General Electric, Shelton, Conn., last week announced a fairly dramatic move to bring together a broad range of energy technology offerings under a single banner.
The new enterprise, branded as “Current, Powered by GE”, is based in Boston with facilities in Silicon Valley, will be led by Maryrose Sylvester as president and CEO and Jamie Irick, chief commercial officer, both well known to the electrical industry for leading GE lighting for the past few years.
The new venture integrates GE’s LED, solar, energy storage and electric vehicle businesses with its industrial-strength Predix information and analytics management platform “to identify and deliver the most cost effective, efficient energy solutions required by customers today and in the future.”
Sylvester, who as president and CEO at GE Lighting has led the transformation of one of the company’s most iconic businesses, will be backed by GE’s balance sheet and financing expertise, and committed to successfully advancing GE’s “ecomagination-certified” technology solutions, new business models and Predix solutions for the energy sector.
Current will begin with more than $1 billion of revenue from existing business lines and bring together an energy-as-a-service offering that includes sensor-enabled hardware, software, fulfillment, product management and financing solutions. Through Predix, GE will analyze energy consumption and provide customers with data around patterns and needs along with recommendations to increase efficiency – from reducing power levels, to generating power on site to creating new revenue streams for customers through the use of sensors and networked systems in buildings and helping utilities better manage their distributed load.
“We’ve been transforming the power and lighting sector since GE’s inception. Energy is part of our legacy, part of our genetic code. And digital code is a big part of our future. Once again, we have an opportunity with Current as a startup to lead another significant change in energy delivery,” said GE Vice Chair Beth Comstock, whose role overseeing GE’s Business Innovation efforts includes Current. “Commercial enterprises can’t afford complexity and inefficiency in energy solutions if they are to remain competitive. They are looking for ‘future proofed’ solutions. From the socket to the grid, we understand how the electrons flow and have the unique position to optimize energy regardless of the scenario or customer.”
GE said in a release that several key customers, including Walgreens, Simon Property Group, Hilton Worldwide, JPMorgan Chase, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Intel and Trane are piloting Current’s solutions to transform their operations, drive energy efficiency and reduce costs.