Amplex CEO, Jens Hørup Jensen, is a member of the network, which has recently submitted a report on their recommendations.

The Danish government wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent in 2020, compared to 1990 emission levels. The reduction will be based primarily on a dramatic increase in energy from renewable sources. By 2050, all fossil fuels will be phased out.

The smart grid is considered the solution that will tie the fluctuations in electricity production and consumption together. The recommendations from the  Smart Grid Network will become central input to the government’s future strategy.

Their recommendations include:

• Shifting consumption to optimize grid capacity and operate closer to capacity limits
• Optimizing necessary investments in additional grid capacity
• Utilizing end-users consumption flexibility
• Giving financial incentives to stimulate investments in grid companies’ smart grid activities
• Decentralizing electricity production
• Encouraging interoperability and standardization for e.g. charging stations and smart meters
• Creating a national roadmap to coordinate and accelerate smart grid solutions
• Establishing large-scale test facilities for small and medium-sized companies

For the full report, please visit the website of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building.

The combination of these recommendations and a number of other initiatives gives Denmark and Danish companies, including Amplex, a unique platform for developing and locally testing smart grid technology.

Participation in Entrepreneur of the Year is based on interviews with the nominated companies. The criteria include business and ethical foundation, results, exploitation of market potential, staff conditions, as well as company culture and environment.

Other aspects that are highly valued in the competition are entrepreneurial spirit, strategic growth, integrity and future potential.

At Amplex, we are thrilled that we are being recognized for our efforts within cleantech, and that our innovative approach is acknowledged through this competition.

The nationwide competition ends on November 24 when the Danish winner is announced. For more information on the competition, read more on Ernst & Young’s website.

The event takes place on September 21st-23rd. Read more on the BEE website.

You can meet Amplex at booth #E124, where we will demonstrate our StartGrid™ solution, or join us at the concurrent event – ASEAN Energy Business Forum – where Amplex’ Jan Bergstrom is speaking on Smart Grid challenges and possibilities. Jan Bergstrom is product manager for Amplex’ StartGrid™ and MeterMind™ solutions. See more about the forum here.

Smart Grid Applied Denmark 2011 (October 24 to 27) highlights how Smart Grid technologies are helping position Denmark as one of the leading countries within intelligent and clean energy systems.

The conference is organized by Innovation Center Denmark, an organization within the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Amplex CEO, Jens Hørup Jensen, will be speaking at the afternoon session on the 24th – Track 1: IT Smart Grid Solutions. View the program here.

During this session, a panel of experts from e.g. Verizon, AT&T and Cisco will explore the intersection of information technology and renewable energy.

RETECH 2011, a conference and exhibition focusing on renewable energy, takes place in Washington D.C. on September 20-22.

Read more about the event here.

At the meeting, Jens Hørup will discuss how we can utilize the wealth of data that is made available through Smart Grid technologies. There are many exciting opportunities to develop new business models and thereby introduce new solutions that are energy efficient and have great market potential.

For more than a decade, Amplex has been at the forefront of developing IT solutions and applying new technology to the power grid in order to save energy and create growth.

Read more about the meeting here (Danish).

At the meeting, the Minister and Mr. Hørup discussed the many opportunities for Danish Smart Grid technologies, both nationally and in an international perspective.

There are a number of interesting initiatives on the domestic market, and Amplex is hoping to take part in more collaborations that enable futher development of Danish expertise and the use of local, ambitious ventures that can become showcases for international customers.

“As a relatively small company, we need to show to our international, as well as domestic clients, that Denmark is at the forefront of developing and deploying Smart Grid technology. With even more national projects, we can gather experience, create local jobs and help propel the ambitious Energy Strategy 2050″, states Jens Hørup.

The Minister and Mr. Hørup also discussed the possibility of earmarking a portion of the development aid to Smart Grid projects. Jens Hørup states: “In developing countries, we see an urgent need for intelligent solutions that can upgrade the utility infrastructure without requiring major capital investments and large-scale network changes. Applying our technology to these areas, we can ensure that our unique know-how can benefit our international customers.”

Since November 2010, Jens Hørup has been a member of Minister Friis’ Smart Grid network. One of the main purposes of the network is to provide recommendations on how to create a future-proof power grid that can handle up to 50% renewable energy in 2020.

The initiative, OUTSMART, consists of a number of clusters, each with a different focus within smart management of resources and energy consumption. Amplex participates in the cluster that focuses on water and sewage. The other cluster members are Aarhus Vand A/S (Aarhus Water Ltd.) and the Alexandra Institute.

Many EU countries are experiencing as much as 30% water losses in their distribution network – this is clean, drinkable water that disappears into the ground before it even reaches the consumer. Water management is one of the European Commission’s environmental priorities, and the purpose of the cluster is to find new ways of minimizing waste in the distribution network and increasing consumer awareness.

The main objectives for the cluster are to:
• Monitor the water quality
• Optimize distribution through leakage, flow and capacity monitoring
• Create higher consumer awareness
• Optimize energy use at water and sewage utilities.

Lene Rix Pedersen, Internal Project Manager at Amplex says: “With this project, Amplex takes on a new area within utility efficiency – water/sewage. Water utilities are big power consumers – they must pump the water from wells to storage towers to gain sufficient water pressure. We aim to contribute with new ideas for energy efficiency through our vast experience within monitoring and controlling power grid assets.”

The new solution will be built on technologies that are rapidly maturing – smart meters, networked sensing and wireless communications architecture. It will be tested in pilot deployments, and if successful, the solution will be commercialized.

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About OUTSMART
OUTSMART is part of the EU Future Internet Public Private Partnership call, which aims to make the public service infrastructure and business processes more intelligent, more efficient and increasingly sustainable, through the use of internet networking and computing capabilities.

About Amplex

Amplex delivers solutions for the intelligent power grid, including energy management systems, advanced metering infrastructure and low-voltage grid automation.

Contact:
Nønne Holm Carlsen, Communications Manager
Phone: +45 8730 4500
nhc@amplex.dk

• Tracks consumption data
• Turns raw meter data into actionable insight
• Shows exactly where energy is being used
• Helps monitor and manage energy consumption trends
• Benchmarks energy consumption against industry norms
• Identifies preventable loss fast to minimize waste
• Facilitates dialogue with energy customers through a social media platform

We feel it is worth starting small and learning a little more about the utility’s network before committing to complex systems and expensive plans. We offer a light-weight approach to learning about the potential benefits of enhanced monitoring and control of the low-voltage network.

At the seminar, we are launching the Amplex StartGrid™ Initiate solution, which gets the utility started with Smart Grid by adding equipment to just a few substations. Following introduction and training, the field technicians will be able to complete an installation in as little as 30 minutes per site. A worry-free hosted solution lets the utility view and experiment with their data immediately

More information on this new approach will follow within the next few weeks.