London’s Reactive Technologies secures €19 million EIB financing to strengthen Europe’s power grids
Reactive Technologies, a London-based power-grid technology company, has secured €19 million in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to promote its platform, which aims to reduce the risk of electricity outages, lower grid operating costs, and increase the supply of clean energy in Europe.
The company states that its platform, GridVerix, provides real-time measurements of key grid stability indicators, including inertia, the stored kinetic energy in generators that helps the system withstand sudden disturbances. The other indicators include the strength and stability of voltage across different parts of the grid.
“EIB support comes at a critical moment. The rapid growth of renewable energy and large power consumers such as data centres are making Europe’s grids more complex to manage. By providing real-time measurements of grid stability, GridVerix can help operators keep the system secure, operate more efficiently and reduce costs for consumers,” said Reactive Technologies CEO Marc Borrett.
Founded in 2010 by Dr. Heikki Huomo and Borrett, Reactive Technologies is a Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) company addressing the challenges of energy transition, electrification and accelerating load growth.
The UK firm notes that as more wind and solar power is connected to Europe’s grids, GridVerix can also help operators identify vulnerabilities and keep the system stable while integrating more renewable energy and connecting large electricity users such as data centres. It can also help reduce renewable energy curtailment, which is the deliberate reduction of electricity generation, and the associated costs for consumers.
The EIB support takes the form of venture debt, is backed by the InvestEU programme, and contributes to TechEU, the EIB Group initiative to accelerate investments in strategic technologies and strengthen Europe’s technological competitiveness.
“Europe needs electricity grids that can keep pace with the rapid growth of renewable energy. Reactive Technologies gives grid operators a much clearer picture of what is happening across their networks in real time. Our financing will help bring this European technology to more markets, reduce the risk of power outages and support the secure integration of more clean power,” said EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer.
Of the €19 million EIB loan, the company plans to use up to €7 million to support R&D activities at its centre in the central Finnish city of Oulu. The remaining €12 million will support the deployment of the technology in the European Union.
Headquartered in London, Reactive Technologies’ sales and project delivery teams work with customers worldwide. It has commercial offices on the East and West Coasts of the USA, as well as in the UAE and Australia, and an R&D centre in Finland.
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