Mahindra Satyam announces development of Smart Grid Research & Innovation Center at University of Waterloo

Mahindra Satyam, a leading global consulting and IT services provider, today announced the development of Ontario's first Smart Grid Research and Innovation Center (RIC) on the University of Waterloo Campus in Ontario, Canada. The RIC will provide students, teachers and IT professionals the tools to foster and evaluate innovative developments of next generation smart grid technology. The Center development is part of an ongoing strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Mahindra Satyam and the University of Waterloo. "We are eager to work with the University of Waterloo as it takes a leadership role in the academic and technology communities by investing in smart grid initiatives and technologies," said Arvind Malhotra, Senior Vice President at Mahindra Satyam. "The Center will showcase the benefits of the ongoing smart grid technological revolution and will allow students, faculty and industry professionals to conduct cutting edge research with real world implications."

The RIC, developed in collaboration with the University of Waterloo's Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE), will draw upon the collective expertise of University faculty members from areas including mathematics, chemistry, mechanical, computer, electrical and systems engineering. Mahindra Satyam's institutional expertise in smart grid data analytics, renewable systems integration, electric vehicles and integration with the distribution grid and micro-grids for rural and remote applications, will help to safely and responsibly develop innovative solutions for the Canadian and global community. The objective of the RIC will be to develop a curriculum and related training programs at the University for highly qualified professionals in the smart grid sector, validate and test innovative products and technologies before large scale implementation and provide facilities to University faculty and industry leaders for collaborative work in the sector. "Ontario is now a leading global jurisdiction in the Smart Grid sector. This has been achieved through a judicious combination of far reaching Government policy initiatives and legislation. The next steps are to convert this advantage to provide Ontario companies a leg up to capture the opportunities in the global market place for solutions that are Ontario innovations," said Dr. Jatin Nathwani, Professor and Ontario Research Chair in Public Policy for Sustainable Energy Management. Mahindra Satyam is uniquely positioned to deliver comprehensive services for the RIC by collaborating internally with the Mahindra Group: Bridge Strategy Group for Advisory and Strategy Consulting, Tech Mahindra for Communication and Security services, Mahindra Reva for EV technologies and Mahindra Solar for Renewable Energy technologies. The company recently announced the completion of its Smart Grid Customer Demonstration Center (CDC) in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. The announcement also reflects Mahindra Satyam's ongoing momentum and investment in the Canadian market. Most recently, through its sister company, Tech Mahindra, the company established the Innovation Center for Mobility Solutions in, Ontario in June 2011.

Mahindra Satyam 

Mahindra Satyam is a leading global business and information technology services company that leverages deep industry and functional expertise, leading technology practices, and an advanced, global delivery model to help clients transform their highest-value business processes and improve their business performance.

The company's professionals excel in enterprise solutions, supply chain management, client relationship management, business intelligence, business process quality, engineering and product lifecycle management, and infrastructure services, among other key capabilities. Mahindra Satyam is part of the $12.5 billion Mahindra Group, a global federation of companies and one of the top 10 business houses based in India. The Group's interests span automotive products, aviation, components, farm equipment, financial services, hospitality, information technology, logistics, real estate and retail. Mahindra Satyam development and delivery centers in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Hungary, Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia serve numerous clients, including many Fortune 500 organizations.For more information, see www.mahindrasatyam.com For clarifications, write to us at:MediaRelations@mahindrasatyam.com

University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle, is one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities. Waterloo is home to 30,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students who are dedicated to making the future better and brighter. Waterloo, known for the largest post- secondary co-operative education program in the world, supports enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. For more information about Waterloo, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.

Contribution: Mithun Bhaskar

ZPRYME : Indian Smart Grid market to reach $1.9 billion by 2015

Recently, P. Uma Shankar the Secretary of Power Ministry India said at GridWeek 2011, "Smart Grid is not a luxury, but a necessity for India." Which is indeed true for developing countries like India, where more than 400 million people do not have access to electricity, and so, even miniscule efficiency can make a difference in having electricity or not.  ZPRYME, the leading research and consultancy services organization, in its latest report predicts that Indian Smart Grid market will touch $1.9 billions by 2015. The Indian government has embarked on $900 billion investment in Electrical Infrastructure by 2020 that includes building new transmission and distribution lines, and power generation plants. The research further mentioned that the basic electric infrastructure market will reach to $5.9 billion in the year of 2015. At present, Smart Grid market in India is $1.1 billion and 16.3% CAGR growth is forecasted between 2011 and 2015.

The communication and wireless segment, which in 2011 constitutes $137 millions,  is set to grow fastest  cloaking on average 24.9% CAGR between 2011 and 2015. The Smart metering will grow from $286.6 to $445.5 millions, Sensors from $137 to $236 millions, software & hardware from $247 to $339  millions, and Smart T&D equipment from $234 to $392 millions during the same period.

According to P. Uma Shankar, Indian Smart Grid will have following 6 guiding principles. 

1) Smart Grid will be based on Indian model and will be indigenous 

2) Focused towards Power Shortages

3) Prevent theft and other losses

4) Provides power in rural areas

5) Development of alternative power sources

6) Affordable and enables sustainable production of power

Although, the Smart Grid in India has huge growth potential, there are numerous challenges confronting the modernization of Grid. The Peak demand is outstripping the supply by 7 to 11%; ZPRYME predicts demand to grow 6.0% annually from 885 billion kwh to 1147 billion kwh between 2010 to 2015. Sanjay Seth, Country Manager, Itron India notes, " Currently there are pockets in India that have surplus power, but are unable to sell to deficient regions creating an artificial shortage scenario, Smart Grid technologies can enable utilities demand response mechanism that can curtail power during shortages and avoid blackouts." Apart from shortages, if theft is included, T&D losses amount close to 50%;  the coal power plants, which together with gas supplies 65% of the total energy needs, lags at 27% efficiency compare to western level of 37% efficiency. Electric Infrastructure is not consistent across the nation, and due to local factors, electrical monitoring is imprecise, furthermore, 50 % of the rural area is lacking electricity.  All this results into frequent power outages, heavy losses, and unreliability of grid. Such challenges also provide an opportunity for unique and innovative solution and as India is yet to build large part of the grid, it will have an  opportunity to design and build Smart Grid from scratch, notes Vimal Mahendru, President IEEMA.

Full Report

Grid2020 & Taurus Infoworld Collaborates for Broadband over Power Line (BPL) in India

Taurus Infoworld Pvt. Ltd. and GRID2020, Inc. today announced they have entered into a multi-year strategic alliance to deliver valuable Smart Grid solutions within the fast growing Indian innovation-driven marketplace via the Broadband over Power Line (BPL) route. These market leaders from India and the United States combine practical experience, innovative technologies, and the ability to properly understand the infrastructure needs of a region that is rapidly embracing and deploying cleantech technologies.

Taurus Infoworld Pvt. Ltd. of Pune is an OGALE Group company based out of India. The Group, with its flagship companies, OCB Engineers and INPAC Projects, is a respected engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) group in the power sector and is an infrastructure contractor in India. GRID2020, Inc. is a leading energy management, control, and communications solutions company based in Richmond, Virginia (USA).

Chandrashekhar Ogale, Director of Taurus Infoworld, stated, “From the first day we visited their corporate headquarters in 2010, we knew IBEC Global/GRID2020’s product line and tremendous level of expertise in the Broadband over Power Line market would be an excellent match for our company. Our vision of bringing life-changing services and solutions such as high-speed broadband and Smart Grid capabilities to the fast growing Indian market, electrical utilities, and urban and rural underserved populations in India, will be achieved as a result of our strategic alliance.”

In the past year, GRID2020 has secured licensing agreements to use IBEC Global’s ground-breaking Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) technology and platform.

“GRID2020 is extremely excited to formalize an agreement with Taurus Infoworld,” said Alan Snook, President of GRID2020. “This strategic alliance sets the stage for strong growth and market leadership within India. We feel our two companies represent a leading-edge team that possesses vision, flexibility, quickness, and efficiency to successfully deliver a viable Smart Grid solution in the Indian marketplace. Clearly, the fine people of India realize the tremendous value in embracing technologies that will advance their society in many ways.”

Using GRID2020’s solutions and technology, utilities will have a two-way, real-time Smart Grid communications network that will improve their internal energy system efficiencies, identify pilferage, reduce operating and capital costs, and remotely monitor, control, and capture real-time data on energy usage. With this BPL communications technology in place, utilities and communities will then have the ability to provide high-speed Internet services. Snook remarked, “We are convinced that by leveraging the existing infrastructure presented by utility grids, Taurus InfoWorld and GRID2020 will rapidly deploy cost effective solutions in many developing and emerging countries like India.”

The newly formalized strategic alliance will assist utilities and communities across India and yield an advancement of communications services to heighten the quality of life for citizens, and maximize the efficiencies of utilities by using the same FCC-approved BPL technology that has been successfully deployed in rural America (25,000 line miles) through $60 million in U.S. Government loans. Ogale added, “We have invested tremendous energies and resources into properly understanding the needs of this market space, and we are now poised to commence with proofs of concept and commercial deployments which will solve our customer’s needs. We will add to India’s progress, and attract positive national attention in pursuit of nationwide rural deployment to serve the underserved, and empower the farmers and rural populace—which constitutes 70 percent of the Indian population—by bringing the Information Highway to their doorstep.”

Smart Grid development in Asian countries Japan and Korea

In our continuous serious of profiling the Smart Grid development in the world, we are covering Asian powerhouse Japan and Korea in this segment


Japan: The largest Asian and the third largest economy in the world is gearing up itself to transform into low-carbon economy by adopting Smart Grid technologies. Japan has set aggressive target to cut Greenhouse Gas (GHG) . The Prime Minister of Japan has committed to reduce carbon emission by 25% to pre-1990 level by 2020. In 2010, Japan invested around $849 million in Smart Grid becoming the third highest Smart Grid investment making country in the world. The government also has plan to install smart meters across the country by 2020. Just like any other country, Japan has its own priority for investing in Smart Grids. The country has reliable grid and is not planning to overhaul the grid infrastructure, its priority is to reduce carbon emission by investing in renewable energy and integrating it into the grid. Japan's core objectives are: 1) Generate more renewable energy; use it effectively by programs like demand response. 2). Develop EV charging infrastructure at parking lots, 3) Develop new services using ICT and Smart Metering technologies.

Key Developments

• Three Smart Grid projects, 1) Remote Island Smart Grid Project 2) Smart Charge Project and 3) Smart House Project are being developed as part of the prototype for Community Grid System by Ministry of   Economy Trade and Industry (METI).
• Under the aegis of Japan Smart Community Alliance, four working groups viz. 1) International Strategy Working Group, 2) International Standardization Working Group, 3) Roadmap Working Group, 4) Smart Housing Working Group have been established.
• Four Cities, Toyota City, Kansai Science City, Yokohama, and Kitakyushu have pledged to reduce carbon emission up to 40% by 2030 using Smart Grid technologies.
• Toyota, Japan Wind Development Co, Hitachi, and Panasonic Electric Works are working on Smart Grid pilot project at Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture to test the grid that is completely CO2 free and dependent only on renewable energy.
• The Smart Networks Project is aimed at developing common communications standards for Smart Grid, networked Home Appliances, and Electric Vehicles. NTT DoCoMo, NEC, Sekisui House, and NAMCO BANDAI Games are key participant for this project.

Republic of Korea (South Korea): When it comes to technology, South Korea is matching step by step with its western counterparts. The Korean government plans to invest $24 billion (27.5 trillion won) by 2030 to build Smart Grid across the nation. Korea is one of the top 5 OECD oil importer and one of the fastest growing carbon polluter in the world. However, it has made strong commitment towards environment; it is planning to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 41 million ton and oil imports by 300 million ton by 2030 through Smart Grid Initiatives. The Korean Smart Grid is a comprehensive program which includes Smart Power Grid, Smart Transportation, Smart Renewables, Smart Electricity Services, and Smart Consumers.

                                  Korea Smart Grid Vision

Key Developments

• The Government has launched $ 65 million Smart Grid pilot project at Jeju island along with major industry players like LG, SK telecom, and KT. The project will test integrated Smart Grid for 6000 households, wind power and four different power lines and will be completed by 2013.
• The Government of Korea and  State of Illinois, USA have inked a packet to jointly test and develop Smart Grid technologies. The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, other local centers from Korea,Argonne National Laboratory, and Chicago University from USA will work together. 
• Established Organization like Smart Grid Korea Association , Korea Smart Grid Institute
•  Through National Power IT, South Korea is focusing on 10 development objectives, which will an intelligent and environment friendly electric and energy systems.
• The country  plans to invest  approximately $24 billion ($18 billion on Smart Grid Infrastructure and $6 billion on Smart Grid ) by 2030 to achieve vision established in the Smart Grid Roadmap.

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