Landis+Gyr partnering with ERDF to speed up the smart grid in France
Paris, France – April 15, 2013 – Landis+Gyr has joined the consortium created to develop SOGRID, an ambitious project which will support the deployment of the smart grid in France. The first of its kind at a global level, SOGRID is led by the French energy provider ERDF and the European semiconductor leader STMicroelectronics, and supported by ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management AgencThe consortium partners will work to develop a next-generation chip that will power the millions of devices connected to the grid, allowing them to communicate with each other. The overall ambition of SOGRID is to set an international standard in communication based on the power line communication protocol (PLC), which allows the transmission of digital data over the grid. This means transitioning from a few “smart” elements in the grid towards a total “smart grid”. The European Competence Center responsible for Landis+Gyr’s PLC communication protocol is based in France.
“We are proud to be part of this unprecedented and ambitious industrial project, which will put France at the forefront of smart grid deployment in Europe. Our collaboration is based on our 25 years of experience in smart metering and the expertise we have developed through the pilot project Linky. With SOGRID, we take a step forward in laying the foundations for the grid of tomorrow, which will be more intelligent, more flexible and, above all, geared to customers’ needs”, stated Christian Huguet, CEO of Landis+Gyr France.
In addition to SOGRID, Landis+Gyr France was one of the strategic suppliers of the pilot project Linky conducted by ERDF and which saw 300,000 smart meters successfully deployed in France by 2011. ERDF plans to deploy a total of 35 million smart meters in its domestic market by 2020.
Landis+Gyr’s production site in France is located in Montluçon and employs 130 people. Each year it produces more than 500,000 meters, including ERDF’s Linky meters, and it is ready to increase its production capacity to over 1 million per year as the Linky meters are fully deployed.
In 2012, the group relocated the European production of its receivers and transmitters to France. The site plans to produce 300.000 units in 2013.
About Landis+Gyr
Landis+Gyr is the leading global provider of integrated energy management products tailored to energy company needs and unique in its ability to deliver true end-to-end advanced metering solutions. Today, the Company offers the broadest portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry, and is paving the way for the next generation of smart grid. With annualized sales of more than US$1.6 billion, Landis+Gyr, an independent growth platform of the Toshiba Corporation (TKY:6502) and 40% owned by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, operates in 30 countries across five continents, and employs 5,200 people with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy better.
Media Contact
Christian HUGUET, CEO, Landis+Gyr France
Tel: +33 610 157974
Email: christian.huguet@landisgyr.com