Marubeni: In-Depth Startup Scouting, Energy Forecasting

Marubeni, a Japanese integrated business conglomerate with operations as an electric utility, retailer & aggregator, IPP, and more, became a client of Powerhouse in 2019. Powerhouse works with Marubeni Power’s US-based innovation lead and the conglomerate’s Tokyo-based team to advise the company on opportunities for innovation in a rapidly changing energy landscape.

Marubeni has elected to structure this work in the form of four in-depth startup scouting engagements each year, which enables a deep dive into each topic as well as outcomes that address specific decarbonization goals. These engagements have covered themes such as behind-the-meter renewables for C&I customers (to augment the capabilities of a new C&I solar division) and deep decarbonization for utilities (to inform Marubeni’s long-term vision for supporting energy transitions of global utilities).

A recent 3-month scouting engagement focused on energy forecasting, covering solutions across electricity demand, price, and generation. Powerhouse identified over 50 startups with applicable technology and led joint meetings with over a dozen startups and senior leaders at Marubeni to assess potential opportunities across Marubeni’s business lines.

For this engagement, Powerhouse worked with Marubeni to facilitate outcomes for the most immediate business opportunity: providing forecasts for operational optimization of a new solar + storage facility. Powerhouse facilitated the distribution of an RFI to select startups, for which Marubeni received 7 comprehensive submissions from Powerhouse-identified startups. Marubeni is currently in contract negotiations with one of these startups to provide services for the facility.

Enel: 20 Targeted Scouting Topics Each Year

For over four years, Powerhouse has supported Enel’s Silicon Valley Innovation Hub and Office of the Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer. With operations in over 30 countries, Enel relies on Powerhouse to source startups that solve pressing challenges and open new business opportunities across Enel’s work as a utility, renewable developer, EV charging solution provider, and more.

Every quarter, the Silicon Valley Innovation Hub sources scouting topics from Enel’s global business units, ranging from long-term technology prospects to immediate technical challenges in specific locations. These topics, which total approximately 20 over the course of a year, have included hydrogen storage & distribution, EV charger networking connectivity solutions, analytics for grid-scale batteries, and data capture for electricity meters.

For each topic, Powerhouse leverages our proprietary database and conducts research to find the most relevant solutions, presenting the Enel team with a detailed list of startups and Powerhouse’s perspective on each one. The Powerhouse team then discusses the startups and market landscape with Enel in bi-weekly meetings.

In 2021, Powerhouse scouted 262 startups for Enel and made 34 introductions to those that were of highest interest. During this period, Enel established paid pilots and customer contracts with four startups that Powerhouse introduced Enel to in 2020.

Schneider Electric: 9-Month Deep Dive into Carbon Tracking & Management

As a global leader in energy management, Schneider Electric is a trusted partner in helping businesses worldwide to decarbonize. With the recent explosion of technologies to track and measure carbon emissions, roadmap emissions reductions, and procure offsets and other emissions-reduction technologies, Schneider Electric turned to Powerhouse for a 9-month project to map this ever-growing landscape and find solutions to integrate into their existing offerings.

Following extensive research and discussions with Schneider Electric business lines, innovation leads, and CVC investors, Powerhouse identified 160 startups developing solutions across 11 core areas within carbon management. Powerhouse then conducted 31 in-depth interviews with leading solution providers to paint a comprehensive picture of the market needs and opportunities for Schneider Electric.

As a result of their engagement with Powerhouse, Schneider Electric decided to incubate EmitZero, which is focused on reducing Scope 3 emissions throughout corporate value chains. In addition, Powerhouse identified and screened potential candidates for EmitZero’s CTO position, including Sri Sukhi, who Schneider Electric hired for the position. Finally, Schneider Electric is currently exploring pilots with three of the startups that Powerhouse identified.