You might remember our article last year about GE and Quirky, a collaborative partnership that develops smart home solutions. Well, they have launched another smart connected home product base on the WINK platform, called Link. Link is a smart LED Light bulb that has its own app that allows you to control it from your smart phone.
Last month GE expanded its partnership with Quirky, the creator of WINK, a connected device communication platform that makes it easy for us to access a range of connected devices anytime from our mobile devices. GE participated in Quirky’s $79M series D financing by investing an additional $30 million and holding a minority equity stake in Quirky. The partnership between both businesses started back in April and since then they have developed a number of connected home solutions which are now available in leading retail stores such as The Home Depot, Amazon and Best Buy.
GE’s latest Smart Metering Operations Suite (SMOS) has achieved the Oracle Exadata Optimized status through the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) programme. The application was tested on Oracle’s high performance Exadata Database Machines, which offer the latest in data processing and server technology. The OPN has proven that SMOS has been tested and tuned to deliver speed, scalability and reliability in some of the most demanding environment.
Illinois base ComEd is to invest US$2.6 Billion over the next 10 years upgrading its electrical grid infrastructure across the Chicago area. Part of the project is to install 4 million smart meters into homes and business, for this they have selected GE on a $200 million contract. The whole project is scheduled to start this year and run until 2021 and will modernise ComEd grid facilities and while creating jobs for locals.
With an already establish line of smart grid aware home appliances GE has launch a new set of energy management solutions. Based on the Brillion range of products, the new “Whole-Home Sensor”, “Smart Plug Control” and “Brillion Programmable Thermostat” will assist homes in monitoring and managing their energy use. The different devices will work with GE’s Nucleus energy manager to give near real time energy information.
The entire energy sector eyes are on Hawaii’s second largest island of Maui. The island's electricity provider Maui Electric Company (MECO) and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii (HNEI) said they want to reduce their dependency on imported Diesel Oil. Currently 15 percent of the island’s electricity is generated by renewable energy and they have set themselves an ambitious target of increasing this number to 70 percent by the year 2030. Therefore, Maui Island has become a test bed for the latest in smart grid technologies under a Japanese-businesses and US joint partnership.
GE has announced that it has finalized the acquisition of Ireland-based FMC-Tech, a leading provider of smart grid technology equipment providing real-time power line monitoring capabilities. The acquisition, first announced in May, marks another milestone in both GE’s dedication to smart grid excellence and its commitment to smart grid development in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
GE has announced the start of another phase in its "GE Ecomagination Challenge" initiative. Yesterday they and a group venture capital partners launched the second round of funding, titled the "Powering Your Home" phase, where they will be investing up to $63 million in 10 innovative home energy technology companies. Seen as one the Largest open innovation challenge of its kind, so far it has approximately 5,000 submissions from 74,000 innovators.
Trilliant and AES Eletropaulo are collaborating in a smart grid research and development project—bringing the benefits of smart meters to the city of Sao Paulo and setting the stage for a more reliable and efficient energy infrastructure in Brazil. The first-of-its-kind project for the utility connects GE smart meters’ advanced technology through Trilliant’s wireless communication network to AES Eletropaulo’s meter data management center—improving system monitoring, identifying problems before they occur and reducing the duration of interruptions in energy supply.
GE Intelligent Platforms today announced the availability of its newest solution for the electric distribution industry, Proficy Grid Manager, a targeted portfolio of proven grid optimization software technologies for local utilities. The solution delivers real-time information and analytics to help utilities improve operational reliability and efficiency, and manage a more intelligent, cost-effective grid.