Avant Power OptiGrid – Smart Microgrid Energy Management ⚡

How can businesses get more out of their existing electrical capacity, reduce energy costs, and ensure a reliable power supply? Avant Power’s OptiGrid microgrid system brings local energy generation, storage, consumption, and intelligent control together into one integrated solution. At its core is OptiGrid Cloud, a cloud-based service developed in close collaboration with SADE Innovations, using the SADE Booster IoT Asset as its technological foundation.

Avant Power, an energy technology company based in Ylöjärvi, Finland, introduced its OptiGrid Cloud service at the Energy Fair in Tampere. OptiGrid marks a significant step from battery technology toward comprehensive energy management, opening up new business opportunities in Finland and internationally.


From Passive Electricity Consumption to Active Energy Management

Electricity demand is growing as industries become increasingly electrified and e.g. electric vehicle charging expands. However, grid capacity cannot always keep up with these growing needs, and upgrading an electrical connection is not always possible or economically feasible. Avant Power’s OptiGrid microgrid addresses this challenge by combining local power generation, battery energy storage, electricity consumption, and control into one integrated energy system. OptiGrid Cloud provides the intelligent energy management behind it, using data such as electricity prices, weather forecasts, and historical consumption to predict energy demand and optimize energy use. OptiGrid is designed to be used in a wide range of applications, including service stations and vehicle depots, industrial facilities, commercial properties, logistics centers, farms, and urban and residential environments. Energy independence and reliable power systems are also particularly important in defence applications.

In practice, the system can control battery storage usage, make better use of locally generated solar power, and time electricity purchases during lower-price hours. It can also reduce peak demand through peak shaving, enabling applications such as high-power EV charging with a smaller grid connection. The primary goals are to ensure a reliable power supply, improve energy resilience, and reduce energy costs. And once local energy needs are covered, excess capacity can also be utilized in electricity markets – creating opportunities for new revenue streams.


SADE Booster Connects the Cloud, Local Control, and Electricity Markets

The development of OptiGrid Cloud combines Avant Power’s expertise in energy systems and optimization with SADE’s expertise in cloud, IoT, and software development.

The technological foundation of the cloud service is the SADE Booster IoT Asset, whose ready-made building blocks accelerate the development of scalable, customized IoT solutions. SADE’s development work has covered several key areas of the solution:
• Cloud EMS: A cloud-based Energy Management System for centralized monitoring, control, and optimization of distributed battery storage systems and microgrids.
• Edge Node and OPC-UA integration: A local edge solution connects the cloud service to Avant Power’s PLC-based control system. The microgrid can continue operating even when the cloud connection is unavailable.
• Electricity market integrations: Integrations with Fingrid’s reserve markets (FCR-N, FCR-D, and aFRR) and electricity spot markets enable automated market participation.
• Web UI: A browser-based user interface that allows Avant Power’s operators to monitor different sites and manage participation in electricity markets.

The solution is designed to scale: a single cloud service can manage multiple sites without requiring operational resources to grow at the same rate.


Avant Power’s Energy Expertise Meets SADE’s IoT Expertise 🤝

OptiGrid is a great example of how expertise from different fields can complement each other. Avant Power is responsible for the overall OptiGrid solution, including battery systems, power electronics, local PLC control, and the system’s optimization and planning algorithms. SADE has contributed its expertise in cloud, IoT, edge computing, and software development, along with the ready-made technological building blocks of SADE Booster. "What has made this project particularly interesting is how cloud technology, local device control, and electricity markets all come together into one working solution. Avant Power has strong expertise in energy systems, and our role has been to complement that with our IoT and software development know-how. The collaboration has been great, and it’s been really rewarding to help build a solution that delivers such clear, real-world value," summarizes Ville Tulonen, Project Lead at SADE Innovations.

OptiGrid Cloud is the first commercial phase of Avant Power’s broader OptiGrid microgrid system. The modular solution can be expanded with additional energy storage, generation solutions, and applications as needs evolve. OptiGrid’s optimization technology is also planned to be used in Avant Power’s collaboration with Kempower, combining energy storage with high-power electric vehicle charging. "OptiGrid Cloud is an important step for us from battery technology toward comprehensive energy management. We want to help our customers make the most of their existing grid capacity and energy investments. Working with SADE has brought strong cloud and IoT expertise to the development process, allowing us to focus on our core strengths in energy systems and their optimization," says Mikko Kettunen, Business Development Director at Avant Power.

OptiGrid is a concrete example of how energy expertise, cloud services, IoT, and local control can come together to help businesses manage their energy more intelligently – not only reducing costs but also creating entirely new business opportunities.