OPTICAST
- Eloise Martin
- vor 6 Tagen
- 2 Min. Lesezeit
THE MISSION
Opticast addresses a fundamental paradox of the clean energy transition: the more unpredictable renewable energy sources like wind and solar we add to the grid, the more unstable and difficult to manage that grid becomes. This volatility creates an urgent and costly problem for national grid operators, who are responsible for maintaining a perfect, second-by-second balance between electricity supply and demand. To prevent blackouts, they currently rely on expensive, and often carbon-heavy, solutions like firing up gas-peaker plants or using limited battery storage. This not only increases operational costs, which are passed down to all consumers, but also hinders our progress towards a fully decarbonised energy system.
Our solution unlocks a massive, overlooked resource to solve this problem by exploiting already existing infrastructure: the inherent thermal storage capacity of district heating networks. These networks, which supply heat to entire communities, can act as giant, cost-effective thermal batteries. We provide the missing intelligence to harness this potential.
Our core product is a real-time optimisation software that acts as an automated decision-making engine for district heating operators. By integrating state-of-the-art AI forecasting with advanced stochastic optimisation, our software analyses a complex set of variables in real-time—including balancing and electricity prices, grid stability signals, consumer heat demand, and the physical constraints of the heating network's assets. Based on this analysis, our software automatically determines the most profitable and efficient moments to buy electricity, store it as heat, and even sell balancing services back to the grid.
We are most proud of advancing to the second semester of the Talent Kick program. It gives us the confidence and structure to grow as a team, while also accelerating our learning curve in the venture-building process. The pitching preparation and the exchanges with other teams have been the most valuable experiences so far. They pushed us to clarify our vision, communicate it effectively, and learn from the feedback and perspectives of others, which greatly contributed to our development.
"The Talent Kick program helped us make an important shift from a purely engineering mindset to also considering the business side of building a venture. It connected us with like-minded, motivated people who share the same entrepreneurial drive and are willing to take on the journey together."
THE TEAM
Marco Muttoni (MSc)
CEO
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Giacomo Mastroddi (MSc)
CTO
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
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GET INVOLVED
We are currently looking for freelance students who want to join us in piloting our product with first customers. That said, if you are a potential customer and are interested in testing our product - please reach out to us!
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