It's Been a Great Year Innovating With You!

With 2024 winding down, we wanted to share a roundup of news from our innovators, InnovationForce and the industry at large. Here are some of the more exciting highlights we wanted to share in our last edition of our LinkedIn newsletter before 2025 officially begins:

• Congratulations to Our Most Innovative Energy Companies
• Latest Trending Challenges from the PG&E Innovation Summit
• Trending Solutions
• A Look Back at the DoE GRIP projects
• InnovationForce in Year in Review and News Roundup
• Spotlight on our Most Innovative Solution Provider: SBB Structures

Congratulations to Our Most Innovative Energy Companies in 2024

Congratulations to the utilities and the solution providers who joined us in our InnovationWorks platform to solve real energy problems. This year we honored a number of noteworthy innovators for their contributions to support innovation in the industry:

The Solution Providers

• Amperon
• Athena Intelligence
• Edge Zero
• Enline
• Exodigo
• Gridwrap
• Infoslips
• Systems With Intelligence
• Utilidata
• WhyGrene
• Rhythmos.io

The Utilities

• Portland General Electric
• Pacific Gas & Electric
• Georgia Power
• Liberty
• Central Hudson (Fortis Inc.)

New Challenges Trending in the Hangar

ICYMI: You can find all of the nearly 70 challenges shared in the PG&E 2024 R&D Plan that was unveiled at their Innovation Summit. Each of these challenges can be reviewed, solved, shared or even adopted into your private InnovationWorkspace. Review, start collaborating or see if you can solve these challenges today by logging into the InnovationWorks Hangar.

Here are a few to check out:

• Mitigating customer impact from PSPS/EPSS events
• Improving protection schemes and asset designs to eliminate ignitions
• Enhancing diagnostic capabilities for hazard trees
• Advancing overhead inspection capabilities

Log-in or create your free Test Pilot account to get started. Reach out if you have questions logging-in or upgrading your account.

Signup for your own private workspace at www.InnovationWorkspace.com

Latest Trending Solutions

From dynamic line rating and VPPs to wildfire mitigation and AI-driven substation monitoring solutions, you can find compelling ideas ready to pilot in our InnovationWorks Hangar.

?Here are a few to check out:

• Distribution Transformer Monitoring
• Planning and Dispatching Virtual Power Plants

• Intelligent Wildfire Risk Assessment Free Trial
• Day Ahead and Sub-Hourly Solar Generation Forecasts
• Compliance and Monitoring Support for EPA Safe Disposal of CCR
• Affordable Grid Resiliency
• Underground Mapping

Log-in or create your free Test Pilot account to get started. If you are a solution provider with ideas that you want to share, sign-up for our "Solver Account".

Create a solver account at www.InnovationWorkspace.com

A Look Back at DOE GRIP Funding

Innovation received a big boost from the U.S. Department of Energy's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding of these new innovative ideas and projects aim to enhance grid flexibility and resilience against extreme weather and climate change. As of October 18, 2024, the DOE has announced approximately $7.6 billion in federal investments for 105 projects across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

These projects are expected to enable 55 gigawatts of grid capacity, sufficient to power more than 40 million homes annually.

The GRIP Program continues to support transformative projects that ensure reliable, affordable, and clean electricity for American communities.

?Ready to Measure Your Impact?

InnovationWorks helps our customers save as much as $500,000 per idea with a standardized approach to innovating. If you have a complex innovation portfolio or newly funded GRIP project, book a demo with us and we'll show you how to get the most out of your resources to drive ideas to completion faster.

InnovationForce Year in Review

2024 was a great year for InnovationForce with national and global recognition:

• White House selects InnovationForce for first-of-kind Trade Mission
• Named top 10 most "Innovative Workplace" solutions by Fast Company
• Named Inc Magazine's "Best in Business"
• InnovationForce achieves SOC2 compliance
• Low cost InnovationWorkspaces democratize innovation for all
• InnovationForce supports South African reverse trade mission
• Our expanding partnership with CEATI
• Speaking opportunities on international stages from GasTech to Enlit!

Check out all of our news at www.innovationforce.io/blog

"The InnovationWorks platform enables real-time collaboration across our membership and reinforces our commitment to collectively shape the future of energy."

Award: Congratulations SBB Structures

SBB specializes in innovative aluminium solutions, from emergency towers and tower cranes to met masts and flood barriers, designed to tackle the critical challenges utilities face. Their flexible designs enable rapid power restoration, seamless transmission line expansion, and enhanced grid resiliency—essential in today’s reality of severe storms, climate risks, and flooding. Committed to building a safer, more sustainable future, SBB helps utilities and municipalities worldwide modernize infrastructure and reduce downtime.

Here are a few of their Test Flights ready to adopt from our InnovationWorks Hangar:

• Rapid Power Restorations after Disasters
• Seamless Transition Line Expansion Without Downtime
• Reducing Flood Risks
• Precision Data for Decarbonization

Log-into Innovationworks at www.innovate.innovationforce.io

Welcome to Our New Solvers!

It's been a busy end to the year but innovation never stops! We wanted to give a big InnovationForce shout out to these new solutions providers who have joined us in our InnovationWorks Hangar in December:

• Buzz Solutions
• Network Mapping Group
• Grid Raven
• Windlift

Be sure to check them out - these solutions are ready to review and adopt!

Log-into Innovationworks at www.innovate.innovationforce.io

ICYMI: Check Out Utility2030 Ignite Talk!

?? Check out?Kim Getgen's?5-minute “Ignite?Talk”?from the Utility2030 SPARK Conference! These fast paced?presentations are the highlight of Utility 2030 events for all attendees and a challenge for presenters!

Exciting Product Updates

It's been a big year of product updates thanks to feedback from you and the innovators in our community. ICYMI, here's a few of the highlights:

• InnovationWorkspaces - teams can collaborate for $9.99/month per user
• Adopt Button - like an idea in the Hangar? 1-click adopts to your workspace
• More dashboards - performance, financial and project tracking!
• New detailed scoring reports
• InnovationWorksAI generates challenges and autocompletes workflows
• Invite guests into your workspace to collaborate securely
• Create test plans or adopt a test plan from the Hangar
• Out-of-the-box SSO to your Microsoft environment
• APIs or customized integration available on demand!

With new InnovationWorkspace pricing, SOC2 compliance and the hundreds of ideas sourced and ready to be adopted in our InnovationWorks Hangar ecosystem, there's never been a better time to get a demo and get started!

Book a demo!

Video: The Easy Button for Innovation

Got a minute? Check out this 1 minute video to see why more leaders in the energy industry are innovating with InnovationWorks!

Watch the video

Thanks for innovating with us in 2024! Get your innovation program ready for the year ahead with InnovationForce and #InnovateForGood

Be sure to visit us at www.innovationforce.io to learn more about how to join InnovationWorks, subscribe, get our latest news or connect with us by booking a demo!

#InnovateForGood and see you in 2025!