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ST. LOUIS, May 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) is collaborating with the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) Incubatenergy® Labs startup challenge to demonstrate and explore today's and tomorrow's technologies, products and services that have the potential to benefit Ameren's customers.

Ameren and EPRI, and 12 other utilities, are hosting a set of accelerated technology demonstrations with 10 startup companies that may provide utility customers with effective energy management solutions, and Ameren with new tools to maintain system quality, reliability and efficiency using sustainable methods. The collaborative effort is a core program in the Ameren Accelerator, which teams with public universities, private companies and industry associations to invest, mentor and host pilot projects with energy technology startups.

"Ameren Accelerator 2020 evolves our successful energy innovation model to incorporate more energy technology demonstrations," said Warner Baxter, chairman, president and CEO, Ameren Corporation. "We have confidence that our engagement with these promising startup companies will help us deliver the kinds of clean, reliable and affordable energy solutions our customers are looking for."   

Ameren will host the following companies for technology demonstrations: 

• ev.energy (Palo Alto, Calif.) – Wireless platform that optimizes electric vehicle charging to save customers money, fully utilize renewable energy and delivers flexibility services to the grid.
• IND Technology, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) – Technology that remotely detects and locates electrical faults before they occur, which could prevent power losses, wildfires and other consequences.
• PingThings (El Segundo, Calif.) – Artificial intelligence platform that processes, stores and uses high-definition sensor data in real time, at grid scale.
• Recurve (Mill Valley, Calif.) – Software as a service tool that analyzes how to use energy more efficiently and effectively in response to cost, carbon reduction and other customer goals.

Ameren also is supporting startup companies who are demonstrating their technology with the other utilities, and Ameren customers may also benefit from their innovations. Those companies include:

• Grid Fruit (Pittsburgh, Pa.) – Grid-responsive scheduling of machine cycles to provide demand management and flexibility from commercial foodservice refrigeration systems.
• Kognitiv Spark (Fredericton, NB., Canada) – Augmented reality-enabled tool to help utility workers and supervisors solve problems and learn new skills on the job.
• LineVision (Somerville, Mass.) – Non-contact, overhead line sensor technology that provides situational awareness, asset health monitoring and increases capacity.
• RWI Synthetics (Edmonton, AB, Canada) – AI-driven intelligent systems modeling tool to help grid planners with scenario planning and distributed energy resource integration.
• Sharc Energy Systems (Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada) – Multifamily building wastewater heat recovery systems.
• Switched Source (Vestal, N.Y.) – An alum of the 2017 Ameren Accelerator, Switched Source has continued to develop its power electronics-based distribution-automation solutions to help manage distribution system load and improve power quality.

The demonstrations will begin remotely over the next several weeks. Results of the projects will be presented at the Ameren Accelerator Demo Day in St. Louis this October.

About Ameren Corporation
St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric distribution and transmission service, as well as natural gas distribution service, while Ameren Missouri provides vertically integrated electric service, with generating capacity of nearly 10,300 megawatts, and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops regional electric transmission projects. For more information, visit Ameren.com, or follow us on Twitter at @AmerenCorp, Facebook.com/AmerenCorp, or LinkedIn.com/company/Ameren.

SOURCE Ameren Corporation