Reinvention of Energy Load Drives Innovation toward Microgrids and Smart Grid Technologies
The world is not flat and neither is electricity load.
Only a few years ago, so-called energy transition was more of a supply side thing—a desire to decarbonize electricity with a shift to renewables and energy efficiency. Demand was stagnating, at least in the U.S., and the economics seemed right for power generation change.
Suddenly, the pressure from data center growth, industrial automation and artificial intelligence training capacity needs is changing that dynamic in the developed world and shifting the focus to load, resiliency and the customer sector itself. These challenges are motivating a race to reinvent the grid in ways which increasingly include decentralized and microgrid systems.
These trends are noted in a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) study analyzing 10 years of data around energy patent applications. This WIPO analysis is highlighted in “Electricity Reinvented: How Innovation is Transforming the Future of Power Systems,” a new report released in January by World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with global consulting firm Accenture.
“By 2035, (global) electricity demand is likely to rise to about 37,800 terawatt-hours (TWh)—a 40% increase from today,” reads the WEF introduction. “Investment trends reflect this shift: global energy investment (was) set to reach $3.3 trillion in 2025, with about $2.2 trillion directed towards renewables, nuclear, grids, storage and electrification – twice the amount invested in fossil fuels. Electrification has become a core driver of economic competitiveness, making modern power systems central to energy security and sustainable growth.”
Shifting and rising energy demand drives new patents
For the 10 years ending 2023, the International Energy Agency noted a sharp rise in energy-related technology patents, with patents for electrical machinery and energy apparatus growing 4.1% annually, according to the WIPO data.
The pace of patent applications for thermal processes increases at a 3.3% pace for the 10 years, according to the IEA report quoted by WEF and Accenture.
The most dramatic elevation in energy patenting trends happened in China, which more than quadrupled grid-related patents over that period. China’s patent innovation pace was followed by the European Union, United States and Japan.
The influence of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies was impacting nearly all smart-grid technologies, according to the WEF-Accenture report. Aside from “forecast and decision” applications, the microgrid sector led other smart-grid technologies by claiming 16% of AI-related international patent applications.
Virtual power plant initiatives claimed 5% of the AI-related energy patents under application. Energy storage integration ranked fourth at 8%. Electric interoperability and smart metering technologies were behind others at 4% of global AI-related patents.
“Recent growth is concentrated in AI-enabled technologies—particularly forecasting, microgrids and outage management—signaling a shift from hardware-led innovation towards digital, data-driven system management,” reads the report.
Innovation in Asia leading the way
Energy demand is growing exponentially throughout Asia. China’s world-leading patent movement is centered on what the WEF and Accenture call “system-scale integration” such as ultra high-voltage transmission, digital grid management and AI-based diagnostics.
In India, clean energy initiatives attract more than 80% of power-sector investment. According to reports, the nation is expected to account for 12% of global energy demand by 2050.
Digital grid modernization is a priority in India, where many residents currently lack consistent utility interconnection.
“At the same time, microgrids, solar systems and energy-as-a-service (EaaS) models are expanding access and resilience at the local level,” reads the report, quoting WEF statistics.
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About the Author
Rod Walton, Microgrid Knowledge Head of Content
Managing Editor
For Microgrid Knowledge editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. I was an energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World before moving to business-to-business media at PennWell Publishing, which later became Clarion Events, where I covered the electric power industry. I joined Endeavor Business Media in November 2021 to help launch EnergyTech, one of the company’s newest media brands. I joined Microgrid Knowledge in July 2023.
I earned my Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. My career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World, all in Oklahoma . I have been married to Laura for the past 33-plus years and we have four children and one adorable granddaughter. We want the energy transition to make their lives better in the future.
Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech are focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.