We recently sat down with our Vice President of Product, Tom Barbour, to discuss his strategy and vision for Kitu's products and how we can continue to evolve and develop. Tom has been at the forefront of driving product commercialization, focusing on bringing our innovative solutions to market. During our conversation, Tom shared the product he's most excited to be working on, highlighted the market trends shaping our strategic direction, and covered how current government policies are influencing our product development. And that's just the beginning! Read on to see how product strategy and development are driving growth at Kitu.
What key market trends are currently shaping Kitu's product strategy, particularly in the areas of both DER integration and EV adoption?
Let's break this down, starting with Distributed Energy Resources (DER). One of the most significant market trends we're observing right now is the rollout of CSIP Australia. This is crucial because the Australian grid is grappling with challenges related to minimum system demand, which are driving the need for widespread adoption and integration of DERs. Additionally, the push for DER connectivity isn't just driven by market forces; it's increasingly mandated by law, compelling utilities to implement these solutions. This regulatory environment is a major factor shaping our product strategy.
We've been working with IEEE 2030.5 and CSIP for quite some time, but now we need to adopt CSIP Australia, which is fairly easy. The key strategy moving forward is all about scale. We're no longer applying these protocols to address small problems; instead, we're implementing them on a much larger scale, managing millions of endpoints across entire territories.
When it comes to the EV side of business, our value proposition comes from our heterogeneous supply network of charging equipment. As more fleets and public places adopt EV charging, they don't like to sole source from a single provider - which is where we come in! We offer a single platform that brings together all operational needs across multiple charging platforms.
From a product strategy perspective, our focus is on leveraging open standards while also bringing in partners, like ChargerHelp!, to incorporate the various components needed to effectively manage EV fleets.
What innovations in our product lineup are you most excited about? Is there a specific product you're heavily focused on right now?
That's a great question! I'm pretty excited about our Convoy platform, specifically in the DER space. We're seeing a lot of momentum around virtual power plants with batteries coming online, and our role as an aggregator from a connectivity standpoint is really key here.
A good example is the situation with rooftop solar in Australia, where there's a need to manage and limit exports, driving a lot of activity in that market. Similarly, these new battery arrays coming online are a perfect fit for our technology. We have our newly issued, control-sharing patent which allows us to utilize these assets across multiple programs - what we call value stacking. This capability is a significant benefit not only for utilities but also for the private aggregation of these virtual power plants.
Take residential storage, for instance. It's not just about decarbonization; the same asset can be used in economic programs like time-of-use (TOU) in California or even for bidding into markets like Texas. Since these batteries represent a substantial investment, being able to leverage them across multiple use cases is incredibly valuable. Our patented control-sharing technology makes this possible, and we're actively working on further commercializing and bringing it to market.
What's exciting is that these innovations are directly responding to real market trends and needs. Just as Australia faced a real-world challenge with minimum system demand, we're now seeing similar scenarios emerge with large battery arrays. Our technology is uniquely positioned to meet these challenges by leveraging these assets in multiple ways.
What makes Kitu's offerings stand out in a competitive market? What sets us apart from other companies in this space?
There are a couple of key points to highlight here. First, our thought leadership around open standards and being an early adopter. We're recognized as the best in the industry when it comes to grid-native solutions, which is crucial for utilities and a significant differentiator for us.
Additionally, our ability to operate at scale truly sets us apart. While others may offer proprietary or open-standard solutions that work well in small, pilot scenarios, the work we're doing in Australia is at the actual grid level, which is major.
Looking at EVs, we excel in working across a heterogeneous supply network, a capability that's essential in today's diverse market. On top of that, we offer compelling features like dynamic charging and the ability to achieve mass customization at the charge session level. These innovations provide significant benefits for both consumers and utilities.
How do regulatory changes and government policies influence our product development strategy at Kitu Systems?
As a company committed to industry standards, especially with initiative like CSIP Australia, we must continuously adapt to new regulations, particularly those mandated by the Australian government. These policies are significant drivers of our product strategy, ensuring that we comply with evolving requirements, such as those related to decarbonization goals or the regulation of solar net exports.
Government policies not only influence our strategy but also generate numerous projects that require innovative solutions to meet regulatory demands. This creates opportunities for us to develop products that align with these changes, keeping us at the forefront of the industry.
Another critical factor is the economic aspect. Beyond compliance, our focus is on how to monetize energy assets effectively. We emphasize three core functions: monitoring, managing, and monetizing assets. Monetization is particularly relevant as we see the adoption of time-of-use rates across various regions, especially in California. With TOU rates, our software can optimize the use of batteries, solar, and inverter-based products to enhance the energy efficiency and manage peak demand. This approach provides customers with powerful tools to better manage their energy consumption and reduce costs.
How is Kitu preparing for future challenges and opportunities? Specifically, what role do you see energy storage solutions playing in the future, and how are we addressing this within our product line?
We're going to continue to see an increasingly dynamic grid at both local and territory levels. We will see much greater interconnection between devices, turning them into two-way energy providers on the grid. This growing complexity brings two key priorities for us:
First, the ability to connect at scale is going to be very important. The work we're doing in Australia is a prime example of how we're addressing this across our entire product line. Scaling up solutions is strategically vital as we prepare to manage the growing number of interconnected devices.
Second, control sharing is essential, especially in the context of energy storage. Although the cost of storage has traditionally been high and is not expected to drop significantly in the near future, storage is becoming more common due to incentives, decarbonization efforts, and monetization opportunities. We're already seeing battery aggregates emerging in places like Hawaii and Texas. Our product strategy is focused on optimizing the storage side of things by figuring out how to monetize these assets through effective connection and deployment.
Partnerships, such as those we have with companies like Leap, will be crucial. However, our role as a middleman in this space goes beyond just forming partnerships. We're responsible for aggregating, monitoring, and managing all assets, not only downstream but also in connecting them to upstream programs. This dual focus on scale and control sharing allows us to effectively navigate the future challenges and opportunities in the energy sector.
Closing thoughts?
We're focusing on commercializing our longstanding products like Citadel, Convoy, and ConvoyEV. Our goal is to build the most durable platform in the marketplace. Once we've solidified that foundation - which we're actively working on - we'll be able to introduce some really compelling features, such as energy forecasting and program management. With these advancements built on a strong and reliable platform for connecting devices, we're positioning ourselves for powerful growth in the near future.