Jim Morrish, the founding associate at Transforma Insights, speaks with Loic Bonvarlet, the senior vice chairman of Product and Advertising and marketing at Kigen, to debate among the newest developments with eSIM within the context of utilities, pertaining to personal networks, in-factory profile provisioning, synthetic intelligence and new contract wins with main utilities.
Jim Morrish: This interview is properly timed for Enlit 2025, a number one power transition occasion and also you’ll be there. What’s in your agenda?
Loic Bonvarlet: We’re showcasing how eSIM offers utilities the licence to realize assured connectivity, the inspiration on which reliable information and AI can scale. With Europe’s power future entrance and centre, we’ll deal with how developments in Distributed Vitality Sources (DER) and AMI 2.0 turn out to be genuinely workable on a pan-regional and nationwide scale when safe id and belief are designed in, and when utilities themselves personal that basis.
On the technical entrance, we’ll be discussing eSIM meter deployments past electrical energy into water and fuel metering. These environments demand additional consideration and soak up our learnings from a number of metering distributors who’ve designed-in  Kigen’s eSIM natively for his or her meters. A series of IoT gateways, concentrators and controllers sits between the utility hub and every meter and that’s usually required to function in distant, hard-to-service places.
We’ll additionally showcase how community flexibility and policy-driven dynamic profile switchover between a number of public networks or throughout public protection and utility personal LTE assist to maintain these gadgets on-line with out truck rolls. Guests will see how producers are already deploying a number of profiles of their metering options, participating immediately with us to take care of service continuity as circumstances change.
We’re additionally bringing in-factory profile provisioning (IFPP) so Europe’s main meter producers can streamline provide. We’ll element how they will obtain safe community embedding by means of our SGP.32 licensed eSIM IoT distant supervisor (eIM), how we allow gadgets to ship network-ready, and the way we facilitate gadgets to connect securely to the very best out there community. The whole lot we do is GSMA standards-based, corresponding to SGP.32 for eSIM administration and IFPP for manufacturing, and we’re prepared to assist groups deepen their familiarity with the requirements that matter.
For anybody as we speak taking a look at cleaner power, extra intelligence within the grid relies upon upon  safe id and belief and constructing these in early offers them the actual edge to scale.
The advantages are usually not simply restricted to good meters but additionally lengthen to arguably extra important facets of utility networks together with sub-station monitoring and general grid administration and optimisation.
JM: The personal community facet that you simply talked about there may be an fascinating matter that’s quick gaining traction. Are you able to increase a little bit bit on this matter?
LB: Actually. As I discussed earlier, protection might not be out there from public carriers in a few of these distant areas by which a utility wants to attach gadgets, together with good meters but additionally probably different grid property. In these circumstances, some utilities are beginning to deploy their very own personal mobile networks to make sure that they get the protection that they want within the locations that they want it. Personal LTE/5G offers utilities native management, QoS and safety for C&I websites, depots and rural feeders whereas public networks can serve nearer to metropolitan areas.
Personal networks even have advanced: the 900MHz and 450MHz LTE 410/450 MHz bands in elements of Europe provide broad cells and deep penetration for AMI 2.0. These go hand inhand with how eSIM know-how has advanced. SGP.32 permits eSIMs to hold a number of community profiles – these may be for personal networks, a mix of personal and public profiles, and even embody a satellite tv for pc connectivity profile. We even have innovated to fulfill utility calls for with the inclusion in our eSIM OS of a rescue and restoration functionality, permitting dynamic, computerized policy-based switchover. With Kigen’s licensed eIM, utilities can set enterprise insurance policies for most well-liked networks and efficiency thresholds corresponding to latency, loss and sign high quality. Units then mechanically change between networks when circumstances change – which is important throughout storms, upkeep intervals or growth phases.
We’ve been lucky to have realized from over 100 prime clients of our eIM answer, which incorporates notable main firms throughout each producers and utilities, making large leaps in shaping grid modernization.
JM: So there’s an growing momentum behind eSIM within the utilities business?
LB: Undoubtedly, sure, there may be. Take for instance, our latest collaboration with Itron, which sees our eSIM software program stack deployed in-factory to make sure that good meters are accurately configured, and may be examined, earlier than they go away the manufacturing unit. That is necessary as a result of product managers as we speak can scale options and speed up product cycles with out main infrastructure modifications, however as cellular-connected gadgets transfer from prototype to manufacturing to area deployment, prices and dangers can improve. Our IFPP transforms this by enabling software-defined provisioning, so eliminating SKU complexity and lengthy lead instances typical of a brand new IoT deployment. Producers like Itron can now configure connectivity in-factory, simplifying manufacturing and provide chain administration, prototype-to-production testing and area enablement.
JM: So, there’s clearly momentum on the {hardware} aspect, what about deployments within the area?
LB: An ideal instance is Evergy, one of many largest utilities within the US Midwest, serving 1.7 million clients throughout Kansas and Missouri. The corporate has adopted our eSIM OS and eIM applied sciences to unify personal LTE and public networks into an automatic connectivity layer, so enabling extra dependable operations within the context of rising demand, elevated complexity as a result of incorporation of extra distributed power assets into the grid, and more and more variable climate patterns. Our safe eSIM OS and SGP.32-compliant eIM answer give Evergy the pliability to handle connectivity dynamically by means of eSIMs provisioned with a number of operator profiles. The answer additionally contains configurable options corresponding to a community rescue and restoration applet, enabling dynamic and automatic failover between personal LTE and most well-liked public networks based mostly on enterprise guidelines.
However that is simply the latest instance in a collection of wins for us with eSIM. We even have a national good metering deployment supporting hundreds of thousands of good meters, with Kigen eSIM OS natively embedded in meters from a number of main EU power suppliers. Our collaboration in Texas, the place the Decrease Colorado River Authority delivers water and energy companies to 68 counties over 70,000 sq. miles, has been recognised with a number of awards. LCRA has adopted our eSIM know-how for its personal LTE community, supporting each its personal operations and in addition different customers of the identical system, together with governmental and public security entities, electrical utilities, and faculties and different public security entities.
JM: Are there any advantages that may be unlocked past simply connectivity?
LB: There actually are, and lots of circulate from the extra homogenous and tightly managed information environments that eSIM permits. For instance, the newest SGP.32 normal eSIM structure lastly permits non-SMS protocols for safe profile routing. Usually, this has been a problem for constrained IoT gadgets – the likes of which exist of their hundreds of thousands inside metering and within the grid. For utilities, Kigen eSIM may even allow the profile supply for good metering communication through DLMS/COSEM which is prevalent in varied utility meters and head-end methods.
DLMS/COSEM encompasses software layer companies and a structured mannequin for good metering information and is indispensable for integrating EV and distributed power assets inside a sensible grid answer. This protects prices throughout area updates and operations.
The advantages of a extra seamless information surroundings inside a sensible grid lengthen significantly past such baseline capabilities. For example, extra clear information environments enable the event and deployment of more practical enterprise guidelines corresponding to for managing ‘micro occasions’ the place connectivity could also be misplaced for less than a brief time frame. And, in fact, well-documented and clear information environments present a much better surroundings for the deployment of a variety of AI-enabled enhancements.
JM: Ah, AI. Synthetic intelligence is certainly as we speak’s zeitgeist. Might you increase a little bit on how utility grids can incorporate AI into their operations?
LB: AI is revolutionising utility good grids by making them extra environment friendly, dependable and sustainable. AI-driven methods can analyse huge quantities of information from good meters, sensors and exterior sources corresponding to climate forecasts to foretell electrical energy demand and steadiness provide in real-time. This helps utilities stop blackouts, scale back waste and optimise power flows throughout the community.
One among AI’s greatest benefits is enabling what are termed ‘self-healing’ grids, that are methods that may mechanically detect faults, reroute energy and restore service after disruptions. AI can be used to handle power storage, for instance, deciding when to cost or discharge batteries based mostly on demand forecasts and market costs. AI can be used to foretell the output of variable renewable technology sources, together with photo voltaic and wind, to assist stabilise the grid within the context of ever-changing and domestically variable climate circumstances.
Predictive upkeep is one other main profit enabled by AI, in order that indicators of damage may be detected earlier than failures happen. On the patron aspect, AI can underpin demand response programmes and even generate personalised energy-saving insights. AI may even be used to strengthen grid cybersecurity by recognizing irregularities which will sign assaults or fraud.
JM: Do you see eSIM capabilities as key to enabling the long run utilities business?
LB: Undoubtedly, sure. Europe’s power future depends on how we simplify integration and set up a basis for superior grid capabilities like distributed intelligence, power forecasting, distributed power useful resource administration, superior analytics, and AI. eSIM performs a transformative position supporting utilities to cut back venture complexity, speed up deployment, and obtain a decrease the whole value of possession. This funding in eSIM de-risks lots of the capital intensive phases: enabling flexibility in community entry and metering manufacturing. Mixed with AI, eSIM-driven good grids improve reliability, unlock smarter, self-healing and extra sustainable power methods for various environments and evolving calls for. With out eSIM, reaching these items could be tougher.
