A SCOTTISH company that specialises in the management of power grids around the world is being acquired by electronics giant Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and its subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc (MEPPI).

Glasgow-based Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) – originally a University of Strathclyde spin-out – has been working on solutions to enable a reliable energy transition for more than a decade.

It is a leading global provider of distributed energy resources (DER) management software for power distribution utilities and DER operators.

Electric grid operators around the world are experiencing an increasingly complex mix of new decentralised power generation and clean energy resources, which is where the Scottish company comes in.

It offers highly flexible, scalable controls solutions which allow users to integrate DER for capacity management, flexible interconnection, virtual power plants, microgrids, fleet energy asset operations and energy as a service.

Brian Heery, MEPPI’s president and CEO, said: “We are very excited to bring SGS into Mitsubishi Electric.

“They are committed to the mission of decarbonising electric power production and have spent the last decade developing world-class products and processes.

“We look forward to marrying their products with our suite of grid control products to help our customers respond to changes and still get the best performance from their electric grids.”

Noriyuki Takazawa, group president of energy and industrial systems group at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, said: “SGS offers innovative solutions that have helped power utilities in Europe and North America install, manage and optimise renewable energy resources, and we look forward to bringing that DER management core competency to new markets around the globe.

“The SGS solutions align with the Mitsubishi Electric Environmental Sustainability Vision to realise a decarbonised society by the year 2050 through reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”

SGS has become a major player in the energy field through collaborations with dozens of companies at home and overseas.

Among the projects it has been working on is seeking a solution to one of the biggest challenges for drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) – how to charge them at homes which do not have their own driveways, such as flats and in terraced streets; and at public locations, including shopping centres, events venues and tourist attractions, as well as filling stations and motorway service areas.

The Mitsubishi takeover is expected to close in the next several weeks. When it does, SGS will maintain its operations in Glasgow and will report to MEPPI.

Brent Marshall, CEO of SGS, added: “We are thrilled to join Mitsubishi Electric and expand the reach of our energy management enterprise software to DER customers around the globe and – in turn – assist those customers to better manage DER assets as they strive to decarbonise their operations.”