The last few months of 2024 saw record power prices in many European countries, demonstrating the urgency of putting our solution into use. Increasing grid capacity and removing network congestion enables existing power plants to produce and sell more power while bringing down excessively high power prices for consumers.
How does it work?
A light wind of only 2 meters per second increases transmission capacity by one third. However, extremely detailed wind forecasts are needed in order to make use of this additional capacity. If even a short segment of a power line is sheltered from the wind then that part might otherwise overheat and be damaged. Gridraven’s grid capacity forecasts account with wind sheltering by all trees, buildings and hills, so that capacity can safely be increased.
This year, we proved that our proprietary wind forecast is 60% more accurate than the most accurate weather prediction in the Nordics at six-meter height on high-voltage towers in challenging terrain. Further, we showed that the 95% confidence interval of our 48-hour forecast was, in fact, maintained 95.1% of the time, making the technology viable for grid operators. We achieved similar results in Germany, Finland, and California and are going to expand the geographic coverage in 2025.
On this basis, we started a cooperation with Estonia's meteorologists, KAUR, to improve the forecasts further and put them to broader use. Then, we launched a full-network pilot together with Estonia's national grid to investigate the potential of dynamic line ratings on every span of Elering's 5,500 kilometers of 110 kV and 330 kV lines. Here, we demonstrated a 40% increase in transmission capacity with our zero-hardware dynamic line ratings.
Most of all, I'm proud of the team we have assembled in 2024. It's extremely motivating to work with super smart, engaged, and great people. We started 2024 with a team of three and are now 11 by the end of the year. Next year, our team will most likely double in size.
What's next?
It's super straightforward. In 2024, we proved our technology. 2025 is going to be about putting it to use in power grids around the world.
I want to thank everyone who's helped us on our journey: our team, our families, and also our accountants at FinancePlus, our designers at Agency Leroy, our legal support at TARK, and our investors at Icebreaker. I'm looking forward to a successful 2025 together!
