Smarter Grid Solutions Ltd, the Glasgow-based smart grid technology company, was already working on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the University of Strathclyde when it engaged with the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP).
The KTP was focused on the delivery of a range of real-time deterministic smart grid devices and applications that would allow utility companies to improve the utilisation of their grid infrastructure. The £100k-plus project runs from early 2012 to mid-2014, with a KTP associate recruited to lead on the research work. The knowledge partner in the project, Strathclyde’s Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, was also the original home of Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) before it spun out of the university in 2008.
When SGS then engaged with the ETP, the company’s Development Director and co-Founder, Graham Ault was keen for them to learn more about SGS international competitors, the technologies they were developing and the intellectual property they owned. A University of Strathclyde Research Associate within the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering was approached to undertake the market research work and produce a report for the company. Working part-time over two months, the research associate ultimately delivered a market research report for the company that improved its insight into the competitive landscape of active network management technologies.
Graham Ault said:
The ETP project was useful in providing us with an additional resource capable of undertaking a technical competitor analysis that gave us greater visibility and insight into potential competitors and their technologies. As with our ongoing KTP, engagement with ETP helped SGS further develop its strong links with a key partner university in Scotland.