Tantalus Systems scores another win with North Carolina partnership

Tantalus Systems (Tantalus Systems Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:GRID) has just scored another utility partnership for its smart grid solutions, this one a public power utility in North Carolina.

Burnaby, BC-based Tantalus, whose platform allows utilities to manage loads, identify inefficiencies and create more reliable and adaptable energy grids, announced on Tuesday that the City of High Point, North Carolina, has selected Tantalus to provide a purpose-built smart grid solution as part of the City’s efforts to digitize and upgrade its electric and water distribution system. 

“Tantalus is digitizing distribution grids and providing interoperability of a diverse set of devices to help utilities improve their operational efficiency and financial performance, reduce carbon emissions and ultimately provide enhanced services to their communities,” said Peter Londa, President & CEO of Tantalus, in a press release. “We are delighted to further expand our presence with forward-thinking municipalities by working alongside High Point in support of their community.” 

High Point said it was Tantalus’ commitment and focus on public power that stood out.

“Tantalus’ unique ability to incorporate the City’s prior investments in Itron’s encoder receiver transmitter (ERT) technology will save our residents millions of dollars while laying the foundation for advanced applications,” said Eric Olmedo, Assistant City Manager, City of High Point.

Tantalus debuted as a public company last February after completing a qualifying transaction and starting out on the TSX Venture Exchange. The company has since graduated to the TSX senior board and closed on a $10.6-million financing round. Earlier this month, Tantalus acquired DLC Systems d/b/a Congruitive, an advanced technology solutions provider for utilities and renewable energy producers, which the company said will help Tantalus meet the growing needs of utilities currently in the midst of an infrastructure shift to green technology. 

Tantalus’ Londa points to the electrification of vehicles as one aspect of that shift which will require utilities to step up their game to meet the changing needs. Last week, Londa spoke to Cantech Letter and remarked on the growth of EV’s and their impact on energy infrastructure.

“We see a wave of investment coming across the utility industry to prepare for this quick adoption and deployment of electric vehicles. Most people think about, ‘Do I buy an electric vehicle and what does that mean for the environment? What’s the range of that vehicle?’ Well, the back end of that is how does the vehicle actually get charged? Beyond the charging station, that changes the entire system plan for utility,” Londa said in an interview with Cantech posted on February 11.

“If the load profile at a home or building changes because someone’s plugging in an electric vehicle, utilities have to prepare for that,” he said. “Within our own user community, the electric vehicle impact on the distribution grid was the number one concern identified by our user community during our recent annual users conference in Q4.”

“We see that as a key driver for growth for our technology as we help utilities truly digitize their grid to have not only visibility where EVs are showing up but then more importantly to have command and control of those devices so that it doesn’t create resiliency issues at the grid level and at the distribution grid level,” Londa said.

Disclosure: Tantalus Systems is an annual sponsor of Cantech Letter