eSmart Systems, the energy industry’s leader in AI-based grid inspection and grid maintenance planning software, recruited Steve Hambric last October as President of North America. Steve has been driving the company’s vision through rapid expansion and the implementation of a long-term growth strategy during the first year in his role. In this interview, he shares with us his experience as President, the value of eSmart Systems’ products to North American Utilities, and the role of AI in the energy industry.

A year ago, you took the role of President of North America Operations at eSmart Systems. You were recruited to lead an ambitious strategy and to expand business to North America. What have you achieved in your first year?

Before joining, I was fortunate enough to spend time with some eSmart leaders and board members working on our North America strategy. So when I became part of the team, we were aligned and confident in our focus from day one.

First, we focused on deploying Grid Vision™ to help utilities revolutionize how they inspect and manage their transmission and distribution networks. This is the best product-market fit I’ve had in my career, and it creates compelling value for utilities, their customers, regulators, and partners. In addition to focusing on our solution and its application, we were committed to being more disciplined in the opportunities we pursued.  

We focused on programmatic inspections of a core group of utilities with clear opportunities to scale. The results have been fantastic. When I joined, we had recently signed our first Grid Vision™ contract in North America.  Since then, we’ve added six more leading utilities with a great pipeline to follow.  In spite of the disruption we’re all battling with Covid-19, we have more than doubled North America revenue in 2020 while executing a dramatic strategic pivot. The broader eSmart team has done amazing work to make this happen. Additionally, we’ve laid the foundation in 2020 for a compelling future with Grid Vision™. 

What are other focus areas for 2020?

Partnerships are very important to how we’ll deliver maximum value to the utility industry.  We aren’t trying to do everything. Instead, we are focused on building and delivering technology in a way that maximizes the value our partners deliver for utilities. These partners primarily include aerial image capture and inspection services firms.  

We even changed the name of our product from Connected Drone to Grid Vision™ this year to be more clear about what we do and what we don’t do. We don’t own or operate drones and our AI software analyzes images from aerial and ground-based sources.

Can you explain how eSmart Systems’ Grid Vision™ brings value to your customers in North America?

Absolutely. eSmart Systems builds and delivers fantastic technology that helps the industry conduct inspections that are more accurate, thorough, fast, safe, and cost-effective. We don’t need to completely replace existing inspection processes. In fact, we’ve designed our tools to flexibly integrate with existing processes to make them both more efficient and more effective. Utilities will get the best results when human experts and AI work collaboratively. It’s also important that we make all this data and insight available for a host of other use cases to support utilities asset management, maintenance, supply chain, analytics, and more.   

What are the key challenges you foresee for utilities looking to revolutionize inspections and asset management?  How is eSmart Systems positioned to help the industry overcome these challenges?

Risk, whether real or perceived, is always going to influence how rapidly you can change processes as mission critical as these.  We developed an approach we call Collaborative AI. It allows utilities to use algorithms to learn from the subject matter experts while they do their inspections. Then gradually, the AI can handle a greater share of the inspections. This can be done with as much or as little human expert oversight as desired.

Another risk with such a massive opportunity is creating a project so complicated that it takes too long to begin. If we as an industry try to jump headfirst into AI-enabled predictive maintenance, it’s going to be a long jump. We think there are some great first steps that have quick paybacks. It will build a foundation for a more compelling and integrated vision of the future.    

With the acquisition of some big utilities as customers, eSmart Systems has got a solid foothold in the US market. For continued growth, what is the most important thing to focus on going forward?

This is so basic, but we need to listen to our utilities and partners first. Then process that information to continually improve our products and how we deploy them. Utilities have an amazing track record of maintaining safe and reliable networks. By collaborating with them we’ll deliver the next generation of technology solutions and create massive value for the industry.  

eSmart Systems is certainly poised to continue disrupting the status quo for Utility companies. What role do you see AI playing in the future of our energy systems?

As in most industries, there are almost limitless applications for AI in utilities. But as a partner to utilities, it’s critical that we not get distracted by chasing too many use cases. Until AI reaches a certain level of competence, and I believe that level of competence will be very high, we aren’t going to create value at a scale relative to current business processes.  So, we need to maintain the narrow focus we spoke of earlier while delivering incredibly compelling value for electric T&D inspections before we branch off into too many other use cases.

At the end of the year 2018, eSmart Systems successfully completed a capital raise joined by Equinor Ventures. Equinor’s corporate venture fund is dedicated to investing in attractive and ambitious early phase high-growth companies. As a hands-on investor, Equinor has taken an active role in the ownership of eSmart Systems.

We sat down with Investment Manager at Equinor Ventures, Thor Olav Thorsnes Egeland, to talk about the investment in eSmart Systems, how Equinor Ventures gives growth support and the transitioning of the energy industry. 

Can you start by telling a bit about your company, what it does and what are you focusing on in particular at the moment?

Equinor Ventures is Equinor’s corporate venture fund dedicated to investing in attractive and ambitious early phase and growth companies. We believe that the innovation, creativity and agility of start-ups can drive change and transition the energy industry towards a low carbon future. Equinor Ventures invests in companies that support and enable our current operations, which are future potential growth legs for Equinor, or have high impact technologies and business models that support the energy transition.

Partnered with Equinor Ventures, how do you see eSmart Systems shape the future of energy?

eSmart Systems is already changing how large utilities are working It will continue to support more efficient, precise and cheaper monitoring of the grid. eSmart is delivering the technology of the future for grid inspection.

We are among the few of Equinor’s European portfolio companies from the power industry. Why did you invest in eSmart Systems, and how does it fit with your strategy?

The company’s technical ability paired with a proven entrepreneurial team attracted us. eSmart Systems was early in delivering commercial AI solutions to the power industry and attracted international recognition. This is a great fit with our strategy of investing in companies that could potentially support Equinor’s core business but also in our strategy of investing in companies with high-impact technologies that support the energy transition.

How do you give growth support to your investments, and eSmart Systems in particular?

We are an active investor that typically takes board seats in our portfolio companies. As a hands-on investor we also typically support our companies, like eSmart Systems, in fundraising, recruitment, business development, and M&A.

eSmart Systems’ industry leading AI-based grid inspection software has been rebranded as Grid Vision™. This platform will continue to reduce operational costs, increase reliability, generate accurate and detailed asset records, and extend the life of utility infrastructure.

This year, eSmart Systems announced it had rebranded its industry leading AI-based grid inspection software as Grid Vision™, in order to better serve utilities and more accurately reflect the value and benefits it delivers for its global utility partners. Previously known as “Connected Drone”, the software is already utilized by over 35 utilities in the U.S. and Europe and is the most widely adopted AI-based grid inspection software product in the industry.

The name Grid Vision™ more accurately reflects the software’s agnostic approach to how high resolution images are captured, supporting image capture from any aerial or ground-based source, to analyze and inspect the world’s critical electric grid infrastructure for transmission and distribution assets. The product currently analyzes grid assets throughout Europe and North America by using a combination of AI and human intelligence to update asset inventories, detect defects, extend asset life, and inform critical decision making.  

Grid Vision supports Collaborative Intelligence  

eSmart Systems’ Collaborative Intelligence approach combines human intelligence from Subject Matter Experts with Grid Vision™. Together they analyze high-resolution images captured by Unmanned Aircraft Systems, manned helicopters, and ground crews. As algorithms are localized, the software delivers greater value and accuracy over time. These capabilities are a key linchpin transitioning from today’s manual grid inspection practices to a process that uses the optimal combination of humans, AI, and images. These synergies result in more efficiently inspected grid systems, reduced failure rates, and extended asset life. 

Read more about Grid Vision here, or contact us to get more information.

At the beginning of the year 2019 eSmart Systems announced a capital raise of 18 MUSD. Nysnø Climate Investments joined the investment round with a strong belief that eSmart Systems has a key role in the future energy industry.

We had the pleasure of talking with Siri Kalvig, CEO of Nysnø and Tina Skagen, COO of eSmart Systems, to learn more about their collaborative partnership, sustainability, and challenges and opportunities in the new energy paradigm.

Can you start by telling a bit about your company, what it does and what are you focusing on in particular at the moment?

Siri Kalvig: Nysnø Climate Investments (Nysnø) was established as a state-owned investment company in 2018. We invest in companies with profitable climate technologies. We focus on companies that are ready to scale into new markets and invest across several sectors including clean energy technologies, digital and enabling technologies, resource efficiency, sustainable demand and the circular economy. Our most recent investment is in a company called Saga Robotics who are developing an autonomous robot for several precision farming applications.

eSmart Systems deliver inspection services to power grid companies through collaborative AI. Its mission is to accelerate the transition to a digital future. What do you think it takes to succeed in that mission?

Tina Skagen: Dedication to the mission and our customers, a strong team and perseverance. It takes time to change work processes and the ways that things have always been done. Digitalization happens gradually all around us, and our value proposition to the power utilities is strong. We need to make sure we are there and ready to deliver when our customers are mature.

Nysnø’s goal is to make profitable, long-term investments that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. How does eSmart Systems fit with that strategy, and why did you invest in eSmart Systems?

Siri: Because of their unique technology that is ready for international expansion and backed by a highly talented and dedicated team. The combination of world leading AI competence and domain expertise in the energy utility space has resulted in a unique product offering. Producing more renewable energy and utilizing power grids optimally is critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The eSmart software enables a robust and smart grid, capable of meeting challenges related to future global energy systems.

How do you give growth support to your investments, and eSmart Systems in particular?

Siri: We are a long-term investor with a strategy of following up our initial investments with further growth capital over time. We have an international network of specialized co-investors and corporates that are committed to accelerating the energy transition, as well as relationships with policy makers in the energy field. We actively work to position our portfolio companies in this ecosystem.

eSmart Systems has a clear value proposition and a unique opportunity to scale globally, and we are highly committed to support this growth through our network, which includes potential future co-investors, other financing providers, relevant policy makers, potential customers and key talent for recruitment. We also work actively with the company in relation to other funding schemes, such public soft funding and growth loans.    

What makes Nysnø different to other investors, and can you provide some examples of growth support from Nysnø?

Tina: Nysnø has a crystal-clear focus on sustainability and the environment. Their focus and competencies on growth challenges and the business that eSmart Systems is in, are of great value to us. Nysnø has been a valuable partner especially when it comes to network, funding, and financials.

What role do you see eSmart Systems play in the future energy industry?

Siri: Because the energy systems are changing towards more intermittent renewables, eSmart Systems offers a crucial solution to enable this shift by providing tools to increase the robustness of the grid. A robust, smart, and agile power grid is the most important asset in an entirely renewable energy system – and we see that eSmart Systems has both the technology and business model to take utilities into this new energy paradigm. 

Tina: eSmart Systems will undoubtedly play an important role in the operations of power grids in the future. Being able to inspect the grid remotely and autonomously, and to analyze and extract actionable insight from the data is the future for the utility business as well as for other industries. We have built a product that can take the power utilities into this future and give them value on their data.

Many utilities face major challenges and costs related to vegetation near power lines. In a research and development project supported by the Research Council of Norway, eSmart Systems has partnered up with utilities to develop an operational software solution for the assessment of vegetation and safety near power line spans.

Vegetation insight to prevent tree falls

The name of the project is “AI-based risk model for vegetation near power lines”. Its members are five utilities, the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), and eSmart Systems. As a result of this project, the utilities are flying drones to collect data on growth conditions and vegetation.

With the data collected, the project will try to identify which trees have fallen from one year to another. Furthermore, it will identify which properties of the trees and their place of growth are predictive of tree falls.

Using AI to analyze data

eSmart Systems will use AI to analyze the data and identify the important properties of vegetation. After that, NIBIO uses the research to determine risk.

By combining the probability of treefall with the consequences of it occurring at span level on the grid, the utilities can plan and prioritize the vegetation management more efficiently than with current practices while also reducing the number of outages.

Innovation to be at the forefront

Evensen is positive about participating in research projects that can improve operations and help prevent power outages. The same goes for Irina Pirozhinskaia at Ringerikskraft who believes R&D projects are of great value.

We get the opportunity to work with R&D, increase the competence of the company, and work towards a more profitable operation

said Pirozhinskaia

At eSmart Systems, Research & Innovation (R&I) is a cornerstone of the company.

About

• Project title: AI-based risk model for vegetation near power lines
• Project goal: To develop an operational software solution for assessment of vegetation safety near power line spans, that utilities can use for prioritization and planning, based on local data on growth conditions and vegetation.
• Project Manager: eSmart Systems
• Partners: NIBIO (Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research), Norgesnett AS, Valdres Energi Nett AS, Dalane Energi Nett AS, Ringerikskraft Nett AS, Gudbrandsdal Energi Nett AS
• Project period: 04-2020 to 06-2022
• Budget: 11 mill NOK
• Funding granted: 4.4 mill NOK

BKW Energie is among the speakers at the virtual conference “AI & ML for the Smart Grid 2020”, taking place on September 9th. The power production and distribution utility is one of eSmart Systems’ customers, and has its headquarters in Berne, Switzerland.

One of the speakers, Yamshid Farhat Quiñones, Data Scientist of Grid Analytics at BKW, has had a positive experience with using eSmart System’s cloud-based platform:

“In the talk, I will focus on in-house vs external artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions. With eSmart Systems Collaborative AI approach, we can shape and strengthen the AI with our expert’s classifications. We can also profit from the development done together by eSmart Systems with other utilities to streamline the development of the AI,” says Yamshid Farhat Quiñones.

“A key feature in our software solution Grid Vision™ is the collaborative approach between human and machine. Our experience shows that efficient use of the Subject Matter Experts helps the AI improve faster while managing operational risk. We are pleased that BKW wants to promote what we do together on Collaborative AI,” says Khaoula Benserhir, Customer Success Manager at eSmart Systems.

Learn more.

AI+ is a new international conference focusing on applied AI, with the purpose to offer Norwegian as well as international environments an arena for competence sharing and interaction within the field of artificial intelligence.

The three-day webinar on 15-17 of September 2020 is a digital prelaunch to a physical conference in the spring/summer of 2021.  

The AI community will gather problem keepers and problem solvers to drive forward the potential of AI across business, science and tech. This year’s AI+ Master of Ceremonies (MC) is Dr. Silvija Seres. She is a mathematician and a technology investor and describes herself as “an academic techie with a past in corporate leadership, a present in entrepreneurial investment, and a future in large-scale digital transformation processes in public and private sector”.

About AI+

The AI+ consortium aims to contribute to the Norwegian government reaching its digitalization goals, as stated in both the digitalization strategy for the public sector and in the national strategy for artificial intelligence. Applied artificial intelligence and sustainability will be the focus areas. AI+ is intended as a yearly conference and is expected to grow to become a natural arena for industries where applied artificial intelligence can be integrated with business purposes, and for networking and innovation.

Read more and sign up

The AI+ conference is made by Smart Innovation Norway, IFE Institute for Energy Technology, Halden municipality and eSmart Systems.

AUSTIN, Texas – eSmart Systems, Xcel Energy, and EDM International announce the completion of the first phase of a strategic initiative to enhance the aerial inspection of Xcel’s transmission system. The foundation of this solution is Collaborative Intelligence, which combines human intelligence with Grid Vision™, an AI-based analytics solution from eSmart. The first phase, launched in December 2019, was successful in deploying Collaborative Intelligence to inspect and document 2,897 miles of Xcel Energy’s transmission assets and finished ahead of schedule in March. The multi-year initiative will be expanded into Phase Two to continue to update asset records, reduce operational costs, decrease failure rates, and extend asset life

Xcel Energy’s work on unmanned aircraft systems with our partners demonstrates that collaboration benefits customers, the economy, and the environment,” said Michael Lamb, senior vice president, transmission- Xcel Energy. “Our company is an industry leader in using UAS technologies for transmission line inspections and our work with eSmart Systems and EDM will help improve the safety and reliability of the energy grid.

Phase Two launched in May 2020.

Phase Two builds on the success of Phase One, with an additional 5,000 miles of Xcel Energy’s transmission system to be inspected by the end of 2020. As in Phase One, transmission asset imagery will be collected by Xcel Energy’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and manned helicopters. Phase Two will further improve the inspection processes by enhancing the Collaborative Intelligence approach with a deeper integration of eSmart’s Grid Vision™, an AI-based analytics system, into their existing business processes. eSmart and EDM are leveraging the Phase One image data to improve the efficacy of Grid Vision™ by eSmart, making the asset component identification and defect detection more efficient and effective.

Collaborative Intelligence

The Collaborative Intelligence approach combines human intelligence from EDM’s T&D Subject Matter Experts with Grid Vision™, an AI-based analytics system by eSmart. Together they analyze aerial images captured by Unmanned Aircraft Systems and manned helicopters. This project is seen as a key linchpin transitioning from today’s manual grid inspection practices to a process that uses the optimal combination of humans, AI, and aerial images. These synergies result in more efficiently inspected grid systems, reduced failure rates, and extended asset life.

About the Companies

eSmart Systems

eSmart Systems is a developer of disruptive intelligent analytics targeting utility and energy markets. eSmart Systems, headquartered in Norway, has 80 employees including sales representatives in Denmark, UK, and in the US. The company was established in 2013, has commercial revenues from large and established utilities and transmission & distribution grid operators. Key owners are Kongsberg Digital, Energy Impact Partners, Equinor Energy Ventures, Nysnø Climate Investments, Innogy Ventures, and several Norwegian utilities.

For more information, visit esmartsystems.com.

Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

EDM International

EDM is an employee-owned alliance of engineers, scientists, technologists, and businesspeople providing innovative services and products to the utility industry since 1982. The company has become a leader in utility engineering, operations, and asset management by merging excellence in technical disciplines with a genuine concern for client needs. EDM is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, and has offices in San Diego, California, and Billings, Montana, and staff in other locations in North America.

Contact

Knut Johansen, CEO, eSmart Systems, + 47 909 81 318
knut.johansen@esmartsystems.com

Steve Hambric, President North America, eSmart Systems, +1 (404) 432-6891
steve.hambric@esmartsystems.com

Maria Cervantes, Marketing & Communications, eSmart Systems, +1 (512) 999-6645 maria.cervantes@esmartsystems.com

7 leading Norwegian utilities entered a three-year R&D partnership with eSmart Systems to improve 
current power grid operations and maintenance.

eSmart Systems has since 2013 been developing Connected Grid with central Norwegian DSO’s through the R&D projects Braadland and Astrum. The success from the former projects has led to innovative solutions, new partners and the current R&D initiative Opal.

“We are pleased that some of Norway’s most progressive utilities have chosen eSmart Systems as a long-term partner through their commitment to the Opal-project. I am confident that our initiatives will have a major impact on the power grid industry,” says Knut H. H. Johansen, CEO of eSmart Systems.  

Access to data  

The project´s objective is to create an open AI-platform system that will, through a unique and secure method of processing data and training of AI-algorithms, increase each customer’s data’s value, in addition to accelerate the usage of applied AI for the utilities, regardless of their size.  

“Together with the partners, we have identified a need for new systems that build upon the results of our previous R&D projects. One of the most important premises for utilizing the power of artificial intelligence is access to data. Asset Intelligence will be essential to the product moving forward,” explains Erik Åsberg, CTO at eSmart Systems.  

Intelligent Asset Management will use data from all customers to calculate probabilities of errors down to the component level based on load, environment, and location. With applied AI the operation of power grids can be revolutionized. The project’s main goal is to make the AI technology more easily accessible and applicable to the utility companies.  

“eSmart Systems has a unique expertise when it comes to AI and intelligent solutions. We are looking forward to continuing the collaboration with eSmart Systems and all the project partners. This investment will lead to increased opportunities and add great value to the data we collect in the future,” says Tore Morten Wetterhus, CEO in Glitre Energi Nett.    

In addition to Glitre Energi and eSmart Systems, the Opal project includes Troms Kraft Nett, SFE Nett, Norgesnett, Hallingdal Kraftnett, Lyse Elnett, and Ringerikskraft Nett.  

Read also:

• Troms Kraft Nett enters an innovative consortium led by eSmart Systems

eSmart Systems strengthens its ambitions for growth in North America. In July, the company opened the new US headquarters in Austin, Texas.

eSmart Systems US Inc, a subsidiary of eSmart Systems AS, has recently made the move from its previous office in Bellevue to the growing tech hub of Austin. Being in the center of the country also has logistical advantages for the successful delivery of eSmart’s programs across North America.  

Building on its demonstrated success in Europe, eSmart Systems recently secured a USD 34 million investment for international expansion with a focus on North America. This investment has led to an increased focus on strengthening the company’s presence in the US.  

We look forward to being Austin-based and to continue building our team of industry experts. The US is a key market for eSmart’s global ambitions, says Steve Hambric, President North America at eSmart Systems US, Inc. 

The new office is located in North Austin, 11801 Domain Blvd 3rd Fl. To learn about opportunities to join our team please see careers page.