Reaching a new milestone is always an exciting moment. The OpenADR Alliance recently announced reaching 200 members, something we are particularly proud of as a global industry organization that started out supporting technical communications standards over a decade ago.

Our goal remains the same, with the OpenADR standard going from strength to strength with the launch of OpenADR 3.0 last year. But like other industry bodies, we need to evolve and adapt as the industry – and our members – change.

Growing demand for electric vehicles and EV charging infrastructure is helping create this momentum. While we’ve seen plenty of changes resulting from the growth in EVs in the last couple of years, including Ford Motor Company joining our Board of Directors in 2022, the last few months have been unprecedented.

The pace of change is accelerating even more so, with the emergence of innovative new business models to support the burgeoning EV sector.

Among our newest members are some of these innovative businesses, including EVchron, which owns and operates a network of DC Fast chargers, PayEnergy, the first cashless EV charger company, and Wevo Energy, which develops and manages EV charging management systems.

It’s encouraging to see this momentum with charging platform providers and companies offering new solutions working together with utilities, automotive manufacturers and others to meet the challenges of creating a fast, reliable and robust infrastructure.

As an industry ecosystem that plays a vital role in bringing together like-minded organizations, we are proud to be part of this – and to help bring about change.

What’s more, we are starting to see the results of several energy flexibility pilot programs in the U.S. and further afield. One such example is Duke Energy working with Ford on two vehicle-to-grid (V2G) projects to optimize the energy stored in EVs for residential customers using OpenADR. We’re also expecting the results from member company, Cortexo on trials of an energy flexibility system in New Zealand. We’ll be sharing those when we get them!

We’re also seeing many more opportunities in Europe as governments and policy makers specify open standards as part of demand flexibility, and members roll out cutting-edge software and tech solutions to support utility programs. These include Codibly in Poland, Cuculus in Germany, and E.ON Energy in Sweden.

Our recent milestones announcement also highlights momentum around EcoPort, our newest product testing and certification program for CTA-2045 compliant products. As the list of certified products continues to grow and with innovation particularly in the HVAC sector, EcoPort is being adopted or specified by more utilities looking to deliver demand response and DER programs.

OpenADR recently participated in regulatory efforts that have seen two states in the U.S. – Washington and Oregon – pass laws effective in 2023 prohibiting sales of water heaters unless they have EcoPort installed.

On a final note, we are also taking more time to meet our members and prospects at events and conferences around the world. Earlier this month, I was invited to attend Power + Utilities Australia to talk about demand side management and DER use cases. This created lots of interest in OpenADR and the Alliance, from companies especially in APAC.

We’re excited to see how the rest of this year plays out – and in reaching our next major milestone!