Excelsior Energy Capital and Proximal Energy Enter Multiyear Agreement for AI-Powered Asset Management

Excelsior Energy Capital (“Excelsior” or “the firm”), a leading renewable energy infrastructure investor, announced it has entered a multiyear partnership with Proximal Energy, Inc. (“Proximal”), an innovative artificial intelligence-powered asset management provider for utility-scale solar and energy storage projects. The collaboration will leverage Proximal’s cutting-edge platform to optimize Excelsior’s portfolio of energy storage assets, enabling real-time monitoring and performance enhancement across the firm’s pipeline of 2 GWh of storage projects.

The Excelsior-Proximal collaboration highlights the vast emerging potential of AI in the renewable energy space and showcases Excelsior’s commitment to leadership in industry innovation and value creation. Proximal's platform will introduce Excelsior to the provider’s proprietary Agentic Asset Management, a groundbreaking system powered by generative AI models that assists asset managers and operations and maintenance (O&M) providers. These digital “agents” have access to all project-related documents – such as user manuals, contracts, and warranty information – allowing them to act as knowledgeable colleagues who can instantly answer questions like: “How many modules per string are there?” or “What are the liquidated damages associated with the inverter OEM missing warranty obligations?” Additionally, the “agents” can analyze time-series data when requested – offering users the ability to investigate outages and underperformance events and to calculate KPIs, providing actionable insights into asset performance.

“Excelsior’s decision to partner with Proximal represents a considerable advancement in how we manage and optimize energy storage assets, and we are proud to help guide the renewable energy industry’s innovation on this vital front,” said Chris Frantz, Partner and Head of Operations at Excelsior Energy Capital. “This partnership aligns with our vision to leverage next-generation AI technologies to streamline asset management, reduce operational overhead, and ensure the long-term performance of our projects.”

Rob van Haaren, CEO and Co-Founder of Proximal Energy, emphasized the importance of the collaboration, “We are thrilled to have Excelsior as a partner. It’s a significant vote of confidence in our young but ambitious company. In our early discussions, we quickly realized that Excelsior’s vision of using AI to enhance asset management aligns perfectly with our own. With our firmly established platform, we’re looking forward to expanding our services, including the integration of bid scheduling optimization for energy storage assets.”

The agreement reflects both parties’ shared commitment to innovation, sustainability, and efficiency in renewable energy asset management. By integrating AI into day-to-day operations, Excelsior will be better-equipped to maximize the performance of its energy storage portfolio while meeting the growing demand for cleaner, more reliable energy across the U.S.

“We are excited about the extensive possibilities this collaboration brings,” added Dan Rosenberg, Director of Asset Management at Excelsior Energy Capital. “Proximal’s AI-driven platform will allow us to proactively manage our assets, mitigate risks, and ensure our energy storage projects are consistently operating at their full potential.”

This announcement follows a series of strategic initiatives and major announcements by Excelsior. In July, the firm announced a multiyear, 2.2 GWh agreement with Fluence Energy to utilize domestically manufactured battery cells in its U.S. energy storage projects, and in April, it announced a multiyear, 2 GW agreement with Heliene for domestically produced solar panels. Earlier in 2024, Excelsior launched Lydian Energy, an independent power producer specializing in the development, construction, and operation of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects across North America that the firm backs.

Excelsior Energy Capital | www.excelsiorcapital.com

Proximal Energy | https://proximal.energy/