There's no shortage of lists available to summarize 2023, but here at Darcy, we have a unique data set with activity on Darcy Connect from over 10,000 energy company Connect Users. Our data highlights which innovators gained most attention on Darcy Connect through views, clicks, likes, follows, meetings scheduled, fundings, and other factors. Combined with analysis from our Research Team about technology developments and market traction, we have selected the Top 10 Innovators from 2023 in each of our coverage channels. This is our way of saying: "these are the innovators that your peers are most interested in, and that our Researchers view as novel and impactful - so you should learn more about them". In this article, you will find the Innovators that made it on the list in the category of distributed energy resources (DERs).

But there is far more detail to look at than what you'll find here.

• The Innovator names are all linked to their Storefront, where you can find in-depth information on their products, business models, and our Research Team's insights. Here, Connect Users are able to schedule meetings with the Innovators or request updates.
• Throughout Q1, you will find weekly articles like this with Top 10 lists from our Oil & Gas, Power & Utilities, Sustainability, and Energy Transition research programs.
• All articles will be followed by a Darcy Live Event. On the Event page, you can find the full Darcy Live schedule for Q1.

Here you can find our event for DERs, Best of 2023: Distributed Energy Resources, scheduled for February 1st, 2024.

The Top 10 Innovators from 2023 in DER (in random order):

• Kraken Flex: Octopus Energy’s flexibility platform integrates network information, energy pricing inputs, load and weather forecasts to run scenarios for single or grouped portfolios of DERs and create automated dispatch schemes. Kraken Flex had the most amount of interactions on the Darcy Connect platform for non-event presenters in the DER vertical.
• GridBeyond: Leveraging software and proprietary hardware to connect DERs (loads, generation and storage) enabling real-time control and automate participation in energy markets. Last year, the company acquired Veritone to speed software innovation and US market entry, entered the Canadian market, and developed new solutions targeting baseline development, energy forecasting, and bid optimization.
• mPrest: Standalone enterprise DERMS integrating grid topology awareness for DER management and integrating with other systems such as ADMS and aggregators. The company is scaling implementations in different advanced energy markets like Australia and New Zealand and has won new relevant contracts in 2023.
• Piclo: Independent marketplace for energy flexibility services, enabling system operators to source energy flexibility from flexible service providers during times of high demand or low supply. National Grid is pushing for the first US deployment, they've raised $10M USD in funding last year and recently announced Piclo Max, a new product that will provide a simplified and standardized interface with multiple markets by integrating those into one platform.
• Recurve: Besides their well known analytics solution for M&V, EE and DER program performance, Recurve developed new products expand beyond these capabilities including calculating DR payments attributing correct customer interventions, data-enabled channel performance management and customer bill impacts analysis
• Net2Grid: NET2GRID offers EnergyAI for DER intelligence and personalized customer experience, energy insights and marketing. After establishing in Europe, the company is gaining relevant traction in the US and Canada with its first deployments.
• Utilidata: Meter collar device and AI platform providing real-time visibility, control, and flexibility for grid operations. Over 150k of their units are scheduled to be deployed with three utilities through recently awarded GRIP funding.
• Gridsight: Addresses LV network visibility and static or dynamic (live) hosting capacity management by producing a digital twin and identifying DERs using load disaggregation. Applications include high impedance detection including neutral integrity, DER identification, meter to transformer mapping, dynamic operating envelope (DOEs) calculation, and others. Early utility adopters have highlighted Gridsight as a stronger solution than some of their existing and established competitors.
• Span: Provides wireless connectivity that allows detailed home energy monitoring and control at the circuit level. In 2023, SPAN announced new home storage partnerships, developed a time-of-use (TOU) solution, and raised nearly $100M.
• Budderfly: Implements proprietary energy intelligence software, energy efficient technology upgrades and IoT devices to optimize energy usage with no upfront cost to its clients. Last year the company grew ARR by ~50% and recently raised $400M.

Let us know if you have any questions or comments about this list in the comment section below. We're looking forward to another year of exciting and insightful research!