Artificial intelligence for nuclear power generation, carbon-sequestering biochar, long-duration energy storage, submetering and managed charging for electric vehicles, real-time fault detection sensors, a prescribed-burn machine, advanced drones for system inspections, and new undergrounding systems are among the novel solutions and technologies that will be on display November 13 during Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) 2024 Innovation Summit presented in collaboration with DISTRIBUTECH® in San Jose.
“We are proud to work with leading companies advancing energy-focused AI applications, and fire-tech and climate-tech solutions to drive impact across our system with minimal impact to customer bills,” said Quinn Nakayama, Senior Director, Grid Research Innovation and Development, PG&E. “We see the potential for innovation to address emerging challenges across our operations, and we recognize the tremendous opportunity that innovation offers to transform our energy system to deliver for our people, the planet and the prosperity of California for generations to come. Other utilities’ challenges of tomorrow are PG&E’s realities of today, so I look forward to engaging at the summit to share ideas, and–in the spirit of mutual aid and support–I strongly encourage my utility peers across the country to join us in-person on November 13 in San Jose.”
Several industry leaders were recently added to the 2024 Innovation Summit’s high-powered speaker lineup including:
Sean Moser, Senior Vice President & Chief Product Officer of GE Vernova’s Grid Softwaret team and Igor Stamenkovic, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Electrical Services and Systems Division, Eaton will join Joe Bentley, Senior Vice President, Electric Engineering, PG&E for a discussion on the future of electric planning.
Marc Spieler, Senior Managing Director, Global Energy Industry, NVIDIA and Trey Lauderdale, Founder and CEO, Atomic Canyon will join Maureen Zawalick, Vice President, Business and Technical Services, PG&E for a conversation on the role of AI in the nuclear industry.
The immersive technology showcase for in-person summit attendees will feature demonstrations by PG&E and peer utilities Avangrid, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison. The showcase will include the following organizations and technologies that PG&E and peer utilities are exploring and deploying to enhance operations, improve customer service, and address changing environmental conditions:
Blue Grit Robotics is pioneering a first-of-its-kind utility undergrounding system that dramatically reduces the cost, complexity, and invasiveness of traditional methods. By harnessing advanced robotics and AI, Blue Grit Robotics is transforming the way utilities are installed underground, making the process safer, more efficient, and minimally disruptive. PG&E identified Blue Grit Robotics through its 2023 R&D Pitch Fest following the inaugural Innovation Summit.
BurnBot builds and operates systems that scale fuel treatment to prevent destructive wildfires. Composed of a team of firefighters, scientists, engineers, prescribed fire practitioners, and forestry professionals, BurnBot is addressing wildfire challenges and risks with its system of technologies that amplify workforce capacity to conduct safe, efficient, and ecological fuels treatment from mastication to prescribed fire. BurnBot recently launched its next-generation controlled burn machine (RX2) that delivers prescribed fire in a way that’s clean and creates very minimal smoke and is 10X faster than what can currently be done by arming boots on the ground and amplifying them with tools and technology, while reducing the risk of escape fire with a minimal impact on the environment. PG&E hosted the first public test of the RX2 in September 2024.
Earth Foundries is a California based, certified woman-owned and certified benefit corporation tackling California’s catastrophic wildfire threat by lowering the cost and carbon footprint of forest remediation. Earth Foundries’ innovative and sustainable Slash Attack™ mobile pyrolysis service converts unmerchantable forest material from forest health and hazardous fuels reduction projects into carbon-sequestering biochar on-site and at-scale. PG&E first tested a pyrolysis machine—also known as a “Carbonizer”–in late 2022 and is working with Earth Foundries to deploy one in Lake County through the Hometown Wildfire Safety Collaborative, a partnership with fire protection associations, safety organizations and environmental sustainability groups to advance wildfire resilience in Lake County.
Form Energy is an American technology company developing a breakthrough, multi-day energy storage system to enable the electric grid to run on clean, reliable, and affordable energy, every day of the year. Form Energy‘s first commercial product is an iron-air battery capable of storing and dispatching energy for 100 hours at system costs competitive with traditional power plants. Form was founded in 2017 with a unified mission: to reshape the global electric system by creating a new class of low-cost, multi-day energy storage systems. The company has already begun trial production of its iron-air batteries from its factory in West Virginia and is preparing to deploy its first commercial projects throughout the U.S. in 2025 and beyond, including a system adjacent to a PG&E electric substation in Northern California.
Gridware is transforming electrical grid management with its advanced sensor technology and innovative smart-pole platform. Focused on enhancing safety, resilience, and reliability, Gridware’s pole-mounted sensors (Gridscopes) monitor power lines in real-time, detecting potential hazards like equipment malfunctions and vegetation encroachment—even during outages. Operators now have access to critical information on when, where, and what faults occur in real time when they need it most. PG&E has deployed 10,000 Gridscopes on 1,000 miles of circuits enabled with Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings. To date, the Gridscopes have prevented five ignitions and provided operationally useful information during 167 events by identifying outage causes and hazards in real-time to dispatch operators.
IND Technology (IND.T) is an Australian and New York-based company specializing in AI-driven predictive analytics to optimize the performance of industrial and energy assets. Their Early Fault Detection (EFD) system represents a major leap forward in this field, monitoring radio-frequency signals on powerlines 24/7 to detect and locate a wide range of incipient faults before they escalate into power outages or wildfires. Working with PG&E, IND.T has successfully demonstrated how this predictive maintenance technology can remotely identify and diagnose electrical asset failures. The EFD system is particularly noteworthy for its precision—it can pinpoint issues within 30 feet, leveraging the combination of smart sensors, radio-frequency signals, and advanced data analytics. This proactive approach not only boosts the reliability of energy infrastructure but also helps utilities optimize maintenance costs by preventing failures and reducing downtime. EFD technology is now widely deployed across North America, serving as a critical tool for utilities to enhance climate resilience and improve operational efficiency.
Itron, a global grid edge intelligence leader, is innovating news ways for utilities and cities to manage energy and water. The company will demonstrate one of its distributed intelligence applications, running on Itron’s Riva electric endpoint, that manages electric vehicle (EV) charging loads in real-time to allow consumers to safely operate Level 2 EV chargers without needing to upgrade their electrical service or compromise reliability within the local grid.
RainIons has developed a game changing, low-cost patented catalytic technology to remove CO2, NOX and other pollutants at the source of hydrocarbon exhaust. RainIons’ coating technology can be applied and scaled from small engines to large utilities, power generation, industrial applications, low/no-energy Direct Air Capture technology and further.
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy management and automation, committed to providing innovative solutions for a sustainable and efficient energy future. Its advanced technologies empower utilities to optimize grid operations, integrate renewable energy sources, and enhance grid resilience. Through its Digital Grid solutions, Schneider Electric aims to drive the transformation of power distribution, enabling a smarter, greener, and more reliable energy ecosystem for communities and businesses alike. PG&E is working with Schneider Electric to enable a cloud-based Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) to maximize the value of electric vehicles, solar and batteries as flexible grid resources.
Skydio is the leading U.S. manufacturer of autonomous drones, revolutionizing the way utility companies inspect and maintain critical infrastructure. Powered by advanced AI and machine learning, Skydio drone solutions provide a safer, faster, and more efficient alternative to manual inspections, delivering high-resolution data from hard-to-reach areas. With a proven track record in transforming operations for major utilities, Skydio’s drone solutions enable predictive, condition-based maintenance, helping companies like PG&E enhance safety, reduce costs, and improve the reliability of their electrical grid. PG&E has integrated Skydio’s Dock technology at more than a dozen electric substations to augment current inspection programs and manual drone operations.
Treeswift empowers utilities with AI-augmented vegetation management that reduces risk and improves reliability across transmission and distribution systems. Treeswift’s backpack and vehicle-mounted sensors seamlessly integrate into existing patrols to gather imagery and LiDAR data. Treeswift’s AI translates this data into actionable analytics and 360° field context for encroachment, strike potential, and failure risk via its software platform for vegetation management experts, arborists, and tree crews. PG&E identified Treeswift through its 2023 Pitch Fest.
WeaveGrid is a leading EV Management System (EVMS) provider whose software enables grid-integrated electric vehicle charging. The company’s software platform optimizes EV charging to align with periods of high renewable energy availability and ensure ongoing electric grid reliability and resiliency, while keeping preferences and controls at a driver’s fingertips. WeaveGrid’s approach supports broad participation in managed charging programs and reduces the costs of serving EV loads through distribution-integrated smart charging orchestration (DISCO). WeaveGrid partners with utilities, charging providers, and automakers to accelerate the transition to sustainable transportation. PG&E and WeaveGrid have collaborated on managed charging programs including evPulse and EV Charge Manager.