French-American embedded software company MicroEJ has developed a way to transform standard meters into agile, AI-enabled smart devices.

Called VEE Energy, the company believes this could revolutionise how utilities manage grid infrastructure with no costly hardware replacement.

With VEE Energy, metering companies gain the flexibility to deploy intelligence at the edge, bringing complexity-free innovation to the smart grid with the same transformative effect that apps brought to smartphones. This software-defined approach allows companies to break free from hardware constraints through app upgrades, transforming the pace and accessibility of energy innovation.

MicroEJ drives software-defined advancements on tens of millions of devices. Industry giants such as Schneider Electric and Landis+Gyr rely on VEE Energy to enhance grid reliability and unlock possibilities for application development on smart endpoints, including meters and network interface cards, all on cost-effective hardware.

As utilities transition to AMI 2.0, they face growing challenges, including increased electricity demand, renewable integration, undersised grids and rising energy costs. According to the 2024 Itron Resourcefulness Report, 80% of utilities invest in AI to improve grid monitoring and anomaly detection, yet 50% lack the expertise to implement it effectively.

VEE Energy is a version of MicroEJ VEE built by and for energy actors and bridges this gap, offering a cost-effective and scalable path to AI-driven innovation on existing hardware.

VEE Energy leverages cloud technologies adapted to the edge to create an evolutive and flexible application platform tailored to energy management needs. It allows utilities and third parties to deploy edge AI applications on their meters, without costly hardware upgrade, transforming endpoints into dynamic, intelligent devices.

“VEE Energy empowers utilities to lead the next era of energy management,” said Fred Rivard, CEO of MicroEJ. “The energy sector is at a turning point where edge intelligence complements cloud analytics to overcome today’s challenges. With VEE Energy, meters, network interface cards and gateways are evolving from simple endpoints to essential components of AMI 2.0, helping utilities meet current and future challenging demands.”

Benefits of VEE Energy include enhanced grid management for distributed energy resources such as solar and EVs, flexible app deployment without hardware disruption, granular real-time data insights for enhanced safety and improved consumer engagement, and enhanced security with memory-safe software.

Alongside other meters on the US market, since 2022, the company has enabled Landis+Gyr’s Revelo meter to deliver edge intelligence and sensing capabilities, helping utilities and consumers optimise energy usage. This collaboration enhances grid reliability and accelerates the development of applications.

As an example of another type of collaboration, Schneider Electric uses MicroEJ to integrate software-defined architectures into its EcoStruxure platform, advancing energy efficiency and sustainability.

MicroEJ also works with technology innovators in the energy sector to bring AMI 2.0 technology, a first example being Kalkitech, a specialist in AMI 2.0 communications, which supports VEE Energy.

For more information visit www.microej.com/product/vee-energy.