnected countries in Europe. So, if we’ve a problem with energy, we need to find a solution and that problem is going to expand to other countries as they reach, try to reach renewable targets. So, if you think Germany is saying it wants to be 100% renewable in the next five years…

Gavin

They’ll need the backup tech.

Duncan

Exactly! So, a lot of people see Ireland as a great kind of bellwether For the rest of the world so our technology being one of the best in class in Ireland is a great calling card for the rest of the world. We’re already getting calls from Australia, Japan all around Europe obviously. Our next move is to now look at our technology. When we started out five years ago we built technology for ourselves as customers but now what we want to do is license our technology to other customers.

Gavin

Okay well Duncan we wish you the very best of luck with that. That is Duncan O’Toole who is the co-founder of Electricity Exchange. Well be back after this short break.

Duncan

Thank you very much.

xosotin chelseathông tin chuyển nhượngcâu lạc bộ bóng đá arsenalbóng đá atalantabundesligacầu thủ haalandUEFAevertonxosofutebol ao vivofutemaxmulticanaisonbethttps://bsport.fithttps://onbet88.ooohttps://i9bet.bizhttps://hi88.ooohttps://okvip.athttps://f8bet.athttps://fb88.cashhttps://vn88.cashhttps://shbet.atbóng đá world cupbóng đá inter milantin juventusbenzemala ligaclb leicester cityMUman citymessi lionelsalahnapolineymarpsgronaldoserie atottenhamvalenciaAS ROMALeverkusenac milanmbappenapolinewcastleaston villaliverpoolfa cupreal madridpremier leagueAjaxbao bong da247EPLbarcelonabournemouthaff cupasean footballbên lề sân cỏbáo bóng đá mớibóng đá cúp thế giớitin bóng đá ViệtUEFAbáo bóng đá việt namHuyền thoại bóng đágiải ngoại hạng anhSeagametap chi bong da the gioitin bong da lutrận đấu hôm nayviệt nam bóng đátin nong bong daBóng đá nữthể thao 7m24h bóng đábóng đá hôm naythe thao ngoai hang anhtin nhanh bóng đáphòng thay đồ bóng đábóng đá phủikèo nhà cái onbetbóng đá lu 2thông tin phòng thay đồthe thao vuaapp đánh lô đềdudoanxosoxổ số giải đặc biệthôm nay xổ sốkèo đẹp hôm nayketquaxosokq xskqxsmnsoi cầu ba miềnsoi cau thong kesxkt hôm naythế giới xổ sốxổ số 24hxo.soxoso3mienxo so ba mienxoso dac bietxosodientoanxổ số dự đoánvé số chiều xổxoso ket quaxosokienthietxoso kq hôm nayxoso ktxổ số megaxổ số mới nhất hôm nayxoso truc tiepxoso ViệtSX3MIENxs dự đoánxs mien bac hom nayxs miên namxsmientrungxsmn thu 7con số may mắn hôm nayKQXS 3 miền Bắc Trung Nam Nhanhdự đoán xổ số 3 miềndò vé sốdu doan xo so hom nayket qua xo xoket qua xo so.vntrúng thưởng xo sokq xoso trực tiếpket qua xskqxs 247số miền nams0x0 mienbacxosobamien hôm naysố đẹp hôm naysố đẹp trực tuyếnnuôi số đẹpxo so hom quaxoso ketquaxstruc tiep hom nayxổ số kiến thiết trực tiếpxổ số kq hôm nayso xo kq trực tuyenkết quả xổ số miền bắc trực tiếpxo so miền namxổ số miền nam trực tiếptrực tiếp xổ số hôm nayket wa xsKQ XOSOxoso onlinexo so truc tiep hom nayxsttso mien bac trong ngàyKQXS3Msố so mien bacdu doan xo so onlinedu doan cau loxổ số kenokqxs vnKQXOSOKQXS hôm naytrực tiếp kết quả xổ số ba miềncap lo dep nhat hom naysoi cầu chuẩn hôm nayso ket qua xo soXem kết quả xổ số nhanh nhấtSX3MIENXSMB chủ nhậtKQXSMNkết quả mở giải trực tuyếnGiờ vàng chốt số OnlineĐánh Đề Con Gìdò số miền namdò vé số hôm nayso mo so debach thủ lô đẹp nhất hôm naycầu đề hôm naykết quả xổ số kiến thiết toàn quốccau dep 88xsmb rong bach kimket qua xs 2023dự đoán xổ số hàng ngàyBạch thủ đề miền BắcSoi Cầu MB thần tàisoi cau vip 247soi cầu tốtsoi cầu miễn phísoi cau mb vipxsmb hom nayxs vietlottxsmn hôm naycầu lô đẹpthống kê lô kép xổ số miền Bắcquay thử xsmnxổ số thần tàiQuay thử XSMTxổ số chiều nayxo so mien nam hom nayweb đánh lô đề trực tuyến uy tínKQXS hôm nayxsmb ngày hôm nayXSMT chủ nhậtxổ số Power 6/55KQXS A trúng roycao thủ chốt sốbảng xổ số đặc biệtsoi cầu 247 vipsoi cầu wap 666Soi cầu miễn phí 888 VIPSoi Cau Chuan MBđộc thủ desố miền bắcthần tài cho sốKết quả xổ số thần tàiXem trực tiếp xổ sốXIN SỐ THẦN TÀI THỔ ĐỊACầu lô số đẹplô đẹp vip 24hsoi cầu miễn phí 888xổ số kiến thiết chiều nayXSMN thứ 7 hàng tuầnKết quả Xổ số Hồ Chí Minhnhà cái xổ số Việt NamXổ Số Đại PhátXổ số mới nhất Hôm Nayso xo mb hom nayxxmb88quay thu mbXo so Minh ChinhXS Minh Ngọc trực tiếp hôm nayXSMN 88XSTDxs than taixổ số UY TIN NHẤTxs vietlott 88SOI CẦU SIÊU CHUẨNSoiCauVietlô đẹp hôm nay vipket qua so xo hom naykqxsmb 30 ngàydự đoán xổ số 3 miềnSoi cầu 3 càng chuẩn xácbạch thủ lônuoi lo chuanbắt lô chuẩn theo ngàykq xo-solô 3 càngnuôi lô đề siêu vipcầu Lô Xiên XSMBđề về bao nhiêuSoi cầu x3xổ số kiến thiết ngày hôm nayquay thử xsmttruc tiep kết quả sxmntrực tiếp miền bắckết quả xổ số chấm vnbảng xs đặc biệt năm 2023soi cau xsmbxổ số hà nội hôm naysxmtxsmt hôm nayxs truc tiep mbketqua xo so onlinekqxs onlinexo số hôm nayXS3MTin xs hôm nayxsmn thu2XSMN hom nayxổ số miền bắc trực tiếp hôm naySO XOxsmbsxmn hôm nay188betlink188 xo sosoi cầu vip 88lô tô việtsoi lô việtXS247xs ba miềnchốt lô đẹp nhất hôm naychốt số xsmbCHƠI LÔ TÔsoi cau mn hom naychốt lô chuẩndu doan sxmtdự đoán xổ số onlinerồng bạch kim chốt 3 càng miễn phí hôm naythống kê lô gan miền bắcdàn đề lôCầu Kèo Đặc Biệtchốt cầu may mắnkết quả xổ số miền bắc hômSoi cầu vàng 777thẻ bài onlinedu doan mn 888soi cầu miền nam vipsoi cầu mt vipdàn de hôm nay7 cao thủ chốt sốsoi cau mien phi 7777 cao thủ chốt số nức tiếng3 càng miền bắcrồng bạch kim 777dàn de bất bạion newsddxsmn188betw88w88789bettf88sin88suvipsunwintf88five8812betsv88vn88Top 10 nhà cái uy tínsky88iwinlucky88nhacaisin88oxbetm88vn88w88789betiwinf8betrio66rio66lucky88oxbetvn88188bet789betMay-88five88one88sin88bk88xbetoxbetMU88188BETSV88RIO66ONBET88188betM88M88SV88Jun-68Jun-88one88iwinv9betw388OXBETw388w388onbetonbetonbetonbet88onbet88onbet88onbet88onbetonbetonbetonbetqh88mu88Nhà cái uy tínpog79vp777vp777vipbetvipbetuk88uk88typhu88typhu88tk88tk88sm66sm66me88me888live8live8livesm66me88win798livesm66me88win79pog79pog79vp777vp777uk88uk88tk88tk88luck8luck8kingbet86kingbet86k188k188hr99hr99123b8xbetvnvipbetsv66zbettaisunwin-vntyphu88vn138vwinvwinvi68ee881xbetrio66zbetvn138i9betvipfi88clubcf68onbet88ee88typhu88onbetonbetkhuyenmai12bet-moblie12betmoblietaimienphi247vi68clupcf68clupvipbeti9betqh88onb123onbefsoi cầunổ hũbắn cáđá gàđá gàgame bàicasinosoi cầuxóc đĩagame bàigiải mã giấc mơbầu cuaslot gamecasinonổ hủdàn đềBắn cácasinodàn đềnổ hũtài xỉuslot gamecasinobắn cáđá gàgame bàithể thaogame bàisoi cầukqsssoi cầucờ tướngbắn cágame bàixóc đĩaAG百家乐AG百家乐AG真人AG真人爱游戏华体会华体会im体育kok体育开云体育开云体育开云体育乐鱼体育乐鱼体育欧宝体育ob体育亚博体育亚博体育亚博体育亚博体育亚博体育亚博体育开云体育开云体育棋牌棋牌沙巴体育买球平台新葡京娱乐开云体育mu88qh88