Fintech PR
Survey: Utility leaders say government regulators have key role to play in boosting energy innovation
National Grid Partners’ inaugural Utility Innovation Survey also reveals more progress is needed to build bridges between startups and energy industry
MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — National Grid Partners, the corporate venture capital and innovation arm of one of the world’s largest utilities, today announced the results of its first-ever Utility Innovation Survey. The poll of nearly 220 industry innovation leaders explored the top priorities at US energy utilities, and more than half said it’s critical to boost electric capacity given skyrocketing demand to electrify transportation and heat. But respondents also admitted the industry’s traditionally slow-moving culture has led them to deprioritize innovation and shy away from working with startups that can offer technological breakthroughs.
Notably, nearly three quarters (72%) of utility leaders surveyed say innovation at their organization is primarily driven by regulation or compliance.
- Despite a heavy focus from the industry and from government, only 19% of utility innovation leaders named net zero goals as a top priority at their companies.
- Nearly three in 10 respondents named compliance as their top priority; this was followed by reliability, which 20% of respondents named first.
- When asked about their innovation priorities, respondents listed net zero third, behind digital transformation of their operations and boosting efficiency.
The survey findings were announced at the second annual NextGrid Alliance Summit in Boston. The event brought together more than 200 senior leaders from the energy, technology, startup and government sectors. Featured speakers included Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy; Silver Spring Networks co-founder Eric Dresselhuys; and a trio of senior leaders from the U.S. Department of Energy: Chief Commercialization Officer Vanessa Chan; Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy; and solar energy pioneer Jigar Shah, who leads the department’s $40 billion Loan Programs Office to help renewable technologies scale.
“Regulators historically have set the terms that drive innovation for our industry—for instance, by rewarding operators to build new infrastructure but not to take risks and deploy new software-based solutions,” said Steve Smith, Chief Strategy and Regulation Officer at National Grid. “At the same time, it’s incumbent upon utilities to think and act more boldly, without waiting for third parties to take the lead. That’s precisely why we convened the NextGrid Alliance: To accelerate the development and deployment of breakthrough technology at the speed and scale the market demands.”
The Alliance is a first-of-its-kind network that brings together utilities and startups to address the clean energy transition. Launched in 2020, the group now comprises more than 120 utilities worldwide, including Edison International, NextEra Energy and Enel. In the past 18 months alone, it has brokered more than 100 introductions between startups and member utilities.
Survey respondents indicated a number of ways regulation can shift utility priorities.
- Regulatory environment matters: Nearly half (48%) saw insufficient incentives and scarce resources as the top challenges to innovation – so regulatory environments need to support and encourage utility innovation efforts.
- Show me the numbers: Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed (66%) agree upcoming disclosure laws will change how they do business.
- Innovation priorities: Respondents identified carbon capture (76%), smartgrid (69%) and mass electrification (69%) as emerging technologies with the most promise.
“Electrification and artificial intelligence require robust power grids for a new era of energy consumption. And with the Securities and Exchange Commission pushing to require companies to disclose climate-related information, we must embrace new ways to deploy and scale innovation,” said Smith, who spent a decade as a top utility regulator in the U.K.
Smith also noted that survey respondents who are active in the Alliance said they are far more likely to partner with startups for innovation. Yet overall, just 26% of those surveyed said they identify fresh ways of thinking and operating from startups. Instead, utilities are primarily looking inward for innovation, with more than four in five (82%) saying their own employees are the top source of ideas.
And even when utilities do identify innovations, “pilot hell”—whereby new technologies scale slowly—is persistent.
- The median time for surveyed utilities to move from piloting projects to rolling them out is about a year;
- Just one in four innovation projects on the drawing board ever gets implemented (24%).
“The energy transition is in full swing, and utilities can lead the way or be a bottleneck,” said Adam Richins, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Idaho Power. He is a past NextGrid Alliance working group co-chair and was a panelist at this year’s Summit on the topic of reducing barriers to innovation.
“This survey data underscores that our industry can do more to partner with startups to solve our innovation challenges,” Richins said. “We are in this together.”
National Grid Partners conducted the research using an online survey prepared by Method Research in late winter 2024. It was distributed by RepData and National Grid Partners to 219 directors, vice presidents and other executives involved in innovation at US energy utilities.
About National Grid Partners
National Grid Partners is the venture investment and innovation arm of National Grid plc., one of the world’s largest investor-owned energy companies. National Grid Partners invests for strategic and financial impact across four pillars: Future Electric Networks; Decarbonizing Gas; Customer First; and Efficiency Through Innovation. By providing corporate venture capital, business development counsel and direct integration with National Grid’s innovation team, National Grid Partners is accelerating the energy transition and helping innovators reach critical scale faster. We also convene the NextGrid Alliance (www.ngalliance.energy), an innovation network of senior executives from more than 120 worldwide utility companies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, National Grid Partners has offices in Boston, London, and New York. Visit ngpartners.com or follow us on Twitter (@ngpartners_) and LinkedIn.
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NEW YORK, Jan. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In a dynamic and increasingly complex business environment, small businesses across the USA are experiencing a growing need for expert financial management solutions. Bookkeeping in USA, a critical yet often overlooked business function, is proving essential for companies striving to stay competitive, compliant, and efficient.
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Fintech PR
CUBE COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF THOMSON REUTERS REGULATORY INTELLIGENCE AND ODEN BUSINESSES
- Acquisition delivers an expanded customer base with a deep global subject matter expertise network that further powers CUBE’s RegBrain AI across its industry proven SaaS RegPlatform™
- CUBE continues to see strong organic customer growth in its well-established enterprise sector whilst also accelerating growth across the mid-market sector
- 2024 was a year of strategic milestones for CUBE including the partnership with Hg, expanding its global footprint across six main hubs, the acquisition of Reg-Room and Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence and Oden businesses, together with pivotal board and executive appointments
LONDON, Jan. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CUBE, a global leader in Automated Regulatory Intelligence (ARI) and Regulatory Change Management (RCM), has today formally announced the completion of its acquisition of the Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence and Oden businesses on 31 December 2024.
The acquisition of these global businesses is another step forward in CUBE’s growth plans as a leader in regulatory intelligence. It will supplement and enhance CUBE’s ability to deliver significant scale across many of the world’s leading and systemically important financial institutions. CUBE’s global customer base will expand to total approximately 1,000 customers in banking, insurance, asset and investment management, payments and adjacent regulated industries.
CUBE’s Founder and CEO, Ben Richmond, said: “The completion of this acquisition is a major milestone for CUBE in a year that has seen many important milestones including our strategic partnership with Hg, the acquisition of Reg-Room, and the acquisition of Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence and Oden businesses.”
“Thomson Reuters is best known in the industry for providing regulatory analysis and subject matter expertise combined with world-leading journalism and news,” said Ben Richmond. “The powerful combination of CUBE’s AI and the years of human generated content curated by Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence and Oden subject matter experts sets us apart in the industry. This new dimension at CUBE will accelerate innovation and drive further growth and opportunity in 2025 and beyond.”
Following the announcement of its strategic partnership with Hg in March 2024, CUBE has now completed two transformational US-based acquisitions across three businesses whilst continuing to assemble a highly experienced executive team. CUBE’s continued impressive growth saw its presence in the enterprise sector surpassing 200 customers and now represents around 40% of Tier 1 financial institutions globally. In the mid-market sector, serving small and medium sized enterprises, CUBE now has near 800 customers.
With this growth CUBE solidified its global footprint by establishing offices across its six main hubs focused on customer support and implementation; with the number of employees at CUBE doubling to near 700 and a comparable increase in the number of countries where CUBE’s employees are located, which now totals 15 countries.
Ben Richmond said: “We are excited to welcome all of our new colleagues to CUBE – 2025 promises to be yet another significant year for the business as we continue to deliver further innovation focused on automating regulatory compliance and risk management for our customers.”
The definitive agreement was originally announced in May 2024 and terms were not disclosed.
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VICTORIA, Seychelles, Jan. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In a significant leap forward for digital commerce, KuCoin has unveiled KuCoin Pay, a pioneering merchant solution designed to catalyze business growth by integrating crypto payments into the retail sector. This innovative system bridges the gap between traditional retail and crypto, offering contactless and borderless transactions. Leveraging KuCoin’s robust infrastructure—trusted globally and serving over 37 million+ users – KuCoin Pay is poised to open new opportunities for merchants and users to thrive in the evolving digital economy.
KuCoin Pay is committed to reducing transaction fees and facilitating immediate settlement of crypto payments, simplifying the process for businesses to manage transactions efficiently. The platform supports an extensive range of cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks, significantly broadening the global reach of payments.
The process for merchants is straightforward: integrate KuCoin Pay into their payment systems, allowing customers to complete purchases through KuCoin by scanning a QR code or via the KuCoin app. This integration ensures a frictionless checkout experience, fostering greater consumer confidence and satisfaction.
Additionally, KuCoin Pay is integrated within the KuCoin app, enabling businesses to tap into KuCoin’s extensive user base while simplifying the buying process for everyday items for users. Daily requests such as gift cards and mobile top-ups can be done seamlessly, further promoting widespread crypto adoption.
KuCoin Pay represents a major milestone in driving the mainstream adoption of crypto and marks a pivotal step in KuCoin’s ongoing commitment to enriching the blockchain ecosystem. For more information on KuCoin Pay and how it can transform your business, please visit the KuCoin Pay website.
About KuCoin
Founded in 2017, KuCoin is one of the pioneering and most globally recognized technology platforms supporting digital economies, built on a robust foundation of cutting-edge blockchain infrastructure, liquidity solutions, and an exceptional user experience. With a connected user base exceeding 37 million worldwide, KuCoin offers comprehensive digital asset solutions across wallets, trading, wealth management, payments, research, ventures, and AI-powered bots. KuCoin has garnered accolades such as “Best Crypto Apps & Exchanges” by Forbes and has been recognized among the “Top 50 Global Unicorns” by Hurun in 2024. These recognitions reflect its commitment to user-centric principles and core values, which include integrity, accountability, collaboration, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.
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