The investment has been made through ABB’s venture capital arm ABB Technology Ventures, with a syndicate led by Investor Growth Capital and VantagePoint Venture Partners.
The deal gives ABB a link to Trilliant’s end-to-end system for smart grid communications. Trilliant provides utilities with wireless mesh networks that enable two-way communication from the head-end operations center to all devices on the grid – a solution that encompasses not only meters and in-home energy management devices but also substations and grid equipment such as transformers and capacitor banks.
Andy White, president and CEO of Trilliant, said: “ABB’s expertise in grid infrastructure and network management make the group an ideal partner for Trilliant. With our complementary offerings and common interest in smart grid technologies, I believe this will be a very productive collaboration.”
ABB Technology Ventures was created in October 2009 to invest in early and growth stage companies with technologies of strategic interest to ABB.
Bazmi Husain, head of smart grids initiative at ABB, said: “Solutions for intelligent and secure communication from the neighborhood level to the wide area network are what many utilities are seeking. The Trilliant investment demonstrates ABB’s commitment to partnering in a variety of ways with innovative companies to advance the evolution of smart grid solutions.”
