The Think Smartgrids association (formerly Réseaux Électriques Intelligents – Smart Grids France) was created in April 2015 to support French industry players in the smart grids sector and give them access to the global market estimated at 30 billion euros a year. Its creation is the fruition of one of the ten actions planned in the roadmap of the Smart Grids plan of the Nouvelle France Industrielle.
Member of the association the day of its creation – Photo : Flickr, Achal Kathuria
The renaming of the association coincides with the election of a new president. Indeed, Dominique Maillard, who was initially Programme Director of the “Smart Grid Networks” project and chairman of the RTE Board of Directors which held the Presidency, handed over to Philippe Monloubou, CEO of ERDF on 15 September of last year.
Three clear missions
Think SmartGrids is responsible for:
- Federate and develop the French Smart Grid sector
- Promote the sector in Europe and internationally
- Carry the voice of its members to key stakeholders
A place to grow and share together
Think SmartGrids brings together members from the world of business, higher education and research, and institutional and energy sector stakeholders. It includes engineers in electronics automation, telecommunication equipment, information systems, market models and regulation. Its industrial references range from the modernization of networks, to encouraging strong growth in demand, the integration of renewable energy, and the implementation of energy efficiency mechanisms. The members play a key role in the development of standards.
The association is a member of the Global Smart Grid Federation which allows it to interact with his peers globally.
A recognised ecosystem
France is ranked first in terms of investments in Smart Grids in Europe. Over 100 Smart Grid projects are being conducted in France and there are numerous export projects.
French expertise in this field is now recognized internationally. The players of the industry are exporting their skills and helping foreign managers deploy Smart Grids technologies on the network. Investments and supply dynamics make the French electricity network one of the most reliable and open to the world.