Gita Subramony for Zondits, October 14, 2015. Image credit: Hans-Jörg Aleff
GE is spinning off a new company, Current, that ties energy efficiency with Internet technology. The new company’s focus will be on incorporating systems such as lighting, solar arrays, and energy storage via GE’s Predix platform.
The business model will offer not only efficient products and distributed generation technologies, but services (through software) that offer better control of these systems to manage energy consumption across a portfolio of buildings. Current’s customer base is largely made up of businesses that have portfolios of sites where energy management could result in significant reductions in operating costs; among its initial customers are Walgreens, Simon Property Group, Hilton, JPMorgan Chase, Hospital Corporation of America, and Intel. Current is also offering financing options to make products to a wide variety of sectors for which cash flow might be an issue.
Current will eventually seek to work with municipalities and utilities.