The company's technology allows users to understand the carbon intensity of the electricity available at a specific place and time, which can be used for load shifting. For example, Google uses Electricity Maps' data to calculate the carbon intensity of the electricity powering its data centers and to decide when to boot up additional servers. Samsung uses the data to show users the electricity usage and carbon footprint of their devices. The recent funding will help Electricity Maps meet the rising demand for smarter climate tools.
Key takeaways:
- Electricity Maps, a data visualization project that aggregates real-time data for electricity production in over 50 countries, recently raised a $5.4 million funding round from Transition and Revent.
- The company, founded by Olivier Corradi, uses open-data sources and has developed its own flow-tracing model to understand which power plant contributes to the electricity being consumed at any given moment.
- Companies like Google and Samsung are increasingly relying on Electricity Maps' data to hit their sustainability goals and empower their own users. Google uses the data for load shifting in its data centers, while Samsung uses it to show users the electricity usage and carbon footprint of their devices.
- Electricity Maps is not just an educational tool, but can act as the information layer that decides whether it's a good time to turn on millions of electric devices to have as little impact as possible on the planet.