Start-Ups as Drivers of Innovation and Change to Expand and Optimise the Grid

The smarter E Podcast Episode 242 | November 6, 2025 | Language: English

We dive into one of the most exciting areas of the energy transition: the expansion and optimisation of our power grids and the role that startups play in this. There's no question that the big players in the energy industry are important. But more and more often, it's the young, courageous companies that are driving change in the system with fresh ideas, new technologies, and unusual business models.

However, they need to tackle quite a few hurdles on their way. How do start-ups manage to assert themselves in a highly regulated and technically demanding industry? How do they work with grid operators, municipal utilities, or energy suppliers, and where do they encounter resistance?

We talk about this with Johan Söderbom, Thematic Leader for Smart Grids and Energy Storage at EIT InnoEnergy.

About The smarter E Podcast

The smarter E podcast is all about the current trends and developments in a renewable, decentralized and digital energy industry. Our host welcomes and interviews personalities who shape our industry and drive developments forward. A new episode is published bi-weekly on Thursdays.

Johan Söderbom, Thematic Leader at EIT InnoEnergy

Between 1995 and 2014, Johan worked at the northern European Utility Vattenfall AB in various positions in R&D. From 2014 to 2019, Johan was heading a section at RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) responsible for electrical and optical measurement technology, and he now holds the position of thematic leader for Smart Grids and Energy Storage at EIT InnoEnergy.

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