Ahead of E-world, Dr. Liliane Ableitner (CEO & Co-founder of Exnaton AG), Managing Director of FlexHome Energie GmbH), and Dr. Manuel Lösch (Founder & Managing Director of InnoCharge) came together for a joint podcast exploring one of the most promising developments in the energy market: battery swarms.
The conversation goes beyond theory and looks at how intelligent storage, AI, and new tariff models can make the energy transition more scalable, resilient, and socially fair.
Listen to the full episode here (DE):
As renewable generation grows, energy systems are becoming more volatile and complex. Utilities face increasing pressure to:
Battery swarms address these challenges by connecting many distributed batteries into one intelligently controlled system. Instead of isolated storage units, utilities gain access to aggregated flexibility that can be dispatched where it creates the most value.
Importantly, this approach opens flexibility markets beyond single-family homes — making participation possible for apartment buildings and tenants.
One of the more provocative topics discussed was whether data protection slows down AI adoption in the energy sector.
The practical view from utilities is clear: data protection is part of the industry’s DNA. Energy companies are already highly experienced in handling sensitive customer data and regulatory constraints. The real task is not to bypass compliance, but to design AI solutions that work within it.
A strong theme throughout the discussion is that successful AI projects are fundamentally transformation projects.
Utilities see the highest acceptance when employees are involved early — for example through structured interviews that capture expert knowledge and turn it into AI-accessible formats. This approach:
Interestingly, many organizations observe that employees are often ahead of the company in AI readiness due to private use of AI tools.
A concrete use case discussed is AI-supported knowledge management. By systematically capturing expert knowledge and making it queryable via bots, utilities can significantly reduce knowledge loss when experienced staff leave.
This is particularly relevant in the energy sector, where operational know-how is often highly specialized and difficult to document.
Looking ahead, such systems could also support crisis readiness, for example by helping organizations respond faster when critical systems fail.
The discussion also highlighted a broader shift in the industry. Utilities are no longer focused only on efficiency and cost optimization. Increasingly, they must prepare for:
In this environment, AI and aggregated flexibility — including battery swarms — are becoming essential tools to keep systems manageable.
For utilities and municipal energy providers, the implications are clear:
Battery swarms combined with intelligent software platforms can:
However, technology alone is not enough. Success depends on aligning regulation, workforce adoption, and market design.
The episode offers practical, experience-based insights for utilities, energy innovators, and decision-makers preparing for the next phase of the energy transition. Listen to the full episode (DE).
