Throughout 2024, grids were tasked to prove out their reliability and resiliency in the form of power-hungry data centers, climate events, and industrial decarbonization efforts. Utilities significantly invested in grid modernization, targeting transmission infrastructure, microgrids, and energy management tools to address the challenges that aging grids encounter in the face of electrification. Meanwhile, government initiatives emerged to further support modernization goals. With 2024 coming to an end, the energy teams and our other peers at Lux have spent some time reflecting on key events of 2024 and looking ahead to what innovation teams should be expecting and prioritizing in 2025.
With predictions for 2025 finalized, the Lux team shares a few of its favorites from each of the Lux Client Priorities for Utility Innovation Leaders.
- Microgrids will grow as a resiliency tool for communities but remain limited to the wealthy or grant-funded projects. Severe weather events from 2024 will drive demand for microgrids, but high upfront costs will keep them out of reach for many communities, highlighting the gap between the demand for resiliency and affordability.
- A major utility will announce plans to repurpose coal plants with nuclear power. Given constraints on the power grid, the value of a coal power plant in areas with low gas prices will gradually shift to the grid connection itself. The similar generation profile of nuclear to coal and similar system sizes will tempt at least one utility to announce a major plan to replace its coal fleet with nuclear power.
- Dynamic line rating (DLR) projects double globally due to lifting regulatory barriers and low costs. Compared to building new transmissions capacity or retrofitting existing lines with advanced conductors, implementing DLR can unlock unused capacity. Expect investments in all areas to expand transmission, but with low capital costs and new regulations supporting their use, DLR will see rapid growth.
- AI tools won’t impact grid operations just yet, but predictive maintenance will drive new uses. AI solutions are being deployed in customer-facing chatbots or predictive maintenance where machine vision can be deployed for vegetation management and inspections. However, optimization tools using AI will fail to break into the control center due to fears over data reliability and cybersecurity.
- A thermal energy storage (TES) developer offering a high-temperature platform (>900 °C) will install the world’s first commercial system with a capacity exceeding 100 MWh. This TES system will supply at least 20% of the daily energy demand for a high-temperature industrial process in the chemicals, cement, or glass manufacturing industry and will be contracted using a heat-as-a-service agreement.
- Despite groundbreaking policy from Australia to implement comprehensive long-duration energy storage (LDES) regulation, the U.K.’s floor/cap scheme will win in short-term deployments. In most electricity markets, there is little financial incentive for investment in LDES. The U.K.’s policy will address short-term challenges in deployment, while the reform in Australia will set the stage for longer-term investment with clear regulatory frameworks.
In 2025, we expect the innovation pendulum to swing from understanding high impact, high risk, and/or early stage technologies to innovations that can be applied today. Increasing extreme weather events are driving interest in grid-hardening technologies, as utilities look to maintain service during previously unexpected storms. Load growth is spurring deployments of grid-enhancing technologies that can unlock hidden capacity in transmission networks, as building new transmission capacity takes up to a decade.
Join the Lux team on January 30 for our webinar “Tech Innovation in 2025: Themes and Technologies to Monitor” as we examine the trends and developments across Lux’s industry verticals to highlight themes and insights that will inform your priorities and hone your decision-making in 2025.