When technology isn’t the bottleneck – What is holding electrification back?
Solar panels, batteries, EV charging and smart energy management are giving businesses and property owners entirely new ways to influence their energy use. But as the solutions become more complex, it is no longer enough for each player to simply do their part. For electrification to gain momentum, a more holistic approach is needed – requiring energy companies, installers, suppliers and customers to find new ways of working together.
Installing new energy technology used to be largely about the installation itself. Today, a battery, charging solution or solar PV system can be part of a much larger ecosystem in which energy management, electricity trading, peak loads, ancillary services and external providers all need to work together. This has changed the role of the installer.
– Today, the technology is much more advanced and complex. There are also more parties that need to work together. Products need to communicate with other systems, and to maximize the value for the customer, we may need to bring in an aggregator, a control system or a payment service, says Jesper Cimen, CEO of SmartTech Energy.
For customers, this naturally creates significant opportunities, but it has also made it more difficult to know which investment is the right one.
From individual products to energy systems
Viktoria Svensson is Key Account Manager at Varberg Energi and has a background as an energy engineer. In her work, she primarily meets with industrial companies and property owners. One situation she frequently encounters is customers who have already decided what they want to invest in.
– They often say, “We want solar panels”, but then I usually ask them why. You need to look at what is actually best for the property and the business. Have we improved energy efficiency? What is the right size for the solution, and what is the purpose of the investment, she says.
Jesper Cimen takes a similar approach. He and his colleagues often begin by analyzing the conditions of the property before proposing a solution. A large roof, for example, does not automatically mean that a large solar PV installation is the best investment.
– For a property with high electricity consumption, it may sometimes make more sense to replace old lighting and reduce consumption first, and then size a smaller solar PV system accordingly. You have to try to find a financially sustainable and justifiable plan for the customer, says Jesper Cimen.
Bottlenecks to scaling up
As energy solutions become more advanced, a new challenge emerges. The installer is often the party closest to the end customer and may therefore face questions about issues that extend far beyond the installation itself. How will compensation from ancillary services develop? Why does the business case no longer add up when electricity prices change? What is happening in the power grid?
– Just because the installer is the final link in the chain and has the dialogue with the end customer does not mean they can be responsible for the entire process upstream. We need a clearer structure, greater transparency and a clearer division of responsibilities, where each party takes responsibility for its own products and services, says Jesper Cimen.
He also sees a risk that uncertainty could slow the adoption of new technology. If an installer tries a new product but encounters problems with commissioning, inadequate support or unclear responsibilities, an installation can quickly become unprofitable. In that situation, it is easy to fall back on products and solutions that are already familiar and trusted. That is a problem for a transition that, on the contrary, requires new solutions to be scaled up.
Business models must create value for both sides
According to both Viktoria Svensson and Jesper Cimen, one way forward is for the different parties to become involved earlier and work together from the outset of a project.
The customer understands their business and future plans. The installer knows the facility, the supplier knows its product, and the energy company can contribute expertise on the energy market and the financial conditions.
– The best customer meetings happen when we are all there together. The right questions come up straight away, and together we find solutions. Everyone then does their part, but you know where the others are in the process, says Viktora Svensson.
Better collaboration is not only about how projects are organized. The financial models also need to evolve. Viktoria Svensson does not believe there will be a single business model for the future. Private individuals, property owners and heavy industry all operate under different conditions. What they have in common, however, is that the solution needs to create clear value for both sides.
– An energy company, for example, may benefit from an industrial company temporarily reducing its consumption when the electricity system needs it. In that case, the industrial company also needs to receive financial value for providing that flexibility. We need to be willing to test different models and find ways to meet in the middle. I see more models emerging where money and value can flow in both directions.
No single player can solve the transition alone
Ultimately, accelerating electrification is about more than introducing a new technical solution. Installers need to be able to take on a greater advisory role – and be paid for that expertise. Energy companies need to better understand their customers’ businesses and make the energy market easier to navigate. Suppliers, in turn, need to stand behind their products. And customers need enough confidence in both the technology and the business case to be willing to invest.
When these different perspectives come together, the result can be both better investments for individual customers and faster electrification overall. It is also a discussion that Viktoria Svensson hopes will receive greater attention when the industry comes together at Elfack.
– No one in this long chain can solve this alone. We need to talk across boundaries. We need someone to design the solution, someone to install it, someone to manufacture it and someone to develop business models that allow customers both to pay and to get pay. Every part is needed for the transition to happen, she says.
At Elfack 2027, the players shaping the energy system of the future will come together. The conversation will continue around how electrification can be accelerated in practice – from new technologies and energy solutions to business models, financing and the new roles required as the energy system becomes increasingly complex.
The interaction between installers, energy companies, technology suppliers and customers will be an important part of the discussion. How can business models be created that work across the entire value chain? Who takes responsibility for the bigger picture? And what will it take for more companies to move from interest to investment?
These are some of the questions that will be explored at Elfack 2027, both on stage and in conversation between different players across the industry.