Sygensys’s vision is to lever the potential of bi-directional power flow from electric vehicles and battery energy storage systems to help balance electricity supply and demand, both on public grids and local microgrids.

The company is working on developing demand side management solutions which address the cyber and security risks arising at the grid’s edge, enabling the development of demand side response markets.

Our Energy Launchpad is providing Business Model Innovation expertise to Sygensys to support it on its commercialisation journey and help accelerate routes to market.

The Challenge

The UK has an ambitious target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. That means phasing out fossil fuel use and electrifying transport and heat, which will lead to a substantial rise in demand from electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps.

This increased demand – coupled with the growth in less controllable renewable power and the loss of grid-stabilising inertia from fossil fuel generators – will introduce a range of new system operability challenges for grid operators. New, smarter and more flexible ways of managing supply and demand will be needed to ensure the lights stay on across the country.

The Innovation

Sygensys’s patented demand management and energy storage solution harnesses the potential of smart EV charging and vehicle-to-grid technology to help balance the grid and boost its resilience.

Its technology could help maintain grid stability during times of rapid change in supply or demand – for example when electricity systems are hit by storm damage, equipment failure or a cyber attack.

The company is working with a wide range of collaborators – including the Catapult, grid operators, regulators, end users, universities and semiconductor vendors – to bring its innovative solutions to market.

The Solution

Our Energy Launchpad draws on Catapult capabilities and assets – along with those of our partners – to provide innovators with tailored incubation and acceleration support to help de-risk innovation, address barriers to commercialisation, secure investment and scale up business.

At the time of engaging with us, Sygensys is in its discovery stage, and we were able to provide support through series of skill sharing workshops to help accelerate the company’s innovations to commercialisation. The workshops helped Sygensys understand its target market, implement business modelling techniques and explore routes to market partnerships within the value chain.

Sygensys is one of several SMEs we’re supporting through the Climate Innovation Platform (CIP) Low Carbon Energy Solutions Innovator Challenge, a collaborative programme backed by HSBC UK and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered with University of Birmingham.

We also worked with the company to contribute energy and digital technology expertise and support to a Sygensys-led initiative – Project REV – which is exploring the system operability challenges and risks associated with mass adoption of EVs.