Neglected PV Maintenance Fuels Fire Risk

Prisma Photonics, a deep-tech company transforming existing optical fiber into the world’s most advanced infrastructure monitoring platform, announced the closing of an oversubscribed $30M growth round, bringing its total capital raised to $80 million. The round was led by Protego Ventures, with participation of Adara Ventures and the investment arm of a leading Latin America Transmission operator, alongside continued support from Insight Partners, Chione Switzerland, and SE Ventures (Schneider Electric’s venture arm).

Prisma Photonics’ AI-driven Hyper-Scan Fiber-Sensing platform has already been deployed across thousands of kilometers of critical infrastructure worldwide, among them are 15 Tier-1 Transmission System Operators in the U.S. and Europe. By converting existing optical fibers into massive, real-time sensor networks, Prisma Photonics combines advanced optical fiber sensing with proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) to detect, classify, and localize events with meter-level accuracy across hundreds of kilometers—whether it’s an intrusion at a secured perimeter, a congested power grid, a wildfire threat along a high-voltage power line, or protecting long remote boundaries. As the system processes more data from diverse deployments, its AI models continuously improve, creating a powerful network effect and long-term technology moat.

"Prisma Photonics has demonstrated exceptional innovation in transforming existing fiber infrastructure into powerful monitoring systems," said Lee Moser, Managing Partner at Protego Ventures. "Their proven technology platform addresses critical needs across multiple infrastructure sectors, from physical security to grid resilience. We're excited to support their expansion as they protect increasingly vital infrastructure worldwide."

The raise will accelerate Prisma Photonics’ scale-up journey and growth in the U.S. and Europe and fuel its expansion into Latin America, where utilities are racing to integrate renewable energy while addressing aging transmission systems. 

“Prisma Photonics has already proven its value to U.S. and European utilities,” said Alberto Echeverri, Partner at Adara Ventures. “Now it’s poised to support operators in emerging markets where there is tremendous potential for advanced grid technologies. We are proud to support the team as they work to unlock new capacity, reduce risks, and drive the energy transition forward.”

“Critical infrastructure everywhere is under strain—whether from security threats, extreme weather, or the energy transition,” said Dr. Eran Inbar, CEO of Prisma Photonics. “Our AI capabilities allow us to translate raw optical fiber signals into actionable intelligence in real time. That means our technology can protect a military installation one day, and optimize renewable energy integration the next. This funding accelerates our mission to make the world’s infrastructure safer, smarter, and more resilient.” 

Prisma Photonics | https://www.prismaphotonics.com/

Protego Ventures | https://www.protego.vc/

Adara Ventures | www.adara.vc

Gridmatic, a leading AI-enabled power marketer, announced the launch of Gridmatic Retail in Ohio. The energy retail service will offer standard and advanced energy contracts to meet the growing demand from commercial and industrial customers, including data centers, manufacturers, and other consumers with flexible loads. This expansion marks Gridmatic’s first operations in PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest wholesale electricity market.

Gridmatic Retail offers stable and predictable energy contracts designed to reduce costs for a diverse portfolio of commercial and industrial energy users, ranging from large data centers to medium-to-large sized businesses. Gridmatic’s focus on quality customer service and ease of collaboration are attracting the attention of both brokers, consultants and commercial customers seeking a reliable, innovative energy partner.

Ohio has rapidly emerged as a highly active region for data centers, with AEP Ohio, the state’s largest utility, forecasting that demand largely driven by data center growth could increase from 600 MW in 2024 to 5 GW by 2030. To help data centers increase their load flexibility on the grid, Gridmatic brings its Load Optimizer to customers in Ohio, enabling data center operators and other high-volume power consumers to reduce energy costs by over 5%.

“We’re excited to bring our industry-leading forecasting and automation to customers in Ohio,” said Jackson Vo, President of Gridmatic Retail. “Our focus on making it easy for retail energy customers and data centers to reduce costs, strategically manage their energy use, and optimize their flexible loads is a key reason we’ve achieved the level of growth we’ve seen to date.”

Gridmatic | https://www.gridmatic.com/

As waves of solar company closures leave countless installations incomplete or orphaned, GreenLancer is stepping up. Homeowners and financiers across the country are turning to the company to finish installations and handle solar system repairs nationwide.

To meet this demand, GreenLancer is urgently expanding its solar installer network in 2025, particularly in critical markets, including Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.

Network members complete unfinished installations and perform solar repairs with support from GreenLancer's U.S.-based team, ensuring projects run smoothly and customers regain reliable energy production.

"Many solar companies overlook how profitable repair and remediation work can be," explains Patrick McCabe, president and co-founder of GreenLancer. "By joining the GreenLancer network, contractors can tap into on-demand projects that keep their crews busy while helping homeowners restore their systems. It's a win for the installer and for the solar industry as a whole."

The Challenge: Incomplete Installations and Unsupported Solar Systems
In recent years, a surge in installer bankruptcies has left homeowners with inactive or underperforming solar systems, disrupting energy savings and undermining industry confidence. At the same time, financiers are grappling with a growing backlog of incomplete solar projects.

GreenLancer's Response
Through the GreenLancer network, installers are stepping in to complete unfinished projects and perform critical repairs. This optimizes energy production for homeowners, safeguards financial investments, and strengthens trust in solar power nationwide. For contractors, the network also creates a new revenue stream by providing on-demand repair and remediation work.

Opportunity for Solar Installers & Licensed Electricians
Qualified electricians with solar experience and professional solar contractors have a new way to get on-demand work, without needing to invest heavily in sales or marketing. GreenLancer handles lead generation, coordination, and payment logistics, allowing professionals to focus on execution.

"Solar installers don't need to chase leads or worry about managing payments—GreenLancer handles that," explains Patrick McCabe, president and co-founder of GreenLancer. "This lets contractors focus on the work itself and create new income streams with very little overhead."

Experienced installers are encouraged to apply to the GreenLancer network and help restore solar systems to full functionality. They can use the submission form at the bottom of this field service partner webpage.

GreenLancer | https://www.greenlancer.com/

Greentown Labs, the world's largest climatetech and energy incubator, and M-Lab, a consortium of leading Japanese industrial corporations based in Silicon Valley, have announced the Greentown Go x M-Lab 2025 program cohort featuring four cutting-edge startups pioneering innovations in grid management and critical-mineral recovery. These selected startups will participate in an exclusive, full-day workshop culminating in a public showcase designed to accelerate pilot opportunities, commercial partnerships, and investment prospects with M-Lab member companies.

As the global energy transition intensifies, decarbonizing power systems requires technologies that make grids more flexible, digital, and resilient. At the same time, the growing demand for advanced grid infrastructure, energy management, AI, and computing is placing unprecedented pressure on global supply chains, making sustainable, circular approaches to critical-mineral recovery more essential than ever. By convening startups and global corporations around structured collaboration, the program aims to catalyze pilot projects, development partnerships, and strategic investments that accelerate the deployment of transformative technologies.

Following a competitive global review of startups across a wide range of innovation areas, four standout startups were selected for their potential to drive impact in two priority domains: grid and infrastructure energy management and next-generation recycling technologies:

• IONATE  (London, U.K.) produces hybrid intelligent transformers that provide real-time grid control functions (e.g., voltage regulation, harmonic/transient suppression, power-factor correction) with integrated sensing.
• Magnefy (Stanford, Calif., U.S.) is an edge-AI magnetic-sensing platform for non-invasive, real-time monitoring of critical electrical power assets, enabling predictive maintenance and reducing downtime.
• Nth Cycle (Burlington, Mass., U.S. | Greentown Member Company) is a critical-mineral-refining company that uses its proprietary electro-extraction system to recover production-grade critical minerals from end-of-life industrial scrap, low-grade ores, and mining wastes.
• Phoenix Tailings (Woburn, Mass., U.S. | Greentown Member Company) produces domestic U.S. clean rare-earth metals needed to power the clean-energy future.

"Grid management and critical resource recovery are not just priorities—they are the foundation for a sustainable future," said Kei Morita, VP of New Technology and CVC at ENEOS Americas Inc., an M-Lab member company. "At M-Lab, we drive the next generation of innovation with startups, leveraging global business capabilities, a multinational customer base, and resources across industries. By uniting leading companies from Japan and worldwide, we aim to tackle society's biggest challenges and accelerate real-world implementation across Asia and global markets."

"The decade ahead will bring soaring electricity demand and increasing pressure on global supply chains," said Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO of Greentown. "Meeting this moment requires startups and corporates working together to modernize the grid and recover critical minerals. The entrepreneurs in this cohort are pioneering exactly those solutions, and with the partnership of M-Lab companies, we can accelerate their path from breakthrough to real-world deployment.

The selected startups will take part in closed collaboration workshops with M-Lab companies ENEOS, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Takenaka, Tokio Marine Holdings, Yazaki Innovations, Mitsubishi HC Capital, Mitsubishi Research Institute, and Nitto Denko. Curated by the Greentown Go program team, these sessions are designed to accelerate pilot projects and strategic partnerships through facilitated networking and deployment-focused programming that aligns corporate innovation priorities with startup capabilities.

The program will officially launch with a public showcase on Thursday, Oct. 30 in Millbrae, Calif., spotlighting breakthrough innovations in grid management and mineral circularity from both the selected startups and participating corporations. Please RSVP here.

Greentown Labs | www.greentownlabs.com

Compass Mining, a leading provider of Bitcoin mining infrastructure and services, announced the full energization of a new 20-megawatt (MW) partner site in Texas. The deployment underscores Compass Mining's position as a leader in operations-as-a-service, building stronger expertise in complex implementations and grid dynamics, which is increasingly important for its enterprise and institutional clients.

"The mining machines and data center infrastructure are only half of the story. To run a successful Bitcoin mining operation, it's essential to have operational excellence and strategic management," said Karoon Mackenchery, Senior Director of Mining Services at Compass Mining. "With four power markets under our belt, we bring the expertise to deliver more control, competitive rates, and reliable uptime for retail and institutional miners alike. From construction to day-to-day operations, Compass Mining is setting the standard for turnkey mining infrastructure."

The new site is part of ERCOT (The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc.), one of the most dynamic and competitive energy environments in the world. With a significant presence in ERCOT, Compass Mining also operates in the PJM Interconnection (PJM), the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) power markets, making it one of the few hosting providers operating efficiently across so many regions.

Compass Mining recently announced expansions in Minnesota, Iowa, Texas, and a new off-grid site in Wyoming. As Bitcoin's global hashrate surpassed 1 ZH/s, Compass Mining now manages over 160 MW in total capacity and continues to grow alongside the network while providing individual miners and institutional clients with transparency and optionality.

Compass Mining | compassmining.io

Tigo Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYGO) (“Tigo”), a leading provider of intelligent solar and energy software solutions, announced a three-stop training roadshow for UK solar installers. The golf-themed Tigo Hole-in-One Tour will feature hands-on technical education sessions in Glasgow, Rugby, and Bristol from November 3 to 6, 2025. The training roadshow follows the rapid growth in the number of solar installers in the region who choose Tigo for safe, monitored, and optimized solar with the Tigo TS4 Flex MLPE (Module Level Power Electronics) product family.

With the UK reaching over 2GW of operational solar capacity this year alone, the Kingdom has also become one of Tigo’s fastest-growing European markets. Driven in part by the Ofgem ECO4 program specifications for solar monitoring as well as innovations that deliver performance uplift, UK installers have adopted Tigo TS4 MLPE devices that deliver more energy through Reclaimed Energy with optimization, and remote monitoring via the Tigo Access Point (TAP) and Cloud Connect Advanced (CCA). Of the tens of thousands of monitored Tigo installations now deployed across the UK, more than 75% were installed in the last 5 years alone. In response to this strong momentum and an increase in the number of installers deploying Tigo products, the Company will increase the support, business, and training resources locally, starting with the Hole-in-One Tour.

“We have relied on Tigo optimizers for years because of how well they perform in UK conditions, which often include suboptimal roof orientations for modules, and not infrequent cloud-related system shading,” said Anthony Dixey, CEO at AWD Electrical Ltd T/A Economy Energy Group. “These new training sessions will be a great opportunity to do a deep dive with the Tigo EI Residential Solution and connect directly with the Tigo team. It’s good to see a solar equipment manufacturing company investing in installers and making hands-on learning accessible.”

Each of the three training sessions will feature hands-on product training, system design guidance, and direct access to Tigo experts. Installers will receive practical experience with the Tigo EI Residential Solution, an all-in-one system that integrates inverter, battery, and optimization technologies for simplified installation, intelligent energy management, and reliable backup power for multiple household loads. The training will also cover the Tigo TS4-A-O MLPE models, which deliver advanced module-level monitoring, enhanced energy harvesting through optimization, and increased power and current to keep pace with the increase in high-current solar modules deployed by installers to offer customers the most energy production per available rooftop space. Tigo TS4-A-O devices support solar modules up to 700W and are rated for a maximum short-circuit current of 20A and a maximum input voltage of 80V per module. The TS4-A products are fully backward-compatible with other Tigo TS4 products and are certified compatible with hundreds of inverter models.

“With hundreds of thousands of monitoring-enabled Tigo MLPE devices installed across the region, it was time to ensure that our growing list of installer partners has the training and support to keep making them successful with a complete Tigo optimized Energy Storage System," said Mirko Bindi, Senior VP Sales EMEA & MD Europe at Tigo Energy. “Installers are at the center of our growth around the world, and our UK training tour reflects another part of our ongoing investment in training, personnel, and support for the installer community across the UK.”

Building on strong engagement from UK installers at the Greentech trade show in September, the Hole-in-One Tour also supports the Tigo Green Glove installer success program, which provides advanced technical training, certification, and ongoing support for Tigo installation partners. Installers can register for one of the training sessions in Glasgow, Rugby, or Bristol from November 3 to 6, 2025, here.

Tigo Energy | www.tigoenergy.com

Nextracker (NASDAQ: NXT), a leading solar technology platform provider, and T1 Energy Inc. (NYSE: TE), an advanced manufacturer of solar modules, announced a strategic framework agreement to use Nextracker’s patented steel module frame technology for T1 Energy’s new 5-GW G1_Dallas solar manufacturing facility. The agreement is expected to accelerate the industry’s transition away from imported aluminum frames toward made-in-the-USA frames using locally manufactured specialty steel, and support demand in the U.S. for durable solar technology.

“Clearway applauds Nextracker’s technology and manufacturing program to bring next-generation, American-made steel module frames to support the domestic photovoltaics (PV) industry. These new steel frames increase the domestic content of the module, create a stiffer, more reliable module, and with Nextracker's ongoing innovation, will enable faster installation rates compared to legacy aluminum frames,” said Ross Heiman, vice president of engineering at Clearway Energy Group.

“We’re proud to offer our customers leading-edge solar module frame technology from Nextracker,” said Daniel Barcelo, Chairman and CEO, T1 Energy. “These are American companies and factories with American workers delivering American energy security. With potential for surging demand from data centers and AI infrastructure, the U.S. needs to establish critical energy supply chains built on domestic capacity and industrial expertise. This is exactly what T1 and Nextracker are doing, together.”

“Solar panels were invented by Bell Labs in the 1950s, and it is fantastic to see reshoring of PV manufacturing facilities at real scale in the USA,” said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker. “It is a privilege to be supporting T1 Energy’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Dallas with our patented steel module frames using high quality and low carbon U.S.-produced steel. Our technology enables lower cost solar power by improving PV module durability and installation velocity.”

Most solar frames are produced with extruded aluminum and imported from Asia. Through this partnership, Nextracker will reshore critical manufacturing capacity and enable a domestic supply of specialty steel frames that are competitively priced and are expected to be more durable, and less exposed to tariff and global supply chain risks.

To support this initiative, Nextracker plans to increase its existing U.S. steel frame capacity in the Midwest with additional manufacturing lines in Texas, creating high-quality jobs. This would complement Nextracker’s Texas footprint of more than a dozen manufacturing partners that produce key solar tracker components.

Nextracker | https://www.nextracker.com/

T1 Energy I www.t1energy.com