National Grid Partners Unites Utility and Startup All Stars to Celebrate Wins and Tackle
Net-Zero Goals

Victory was in the air on May 11, when National Grid Partners celebrated five years of momentum alongside five Super Bowl trophies at Levi’s Stadium.

We convened hundreds of utility executives, including representatives from Avista, EDF, Enel, EWE, Marubeni, Terna and Vermont Electric; entrepreneurs from 20 NGP portfolio companies; a host of ecosystem partners; and even the San Francisco 49ers drum crew. Together, we cheered the points we’ve put on the scoreboard scaling clean energy innovation.

For those of us and many others who’ve ground it out for decades in clean energy investing, it was a powerful moment that reminded us of how far we’ve come—and a vital rally to carry us the rest of the way into the end zone.

We had a lot to celebrate, including: 

Nearly all utilities, including National Grid, have net-zero goals to hit by 2050. These are major, systemic goals that are too big for utilities to handle without help. To get to the net-zero championship, utilities must add more innovation startups to their roster and seek coaching from other leaders.

That’s why National Grid Partners has assembled the largest utility group of its kind, uniting utilities from around the world to share insights and best practices on tackling climate change, working with startups and scaling innovation. After just three years, the NextGrid Alliance (NGA) added the 100th global utility member to the team. Our progress underscores the surging global appetite to scale innovation to fight climate change, even among enormous legacy organizations. 

Founded in 2020, the NGA has put together an all-star team of some of the largest utilities in the world that provide power to hundreds of millions of people. We’ve recruited an impressive roster of star players, including Duke Energy, EDF, ConEd, Southern California Edison and NextEra. 

Alexina Jackson, the vice president of strategic development of AES, articulated the NGA’s value: “We place great value in collaboration and in nurturing innovation. The Alliance and its working groups give us the opportunity to explore ideas with other utilities and startups. Together, we can look at the future vision of the energy transition and, in the near-term, what catalyzing technologies are going to get us there."

Our celebration built on the historic NextGrid Alliance Summit held in New York last fall—a Super Bowl of energy titans brought together under the mantra of “faster, together.” It was an unprecedented gathering, and the organization’s continued growth will be essential to achieve our industry’s critical goals.

There’s long been a mismatch between utilities and startups, as utilities prioritize reliably delivering power at scale while entrepreneurs focus on speed and innovation. National Grid Partners has bridged these two worlds over the last five years through investment in startups working in the “three Ds”--decarbonization, decentralization and digitization. We also provide active support with utility business units, helping to speed deployment and solve tough integration questions to make a material impact on climate change.

At Levi’s Stadium, we unveiled three new investments in game-changing energy innovation companies, with their CEOs joining us for an in-person toast.

• ev.energy incentivizes electric vehicle drivers to charge at optimal times based on energy price and emissions. Its software platform services utilities such as National Grid, ConEdison New York and Volkswagen Naturstrom Elli to provide managed charging solutions for their customers. 
  
• Modern Hydrogen helps utilities and commercial and industrial (C&I) heating equipment companies that rely on natural gas and seek ways to reduce emissions quickly. Modern Hydrogen's revolutionary system decarbonizes natural gas and biogas to produce clean hydrogen onsite, removing the carbon before it can be become CO2. 
  
• HelixIntel sources and organizes the world's property and asset data. HELIXintel provides tools for insurers to better manage risk, property managers to manage their portfolio, energy companies to deliver incentives that improve energy and resource efficiency, and vendors to deliver better quality. 

All told, National Grid Partners has invested $400M in 43 startups and four strategic funds since 2018. We’ve scored seven exits and a 33% internal rate of return (IRR). We’re also offering real value beyond money, with more than 80% of National Grid Partners' portfolio companies actively engaged with National Grid’s business units to test, develop and deploy their technologies across its networks in the U.S. and U.K. 

The macroeconomic environment has changed dramatically in recent years. While we see some shakiness in the tech sector, net-zero targets and ESG goals have become a top priority for nearly every business vertical—more than 90% of S&P 500 companies now publish ESG reports in some form. The Inflation Reduction Act is poised to add over a trillion dollars to accelerate energy innovation. And all of it’s fueled by changing preferences from consumers and investors—and a momentous surge in demand for sustainable business practices. 

As a result, climate tech investment is stronger than ever and is on course to reach a record $1.7T in 2023. There’s never been a better time to get in the game — and National Grid Partners will continue to play to win.