LocalGrid Technologies and Hatch Sign Cooperation Agreement to Jointly Develop MicroGrid and Distributed Energy Solutions

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Aug 14, 2013, 05:00 ET

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - LocalGrid Technologies, an innovative Toronto-based software company, and Hatch, an employee-owned, multidisciplinary professional services firm, today announce the signing of a cooperation agreement to jointly pursue projects and develop technology for MicroGrid and distributed generation applications.

"MicroGrids are a powerful new approach to solve today's energy challenges," said Bob Leigh, CEO of LocalGrid. "Working with Hatch, we can leverage their expertise in distribution infrastructure, renewable generation and remote MicroGrid design to further develop our capability to manage energy and infrastructure using a decentralized, MicroGrid topology."

Hatch delivers a comprehensive array of technical and strategic services, including consulting, information technology, engineering, process development, and project and construction management to the Energy, Mining, and Infrastructure sectors. "Utilities are seeking the ability to integrate distributed generation, energy storage, and electric vehicle charging while increasing the service life of existing grid assets and becoming more resilient to power outages resulting from increasingly volatile weather events. A microgrid control and operation strategy offers this promise," says Pieter de Koning, Manager of Energy Technology Development and Commercialization at Hatch.

Hatch is recognized for its ability to bridge the gaps between research and innovative technologies and has experience in developing renewable and alternative power solutions for transmission, distribution and remote customers. This agreement with LocalGrid is an opportunity for Hatch to leverage their expertise to lead the industry in MicroGrid technology.

LocalGrid's core product eGridOS™ runs on utility grade control hardware and provides advanced data capture, and analytics at extremely high resolution. These core functions are demanded by electrical utilities that are looking for ways to extend the reliability of aged infrastructures so they may improve quality of service and improve service scalability. Beyond these core functions, eGridOS™ provides advanced military-grade security to protect utilities from a variety of cyber security exploits.

Hatch has demand response control technology developed for managing large industrial loads in the metals and mining sector connected to weak electrical grids and captive power plants, as well as proprietary techniques for integrating intermittent renewable generation to electrical grids. Under this new co-operation agreement Hatch and LocalGrid will combine their expertise and collaborate on MicroGrid projects. Utilities, power generators and large industrial power consumers can realize a lower cost of deployment and increased data availability with real-time awareness of their operation.

To learn more about the benefits of eGridOS, watch LocalGrid's Keynote presentation from NIWeek 2013 here www.localgridtech.com/news/. NIWeek is the world's leading graphical system design conference and exhibition hosted by National Instruments.

Supporting Resources

LocalGrid website: http://localgridtech.com
LocalGrid news: http://localgridtech.com/news
LocalGrid blog: http://localgridtech.com/blog
LocalGrid case study: http://localgridtech.com/case-studies
LocalGrid on twitter: http://twitter.com/LocalGridTech
Hatch website: www.hatch.ca
Hatch news: http://www.hatch.ca/News_Publications/News/2013/default.htm
Hatch on twitter: http://twitter.com/hatchglobal
Hatch in LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/hatch
Hatch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/hatchltdvideos

About LocalGrid Technologies

LocalGrid delivers secure, embedded software for an intelligent Distribution Grid.

LocalGrid (www.localgridtech.com) delivers turn-key solutions for utilities and grid operators that are deploying MicroGrid topologies. LocalGrid eGridOS software provides data collection, real-time analytics and control over a secure distributed network.

Our solutions maximize the use of existing energy assets and enable more renewable generation on the grid for a fraction of new infrastructure costs. LocalGrid is dedicated modernizing the electricity grid to bring cleaner, renewable, and more reliable power to consumers.

About Hatch Ltd.

Hatch is an employee-owned, multidisciplinary professional services firm that delivers a comprehensive array of technical and strategic services, including consulting, information technology, engineering, process development, and project and construction management to the Energy, Mining, and Infrastructure sectors. Hatch has served clients for over 80 years and has project experience in more than 150 countries around the world. With over 11,000 people in over 65 offices, the firm has more than $35 billion in projects currently under management. For more information, please visit www.hatch.ca.

©2013 LocalGrid Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. LocalGrid, eGridOS, and localgridtech.com are trademarks of LocalGrid Technologies Inc. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

SOURCE Hatch