Pixii makes smart solutions for battery-based energy storage. Innovation Norway is helping the technology company into India and other international markets.
The Kristiansand-based company Pixii was established in 2018 by a group of technologists and executives who had extensive experience in telecommunications power supply and solar inverters. They wanted to apply their expertise to battery-based energy storage and develop new, innovative solutions. It required extensive technology development, piloting and market development.
Innovation Norway and the business support system have been absolutely essential in the development, bringing us forward to become the competitive actor in the global market that we are today.
Funding from Pilot-E
“Pixii’s solutions can play an important role in the green shift, and they have significant potential for international growth. Energy storage will help address power requirements and capacity constraints in the power grid. These challenges will increase in the future due to the electrification of cars and society in general, and the development of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, where energy production varies in relation to weather conditions”, says Jon Arne Rasmussen, finance advisor at Innovation Norway Agder.
The company has received funding through the Pilot-E scheme. The scheme contributes to faster progress and development of new environmentally oriented technology and the green shift, and is a collaboration between the Research Council of Norway, Enova and Innovation Norway.
Sørdalen says that Pilot-E is the reason why they won the tenders to supply ‘grid batteries’ to two large-scale demo projects in Norway. In turn, these projects led to the company receiving several commercial orders for ‘grid batteries’ from power grid companies in Norway and India.
Bidirectional power conversion
The energy storage system that Pixii has developed is called Power Shaper. A key component of this system is a bidirectional power conversion unit. It consists of advanced power electronics and processors that allow energy flow to go both ways, from grid to the battery and back to the grid. The desired effect is achieved by putting the necessary number of these components into the system.
Demand for battery-based energy storage comes from distribution networks, commercial buildings and facilities, and micro grids. Norway’s largest power grid company Elvia is one example. They chose Pixii because they wanted to improve capacity and quality in parts of the distribution network.
Won a contract in Australia
Recently, Pixii signed a contract with the Yarra Energy Foundation in Australia. After months of technical analysis and assessments, the Kristiansand company’s system was considered the best solution for utilising solar power and selling flexibility to the grid for a Melbourne neighbourhood.
The 100kW/250kW system will be installed in districts to support local infrastructure, store locally produced solar power and contribute to the grid during periods of high consumption resulting from electric car charging. The battery systems will also be connected to cloud services.
“This system will be the first of potentially several hundred installations planned by the customer. Winning this contract and getting to demonstrate the characteristics of the solution is going to mean a lot to the further positioning of Pixii in Australia and around the world.”
As well as in Australia and the Nordic countries, Pixii is now represented by its own companies in Slovakia and Germany in order to cover the European market.
Common focus on the Indian market
Pixii manages a corporate network supported by Innovation Norway. Such networks can help small and medium-sized enterprises to strengthen their innovation skills and competitiveness, and increase sales opportunities in existing or emerging markets abroad or in Norway.
This corporate network has its sights set on the Indian energy market, and it is working closely with Innovation Norway’s office in New Delhi so as to get in touch with relevant actors and potential customers. It has already led to the sale of a pilot system to an Indian grid company, and a collaborative agreement with an Indian actor within the field of energy trading. Pixii is also participating as a partner in a new corporate network that is targeting the energy market in Vietnam.