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Breakthrough Innovation Challenges

Iberdrola

An energy bank allowing users to purchase 'days of energy' at a cheaper rate, up-front

Date of publication: 19 September 2017

Iberdrola is a multinational energy utility company headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. With a history spanning back 170 years, it is today one of the world’s largest utilities by market capitalisation supplying electricity to some 100 million people globally.

The company has undergone a major transformation over the last 15 years in an effort to stay ahead of the challenges a low carbon economy poses to the energy sector. The company has positioned itself as leader in clean energies, and is the top renewable producer in Europe and the USA and a global leader in installed onshore wind power.

However, clean energy production is only part of the story. The nature of renewable generation requires a more complex energy system with digitally enabled storage, distribution and management of electricity. Iberdrola are seeing the digitisation of the sector as a huge opportunity for those companies who can use data to better meet the needs of their customers. Accordingly, through the company’s 2020 Digital Plan they aim to boost their turnover by 36% through constant innovation of their products and services.

The Challenge

The fact remains that the world needs more energy at the same time as needing cleaner energy. While the cost of renewable generation falls year-on-year, there are other hurdles in meeting the world’s electrification needs. The most notable problem is the intermittent nature of renewable sources of energy and the need for increased energy storage capacity (Iberdrola themselves already have an impressive 4.5 GW energy storage capacity).

Inspired by sharing economy platforms in other industries that have made use of underutilised assets (such as Airbnb and Zipcar) the team want to explore how the digitisation of the sector can help achieve the goal of providing affordable, clean energy for everyone.

The Solution

Iberdrola’s solution to the challenge is Energy Bank. By enabling users to pay for their energy up-front in return for a cheaper rate, the Energy Bank allows Iberdrola to better manage demand with their capacity to store clean energy. The Energy Bank also allows consumers to buy packages of renewable electricity in 'days of energy' as opposed to 'kilowatts per hour'. By translating energy into something consumers can understand, this makes it become more accessible to those who may have previously been disengaged in the market.

By establishing a new form of relationship with its customers, Iberdrola signals the future of utilities where market leaders no longer try to 'own' customers, but instead serve them better through a more active, engaging relationship.

Get to know the team:

Sergio Platon, Senior Investment Analyst
Sergio Platon, Senior Investment Analyst

Sergio Platon holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Valladolid (Spain) and the University of Birmingham (UK). He joined Iberdrola in 2012 as investment analyst, where he works within the Innovation department at their corporate venture arm, Iberdrola Ventures – Perseo.

Gordon Dyet, Senior Digital Analyst
Gordon Dyet, Senior Digital Analyst

Gordon graduated from the business school at Glasgow Caledonian University (UK). He joined Iberdrola in 2013 as a graduate in their retail business within the UK, ScottishPower. He is now a Senior Digital Analyst within the Digital team at ScottishPower, working on customer focused energy solutions.

Get in touch:

For more info please contact BIChallenge@unglobalcompact.org

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