Balancing the energy grid with Fortum Spring Fortum is a European energy company with activities in more than 40 countries. Fortum provides their customers with electricity, gas, heating and cooling as well as smart solutions to improve resource efficiency. Fortum wants to engage their customers and society to join the change for a cleaner world. Fortum is the third largest producer of CO2-free electricity in Europe. With approximately 19,000 professionals and a combined balance sheet of approximately EUR 69 billion, Fortum has the scale, competence and resources to grow and to drive the energy transition forward. Case Fortum Expertise Embedded Systems Software and Digitalization Volatility and rising energy costs have shaken the energy market to its core. In order to maintain steady electricity currents, innovative solutions are required. As a major player in the Nordic electricity markets, Fortum partnered up with Etteplan to deliver a solution that would help them interact with their customers, control and aggregate small energy assets, and balance the energy grid. The solution enables Fortum Spring, a smart energy management platform that helps customers optimize energy usage. Cooperation with Etteplan started from a POC (proof of concept) project which blossomed into a solution development project. The need was for a device that could control customers’ electricity assets such as batteries, UPSs (Uninterruptible Power Supply), and other power reserves, to give energy to the grid when needed. This would not only help with balancing the grid but also optimize energy usage and tap into new markets. “Etteplan has a strong knowledge and understanding in embedded development. Also, we had good experiences from the POC and it was a natural choice for us to continue working with Etteplan as they were already familiar with our project. Additionally, Etteplan has been very agile in providing us with the development resources when needed,” explains Ilari Alaperä, Head of Fortum Spring, on why Etteplan was chosen as the development partner. A central communication system to control energy assets Etteplan’s solution is a cloud connected gateway device that acts independently, releasing power to the grid. These devices are designed to activate if the frequency drops or goes over certain limits, allowing batteries to push more energy to the grid and monitor and supply extra power. Through a cloud connection the device collects data and relays it to users. In other words, the solution is the central communication system that enables the control of different energy assets. “The implementation process has gone smoothly with Fortum. We started with POCs and then moved on to productization with a better platform. Throughout the process, we had good relationships with the customers, and they trusted us to make the platform better, bit by bit. Our focus was on the relationship and partnership, with a strong trust from the customer,” explains Samuel Zetterlund, team manager from Etteplan. Combating the volatility of the energy market The new solution provided Fortum with a necessary tool to connect energy reserves to the market and grow new business. For Fortum’s customers the solution saves energy, optimizes energy usage, reduces energy costs, and makes the grid all-around smarter. Societal gains are also noteworthy. By balancing the energy market, energy costs will be reduced, and consumption will be more optimized. “Outsourcing embedded gateway development has allowed us to focus our development activities on the market logic / aggregation, where our teams expertise are,” concludes Ilari.
Developing Autonomous Smart Wood Processing Solutions with ANDRITZ ANDRITZ is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries, and for solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors as well as for animal feed and biomass pelleting. Other important business segments include automation and service business. The publicly listed technology Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria, and has a staff of approximately 29,100 employees. ANDRITZ operates more than 280 sites in over 40 countries.
Simplifying intralogistics challenges through industrial digitalization with Cimcorp Cimcorp Group – part of Murata Machinery, Ltd. (Muratec) – is a leading global supplier of turnkey automation for intralogistics, using advanced robotics, material handling and software technologies. As well as being a manufacturer and integrator of pioneering material handling systems for the tire industry, Cimcorp has developed unique robotic solutions for order fulfillment and storage that are being used in the food & beverage, retail, e-commerce, FMCG and postal services sectors.
Utilizing design methods in shaping business with Vointy Vointy, a health technology start-up company from Oulu, Finland teamed up with Etteplan to bring a health and wellness application of a whole new breed to the market. Instead of focusing on personal performance metrics and competing in the fragmented and saturated market of wearable technology the application is aimed at employers and their human resources development.
Development of precise positioning accelerates Kalmar’s research project – Etteplan Rugged Evaluation Platform in action Kalmar offers the widest range of cargo handling solutions and services to ports, terminals, distribution centers, and to heavy industry. Kalmar is the industry forerunner in terminal automation and in energy-efficient container handling, with one in four container movements around the globe being handled by a Kalmar solution.
Supporting Talenom with continuous security testing and awareness building Customer box: Talenom is an agile and forward-looking accounting firm established in 1972. Talenom’s business idea is to make day-to-day life easier for entrepreneurs with the most user-friendly electronic tools on the market and highly automated services. In addition to comprehensive accounting services, Talenom supports its customers’ business operations with a wide range of expert services as well as financing and payment, and banking services. cyber security