Sri Aurobindo, epígono de la tradición kavia

CEZ Group continued with innovation in 2015. In addition to continued projects and activities of a long-term nature so typical of this area, additional new opportunities were analyzed and new trends were investigated on an ongoing basis. CEZ Group continues to see the development of innovative technologies as an opportunity that is associated with the overall transformation of the energy sector and with the trend for reducing emissions of pollutants, especially greenhouse gases, while improving energy security in EU member states.

Electromobility

The Electromobility project completed its second stage in 2015. Additional charging stations were installed, bringing the number of charging stations for electric vehicles operated at the end of 2015 to a total of 54, including 10 ultra-fast charging stations (DC charging stations). Contracts made for additional locations will allow resuming the construction of charging stations after the completion of a public procurement procedure in Q2 2016.

During 2015, the Electromobility project started to offer electric vehicle users additional services, such as concluding customer contracts (at selected CEZ Group Customer Care Centers), as well as residential and corporate charging technology, such as wall boxes and cables. The project’s website was changed to make the offer more comprehensible and to improve user experience. The number of project partners grew both among public and regional authorities (e.g. the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic and the Pardubice Region) and among organizations participating in the construction of charging stations.

CEZ Group, in collaboration with ARRIVA PRAHA s.r.o. and PASSERINVEST GROUP, a.s., put into regular operation two electric buses serving lines 103103 and 103123, connecting the BB Center where ČEZ’s headquarters are located with the nearby metro station Budějovická. The electric buses on these lines cover more than 42,000 kilometers a year.

CEZ Group, together with other entities, also took an active part in the preparation of background analyses used for the formulation of the National Action Plan for Clean Mobility, which was approved by the Czech Government in late 2015.

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For the Smart Region project, the year 2015 was characterized mostly by work on activities relating to the verification and testing of deployed technologies and proposed solutions. After a successful completion of voltage unification at 35 kV, the actual islanding was tested, first with a smooth transition and then also as a black start. A U/Q control solution was tested on a CHP unit, confirming its positive effects on voltage stabilization in the distribution grid. Created telecommunications connectivity was monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis.

A presentation room was opened in Vrchlabí to present the Smart Region project activities. The room shows installed technologies and, most significantly, a real-world offline control system which was commissioned and tested with all its functionalities.

The Smart Region project attracts considerable interest and was presented during several internal, national, and international excursions. For the GRID4EU project, in which ČEZ Distribuce takes part together with five other European distribution system operators and 21 other partners, 2015 was a year when project activities were being finalized. Key performance indicators (KPIs) were evaluated and a Cost-Benefit Analysis of the individual functionalities was prepared on the basis of testing.

Testing and evaluation of the success and functionality of proposed solutions took place in all of the six GRID4EU demonstration projects. In addition to demonstration activities, ČEZ Distribuce collaborated with GRID4EU partners e.g. on the preparation of guidelines that will allow deploying the proposed solutions at locations other than where they were demonstrated. The GRID4EU project officially ended in January 2016; its outputs are available at: www.grid4eu.eu 1.

Investments in New Technologies

ČEZ Nová energetika, under the brand name of INVEN CAPITAL, seeks opportunities for investment in smaller to midsize innovative and growing businesses engaged in clean technologies, flexible energy storage systems, innovations in distribution, as well as data utilization in the energy and telecommunications sectors. It focuses primarily on growth investment opportunities in later-stage growth with a sound business model proven by sales and with growth potential. The company’s goal is to produce long-term values by actively collaborating with the management of the businesses it invests in and actively supporting organic (i.e. fueled by the businesses’ own activities) or acquisition-based growth. Companies in the portfolio of ČEZ Nová energetika can take advantage of CEZ Group’s deep expert knowledge of the energy sector, client base, and technology synergies for their further development.

In July 2015, ČEZ Nová energetika announced its entry into sonnen GmbH (formerly Sonnenbatterie GmbH), a Bavarian manufacturer of smart battery systems focusing on the storage of energy from solar panels and other renewable energy sources. The investment had the form of increasing the company’s stated capital, together with other investors.

ČEZ Nová energetika’s another activity in decentralized energy was the acquisition of a minority stake in SunFire, a German company whose main product is a fuel cell technology that can convert fuel into electricity and heat but also turn electricity back into hydrogen and other gases (Power-to-Gas) or a mixture of hydrocarbons called “blue crude” using the Fischer-Tropsch process (Power-to-Liquids). This technology represents a major step toward consumers’ greater energy self-supply and toward improved efficiency in the utilization of energy sources.

Investments in Startups

In 2015, ČEZ, a. s. became the main partner of the Czech ICT Incubator project, which sends Czech startup entrepreneurs to the prestigious Runway incubator in Silicon Valley, California for three to four months.

In 2016, ČEZ began cooperating with Rockstart, a Dutch startup accelerator, on its Smart Energy program supporting projects aimed at innovations intended to make more efficient use of energies. ČEZ’s investment has the form of providing a convertible loan to the Smart Energy fund created in a given year, every year from 2016 to 2018. Thereby, it will become entitled to a minority stake in three portfolios with a total of 30 businesses—energy startups. This will allow ČEZ to profit from any future appreciation of the businesses without running the risk of additional costs. At the same time, it will be able to become familiar with innovative, state-of-the-art energy solutions.

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