On February 1, 2022, Tantalus acquired Congruitive, an innovative software company that plays an important role in helping the smart grid operate as one intelligent, interoperable system – and I’d like to take a moment to explain what a significant development this is for the combined company’s customers, employees, partners, and shareholders.
At its core, this acquisition is about helping utilities prepare for the exponential rise of electric vehicles (EVs) and distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar power and other renewable energy sources. As consumers and businesses adopt these new devices at a breakneck pace, it puts enormous strains on an already challenged (and often outdated) electric grid. This is not a trend that’s coming at some point in the distant future—it’s already here.
In the U.S. alone, more than 526,000 EVs were sold last year. EVs are rapidly becoming the new norm, with landmark developments such as the introduction of the Ford F150 Lightning and Chevy Silverado EV and commitments by General Motors to launch 30 new EV models by 2025 to make these vehicles more accessible. So it’s no surprise that EVs are projected to become mainstream, with annual U.S. sales projected to exceed 3 million by 2027 and nearly 5 million by 2030.
We’re seeing similar exponential spikes in the adoption of solar power. In the third quarter of last year alone, more than 5.4 GW of solar PV capacity was installed in the U.S., bringing us to more than 113.5 GW of total installed capacity which is sufficient to power nearly 22 million homes. Residential solar installations exceeded 1 GW or the first time ever, with more than 130,000 systems installed in a single quarter. This is not just a West Coast phenomenon. Over the past few years, states outside of California have grown by leaps and bounds, led by Florida and Texas. As solar becomes increasingly affordable, more states are projected to adopt solar at increasing rates over the foreseeable future.
Truly, utilities are at a major inflection point due to the electrification of everything. Utilities are expected to support the meteoric rise in EVs and DERs despite the massive challenges these new technologies pose to their operational and financial performance. Utilities are also expected to reliably deliver additional power to support EVs even as they’re asked call to decarbonize their business. This is why Tantalus remains strategically dedicated to ensuring utilities are prepared to face these challenges while continuing to serve their communities.
And our acquisition of Congruitive is central to that strategy.
For background, Congruitive leveraged its expertise in substation automation to deliver a software solution that helps the utility industry seamlessly integrate distribution automation equipment, EVs and DERs. Their signature solution, Congruence.IQ (C.IQ), is a software platform that translates data from a wide range of devices to bridge old and new technologies together to transform the grid. In short, it allows a utility to run a smart grid as one intelligent, interoperable system. Without it, utilities would be hard-pressed to operate with the necessary scalability and flexibility to absorb the onslaught of EVs and DERs being deployed at the edge of the grid. What’s more, C.IQ was one of the first software applications to be certified for full compliance with the IEEE 2030.5 standard to support interoperability of an increasing number of EVs and DERs.
C.IQ is a brilliant addition to Tantalus’ existing portfolio of solutions and is core to our mission to help utilities become truly sustainable financially, operationally and environmentally. It accelerates our ability to help public power and electric cooperative utilities prepare for the impact that EVs and roof-top solar panels will have on the reliability of their distribution grids.
Further, it’s a great match in terms of culture and purpose. Both our respective teams are purpose-driven, have long-standing customer relationships, and are completely committed to helping utilities thrive in this brave new world.
We’re in the early days of integrating Congruitive, and we look forward to providing updates regarding our plans to integrate the solutions. But for now, what I can tell you for certain is that the addition of Congruitive to the Tantalus family is a significant win for our customers, our employees, our partners, our shareholders, and the industry at large.
And more than anything, it will help our combined user community of utilities become even more resilient, innovative and sustainable in the face of continued change.
Pete Londa
Learn more about the C.IQ platform here, or request more information about the C.IQ platform and Congruitive here.
