For entrepreneurs with a provocative vision for energy & IT; NGP is the only utility venture & innovation fund that taps into the global network of National Grid, accelerating companies with investment, innovation, incubation & biz dev; realizing the full potential of energy.

National Grid Partners

135+ utilities | 25 countries | 350+ warm introductions

Utility companies around the world face strikingly similar challenges when it comes to innovation. Being traditionally and inherently risk-averse, they tend to prefer established vendors and proven solutions. There’s an adage in our industry: “Utilities like to be the first to be second.” In other words, they want somebody else to test new solutions before they commit. 

The problem is, this cautious approach no longer works in a time of ever-expanding energy demand. With the rise of electric vehicles, government mandates to phase out fossil fuels and the vast power needs of artificial intelligence, the International Energy Agency estimates global electricity demand over the next three years will increase by 3,500Twh—more than the entire annual consumption of Japan. At the same time, global energy grids are aging and often struggle to reliably serve existing demand. Bridging this gap between rising need and outdated infrastructure will cost trillions of dollars per year, the IEA estimates. But utilities can’t simply pass those costs on to customers: Affordability is a bedrock expectation of regulators. 

Some utilities have started looking for solutions to this triple challenge from an unlikely source: Startups, which aren’t bound by existing approaches and can iterate new technologies quickly and cost-effectively. Yet here, too, cultural caution can sap innovation. When utilities do engage with emerging companies, they generally want to run pilots—which can take up to two years to greenlight. Worse, less than a third of industry pilots are ever implemented, which can lead to startup death with innovation as collateral damage.

So, how do we overcome these barriers, drive impactful collaborations, and encourage the innovation the world demands?

Enter the NextGrid Alliance (NGA), a peer utility network launched by National Grid and overseen by its venture capital and innovation arm, National Grid Partners. We began by recognizing that while power utilities all face fairly similar business challenges, we are—for the most part—non-competitive with one another, as utilities tend to be heavily regulated monopolies. In its purest form, the NGA is a forum for peers to ask questions, exchange ideas, introduce solutions, and share experiences to accelerate the energy transition through technology. We are collectively stronger when we collaborate.

Since launching in 2020, the NGA has focused on building a big tent: bringing together strategy, business development, and operational executives from utilities across the globe to ensure investments in innovation make an industry-wide impact. The Alliance now includes senior leaders from more than 135 utilities in 25 countries on five continents. We’ve facilitated more than 350 introductions between utilities and startups entrepreneurs, while convening dozens of regular webinars and workshops to share best practices on everything from boosting innovation to keeping power grids safe from hackers.

Now, in our fifth year, we’re moving from breadth of reach to depth of engagement. Call it NGA 2.0.

The goal is to power up this unique innovation platform for utilities, by utilities by tapping into the collective intelligence of the industry. It’s not just about introducing startups anymore—it’s about developing partnerships, moving the industry forward through the exchange of meaningful information and innovating together at greater scale.

We’ve refocused the quarterly NGA Working Groups to bring utilities and startups together around key strategic themes:

·         Modernizing the existing grid to further integrate renewable energy sources, improve resilience, and enhance reliability via more sophisticated and efficient infrastructure;

·         Building out new electric networks to meet future demand driven by AI data centers and the electrification of transport, heat, and industrial loads;

·         And more closely coordinating electric and gas infrastructure while exploring how to decarbonize the energy network reliably and efficiently.

NGA Showcases—curated meetings, forums, and case study webinars—will drive engagement between our members and innovative startups. NGA Engage—in-person networking at industry events—is designed to strengthen these relationships in an informal setting.

The recently launched NGA Exchange—a private LinkedIn community for Alliance members that already includes more than 200 people—is a safe place to continue the conversation online.

And the NGA Summit—an invitation-only gathering of senior utility leaders, startup CEOs and investors, policy makers and other critical members of the energy innovation ecosystem—will continue to showcase impactful technologies and thought leadership to drive innovation. The most recent event in October 2024 gathered more than 250 participants, including Mari McClure, president and CEO of Green Mountain Power; Yvonne Hao, Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Development; and the founders of pioneering energy companies SunPower, Silver Spring Networks and Octopus Energy, among many others. Plans are already underway for our third Summit this fall.

It’s all part of an ecosystem to help NGA members build impactful relationships with peers and innovation experts in new ways. By sharing experiences, members can disarm the perceived risks of innovation—and accelerate our industry’s journey into the inevitable future.

Aaron Panzer is head of Venture Acceleration at National Grid Partners, the venture investment and innovation arm of National Grid.

NGA 2.0: Speeding Innovation - and the Energy Transition