Kinergy and Intertrust Deliver Secure, Standards-based VPP for Distributed Energy Resources

Joint solution enables scalable virtual power plants (VPPs) with reduced costs while avoiding OEM vendor lock-in.

BERKELEY, Calif., Intertrust, a globally recognized expert in distributed trust, and Kinergy, a subsidiary of Origin Energy, announced they have partnered  to provide secure, sanctioned connectivity to distributed energy resources (DER) at scale.

Key highlights:

• Proven scale. Kinergy has deployed and optimized over 1.5 GW across more than 400,000 devices globally
• Active Texas deployment. Partnership delivering connection services for Rhythm Energy, scaling to several hundred battery systems over the next year across multiple OEM vendors
• Standards-based approach. Built on open Trusted Energy Interoperability Alliance (TEIA) standard, providing scaleability, eliminating vendor lock-in and reducing integration costs while maintaining the highest levels of security in the field

Intertrust provides connection services that enable Kinergy’s optimization platform to securely connect to DER assets through OEM-sanctioned channels. This approach reduces integration costs and friction while eliminating vendor lock-in as the energy industry scales to meet growing demand for distributed energy solutions. Using Intertrust’s TEIA compliant technology, Kinergy’s optimizers can reach OEM devices via cloud-to-cloud connections or directly to the device.

Kinergy’s technology powers one of the world’s largest residential VPPs, which has deployed and optimized over 1.5 GW across more than 400,000 devices, bringing proven optimization capabilities honed in the dynamic Australian market to global deployments. The solution is active in Texas, where Intertrust and Kinergy are providing connection services for Rhythm Energy in an initial trial that will scale to several hundred battery systems over the next year across multiple battery OEM vendors.

“Our partnership with Intertrust delivers the security and interoperability the energy industry needs to confidently scale VPPs. Working directly with OEMs through standardized connection services, we eliminate the barriers that slow distributed energy adoption, while maintaining the trust and security that utilities and customers require,” said James Magill, Executive General Manager of OriginZero.

Kinergy and Intertrust have been working together for several years and are deploying the joint technology in Europe, Japan and the United States. Recently, Rhythm Energy, a disruptive energy retailer in Texas adopted Kinergy as its VPP solution. 

“Partnering with Kinergy and Intertrust gives us the confidence that we are pursuing an approach that scales with us,” said Matthew Tolliver, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Rhythm Energy. 

The Kinergy products use Intertrust’s TEIA-compliant product to connect OEM devices to the VPP optimizer. TEIA was founded by leading global energy companies including E.ON, JERA, GS Energy, and Origin Energy. TEIA’s specifications and membership agreements are available at www.trusted-energy.org, and the organization welcomes members who seek to advance interoperability of digital energy systems, advance decarbonization goals and make energy more affordable around the world. 

About Kinergy

Kinergy’s VPP software currently manages over 1.5 GW of controllable load and more than 400,000 connected assets across Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Learn more at www.kinergysolutions.com. Kinergy is an Origin Energy company.

About Rhythm Energy

Rhythm offers 100% renewable energy plans to households and businesses. Founded in 2020, Rhythm is leading customers through the energy transition sustainably, by engineering leading-edge products that truly empower customers, elevate their energy experience, and enhance their lives. In just a few years, Rhythm has become one of the highest-rated, fastest-growing independent green energy retail electricity providers in the US. Learn more at www.gotrhythm.com.

About Intertrust

Intertrust, a pioneer and innovator in the field of trusted distributed computing, creates solutions to persistently protect IoT services and data assets—in transit, in use, and at rest. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Intertrust develops and licenses its technologies for IoT, AI, and Web3. Its digital rights management (DRM) technology continues to revolutionize the media and entertainment industry and paves the way for today’s video and music streaming services and Web3 marketplaces. For more information, visit us at intertrust.com, or follow us on X or LinkedIn