Holtab’s Head of Strategy and Business Development Peter Ackebjer is one of many in the industry who is looking ahead to the opportunities that tomorrow’s power grid will bring. Because we are amid a historic shift.
The energy transition involves all parts of our society, and the government has introduced a national strategy for electrification (the electrification strategy). This strategy entails a secure, competitive and sustainable electricity supply for a historic climate transition. This drives the need for reliable energy and new technology solutions, ranging from power electronics and new technologies to new products and services.
Electrification optimises energy consumption, cuts power peaks and, above all, creates the conditions for an active energy system.
“ENGINE IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION”
”From Holtab’s point of view, it is extremely important to monitor developments and engage in dialogue with our customers and the industry at large. With our knowledge and products that can be scaled up in a changing market, we are an important engine in the energy transition,” says Peter Ackebjer.
Peter believes that you can talk about new technology, new products, and new services separately, but that they are also strongly linked. The new technology creates opportunities for new products and solutions, while, above all, user needs drive the development of new service content.
”There are already lots of good solutions, and the electricity market is transitioning from being large-scale and product-oriented to becoming more local and service-oriented.”
In this environment, Holtab is involved in enabling the transformation and development. The company’s goal is to be the natural partner in electrification enabling society’s energy transition.
”We should offer our wealth of knowledge to help our customers specify the right requirements on their own, but we should also offer the right products and services to meet their needs. We will do this in the true spirit of Holtab, which is in dialogue and in collaboration.”
FUTURE-PROOF SOLUTIONS
Holtab is constantly developing products for use in electricity grid applications as well as introducing new technical solutions. To increase customer confidence, the solutions are built on proven technology to a great degree, without compromising on innovation. There are also good opportunities for the product to develop and grow with additional technology in the future.
”It is naturally crucial that we offer reliable and dependable technology, but it is just as important that our solutions are prepared for the future. The solution is complete and has built-in functions for increased control, monitoring, measurement and control.”
A RISE IN DEMAND
According to Peter Ackebjer, the demand will rise for technology and solutions for controlling and streamlining energy consumption. He believes that people and companies will increasingly invest in their own electricity generation facilities and energy storage solutions.
To be able to efficiently help customers with their energy optimisation, we at Holtab have tested solutions for digitalisation in our own operations. Through this, we have gained important system and technical knowledge as well as tools for achieving some of the company’s own sustainability goals.
“In order to meet the climate challenge, data-driven energy optimisation is an important factor. We don’t expect it to take long before digitalisation becomes reality,” he says.
TECHNICAL DESIGN CHALLENGES
There are several key concepts that Holtab’s Strategy and Business Development Manager returns to. Product design must be modular, flexible, scalable, future-proof and value-creating.
”Customers can expect their applications to be sustainable, cost-effective and have a long service life. I usually highlight how new secondary substations and retrofitting will be the most important components in this process,” says Peter.
He further reasons by pointing out that there is usually a basic need when it comes to substation functionality.
”Now, you need to enable automatic switching in the grid. Perhaps the customer structure means that you need to keep track of power flows and then add new functions. With digital solutions, everything is already prepared to do this.”
NEED TO BE ABLE TO UPSCALE PRODUCTS
Because Holtab offers the possibility of monitoring, measuring and control, which can also grow with the customer’s needs, there is no need to make additional, major investments in new stations. We must be able to easily scale up a station as customers require more.
Increased functionality during retrofitting and the service life of the stations needs planning and well-thought-out requirement specifications on the one hand, and a standardised and modular product portfolio on the other.
”Our products should last for at least 40 years, which is why we expect them to be scalable. Our customers do not pay any more for this. We see delivering stations that are optimised for future development as a natural part of our offering.”
Grid automation
HOW WE MANAGE THE ENTIRE PICTURE
You can view the possibilities from different perspectives, but what they have in common is that they work together. One perspective deals with technical changes in the network structure and increased demands for efficiency and security. The other perspective deals with expecting customers to be more active and control their own consumption and utilisation rate.
”We have to think holistically and develop optimised solutions based on the substation’s function in the electricity grid, both today and tomorrow. We cannot build in old technology that cannot be adapted to new conditions,” says Peter.
He sums it up as not only being about using proven technology and finding value-creating solutions that are future-proof, but also daring to bring in new technology where it creates clear customer value.
