Research & Innovation

EcoWatch has been named ‘Ireland’s Most Promising Start-up’ for a smart-grid solution or service as part of the EirGrid and NDRC all-island Smart Grid Innovation Hub competition.

Limerick-based EcoWatch scooped the top prize of up to €10,000 in funding for its work to develop Smart Distribution Network Monitoring Solutions.

Managing director Connor O’Reilly fought off tough competition from three other shortlisted companies to claim victory in a pitching contest at the 2014 Energy Show at Dublin’s RDS.

Among the panel of industry experts judging the competition were John Geoghegan from the NDRC, Michael Walsh from EirGrid, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s Declan Meally and Sean Gallagher from Dragons’ Den.

The Smart Grid Innovation Hub is a collaborative initiative by EirGrid Group and NDRC to promote the development of innovative smart-grid solutions, with a focus on entrepreneurial initiatives by companies, academics and entrepreneurs in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Ireland and Northern Ireland have a significant opportunity in smart grids due to the levels of wind-generated electricity on the power system, which can be up to 50pc at any one time.

This enables Ireland to effectively become a live laboratory of smart-grid evolution, as its system must be managed in a unique way.

The shortlisted candidates included:

· Ocean Renewables Ltd, based in Wexford, which is exploring an energy storage system for renewable power sources

· Smart M Power, based in Galway, which is developing Smart Micro Energy Clusters

· EcoWatch, based in Limerick, which produces Smart Distribution Network Monitoring Solutions

· Low Carbon Technologies Ltd, based in Dublin, which is developing a battery array management system