Siemens expands energy offerings again, adds Tendril to mix

Siemens Energy has expanded its smart-grid offerings yet again, this time by partnering with Tendril to provide the Tendril Connect platform to energy service providers and distribution network operators.

The two companies will initially target utilities in the US and Canada, and plan to later expand internationally.

Siemens’ investment arm, Siemens Venture Capital, has also invested in Tendril. This is its eighth investment in the smart-grid space.

Both moves are aimed at enabling Siemens to offer more applications for home energy management, an add-on that can create larger operational value for utilities.

Tendril Connect is an open, standards-based, secure and scalable platform for energy service providers and third-party original equipment manufacturers. By adding Tendril Connect to its offerings, Siemens hopes to be better able to target utilities looking to engage consumers in home energy management programs. Such programs could include energy efficiency, demand response, direct load control, electric vehicle and smart appliance management, and distributed energy generation.

“The energy management and efficiency markets are crowded with companies taking a very narrow and piecemeal approach to solving a single problem for utilities and their customers,” said Ralf Schnell, CEO of Siemens Venture Capital. “What makes Tendril’s solution so powerful is that, as a cloud-based platform, it enables a new generation of products, applications and devices that address the needs from the meter to the home.”

Since 2000, Siemens Venture Capital has invested more than €30 million (abour $43 million US) in smart-grid technology, systematically building a portfolio of companies that provide technologies and solutions for grid management, energy efficiency, demand response and electric vehicle infrastructure.