2023 was an amazing year for encoord and we are excited to share the highlights with you. New customers are using our software and data in new ways. Customer and prospect needs and feedback continue to drive the development of our software and data solutions. With their guidance, we continue to pursue our purpose of enabling the decarbonization of energy systems.
Read on to learn about major customer developments, new use cases, SAInt enhancements, our thought leadership activities, and insight into our plans for 2024.
Watch the video recap
2023 Overview
encoord's customer group expanded and our customers added new use cases. These use cases confirm encoord’s position as the only software designed to support integrated energy planning.
SAInt saw significant enhancements, and we met customer needs for integrated planning through three major additions: Thermal Network Simulation (heating networks), Electric Distribution Network Simulation, and key user interface enhancements including geo-referenced map layering capabilities.
Thought leadership was a major part of 2023, sharing what we have learned through webinars, publications, whitepapers, media features, and awards.
New Customers and Use Cases
In 2023, encoord expanded our customer and partner group. To date, we have served customers across 13 countries. We also achieved a 100% renewal rate, which confirms we are meeting our customer’s needs and delivering a positive user experience. We appreciate their continued support.
Without our customers, encoord is nothing. This is obvious but sometimes overlooked in the noise of the software business world. Our customers are using our tools to change the world, and we are here to serve them.
Some key new uses of SAInt included:
Evolving the Asset Evaluation Process: Revolutionary integrated planning insights around sector coupling. Enabling analysis of the impact of new technologies on energy systems including electricity, gas, and thermal networks.
Electrification Planning and Evaluation of DER’s: Evaluate the system-wide costs and benefits of electrification and the integration of distributed energy resources. Simulation of integrated energy networks, including generation, transmission, AND distribution layers to understand the impacts at a detailed level.
District Heating and the Future of Heat: Sector coupling between electricity and thermal networks to replace gas heating and allow the injection, storage, and use of renewable sources and low-temperature heat.
Product Updates
SAInt
encoord’s software SAInt evolved significantly in 2023. We introduced key updates to aid customers in solving the energy industry’s most pressing challenges.
SAInt v3.2 introduced a comprehensive graphical user interface rework and full Gurobi Optimizer implementation. This provides users with a more user-friendly interface and powerful analysis. The addition of Gurobi allows customers to run unlimited optimizations, increasing the value and reliability of their analysis.
SAInt v3.3 added thermal network modeling, giving the users the ability to run simulations of district heating networks. Our customers have the first commercial solution to enable the modeling and planning of electricity, gas, and thermal networks in an integrated platform.
SAInt v3.4 added the important capability to analyze the impact of distributed energy resources through the addition of unbalanced AC power flow simulation. Also in 3.4, we added enhanced visualization features, using OpenStreetMap integration, to give users improved geographic context for energy networks and modeling insights.
Model-Ready Datasets
We added to our data offerings to solve one of the most difficult challenges our customers face. We provide data that produces reliable and accurate results.
encoord added Model-Ready Datasets to the list of product offerings. We provide high-quality, expertly curated datasets designed for use in the SAInt software platform.
Newly available datasets this year included:
Thought Leadership
It is important for encoord experts to provide thought leadership in the energy industry. We had the opportunity to spread our knowledge and “lessons learned” through industry events, whitepapers, publications, and webinars.
Media Features
encoord insights were highlighted in two publications: National Grid Partners and Canary Media.
In the National Grid Partners article titled "Upgrading the grid: new technologies needed for net zero", the article focuses on essential industry changes for achieving net zero by 2050. Also highlighted is National Grid's use of the software SAInt to operate and design integrated energy networks.
Additionally, encoord CEO Carlo Brancucci was interviewed by Canary Media for their article, "Natural gas is the pillar of the US electric grid. It's also unreliable", where he discussed challenges related to gas availability during stress events and the increasing impact of renewable energy, highlighting the need for improved management of interactions between gas and electricity networks.
Research and Whitepapers
encoord was involved in critical discussions surrounding the energy landscape through published research and whitepapers.
In a technical report with NREL, encoord explored the hidden flexibility of the natural gas network during a near-miss winter event. Additionally, in partnership with Sumitomo SHI FW, encoord examined Liquid Air Energy Storage as a long-duration storage option for Europe. Both contribute valuable insights to the evolving energy landscape.
Senior GIS & Data Analyst Nicola Zaccarelli played a vital role in a JRC publication on methods for implementing European Commission regulations around gas supply security. CEO Carlo Brancucci, CTO Kwabena Pambour, and other researchers published “A review of technical and regulatory limits for hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines” in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, adding to the ongoing dialogue on hydrogen's role in decarbonization.
Conferences and Webinars
encoord hosted our first webinars in 2023 and participated in events hosted by customers and partners. These include webinars with NREL, Gurobi, Darcy Partners, and Sumitomo SHI FW, discussing crucial topics like gas insecurity, optimizing the energy transition , integrated planning, and long-duration energy storage. encoord also joined conferences such as the ESIG 2023 Spring & Fall Technical Workshops and the Energy Capital Ventures Annual Summit, presenting research and solutions around the integration of energy networks.
Forwarding Education
We believe one way we can make an important impact on the industry is to enable research and provide tools for instructing students. We were able to support that goal this year by working with Aalto University, North Dakota State University, and The University of Colorado.
Awards
encoord was honored to be selected for two major awards this year: the National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I award and the SET100 Global Energy Startups list.
Wallace Kenyon, Director of Product, wrote a proposal that was selected for the NSF SBIR Phase 1 award. It proposes that encoord will conduct research on hybrid power system dynamic simulations and their potential impact on the energy industry. The objective is to improve contemporary simulation methodologies and bolster computational architectures to analyze power systems' stability effectively and efficiently within a single software package.
encoord was also recognized as a SET100 Global Energy Startup for the second year in a row.
Projects
encoord continued its work on two major projects from last year: HYPERGRYD and FLEXIndustries. These projects entail work in integration of heat and electricity networks, as well as the integration of renewable energy sources within thermal grids.
Cheers to a great year!
encoord is excited for 2024. We will continue to find ways to meet our customers’ needs, create strong partnerships, add important capabilities to our solutions, and spread our knowledge through the energy industry.
Be on the lookout for important encoord events and information as the year unfolds.