Automation

Vast amounts of solar installation will be required as the energy transition accelerates so whoever can do so the cheapest and fastest will win in the market. 5B is harnessing the known benefits of prefabrication and automation to achieve cost benefits at scale for large scale solar deployment.

As the role of grids shifts to connecting intermittent supply with moveable demand, firms that can use software and data to match the two will prosper. 

Amber enables customers to access real-time wholesale energy prices. More importantly, SmartShift™ automates the charge & discharge of your battery (or EV) for maximum saving & return.

AI-native autonomous control platform for commercial and industrial buildings — using reinforcement learning and a universal hardware gateway to actively shape electrical demand, cut peak loads by 30%+ and deliver verified energy savings without disrupting operations.

Their insight, forged from direct experience with grid-constrained buildings, is that the energy transition is fundamentally a demand control problem: US commercial facilities waste an estimated $250B annually not because they lack power, but because legacy Building Management Systems are static, rules-based and incapable of adapting to real-time grid conditions. Demand charges alone can represent 30–40% of a facility's electricity bill. Brick's thesis is that an AI-native closed-loop control layer — sitting between existing BMS infrastructure and the grid — can structurally solve this.

The Brick platform has three interlocking components. A universal hardware gateway installs in under ten minutes and connects to any existing BMS or HVAC system regardless of brand — a deliberately brand-agnostic approach that incumbent vendors like Siemens and Schneider are structurally disincentivised to replicate, since their own business models depend on proprietary hardware lock-in. A reinforcement learning model then runs a continuous closed-loop optimisation, shaping electrical load in real time to stay within fixed grid limits while maintaining occupant comfort. ,

Batteries are valuable because they provide flexibility, responding faster than other energy technologies, and help maintain grid stability by turning on and off in fractions of a second., Software contributes through improved grid performance, efficient integration of diverse energy sources, simulation and modelling of energy options, optimisation of building energy use (particularly HVAC systems), and guiding organizations in delivering emission reduction goals through accurate measurement and reporting.

Hitachi Energy is one of the most important companies in the energy transition because as electrification accelerates, the grid becomes the critical path. Hitachi Energy is arguably the single most important company in making it actually work.

Formed in 2020 when Hitachi acquired ABB's Power Grids division, it is the custodian of over a century of grid infrastructure technology — including ABB's pioneering HVDC work dating to the 1950s.

The company's portfolio spans the full electricity value chain: transformers (it is the world's largest manufacturer by installed base), high-voltage equipment up to 1,200kV, HVDC and STATCOM power electronics, substation automation, grid control software, and energy storage integration. These technologies are the physical infrastructure that moves electricity from generation to consumption, and every major shift in the energy system — more offshore wind, longer transmission distances, higher renewable penetration, greater grid complexity — increases demand for exactly what Hitachi Energy makes.

HVDC in particular is a strategic bottleneck in the energy transition. Submarine and long-distance land cables connecting offshore wind to load centres, linking national electricity markets, and enabling intercontinental renewable energy flows all depend on HVDC technology. Hitachi Energy holds a commanding position in this market alongside Prysmian (cables) and Siemens Energy (converter stations).