With the rise of renewables, we are seeing systemic changes to the way energy is produced, distributed and sold. For example, the energy system is shifting towards a decentralized network, characterized by energy production facilities closer to the place of consumption. This allows for more optimal use of renewable energy, but how to manage such a complex system? FUERGY, a tech start-up from Slovakia, uses AI-powered software and hardware devices to provide optimization. In this instalment of start-up of the day, Branislav Šafárik, COO & CFO of FUERGY, talks to us about the company’s ambitions and about the transition of the energy market.
Can you explain to us how exactly FUERGY helps to optimize the energy system?
“Basically, we have made an AI-powered software platform that we developed from scratch. This platform is customized for the energy sector and allows us to build apps for energy management. There’s an app for energy sources, for energy consumption, for battery management, etcetera. These are all compatible with each other. Therefore, we can achieve high synergy. In the end this will lead to higher efficiency of the energy system and lower costs. In our business model we share the financial savings with our clients.”
One of the solutions that is a part of our platform, is the brAIn: a battery storage system. It is a hybrid system composed of our app for battery management and a special hardware composed of third party components and FUERGY’s proprietary control units. With brAIn, we are able to manage the charging and discharging processes of a battery in accordance with the needs of our customer as well as the power grid. We charge batteries when there is a surplus of green energy and free energy when there is a shortage in the power grid. In doing so, we replace the traditional fossil fuel sources that are responsible for balancing the power grid.”
Who are your customers?
“Anyone on the energy market could be our customer, from energy producers to end consumers. For example, one of our customers is a Slowakian textile factory: MULLER TEXTILES SLOVAKIA. Here, we installed our smart battery storage brAIn as a complement to the rooftop PV system including our smart technology management solution called flexibility brAIn.
brAIn shifts the energy production and consumption of the textile factory over time so that the customer does not create a burden on the power grid but helps to stabilize it instead. For example, when there is a surplus of electricity in the power grid, brAIn stores the excess electricity in the battery system and prevents the overflow of the solar energy back to the grid, while flexibility brAIn increases the power output of the factory’s cooling system. On the other hand, if there is a power shortage, brAIn uses the stored and solar energy to the fullest while flexibility brAIn reduces the power output of chillers to the lowest possible limit. Thanks to the integrated AI prediction models, brAIn can better forecast the activities of renewable energy systems, customer’s electricity consumption and the whole situation in the power grid. So, if it detects the eventual power surplus, it frees the maximum of the battery capacity for the future charging.
What is special about your company, compared to others?
“We wouldn’t have been as successful if we only offered a partial solution. We know how the energy industry works as a whole and offer a total package of solutions that benefits everyone. When the energy industry applies all these different types of solutions, it creates added value. Thanks to our own software platform supporting full automation and the business model based on profit sharing, it makes sense for everyone to use or invest in our solutions.That is our strength. So far, we don’t have a competitor on the local market that offers such a broad range of solutions.”
What challenges have you encountered in recent years?
“The beginning was the hardest part. We had a good idea, but at the same time it was difficult to convince potential customers that they would save a lot of money in the long run.
Another obstacle, which we are currently facing, is finding investors. On the one hand, you see European countries going through a shift and embracing green solutions like ours. On the other hand, we have to deal with things like inflation and uncertainties in the energy sector. Thus the financial part remains a challenge.”
What has been your biggest milestone so far?
“The biggest milestone is that we now have an agreement with a large energy supplier in Slovakia. The company, a subsidiary of the company Slovenské elektrárne, is the largest power generating company here in Slovakia and one of the largest in Central and Eastern Europe, produces 70 percent of all the electricity in the country. Last week we signed a framework contract that covers almost all the services we do for them.”
Where do you hope to be in five years from now?
“Our end goal is to decentralize the energy system. Every consumer, household or company with the suitable conditions for the installation of its own energy source should have it paired with the battery storage system in the future. Energy decentralization helps making the energy system more flexible and sustainable and I hope in five years, we play a big part in making this all happen.
In addition, I hope we are a leader in energy solutions in Europe by then. We have a working product and in five years from now, we are ready to apply our systems anywhere in Europe.”
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