Recognized for energy solutions for commercial buildings, Edo secures top prize in pitch competition focused on unlocking grid potential and overcoming market barriers
Portland, Oregon, October 8, 2024 – Grid Forward, a member-based non-profit organization promoting grid modernization, announced Edo, a solution provider transforming how commercial buildings connect with the grid, as the winner of the 2024 Grid Innovation Pitch Competition during GridFWD 2024 in Banff, Canada. Grid Forward invited eight carefully vetted startups to participate, representing technology or services spanning across analytics and forecasting, virtual power plants, electric vehicle management, and resource modeling.
Edo is leading the charge in transforming how commercial building operators manage energy, optimize operations, and enhance occupant comfort. By leveraging transformative technology, Edo helps businesses significantly reduce energy consumption, lower carbon emissions, and realize substantial cost savings. As the winner, Edo is eligible for up to $50K of business advisory services and up to $250K equity investment from Accurant International, a technology consulting and capital investment firm working with energy, power, and climate-tech companies.
Edo’s Courtney Blodgett and Dee Martir, MBA, BSEE are joined by Mark Hormann of Accurant International (left) and Bryce Yonker, Executive Director and CEO, Grid Forward.
“Edo is honored to receive this recognition from the Grid Forward community,” said Courtney Blodgett, Director of Strategy at EDO. “Our solution is designed to help utilities and commercial buildings unlock the potential of demand flexibility, enabling the clean energy transition and benefiting both the grid and buildings.”
“Accurant is proud to support the next generation of grid-enhancing technologies through the GridFWD 2024 pitch competition,” commented Mark Hormann, Managing Partner of Accurant International. “Flexible resources, including commercial loads, are critical to balancing the grid and lowering the cost of power. The pitch winner, EDO, is tackling this key opportunity of using buildings as a grid battery.”
Annual competition pits 8 technologies for grid innovation
The first round of the competition featured participants such as Flip Energy, Infinigrid, Leaptran, and Maplewell Energy. Advancing to the final four alongside Edo were Granular Energy, GridLink, and Powerweave.
The judges consisted of Luis D’Acosta, CEO of Uplight, Robert Baker, Director – Renewable and Alternative Energy of Alberta Innovates, Carolin Funk, Partner of Blue Bear Capital, Mark Gustafson, President of Avista Development, and Mark Hormann, Managing Partner of Accurant International.
“We were thoroughly impressed with the caliber of all the pitches in the competition during GridFWD 2024,” said Bryce Yonker, Executive Director and CEO of Grid Forward. “The judges were especially excited about the strong presentation by Courtney Blodgett from Edo, whose leadership in activating commercial buildings as virtual power plants truly stood out.”
Organized by Grid Forward, GridFWD 2024 gathered hundreds of community members, industry experts and partners within the electric energy and utility industry around the topic of “evolved energy markets for a modern grid.” Next year, GridFWD 2025 travels to Monterey, California with a focus on AI and the grid. To learn more, visit https://gridforward.org/GridFWD2025.
About Grid Forward
Grid Forward is a 501(c)(6) non-profit, member-driven trade association dedicated to promoting and accelerating innovation on the electric system. We deliver community, expertise and resources for leaders who are working to modernize the grid across the western U.S. and Canada. More information can be found at gridforward.org.
Organization Contact
Bryce Yonker
bryce@gridforward.org
(503) 522-6101
Media Contacts
David Smith
David@gridforward.com
(503) 490-4467
Kelsey Winter
kelsey.winter@publitek.com
(541) 337-7887
